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Overstock.com Racing: Chase Briscoe St. Louis Advance

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Official Release
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CHASE BRISCOE
St. Louis Advance
No. 14 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview
● Event: Enjoy Illinois 300 (Round 15 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 2
● Location: Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois (near St. Louis)
● Layout: 1.25-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 240 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 45 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis will serve as Chase Briscoe’s third Cup Series start at the 1.25-mile oval. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver came off the truck strong in the inaugural Cup Series race at Gateway in 2022 by winning the pole and leading the first 27 laps. But a flat left-rear tire scuttled that strong performance, jettisoning Briscoe to a 24th-place finish. In his return to Gateway last year, Briscoe and his No. 14 team searched for speed in relation to their counterparts, coming away with a 34th place finish on the back of a weekend’s worth of struggle. With Gateway beckoning once more, Briscoe and Co. hope the third time is the charm.

● Briscoe’s very first experience at Gateway came in 2017 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Driving a Ford F-150, he took to the flat, egg-shaped oval quickly, winning the pole and leading twice for a race-high 88 laps before finishing second to John Hunter Nemechek.

● The St. Louis area is a bastion for grassroots racing, especially dirt racing, and Briscoe is seizing the opportunity. On Thursday night, he will run with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets at Doe Run (Mo.) Raceway. On Friday night, Briscoe will campaign his 410 sprint car at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway. And on Saturday night after he practices and qualifies for the Enjoy Illinois 300, he will embrace the race entitlement’s message by competing with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets one more time at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Illinois.

● Overstock.com adorns Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Gateway. The partnership amplifies the recent relaunch of Overstock.com, home of crazy good deals that offer quality and style for less. Overstock.com is for the savvy shopper who loves the thrill of the hunt and it includes product categories customers know and love, like patio furniture, home furniture and area rugs, while reintroducing jewelry, watches and health-and-beauty products.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

In your first NASCAR Cup Series start at Gateway, you won the pole and proceeded to lead the first 27 laps before finishing 24th. How were you able to take to that track so well and so quickly?

“St. Louis is a place, even going back to the Truck Series, that for whatever reason I’ve always had pretty good speed there. I’ve always enjoyed going to that racetrack. It’s probably the second- or third-closest track to my hometown, so it’s always cool to have a lot of people there. It’s in a great pocket for motorsports. There are a ton of race fans in that area. I’ve always enjoyed going there. And the racetrack, for whatever reason, has always been pretty good to me. It’s one of those tracks where there are two totally separate ends and your car is never going to drive well in one of them. It’s kind of a short track, but it’s an intermediate, with kind of road-course braking. There are just a lot of different things that go into that racetrack and I’ve always enjoyed it.”

What happened in that first race at Gateway to put you 24th when it ended?

“I was able to get on the pole, lead the first however many laps, but then I blew a left-rear tire, and that kind of put us behind the rest of the day.”

Last year’s race at Gateway seemed to be an all-day struggle for you and the No. 14 team. With your first race there going relatively well where you had speed, and your second race going not so well, what are your expectations for your third Cup race at Gateway?

“Hopefully, we’re definitely more like the first year. It seemed like that second year we went back, everybody else just had gotten way better. I don’t know if we were necessarily any worse, it’s just that everybody else picked up their game. I guess it’s the only positive of struggling that bad last year, we knew we had to put a lot of work into it this year. I felt like we’ve put a lot of effort into it and I feel like we were in a pretty good spot at the simulator. It’s hard to say until you actually get there and do it, but I certainly feel pretty good going into it.”

Prior to racing at Gateway in a Cup car, you ran there once in a Truck, and did really well, winning the pole, leading twice for a race-high 88 laps, and then finishing second. What allowed you to be so comfortable at a track you hadn’t ever been on before?

“It just kind of fit my style. It’s definitely a place where the harder you can get into the corner, the better you are, and it has that road-course kind of style to it. You can move around the racetrack quite a bit and find lines. It’s one of those deals where some tracks just kind of click right away, and that was one of those racetracks that’s been kind of good from the speed standpoint. Hopefully, it’ll be the same. I definitely feel like I’ve led a lot of laps there, but have never been able to actually win the race, so hopefully it’ll be different this time.”

Is Gateway similar to other flat ovals, like Phoenix, where you finished ninth earlier this year?

“(Turns) three and four are more similar to Phoenix, or even like Loudon or any of those flat tracks just because it has a long, flat corner. But (turns) one and two are extremely tight and it’s just a ton of braking. We downshift from fifth all the way down to third gear, so you’re just super busy. I would say it’s more like a super-fast Martinsville corner. You pair those types of corners, and then you look at the racetracks that they kind of compare to, and they’re some of the tracks that we typically run well at. I hope it all kind of goes our way.”

You had a prime tire and an option tire for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. How did you like it and would you like to have those same options available at Gateway and at other tracks on the schedule?

“I definitely think there’s a lot to learn from the All-Star tire stuff, but it’s also a little tough with North Wilkesboro being a fresh repave. It’s not going to have the tire wear that you would typically have at other racetracks. But I feel like you could definitely take a lot of what we learned and be more aggressive with it. It’s just hard to find that balance. If you’re on the Goodyear side of it, you don’t want to be too aggressive to where we’re all blowing tires. But being aggressive is kind of the last choice we have if we’re not going to add horsepower.”

When you go to a venue like St. Louis, where it has the iconic Gateway Arch, do you do some exploring, or do you treat it like a business trip and hunker down in the motorcoach?

