Hagan Earns 50th Career Funny Car Win; Ashley Gets First NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Wally

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April 28, 2024

Hagan Earns 50th Career Funny Car Win; Ashley Gets First NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Wally — Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Justin Ashley (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) celebrate NHRA 4-Wide Nationals wins Sunday at zMAX Dragway. (CMS/HHP photo)

Greg Anderson goes back-to-back and Gaige Herrera continues undefeated streak at the Bellagio of drag strips with wins on Sunday
The NHRA’s best return with championship battles in full swing at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, Sept. 20-22; tickets are available at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com

CONCORD, NC (April 28, 2024) – As the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals roared to a thundering conclusion at the Bellagio of drag strips Sunday afternoon, four drivers – Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) reigned triumphant and lifted the coveted Wally trophy, capping a dramatic weekend of white-knuckled racing.

Hagan Earns 50th Carrer Win at Home Track

Four-time Funny Car World Champion Matt Hagan ended a 10-year zMAX Dragway drought with his first win of the 2024 season and 50th of his career. His blistering 332.34 mph in 3.926 run topped first-time 4-Wide finalist Daniel Wilkerson and propelled him to victory.

Some of Hagan’s biggest milestones have come in Charlotte, including the first-ever sub-four second Funny Car run in 2011.

“zMAX has always been special to me,” said Hagan of reaching the 50-win milestone at his home track. “It’s pretty cool when you’re here and you see so many Matt Hagan t-shirts. Great people make the difference between winning and losing, and just being out here winning championships – we might not be the fastest out there, but we just gotta keep doing what we’re doing.”

Ashley Captures First Four-Wide Win

Top Fuel points leader and Mission #2Fast2Tasty winner Justin Ashley blitzed the pavement with a 3.710-second, 328.06 mph run — enough to edge runner-up Clay Millican by 0.012 seconds and claim his first four-wide win. Despite struggles with the unique format in the past, Ashley and his team are confident in their ability to keep their momentum going.

“We’ve had a lot of success, but we struggle a bit when we go four-wide racing,” Ashley said. “When you come out here and you race four-wide, the quads are so good. It really doesn’t matter who you’re racing, especially with the depth of the Top Fuel field this year. Our team is working so hard – we’ve seen the results really start to come together over the last few races.”

Anderson Goes Back to Back

Following his 2023 win at zMAX Dragway’s Carolina Nationals, five-time NHRA World Champion Greg Anderson and his KB Titan Racing team picked up where they left off last year with a scorching 6.502 at 210.77 mph run to take back-to-back wins in Charlotte.

Anderson spoke highly of his competitors after a victory in his own backyard.

“To win one of these races anymore is so tough – it’s so hard. There’s so much talent in this class right now,” said Anderson. “Anybody can win on any given Sunday. We went out and took it, went out and won it, and it feels good tonight to be out here at zMAX, at my home track.”

Herrera Keeps Undefeated Streak Alive

The chapter changed but the story remained the same as reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion Gaige Herrera held off John Hall with a 6.684 at 202.73 mph run to hoist the Wally trophy and secure his 13th national event win, remaining undefeated in Charlotte.

The win marked Herrera’s third straight victory at zMAX Dragway, and seventh consecutive in the category. He’s now one win away from tying six-time World Champion Dave Schultz’s all-time record.

“My dad grew up watching Dave Schultz and John Myers, all those guys,” Herrera said of what breaking the record would mean to him. “For me to even have my name in the same zip code – it’s an amazing feeling to even get close to him.”

Highlights from the three-day nitro-fueled weekend include:

The Funny Car final saw three drivers with 21 combined world championships (John Force with 16, Matt Hagan with four and JR Todd with one) race against Daniel Wilkerson, who is in his first full season in the category. Despite running the lowest ET of the round, Wilkerson came up on the losing end of a Hagan holeshot.
The house that speed built saw a trio of track records fall over the course of the three-day weekend. Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force started things off Friday with a record ET run of 3.820 seconds, while Bob Tasca III made the fastest Funny Car pass ever at zMAX Dragway at 338.34 mph on Saturday. Gaige Herrera reset his own ET record, posting a 6.671-second run on Saturday.
For the first time in zMAX Dragway history, all four lanes were occupied by one family as David, Cristian, Fernando Cuadra Jr., and Fernando Cuadra Sr. took to the starting line in the second round of qualifying on Friday.