“St. Louis is one of those places where I try to go race as much as I can. I’m going to run Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I’ll run the midget Thursday and Saturday night, and I’ll run the sprint car Friday night. There’s such a pocket of motorsports in that region, especially dirt tracks. There’s a ton of dirt tracks within a two-hour radius, and it kind of works out where I can go run some dirt races. I think the last three years now I’ve run dirt every time we’ve gone to St. Louis. I haven’t really explored the city a whole lot. I’ve been to St. Louis quite a few times. I only grew up maybe four hours from there, so I’ve been there a few times and kind of seen the city. But, yeah, every time we go to St. Louis, I’m dirt racing.”

No. 14 Overstock.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal

Hometown: Holland, Michigan

Jack Man: Dylan Moser

Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams

Hometown: Plymouth, Wisconsin

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads

Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips

Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable

Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Dale Lackey

Hometown: Taylorsville, North Carolina

“FIVE THINGS TO WATCH” AT TOYOTA 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES RACE

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Official Release
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Rev Racing driver Nick Sanchez celebrates after winning his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of the season last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Photo credit: Getty Images.
  • Nick Sanchez continues recent hot streak with last week’s win at Charlotte.
  • Toyota 200 will serve as second leg of the Triple Truck Challenge.

MADISON, Ill. (May 28, 2024) – The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Toyota 200 returns for a third consecutive season paired with the NASCAR Cup Series as the trucks make their 24th visit overall to World Wide Technology Raceway.

The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series officially kicks off the on-track action Friday for the NASCAR doubleheader weekend with practice and qualifying for the Toyota 200. The trucks open with a 20-minute practice at 5:05 p.m. CT and the session will be followed by single-truck, one-lap qualifying beginning at 5:35 p.m.

The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series visit culminates with the Toyota 200 at 12:30 p.m. Saturday (TV: FOX, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM) for a 160-lap, 200-mile race.

This season’s Toyota 200 will mark the 11th season in a row that the NCTS has competed at the 1.25-mile oval. The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series initially competed at WWT Raceway from 1998-2010 and returned after a three-year absence in 2014.

The Toyota 200 is the 12th race of the 23-event CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season and several storylines have developed as the series crosses the season midpoint.

Here’s “Five Things To Watch” for the Toyota 200:

  1. Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez, coming off a victory last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, heads into the Toyota 200 as one of the hottest drivers in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

The victory was his sixth consecutive finish among the top seven and that run has vaulted him to third in the points standings, 50 behind leader Christian Eckes of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. During this torrid stretch, four of those finishes have been among the top four and the 22-year-old Miami, Fla. native also added pole positions at Texas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

Sanchez, the 2023 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Rookie of the Year, opened his sophomore campaign in grand fashion by earning his first series victory in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Through the first 11 races, his average starting position is 8.55 and average finishing position is 7.36.

  1. Corey Heim missed last season’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway due to illness, but the 21-year-old TRICON Garage driver enjoyed an impressive performance in his one and only appearance at the 1.25-mile oval.

The start came in 2022 driving part-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in just his second year. Heim won the pole and led 20 laps en route to his second career win.

He arrives this time around a championship contender as a result of a dominant start to the season. In the first 11 races, he owns a series-leading three wins (Circuit of The Americas, Kansas, North Wilkesboro) and ranks first in the series for top-five finishes (7), stage wins (4) and playoff points (19). He ranks second in the NCTS points standings, trailing Eckes by 30 points.

  1. World Wide Technology Raceway is part of the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Triple Truck Challenge for the fifth time in the last six seasons. “The Trip” was created in 2019 to provide an opportunity for series regulars to compete for bonus money, including as much as $500,000.

The Triple Truck Challenge is a three-race format that began last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, continues with Friday’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway and concludes Friday, June 28 at Nashville Superspeedway. Eligible drivers who have elected to earn series championship points will receive a $50,000 bonus for one win. If a driver wins two out of the three races, they will be awarded $150,000. If a driver wins all three Triple Truck Challenge races, a $500,000 prize will be awarded.

Nick Sanchez won the opening race this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will be chasing a $150,000 bonus at WWT Raceway. Last season, the Triple Truck Challenge produced three different winners, including Grant Enfinger at WWT Raceway.

  1. Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing is winless in six appearances at World Wide Technology Raceway, but keep an eye on him in the Toyota 200.

Of those six starts, five have resulted in top-five finishes, including a best of third on two occasions (2019, ’23). His only performance outside of the top five was a 13th-place finish in his first start at WWTR in 2018.

  1. Winning the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at WWT Raceway over the past decade has served as a driver forecast of being elevated to the NASCAR Cup Series.

Beginning with Bubba Wallace in 2014,  four of the 10 winners have gone on to a current Cup Series ride. Wallace, who drives for 23XI Racing, is joined on the Cup level by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell (2016 winner), Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek (’17) and Rick Ware Racing’s Justin Haley (’18).

Overall, six of the 10 have competed at least a full season on the Cup level. Cole Custer (’15), the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, competed in Cup for Stewart-Haas Racing from 2020-22. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was running a full NCTS season when he won at WWT Raceway in ’19, but already was in his second full Cup season with owner Jay Robinson.

That trend could bode well in the future for the last three winners – Sheldon Creed (2020, ’21), Heim (2022) and Enfinger (2023).

The Dale Jr. Foundation Announces $1 Million Grant Program

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Official Release
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. to support multiple charities as he surpasses one million

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 28, 2024) – NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced today that he will donate $1 million to charities across the United States to celebrate reaching the one million follower mark on Instagram. The Dale Jr. Foundation has identified a charity located in each of the top-10 cities where Earnhardt’s Instagram followers reside, with each organization receiving $100,000.

“This is an exciting time for The Dale Jr. Foundation,” said Earnhardt Jr. “None of this would be possible without the support from the fans and followers. To have the opportunity to give back in this way is truly special, and it’s all due to the tremendous support of the foundation.”

The selected charities fall into the foundation’s five areas of giving: empowerment, education, wellness, hunger, hope. The list of organizations includes Regional Food Bank of NE Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Fletcher Place Community Center (Indianapolis), Armer Foundation for Kids (Phoenix), Kids Meals, Inc. (Houston), Nashville Angels (Nashville, Tenn.), New York Common Pantry (New York), Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, Ohio), Heart of Los Angeles (Los Angeles), Hope of Mooresville (Mooresville, N.C.), and Classroom Central (Charlotte, N.C.).

“This is only possible because of the generous donations and hard work of so many people,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, vice president of The Dale Jr. Foundation. “Dale is using his platform and the foundation to make an impact across the nation and I am extremely proud to see these donations go to so many worthwhile causes.”

Earnhardt Jr. eclipsed the one million follower mark on Thursday, May 23, making him the third NASCAR personality to achieve such a prestigious milestone. The legendary stock car driver and 15-time most popular driver initially launched his Instagram account in October 2015.

ABOUT THE DALE JR. FOUNDATION:

The Dale Jr. Foundation is a charity dedicated to giving underprivileged individuals with a focus on youth, the resources to improve their confidence and education, and the opportunity to achieve extraordinary goals, having raised more than $11 million since its inception. The Dale Jr. Foundation has made a monumental impact in the local community since its beginning. Dedicated to giving underprivileged individuals, with a focus on youth, the resources to achieve extraordinary goals, TDJF has contributed to more than 300 charities nationally and locally, including The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Blessings in a Backpack, Children’s Hope Alliance, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, FeedNC, and Mooresville Christian Mission. For more information, visit www.thedalejrfoundation.org.

Repco Supercars Championship Star Will Brown to Make NASCAR Cup Series Debut with Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway

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Official Release
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Current Supercars Series Points Leader to Compete in No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet Camaro with Additional Sponsorship from Motorola and Shaw and Partners

WELCOME, N.C. (May 28, 2024) – Repco Supercars Championship star Will Brown is scheduled to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway. Brown, a native of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, will drive the No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway live on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9.

“It’s just an incredible opportunity to be able to come out and race at the highest level in America,” said Brown. “I am extremely thankful to Richard Childress and everyone at Richard Childress Racing for the opportunity. I’ve been interested in NASCAR since I started racing Supercars, and even more so since the recent wave of success that some international drivers have had crossing over into the NASCAR Cup Series. I’ve got some great sponsors that have supported me for a long time in Australia, and I’m lucky enough that MobileX is joining us for the race, along with a long-term partner of mine, Shaw and Partners. Incredibly thankful also for Motorola and everyone else who has come on board for the race. It’s been massive to get everyone to support the program, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. I’m looking forward to the race and have been working hard to prepare.”

The Sonoma race is just one recent example of RCR’s efforts to collaborate with talented drivers and teams from other parts of the world. Last year, Brodie Kostecki made one start in the NASCAR Cup Series under the RCR banner before going on to win the Repco Supercars Championship later in the season.

Brown, who is currently leading the Supercars Championship point standings, raced with RCR as recently as December in an endurance race at Circuit of the Americas as a third driver alongside Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon.

“Will Brown has had success racing in Australia and New Zealand and we’re looking forward to having him race with RCR in the No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “I’ve stayed in touch with Will since he came over in December to race with us, and he has proven to be a disciplined and passionate racer. His start with RCR is a continuation of a long-standing investment that RCR has made in finding and honing talent and looking beyond U.S. Motorsports.”

MobileX, the world’s most customizable mobile carrier, delivering the ultimate in choice and price control, will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 33 Chevrolet for Brown’s NASCAR Cup Series debut. MobileX utilizes artificial intelligence to predict how much data customers need, delivering a dramatic reduction in cost while ensuring reliable speed and service.

“We are thrilled to be back in NASCAR, this time alongside our partner Motorola, in sponsoring international champion Will Brown in his first ever NASCAR Cup Series race,” said MobileX founder and CEO Peter Adderton. “It’s going to be an epic event with the Richard Childress Racing MobileX race team especially as we celebrate the launch of the MobileX moto g play in Walmart! MobileX’s AI-powered mobile service and Motorola come together to empower users with the ultimate freedom of choice when it comes to their mobile experience, saving them hundreds if not thousands of dollars annually. MobileX is about putting the consumer in the driver’s seat of their wireless journey, and no one knows how to bring that passion onto the track better than Will.”

Motorola will also support Brown’s career-first NASCAR Cup Series race.

“From the first cellular handheld to the first 5G-enabled mobile device to the first foldable smartphone, Motorola has always been about groundbreaking firsts. There’s no better way to drive that sentiment forward than to partner with MobileX and Will Brown on a first of his own,” said Rudi Kalil, president and general manager of North America at Motorola. “We look forward to connecting our brand with NASCAR fans as we support this incredibly talented racer on his career milestone and can’t wait to see Will’s car on the track at Sonoma Raceway!”

Shaw and Partners, one of Australia’s preeminent investment advice and wealth management firms and a long-time supporter of Brown, will also be joining the team for his Cup debut.

For more information and all that is going on at RCR, visit rcrracing.com.