TICKETS:

When the temperatures cool down, the excitement heats up at the Bellagio of drag strips! Fans can purchase tickets to the September 20-22 NHRA Carolina Nationals online at charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267). Every ticket is a pit pass, giving fans unmatched access to the drivers and crews who power the NHRA’s thunderous, 11,000-horsepower machines to their limits!

KEEP TRACK:

Stay on pace with what’s happening at Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Würth 400 from Dover

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Official Release

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April 28, 2024

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Würth 400

Date: April 28, 2024
Event: Würth 400 (Round 11 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (120 laps/130 laps/150 laps)
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Finish:

● Noah Gragson (Started 5th, Finished 6th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 12th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 7th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 37th / Safety, completed 66 of 400 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (12th with 274 points, 136 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (21st with 185 points, 225 out of first)
● Josh Berry (24th with 174 points, 236 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (28th with 163 points, 247 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● The Würth 400 marked Gragson’s milestone 50th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
● Gragson earned his fourth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.
● This was Gragson’s second straight top-10. He finished a career-best third last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
● Gragson’s sixth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Dover – 34th, earned last year.
● Berry earned his third top-15 of the season and his second top-15 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.
● Berry was the highest finishing rookie.
● This was Briscoe’s eighth consecutive top-20.

Race Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the Würth 400 to score his 54th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Dover. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was .256 of a second.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 42 laps.

● Only 17 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Larson remains the championship leader after Dover with a 15-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“The MillerTech Mustang was good once we got track position, it just took a little bit. But things fell our way and we were able to come home with a top-10 finish in sixth. It wasn’t looking pretty there in the middle of the race, but I’m thankful things went our way and we were able to get that track position at the end after a couple of cautions. We set goals throughout the week on where we wanted to run and we were hoping to qualify in the top-15 and run top-16 today. So, to come home sixth today feels really good. Big thanks to (crew chief) Drew Blickensderfer, Andy Houston our spotter, everyone else on this 10 team, they’ve been doing a great job with me and I’m excited for the future.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 MillerTech Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was solid. We had a good car, really, all day, and were solid. We just needed more track position. We kept chipping away at it and just couldn’t quite get up into the top-10, but I thought we were going to be really close to having a top-10 effort. But we definitely had top-10 speed. So we just need to keep chipping away at it and doing the same thing and the results will come.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was weird. We started off pretty good. We just had one really bad run where we went from fifth to 25th. The balance wasn’t really where we needed it to be. It would be one way, and then the next run it would be another way. It seemed like we were always chasing our tails. Kind of burned by that caution and finished 19th. Definitely this place has been trouble for us, for whatever reason. We just need to do our homework a little bit more and see what we can find.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I felt like I was on fire and I went the first 70 laps just trying to push through and then it got so bad that I couldn’t put my hands on the wheel. I was worried that an oil line or something would melt and then the whole car gets engulfed in fire and I don’t want to be trapped in there having that happen, so I pulled off.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 5 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Hamlin fends off Larson for third Cup victory of 2024 at Dover

By

Andrew Kim

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April 28, 2024

Denny Hamlin wins at Dover photo by Mike Biskupski BA9A2049 — Photo by Mike Biskupski for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Denny Hamlin earned a monstrous NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 28, after fending off Kyle Larson during a 62-lap dash to the finish while dominating the final stage period.

The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, led twice for a race-high 136 of 400-scheduled laps in an event where he started sixth and ran up front throughout the event.

Hamlin accumulated a handful of stage points during the first two stage periods before leading for the first time before the start of the third stage after squeezing his way past Larson and Alex Bowman on pit road during the second stage break period and pit cycle.

Despite being beaten off of pit road by Larson during a cycle of green flag pit stops with nearly 80 laps remaining, Hamlin quickly reassumed the lead from Larson during a late-race restart period with 72 laps remaining before he had to fend off Larson again during another restart period with 62 laps remaining.

Despite having an advantage that stretched as high as one second evaporate in the closing laps while mired within a bevy of lapped traffic, which enabled Larson to gain ground, Hamlin managed to fend off Larson’s late-race charge during the final 62-lap run to claim his third Cup Series victory of the 2024 season as he won by two-tenths of a second over Larson.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Saturday, April 27, Kyle Busch secured his first Cup pole position of the 2024 season and the 34th of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 162.191 mph in 22.196 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ryan Blaney, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 161.951 mph in 22.229 seconds.