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2024 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 8 Chevrolet) and 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).

2024 World Wide Technology Raceway/Portland Advance

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Official Release
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WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY / PORTLAND

Saturday, June 1 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series @ WWT, 1:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
Saturday, June 1 — NASCAR Xfinity Series @ Portland, 4:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Sunday, June 2 — NASCAR Cup Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

All three of NASCAR’s top touring series will be in action this weekend, but in two different locations. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (Saturday) and NASCAR Cup Series (Sunday) will run for the third straight year at World Wide Technology Raceway while the NASCAR Xfinity Series travels west to Portland International Raceway, where Ford’s Cole Custer is the defending race winner.

NOTHING BUT TOP 10 FINISHES AT WWTR

Champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have enjoyed World Wide Technology Raceway since the NASCAR Cup Series started going there to race in 2022. Both drivers have registered back-to-back top-10 finishes at the track with Logano winning the inaugural event. Logano has finishes of first and third while Blaney was fourth in 2022 and sixth last season. Their Penske teammate, Austin Cindric, has also been solid with finishes of 11th and 13th.

CAREER FIRST FOR CHASE

Chase Briscoe scored the first NASCAR Cup Series pole of his career when he topped qualifying at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022. Briscoe circled the 1.25-mile track in 32.544 seconds (138.274 mph) and led the first 27 laps of the race before a left-rear tire went down and forced him to pit under green. He ended up going a lap down and spent the rest of the day trying to get back in contention, but ultimately finished 24th.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL: “The expectations are really the same for us in this time of year and that is to win a race. Expectation versus what needs to happen. We need to win a race to make the playoffs and we know that. This is a great opportunity. Gateway has been really strong for us and obviously Sonoma is a place that we can go and have a shot at winning the race, so that’s the expectation. At the same time, if you’re not in position to do that, you want to make the most of those days, but I don’t think points is something that we’re thinking about at this point. We’re just thinking about what we can do to win the race.”

RYAN PREECE: “For me, I’ve only been there once and our team has only been there once, so it’s definitely still a new track. I feel like it’s not a short track, but you drive it like a short track. Hopefully, we show up and we have some good speed and we can race and compete for a win. Qualifying is really important there, but it’s important everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are. It’s one of the most important things right now and I know our team is really starting to emphasize it and focus on it.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC: “Gateway has been a really good track for us the last two years, so hopefully that definitely transfers over with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It’s a fun racetrack. It’s really different and I’m surprised both years at how wide it’s gotten, especially with two lanes in three and four, so I’m looking forward to it. They always do a great job promoting the race, so I’m looking forward to going back.”

LOGANO WINS GATEWAY DEBUT

Just like he did in the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum and Bristol Dirt Race, Joey Logano won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, beating Kyle Busch in a dramatic overtime finish in 2022. Both drivers took turns crossing over each other for the lead on the final lap before Logano made the decisive pass in turn four to claim his second win of the season.

CUSTER REPEAT?

Defending champion Cole Custer will be trying for his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season this weekend at Portland International Raceway, which would mark his second straight triumph at the Oregon road course. Custer was in the right place at the right time for an overtime restart last year, starting in the third row and then making the decisive pass entering turn one when the pack of cars in front of him all went wide due to contact. The victory was Custer’s first of three victories in 2023 and first on a road course in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions.

BACK IN PORTLAND

The NASCAR XFINITY drivers will be returning to Portland International Raceway for the third straight year after hosting the series for the first time in 2022. Before that, the circuit hosted the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series more than 20 years ago. Former Ford driver Greg Biffle won the inaugural event in 1999 with owner Jack Roush while Andy Houston claimed the 2000 race.

GARCIA GAINING MOMENTUM

It’s taken Jake Garcia a couple of months to settle in with ThorSport Racing, but he appears to be hitting his stride as the summer stretch begins. Garcia is coming off the first top-10 finish of his ThorSport career, coming home sixth last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway and just behind teammate Ben Rhodes, who was fifth. That marked the second consecutive solid run for Garcia, who led the first laps of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career two weeks ago at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Garcia led 40 circuits, but faded over the final 20 laps as he nursed his F-150 to the finish line with a tire going down. He has made two career series starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 10th-place finish in last year’s event being his best.

TRUCK SERIES OPENS DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND AT WWTR

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will kick off the weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway with a Saturday afternoon race. Greg Biffle captured Ford’s first win at the facility in 1999 while Terry Cook followed that up three years later. The series has run at WWTR every year since 1998, except for a three-year period from 2011-2013.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS

AT WWTR

2022 – Joey Logano

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

AT PIR

2023 – Cole Custer

FORD NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT WWTR

1999 – Greg Biffle

2002 – Terry Cook

SERVPRO Racing: Noah Gragson St. Louis Advance

By
Official Release
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NOAH GRAGSON
St. Louis Advance
No. 10 SERVPRO Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Enjoy Illinois 300 (Round 15 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 2
● Location: Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois (near St. Louis)
● Layout: 1.25-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 240 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 45 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Noah Gragson’s NASCAR Cup Series career at Gateway International Raceway is comprised of just 197 laps. The Las Vegas native made his first Cup Series start at the track on the outskirts of St. Louis last year, but a broken brake rotor sent Gragson careening into the turn one wall just as he began his 198th tour of the 1.25-mile oval. The resulting impact resulted in a red-flag period that lasted just over nine minutes. The accident not only ended Gragson’s race at Gateway, but it kept him out of the car for the following race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Gragson returned to his racecar June 25 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

● Prior to coming to Gateway in the NASCAR Cup Series, Gragson made two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the track, earning a pair of top-10 finishes – ninth in 2017 and 10th in 2018. It was that 2018 race, however, that Gragson feels he should have won. After starting third, Gragson led twice for a race-high 63 laps. In fact, he was cruising to victory, leading the race with less than 10 laps to go. But a flat tire seven laps short of the finish prompted an unscheduled pit stop, forcing Gragson out of the lead. That he battled back to finish 10th in a race where 17 trucks finished on the lead lap was a testament to Gragson’s strength that day at Gateway.

● Battling back is what Gragson aims to do again at Gateway. The 25-year-old driver for Stewart-Haas Racing finished 38th last Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway after a crash on lap 171. It ended a run of seven straight top-20 finishes, the last four of which were all among the top-15, including a career-best result of third April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

● Joining Gragson at Gateway is SERVPRO, a leader in property cleanup, restoration and construction. For more than 50 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, biohazard, and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO’s professional services network of more than 2,200 individually owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small – from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners and major insurance companies rely on SERVPRO to help make it “Like it never even happened.”

Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 SERVPRO Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Your history at Gateway is comprised of two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts and one NASCAR Cup Series start. With that body of work, what is it like to race at the flat, 1.25-mile oval?

“It’s a tough track because you have a really tight turns one and two, and then a long, sweeping, flat turns three and four, so it’s hard to get your car handling great on both sides of the racetrack. But that being said, it’s definitely a fun track. It was fun in the Trucks. We ran well there and should’ve probably won. I was leading with 10 to go and got a flat tire, so that was a bummer. But it’s a fun track. They always pack the house out there. It’s a good time.”

You endured a hard crash last year at Gateway and it kept you out of the car the following week at Sonoma. What do you remember about the accident and what were you feeling in its immediate aftermath?

“I had a little bit of brake shake and the pedal got a little longer, and then when I went into turn one, right when I hit the brake, I thought the right-front tire blew out, but it was really the rotor. I lost all braking capabilities, and then I turned left to spin the car out because I was already turning into the corner, and just tried to spin it out through the grass as best I could. Had I known it was going to blow out, I would’ve obviously tugged it to the right, wall-rode it. I got a concussion and had to sit out the next weekend. It was a hard hit.”

You scored a pair of top-10s in your two Truck Series starts at Gateway. How different was that experience compared to when you raced there last year in a Cup car?

“You’re still shifting in a Truck there, if you need to. You have options with the Truck. You’re not downshifting twice into turn one, but sometimes you are downshifting in turn one in the Truck. So, that was not too totally different. I think in 2017, it was the old pavement, so it was quite a bit different. But ever since they repaved in late 2017, early 2018, I went out there and did a tire test with Goodyear, so that was good to get experience on. And then I ran pretty well in the Truck, so going back there, it felt pretty similar to the same racetrack where I left off in 2018.”

Is Gateway similar to other flat ovals, like Phoenix, where you finished 12th earlier this year?

“I think it definitely races a lot like Phoenix. It’s kind of a hybrid between a mile-and-a-half and Martinsville because you’re going pretty slow through the corners, but it’s the same mile-and-a-half aero package. It’s a fun track. It’s challenging because it’s so flat and it’s hard to get your car working on both sides. But I hope it’s like Phoenix because we ran pretty solid there all weekend.”

You had a prime tire and an option tire during the All-Star Race weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. How did you like it and would you like to have those same options available at Gateway and at other tracks on the schedule?

“I really liked the soft tire, it just gave the car a lot more grip. There was falloff and you could move around and you could pace your run out a little bit. But it’s hard to really get a good gauge because it was a repave there at North Wilkesboro. If they took that soft tire to New Hampshire or Phoenix, you’ll probably wear it out in 30 laps. So it’s hard to really tell exactly and get a full read on what that tire was, but I thought it was a lot more fun than the hard tire. I think they should bring that tire everywhere, or at least try it. Double thumbs-up to Goodyear. They did a great job with that tire. They made the cars a lot more fun to drive and made it a lot racier.”

No. 10 SERVPRO Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engineer: James Kimbrough

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Jack Man: Sean Cotten

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Beau Whitley

Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey

Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

CORVETTE RACING AT DETROIT: Home Sweet Home

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Official Release
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First event on downtown streets of Detroit for GTD PRO squad, Corvette Z06 GT3.R

DETROIT (May 28, 2024) – Chevrolet and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports are in their own backyard this week for the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic – the first appearance in the Motor City for the program since 2021.

The pair of yellow Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are part of an 11-car field in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO class. Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg will team in the No. 4 Corvette and are coming off the first podium finish for the Z06 GT3.R in the last GTD PRO race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Of note, Milner also was part of the Corvette’s first victory – two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas for DXDT Racing in GT World Challenge America. Not to be outdone, Catsburg drove the Z06 GT3.R to its first IMSA pole at Laguna Seca.

In the No. 3 Corvette, Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims sit fifth in GTD PRO points and just ahead of their teammates. The pair was in prime position to contend at Laguna Seca before an ill-fated safety car that came out on Garcia’s in-lap barely an hour into the race.

Milner and Garcia are the only Corvette drivers who have contested Detroit, albeit on the Belle Isle circuit. They were part of a non-points GT Le Mans race in which the Corvette Racing factory team brought two Corvette C8.Rs to the island. Before that, and owing to the closeness of the Detroit race and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Corvette team’s two other appearances on Belle Isle came in 2007 and 2008 as part of the GT1 class.