Before the event, Christopher Bell and Zane Smith dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Kaz Grala also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car due to wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Kyle Busch launched his No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead from the outside lane as he led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind fanned out and battled for early spots, Busch led the first lap ahead of Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick while Denny Hamlin and William Byron battled for fourth place in front of Noah Gragson.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Busch was leading by half a second over Blaney as Reddick, Byron and Hamlin followed suit in the top five while Gragson, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman battled in the top 10. Amid the early on-track battles, Busch retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Blaney by the Lap 10 mark.

At the Lap 25 mark, Busch continued to lead Blaney by three-tenths of a second, with Reddick, Byron and Hamlin battling behind in the top five. Gragson, McDowell, Allmendinger, Briscoe and Bowman continued to run in the top 10 as Busch stabilized his lead to nearly three-tenths of a second over Blaney by the Lap 30 mark.

On Lap 34, Blaney made his move beneath Busch through Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead in his No. 12 Würth Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Nearing the Lap 40 mark, however, the event’s first caution period flew after Todd Gilliland slid up the track beneath Austin Dillon through Turns 3 and 4 before spinning his No. 38 A&W Ford Mustang Dark Horse towards the frontstretch’s inside wall.

During the event’s first caution period, the lead lap field led by Blaney pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Byron, Hamlin, Reddick, Busch, McDowell, Gragson, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. Amid the pit stops, Reddick made contact with newcomer Corey Heim while trying to exit his pit box and Bell had to reverse his No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE to have a wheel tightened. In addition, Michael McDowell was penalized for speeding.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 47, Blaney muscled ahead from the inside lane as he retained the lead through the first two turns. Meanwhile, Byron was being challenged by Reddick for the runner-up spot. Through Turns 3 and 4, Hamlin went up the track through Turns 3 and 4, which cost him a handful of spots and dropped him to seventh by the Lap 50 mark, where he was racing behind Kyle Busch, Briscoe, Gragson and Martin Truex Jr. By then, Blaney was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Byron.

At the Lap 70 mark, Blaney extended his advantage to nearly a second over Byron while Reddick, Busch and Truex were scored in the top five ahead of Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Stenhouse and Gragson. Meanwhile, Ryan Preece, who had smoke brewing inside of his No. 41 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang Dark Horse and who pitted early, took his car to the garage and eventually became the first retiree of the event.

Nine laps later, Byron implemented a crossover move on Blaney through the backstretch to muscle his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead as he assumed the lead for the first time of the day. Behind, Reddick retained third place ahead of a hard-charging Truex while Busch was in fifth ahead of Larson and Hamlin.

By Lap 100, Byron was leading by a second over Reddick, who claimed the runner-up spot from Blaney a few laps earlier, while Truex battled Blaney for third place. Behind, Busch retained fifth ahead of Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Elliott and Stenhouse while Allmendinger, Gragson, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher trailed in the top 15. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was back in 16th as Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, rookie Josh Berry and Christopher Bell occupied the top 20.

Fourteen laps later and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Truex, who zipped past Reddick’s No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE a lap earlier, muscled his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE into the lead as Byron was having issues trying to navigate past the lapped competitor of Daniel Suarez. Truex would proceed to drive away from Byron as Reddick attempted to battle Byron for the runner-up spot.

Then with three laps remaining in the first stage period, the caution flew after Brad Keselowski, who was battling Gragson in the top 15, spun from the middle to the apron of the track in Turn 2 as he emerged with a flat right-rear tire to his No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Keselowski’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 120 to conclude under caution as Truex claimed his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Byron settled in second followed by Reddick, Blaney and Larson while Hamlin, Busch, Bowman, Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Truex pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Truex retained the lead after exiting pit road first just ahead of Byron as Blaney, Reddick, Hamlin, Larson, Busch, Bowman, Elliott and Allmendinger exited suit in the top 10.