The downtown Detroit circuit, which runs around the Renaissance Center and the global headquarters of General Motors, is the shortest on the calendar at nine turns and 1.654 miles around. Neither GTD PRO nor the GTP categories raced at Detroit last year (it was the same weekend as the Le Mans Test Day), so very few drivers in the field have any experience at the circuit.

To help the team prepare, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports engineers leaned on the learnings of Chevrolet’s NTT INDYCAR program to help establish a baseline for a handful of sessions on Chevy’s Driver in the Loop simulator. That should allow the Corvette team to roll right into its setup program to be in the best possible position for Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s race.

The Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. The race will air live on USA Network with full streaming coverage also on Peacock. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS

PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We want to do well in Detroit. For sure the target is to win. We are running around the RenCen, so obviously it will be very important if we can win there. So I’m looking forward to it It’s a new track for me and most of the other drivers. I had a chance to do a few laps in the simulator and it looks very stressful. But I’m sure it will bring a lot of action and tight racing. I don’t know the weather is going to be, but it will be good to our own street race because I did miss racing at Long Beach this year. So I am looking forward to getting back to a street track.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We did an initial run on the simulator some time ago – just to get a read on it and check to see if the track model was working and behaving itself. The Corvette felt reasonably sensible around there. It’s definitely a very bumpy circuit, as you would expect with a street track. A bit of undulation, couple of rises and slightly blind corners. It’s a busy little track and not a huge amount of speed anywhere outside the long straight. Overtaking will be pretty tough. It’s going to be pretty crazy with the GTPs. I’ve not been to Detroit before and didn’t do the previous Detroit races. It will be a cool thing for all of us. It will be nice to be there and to have a completely new experiences. Some of those are few and far between for me, so I’m looking forward to it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’ve driven in it in person in a rental car and some sim work also. It’s exciting to be in the downtown part of Detroit. Racing in the shadow of the RenCen is very cool. It’s going to be a challenging race track, for sure. It’s short but like any street track, there are a lot of places where you can get yourself in trouble. It’ll be a lot to learn as it’s a basically a new track for everybody. As with any street tracks we’ve done in the past, it’s great to be in the city and on top of everything that is happening around the race. Detroit does some unique things with free viewing areas for fans, which is something you don’t see anywhere in the world. I’m excited to go back to Detroit.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I raced at Belle Isle in a Lamborghini in World Challenge many years ago. It was a cool track then. This is a home race for the team, so it makes it extra cool to go to. Some families of the crew will be out, and we’ll have some things to do around the race as well. The added pressure of it being a home race will for sure make it a very tough event. In IMSA, the practice times are always quite limited. On a street course, that makes it extra hard. It’s hard to explore the limits there. On other tracks you can go over the limit and dial it back a little bit, and then you’ve found your speed quickly. Hopefully it will be a weekend of more positive results for the Corvette.”

2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Points

GTD PRO Drivers Standings

  1. Laurin Heinrich/Seb Priaulx – 981
  2. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 925
  3. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow – 888
  4. Mario Farnbacher/Ross Gunn – 867
  5. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 812
  6. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 808

GTD PRO Teams Standings

  1. No. 77 AO Racing – 981
  2. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 925
  3. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 888
  4. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 867
  5. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 812
  6. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 808

GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings

  1. Porsche – 1003
  2. Lexus – 947
  3. Aston Martin – 880
  4. Chevrolet – 877
  5. McLaren – 851

GTD Drivers Standings

  1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 1367
  2. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 1154
  3. Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer – 1059
  4. Parker Thompson – 1038
  5. Mikael Grenier/Mike Skeen – 1033
  6. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 830

GTD Teams Standings

  1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 1367
  2. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 1154
  3. No. 120 Wright Motorsports – 1059
  4. No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsport – 1033
  5. No. 43 Andretti Motorsports – 952
  6. No. 13 AWA – 830

GTD Manufacturers Standings

  1. Mercedes-AMG – 1457
  2. Porsche – 1208
  3. Lamborghini – 1199
  4. Lexus – 1178
  5. Aston Martin – 1059
  6. Chevrolet – 1026

CORVETTE RACING BY THE NUMBERS: Detroit

  • 2: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Detroit – Corvette C6.R (2007-08) and Corvette C8.R/Z06 GT3.R (2020-present)
  • 3: Wins in Detroit for Corvette Racing in as many starts – 2007 and 2008 in GT1, and 2021 in GTLM (although it was a non-points event)
  • 8: Victories at Detroit for Chevrolet in IMSA competition. In addition to three wins for Corvette Racing, Corvette Daytona Prototypes won overall each year on Belle Isle from 2012-2016
  • 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
  • 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
  • 48: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999 – DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell being the latest in GT World Challenge America at Circuit of The Americas
  • 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
  • 197: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and two in GT World Challenge America
  • 293: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
  • 378,689.70: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles

Corvette Racing at Detroit (all previously on Belle Isle)

2007

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Olivier Beretta – 2nd in GT1

2008

No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1

No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Olivier Beretta – 1st in GT1

2021 (unofficial race)

No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM

No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTLM

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.

Single Day tickets go on sale today for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

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Official Release
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The 36th edition of the iconic downtown Toronto summer festival features 10 races, interactive entertainment, food trucks, beer gardens and more

TORONTO (May 28, 2024) – Single Day tickets to the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto go on sale to the public today at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased online at hondaindy.com for the 36th running of the annual marquee event at Exhibition Place, July 19-21.

For 2024, this downtown festival features 10 races headlined by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES plus interactive activities and diverse food and beverage options in Thunder Alley. The festival setting offers a great value for families as children 12 and under receive free general admission all weekend when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

“We are excited to continue this spectacular summer Toronto tradition for the 36th year. All three days of on-track action are paired with off-track food and fun for the whole family,” said Jeff Atkinson, president of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. “It’s an unforgettable experience from start to finish beginning with Your Ontario Honda Dealers Free Fan Friday. NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying highlights Saturday’s on-track action, and the 85-lap IndyCar race on Sunday will wrap up a great weekend.”

The stars and cars NTT INDYCAR SERIES will take on the 2.874-kilometre (1.786-mile), 11-turn temporary street circuit built on the Exhibition Place grounds near the Lake Ontario shoreline for Round 12 of 17 in the season championship battle. The stars will include multi-time Toronto winners Scott Dixon, Will Power and Josef Newgarden, the back-to-back Indianapolis 500 champion, plus last year’s race winner Christian Lundgaard.

Exciting, highly-competitive sports car racing from Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin and Emzone Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin will join INDYCAR on the weekend schedule. The tripleheader Radical races will again feature a race-within-race format running with the Radical Cup North America series. Additionally, the up-and-coming open-wheel stars from USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire and USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire will roar through the downtown streets.

2-Day Grandstand and General Admission tickets are available offering the greatest weekend value with access to the best seats. Pricing starts at $105 for 2-Day Grandstand seating, and 2-Day Weekend General Admission is $80. Single Day General Admission is $50 for Saturday and $65 for Sunday while Single Day Grandstand tickets start at $75 and $95 for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Your Ontario Honda Dealers Free Fan Friday returns for the 13th year offering complimentary general admission on Friday, July 19th, with a voluntary charitable donation.

Other items on sale to upgrade the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto experience include Pit and INDYCAR Paddock Passes. A Pit Pass includes the Paddock Pass and provides access to pitlane during practice, qualifying and pre-race for INDYCAR plus all the on-track sessions for the support series races. A Paddock Pass grants entrance into “the locker room of motorsports” to see the cars and drivers up close located inside the Enercare Centre.

All attendees are encouraged to use Toronto’s GO Lakeshore West Train to Exhibition Station for the easiest commute without the worry of traffic or parking at the Honda Indy Toronto. For $85, GO Transit is offering a combo ticket which includes 2-Day General Admission and two daily round trip fares for convenient transportation to and from the event. Single-day combo options are also available at hondaindy.com/GO. Children 12 and under ride free on Go Transit.

For more ticket pricing and festival information, visit hondaindy.com. The entire Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto weekend schedule will be released soon.

About Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto:

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is a world-class motorsports festival which takes place annually on a 2.874-kilometre (1.786-mile), 11-turn temporary circuit using the streets surrounding Exhibition Place near Lake Ontario in downtown Toronto. The event features many attractions, food trucks, interactive displays and activities, and supports local charities. Your Ontario Honda Dealers Present Honda Fan Friday offers general admission courtesy of the Ontario Honda Dealers Association through a voluntary donation. To date, over $1 million has been raised for Make-A-Wish® Canada. As one of Ontario’s largest annual sporting events, the first race held in 1986 was known as the Molson Indy, later became the Honda Indy Toronto and is now titled Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. It has become a prestigious meeting place for some of the world’s fastest race car drivers including past NTT INDYCAR SERIES champions like Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Will Power as well as Canadian racing greats Scott Goodyear, James Hinchcliffe, Greg Moore, Alex Tagliani, Paul Tracy, Jacques Villeneuve, Robert Wickens and more. Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is owned and operated by Green Savoree Toronto, ULC, whose affiliates also promote three additional INDYCAR SERIES races: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (March 8-10, 2024), The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid (July 5-7, 2024) and BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland (Aug. 23-25, 2024).

For more information, visit hondaindy.com, ‘like’ its Facebook page @IndyToronto or follow the event on X (formerly Twitter) @HondaIndy and Instagram @HondaIndy using #indyTO.

ABEL Motorsports duo takes INDY NXT momentum to the Motor City

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Official Release
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Indianapolis, IN - during the INDYCAR Sonsio Grand Prix in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Jones | IMS Photo)
  • With podium finishes in each of the first four races, Jacob Abel looks to grow his points lead
  • Yuven Sundaramoorthy will return to Michigan in two weeks for the Formula SAE Electric final at Michigan International Speedway

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (27 May 2024) – On the heels of a victory and a second-place finish in the INDY NXT by Firestone doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago, ABEL Motorsports takes a 25-point championship lead to the Motor City this weekend.

Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Oconomowoc, WI.) will race in Detroit for the first time, while Jacob Abel (Louisville, Ky.) raced on the new nine-turn, 1.7-mile downtown circuit last year, finishing fourth in the first of two races.

“The new circuit around the Renaissance Center feels raw, almost unfinished, in comparison to other street circuits we go to,” said Abel. “Tracks like St. Pete and Toronto are very polished, they almost have a road course look to them – the track is fairly smooth, and we know those tracks so well. Here, it feels as though you’re driving through the streets of Detroit, which makes for very interesting racing. Plus, on a new street circuit, things can change drastically year to year – we need to watch for repaving, or bumps that were there last year and are gone now. It’s a tough track, very bumpy, and it’s difficult to get into a draft.”

As the points leader, Abel knows the balance between going for the win and the need to score maximum points each race. But he also knows that the balance of risk and reward requires a little bit different calculation on a circuit as unforgiving as Detroit.