The second stage period started on Lap 129 as Truex and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Truex and Byron battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns before Truex muscled ahead from the outside lane through the backstretch. As Truex led the field back to the frontstretch during the proceeding lap, Byron, Reddick and Blaney followed suit from second to fourth, respectively, while Hamlin and Larson battled dead even for fifth place in front of Bowman, Busch and Elliott.

Just past the Lap 140 mark, Truex was leading by six-tenths of a second over Byron while Reddick, Blaney and Larson were racing in the top five ahead of Hamlin, Bowman, Busch, Elliott and AJ Allmendinger. Stenhouse, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric and Ty Gibbs followed suit in the top 15 as Truex extended his advantage to a second over Byron by the Lap 150 mark.

Through the first 165 scheduled laps, Truex continued to lead by more than a second over Byron followed by Reddick, Blaney and Larson, all of whom continued to race in the top five, as Hamlin, Bowman, Busch, Elliott and Allmendinger also continued to run in the top 10. Behind, Stenhouse, Wallace, Busch, Gibbs and Cindric were scored in the top 15 ahead of Berry, Chastain, Gragson, Bell and Logano while Carson Hocevar, Daniel Hemric, Briscoe, John Hunter Nemechek and Corey LaJoie were mired in the top 25. Meanwhile, Corey Heim, who was making his Cup Series debut while substituting for the injured Erik Jones in the No. 43 Dollar Tree/Petty 75th Toyota Camry XSE, was in 26th ahead of Daniel Suarez, McDowell, Justin Haley and Keselowski.

Fifteen laps later, Truex extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Byron while Larson was up to third place as Reddick and Blaney followed suit in the top five. Behind, Bowman, Hamlin, Busch, Elliott and Stenhouse continued to run in the top 10 while Wallace moved up to 11th as he was ahead of Buescher, Gibbs, Berry and Chastain.

Another three laps later, green flag pit stops commenced as Bell, Allmendinger and Cindric pitted before Byron and Larson pitted during the following lap. The leader Truex would pit under green on Lap 184 along with Bowman, Hamlin, Elliott and Reddick while more names including Blaney and Busch pitted by Lap 186. With more of the leaders making pit stops, Corey LaJoie, who has yet to pit, was leading in his No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Larson, who managed to exit pit road ahead of Truex, was running in third place. LaJoie would continue to lead the race and remain on the track by the Lap 190 mark as Larson trailed LaJoie by 19 seconds.

At the halfway mark on Lap 200, LaJoie, who continued to run on the track on old tires and fuel, was leading by more than 13 seconds over Larson while Truex, Reddick and Bowman occupied the top five ahead of Hamlin, Busch, Elliott, Blaney and Stenhouse. Meanwhile, Wallace, Gibbs, Buescher and Allmendinger rounded out the top 14 competitors who were scored on the lead lap while Bell was the first competitor scored a lap down in 15th place.

Eighteen laps later, Larson tracked and overtook LaJoie, who had led 33 laps, to assume the race lead. With LaJoie pitting under green just past the Lap 220 mark, teammate Bowman moved his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot while Hamlin, Truex, Busch, Elliott, Reddick, Blaney, Stenhouse and Wallace were running in the top 10.

By Lap 235, Larson retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Bowman while Hamlin trailed in third place by eight-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Truex trailed the lead by a second in fourth place followed by Elliott, who trailed the lead by two seconds, as Busch, Reddick, Blaney, Stenhouse and Wallace continued to race in the top 10 ahead of Gibbs, Allmendinger, Bell, Buescher and Berry. Meanwhile, Keselowski, who scraped the outside wall 15 laps earlier, was mired in 34th place and scored multiple laps down after pitting to address a flat tire to his entry.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 250, Larson, who was mired in lapped traffic, captured his sixth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Bowman settled in second followed by Hamlin, Truex and Elliott while Busch, Reddick, Blaney, Stenhouse and Wallace were scored in the top 10. By then, 21 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap while Daniel Hemric managed to fend off Corey Heim to be the first competitor scored a lap down and the recipient of the free pass.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin, who was in a tight three-wide squeeze against Bowman and Larson to exit pit road first, managed to fend off both to exit first as Larson and Bowman followed suit in second and third, respectively. Busch and Truex exited in the top five as Elliott, Blaney, Reddick, Wallace and Gibbs all exited pit road in top-10 spots.