“It’s all very circumstantial,” said Abel. “It’s important to maximize every race weekend, and it’s still early in the championship so I’m not looking at the big picture quite yet. We’re just looking to go out there and win races and succeed as best we can. The best way to extend a championship lead is to win – and I think I’m the kind of driver who doesn’t take unnecessary risks as it is, so I’ll just keep that attitude going forward.”

Sundaramoorthy enjoys street course racing and hopes to add the Detroit circuit to his favorites list. The 21-year-old University of Wisconsin graduate also looks forward to returning to Michigan in two weeks, for a very special competition.

Sundaramoorthy will drive the Formula SAE electric vehicle he helped build while studying computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The student team will compete for the electric vehicle championship title at Michigan International Speedway, against as many as 119 university-based teams from all over the world. Wisconsin recently brought home third place in the combustion engine competition’s design category, though Sundaramoorthy had to miss the weekend as he was racing at Indianapolis.

“It’s so cool – you learn so much at those competitions,” said Sundaramoorthy. “You see everyone else’s cars, and everyone enjoys explaining what they did. Saturday will be the endurance race so hopefully we can do well!”

As the ABEL Motorsports team heads to Detroit with the points lead, it might be easy to think that a team leading the championship would change its practices or mindset. Team manager John Brunner would be quick to refute that idea.

“The job is the same every single weekend,” said Brunner, “We haven’t changed anything in our processes this year, but we have a confident driver – we’ve always thought that when Jacob wins a race, he’s going to be tough to beat, and I think that we’re living that right now. Detroit is a little bit different of a challenge in that it’s maybe a little bit tighter than Toronto or St. Pete in that and it’s definitely got its quirks, but the mindset is the same: if we have a car capable of winning, we expect to win. But the goal is clearly to get all the points that the car is willing to give us that day.”

ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports and OMP for their continued support.

The INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday, June 2 at 10:20 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.

ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.

About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.

Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.

ABEL Motorsports social media

Facebook: ABEL Motorsports
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WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP Teams Take on the Streets of Detroit

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Official Release
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DETROIT, Michigan (May 28, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) pair of Acura ARX-06 GTPs return to Detroit, this time marking the GTP debut on the streets of downtown. The WTRAndretti team found success when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship previously drove in the Detroit area, capturing four victories (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) over the 10-year stint at the Belle Isle street circuit. For the Detroit Grand Prix, the 1.645-mile, nine-turn street circuit presents a new challenge and equalizing factor for the entire GTP field over the course of the season’s second 100-minute sprint race.

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque head to Detroit ready to use the new track and their experience in the simulator as a refreshed approach for the second half of the season. Following a solid result of sixth at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the drivers of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 are hoping their previous luck in Detroit is resurfaced come this weekend.

In the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06, Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz will try their hand again for a street course sprint race. After the pair collected a top-five finish at Laguna Seca, both Taylor and Delétraz are keen to regain their early season momentum and collect key championship points.
On-track action for the WTRAndretti team will begin on Friday, May 31, with the first GTP practice on the streets of Detroit at 8 a.m. ET, with qualifying to follow at 5:05 p.m. ET. The 100-minute Detroit Grand Prix will go green at 3:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 1, on USA Network.
Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti: “Obviously, everybody at WTRAndretti is working hard and Detroit is going to be a completely new experience, given that we’ve never driven on this circuit before. We’ve got to make sure that we can get the cars up to speed quickly and see if we can make the car competitive.”

No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor: “We are very lucky to be a part of a program and to grow up in an era with such great simulation technology where the track scans are so precise that we can learn tracks without even going to them. We have a sim test planned before the weekend where all four drivers will have a chance to drive the track in our Acura ARX-06 racecar. Besides that, watching lots of race footage from IndyCar and getting as much info about the track as we can. The track looks very unique and challenging, lots of details on track that are very different from anywhere else we go so it will be a challenge for all of the teams. Getting up to speed quickly will be key, in these short weekends every detail matters. Having a good practice sets you up for a good qualifying which sets you up for a very short race where everything is under the microscope. Our Andretti IndyCar teammates have been very supportive in our few conversations but as we get close to the event, I think we plan on leaning on them heavily to help us get up to speed.”

Filipe Albuquerque: “I’m looking forward to Detroit, it’s a new venue for everybody. Curious to see what the track will be like. I think it’s going to be hard to replace Belle Isle – I mean it was one of my favorite tracks in IMSA. The pitstops during the race are going to be very interesting, so look forward to a new challenge. We’ll reset and we go again, always focused to go for it, a podium for sure, and obviously for the win.”

No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz: “Detroit will be interesting as no one has ever driven there with GTP cars. We have driven on the HRC simulator to prepare for the event, but obviously it’s harder to prepare when there is so many new factors. Street tracks are always exciting and with all the hard work of everyone at WTRAndretti and HRC, I have good hope the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 will be fast. Let’s race!”

Jordan Taylor: “It’s been a while since we’ve gone to a new track, so it’s been a fun challenge! These days learning a track is quite different. We have lots of onboard footage to look at from IndyCar last year and the biggest enhancement these days is the simulator. That’ll be the biggest help for us with learning the track. It looks like it’s going to be a challenging race. Watching the IndyCar race last year, things look very tight and intense. I think when we have multi-class racing out there, it should make for a pretty exciting race. We had a strong weekend at Laguna Seca from an execution point of view, and I think that’s going to be a big part of being successful at Detroit, so I’m excited to get going.”

ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.

WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.

Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.

WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Acura, Honda Racing Corporation US (HRC), Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.

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