With 142 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Hamlin and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin rocketed his No. 11 Mavis, Brakes, Tires Toyota Camry XSE ahead from the outside lane as he led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch while Larson retained second ahead of teammate Bowman and Busch. Truex was mired back in fifth ahead of Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Reddick, Stenhouse, Wallace, Bell and Berry, as Hamlin retained the lead with 140 laps remaining.

With 130 laps remaining, Hamlin extended his advantage to three seconds over Larson as Bowman, Busch and Truex trailed in the top five by five seconds. Hamlin would stabilize his advantage to three seconds over Larson with 120 laps remaining before the advantage slightly decreased to two seconds with 110 laps remaining. Behind, Bowman, Busch and Truex continued to run in the top five.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by two seconds over Larson followed by Busch, Truex and Bowman while Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Reddick and Wallace were running in the top 10. Behind, Stenhouse, Berry, Allmendinger, Chastain and Bell were in the top 15 ahead of Buescher, Briscoe, Byron, Gragson and Logano while Cindric, Hemric, LaJoie, Corey Heim and Nemechek were trailing in the top 25.

Then with nearly 80 laps remaining, another cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Truex pitted before a bevy of names led by the leader Hamlin peeled off the track to pit a lap after. Then as the cycle of green flag pit stops continued, the caution flew with 79 laps remaining after Stenhouse, who was running in the top 10 earlier and trying to merge back onto the track following his green flag pit stop, made contact with Berry that sent Stenhouse’s No. 47 Hungry Jack Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 spinning towards the inside wall in Turn 2.

At the moment of caution, Hemric, who had yet to pit, was leading while Larson, Hamlin, Busch and Truex followed suit in the top five. During the caution period, however, Hemric pitted along with Bowman and Busch, which enabled Larson to cycle back as the leader.

During the following restart period with 72 laps remaining, Larson and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns until Hamlin started to muscle ahead through the backstretch. The caution, however, quickly returned after rookie Zane Smith made contact with Bubba Wallace through the first two turns.

It resulted in Wallace spinning his No. 23 Xfinity/U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE towards the bottom of the backstretch as he was then hit on the right side by Byron, who had collided into Bell as Bell hit the inside wall head-on before Wallace and resulted with all three eliminated from contention with wrecked cars. The incident marked Bell’s second wreck of the weekend after he crashed during Saturday’s qualifying session.

As the event restarted under green with 62 laps remaining, Hamlin fended off Larson and teammate Truex to retain the lead through the first two turns. Hamlin proceded to lead the following lap ahead of Larson and Truex while Gragson and Elliott battled for fourth place in front of Busch, Blaney and Hemric, with Bowman and Chastain racing in the top 10.

With 50 laps remaining, Hamlin extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson as Truex, Gragson and Elliott were scored in the top five ahead of Busch, Blaney, Hemric, Bowman and Chastain. Behind, Gibbs, Reddick, Berry, Allmendinger and Cindric occupied the top 15 as Cindric, Logano, Buescher, Briscoe and Nemechek were in the top 20.

Fifteen laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Larson while Truex, Gragson and Busch trailed under five seconds in the top five. Behind, sixth-place Elliott trailed by more than five seconds as Blaney, Hemric, Bowman and Chastain continued to run in the top 10.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hamlin, who was mired in lapped traffic, continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson, who was slowing clipping away Hamlin’s advantage in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, as third-place Truex trailed by two seconds. Behind, Gragson and Kyle Busch continued to run in the top five ahead of Elliott, Blaney, Hemric, Bowman and Chastain while Gibbs, Reddick, Berry, Allmendinger and Cindric were in the top 15.

Five laps later, Hamlin’s advantage decreased to within four-tenths and half a second as Larson continued to gain ground on him for the top spot. Larson would trail the leader Hamlin by two-tenths of a second with 10 laps remaining as both were mired within lapped traffic and with Larson trying to steer across different sections of the circuit to gain more ground on Hamlin.

Down to the final five laps of the event and with the leaders mired in more lapped traffic, Hamlin was leading by a tenth of a second over Larson. Despite Larson making continuous efforts around the turns and the straightaways to narrow the gap between himself and Hamlin, Hamlin managed to maintain both his ground and lane as he also started to blend within Larson’s advantageous line to move in front of Larson, stall his momentum with the dirty air retain the top spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson. Despite Larson’s final lap effort to go up the track to gain a draft for two final corners, Hamlin managed to keep himself in front of Larson for a final circuit and navigated back to the frontstretch victorious for his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.

With the victory, Hamlin scored career win No. 54 in NASCAR’s premier series, which placed him in a tie with Lee Petty for 12th place on the all-time Cup Series wins list. Hamlin also racked up his second victory at Dover along with the fourth of the season and the fifth for Toyota through the first 11 events on the 2024 Cup schedule. The 2024 season marks Hamlin’s eighth season of notching at least three victories in a Cup Series season.

“Just a great team,” Hamlin said on FS1. “This whole Mavis, Tires, Brakes team just did a great job. All the guys on the wall right here, they’re the ones that make it happen. Thank you to them. [Crew chief] Chris Gabehart, [spotter Chris] Lambert, the whole team, for just giving me a great car. Man, I love winning. Kyle [Larson] did a great job executing on that green flag pit cycle. We were able to get the lead there on that restart, which allowed us, with the caution, to control the restarts. That was the key moment for us. Man, it certainly feels good winning here at Dover.”

Larson, who led 39 laps compared to Hamlin’s race-high 136 and won the second stage period, settled in the runner-up spot for the second time this season. The result, however, was enough for the 2021 Cup Series champion to maintain the lead in the regular-season standings.

“I could pace [the car] and get closer to [Hamlin] at the end of the runs, but it’s just so easy to air block,” Larson said. “Not that he was doing anything dirty or anything like that. It’s just so easy as the leader, especially at a place like this, to shut off the air on the guys behind you. I knew when I got within three car lengths, he was gonna start moving around. I just couldn’t really do anything. I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds, all that, and nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough to do anything. That was a bummer.”

Martin Truex Jr., who led 69 laps and won the first stage period, settled in third place for his third top-five result of the season while pole-sitter Kyle Busch, who led 34 laps, and Chase Elliott finished in the top five.

Noah Gragson, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Daniel Hemric and Ty Gibbs ended up in the top 10 in the final running order.

Notably, Tyler Reddick, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Talladega Superspeedway, ended up 11th ahead of Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, rookie Josh Berry and Austin Cindric. In addition, Joey Logano ended up 16th ahead of Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez, Corey LaJoie came home 21st despite leading 33 laps, Corey Heim settled in 22nd place in his Cup Series debut while substituting for the injured Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson ended up 28th behind Austin Dillon in his third Cup start of the 2024 season.

There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 42 laps. In addition, 17 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 11th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 15 points over Martin Truex Jr., 33 over Chase Elliott, 49 over Denny Hamlin, 56 over Tyler Reddick, 62 over William Byron and 68 over Ryan Blaney.

Results.

1. Denny Hamlin, 136 laps led

2. Kyle Larson, 39 laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Martin Truex Jr., 69 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Kyle Busch, 34 laps led

5. Chase Elliott

6. Noah Gragson

7. Ryan Blaney, 47 laps led

8. Alex Bowman

9. Daniel Hemric, five laps led

10. Ty Gibbs

11. Tyler Reddick

12. Ross Chastain

13. AJ Allmendinger

14. Josh Berry

15. Austin Cindric

16. Joey Logano

17. Chris Buescher

18. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

19. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

20. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down

21. Corey LaJoie, two laps down, 33 laps led

22. Carson Hocevar, three laps down

23. Justin Haley, three laps down

24. Zane Smith, three laps down

25. Corey Heim, three laps down

26. Harrison Burton, three laps down

27. Austin Dillon, four laps down

28. Jimmie Johnson, five laps down

29. Kaz Grala, six laps down

30. Brad Keselowski, 17 laps down

31. Todd Gilliland, 21 laps down

32. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, one lap led

33. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 36 laps led

34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

36. Michael McDowell – OUT, Hub

37. Ryan Preece – OUT, Safety

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, May 5, and air at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Dover Motor Speedway

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Official Release

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April 28, 2024

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet team Show Persistence Despite Adversity at Dover Motor Speedway

Finish: 27th
Start: 23rd
Points: 31st

“We fought hard today, but it was a rough day for us on the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet team at Dover Motor Speedway. I had a tire that felt like it was going down in the first stage, and we got two laps down and could never recover from it. We’ll look at what our teammate did – Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team were obviously really good. We’ll try and work off of that and come back stronger. It was a tough day, but we’ve got to go to Kansas Speedway and fight.” -Austin Dillon

Strong Run For Kyle Busch and the No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Team at Dover Motor Speedway

Finish: 4th
Start: 1st
Points: 11th

“It was a good day for the FICO Chevrolet and everyone on the No. 8 team. We had a good, solid points day. We had a third-place car today. On the final run, it was tough having to come from eighth to fourth. It was all we had. I feel like coming off pit road on the last stop with a clean racetrack would give us the best shot of being able to just charge forward to try and catch the leaders. Overall, it was a good day and it felt good to have a ‘normal’ day with no issues. We would definitely love to get to the point where we have more races like today.” -Kyle Busch

Kaulig Racing – Race Recap | Würth 400

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Official Release

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April 28, 2024

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Poppy Bank Camaro ZL1

Daniel Hemric qualified 14th for the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Reporting that the No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy was too-loose in, Hemric had fallen to 26th place when the first caution of the day came out on lap 39. He pitted under caution for tires, fuel and an adjustment to tighten up the No. 31 Chevy. He restarted 25th on lap 47, making up three spots on the restart. A caution came out with three laps remaining, ending the stage under yellow. Hemric was scored 21st.
Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Chevy needed to snugged up a bit more, before pitting for tires, fuel and another adjustment during the stage break. He started the second stage in 21st. As the green-flag pit stops began, Hemric made it as high as fourth, before radioing that the No. 31 was tight on throttle on lap 183. He pitted for tires and fuel one lap later. The remainder of the second stage stayed green, and Hemric slipped a lap down to the leader just before the stage end, before crossing the line 22nd.
Hemric was in the free pass position, giving him the lap back. He pitted for tires, fuel and more adjustments, as the No. 31 Chevy was still tight handling. He started the final stage from 22nd place. Gambling and running long before pitting, Hemric took over the lead just before a caution came out, paying off for the No. 31 team. He pitted under caution for tires, fuel and an adjustment for rear security, before restarting fifth on lap 328. A caution came out immediately on the restart for a wreck behind Hemric. Following the next restart, the race stayed green for the remainder of the day, as Hemric crossed the line ninth, earning his second top-10 finish in a row.
“It was a long day. We gave up a lot of track position early. Just probably got us too loose, in general, in practice going into the race with not really knowing what to expect out of this car. We fell back and were kind of stuck back there. The team made a great call to just keep us in the game. We stayed out a little longer there on that last green-flag cycle stop – it was kind of like an early Christmas present to us. It got us back on the lead lap.

It was just really rewarding for all of us on the No. 31 Poppy Banky Chevy team to put us inside the top-10 and be able to run there. We know our pace was there, it’s just a matter of getting track position. That’s the name of the game here. Overall, I’m proud of everyone on the No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy team.” – Daniel Hemric

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

AJ Allmendinger qualified 10th for the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Durning the first lap, Allmendinger had taken over eighth place. On lap 27, he reported his No. 16 Action Industries Chevy was starting to build free. The caution came out on lap 39 and Allmendinger told crew chief, Travis Mack, he was happy with the ride quality and how the car turned, but the rear of the car went away the last 10 laps of the run. The team came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Allmendinger restarted in 12th and went on to finish the opening stage under caution in 11th place.
During the stage break, Allmendinger told the team he was happy with the last change. The No. 16 restarted in 10th place for stage two. Allmendinger reported he was freer on entry this run and asked the team to make a big adjustment on the next stop. Under green on lap 181, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. When the caution came out at the end of stage two, Allmendinger was in 12th place.
Allmendinger came to pit road during the stage break and restarted in 14th place on lap 259. On lap 303, Allmendinger reported his No. 16 was a tick tight in the rear, but it was way more comfortable to drive. The team made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 319, and the caution came out on lap 329, before green flag stops cycled through. Allmendinger took the wave around to get back on the lead lap and restarted in 15th on lap 329. The caution came back out on lap 330; Allmendinger was running 13th. Following the restart, the race ran green the remainder of the race and Allmendinger finished 13th.

“We had a really solid day; the No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1 was really consistent, and the pit crew did a great job of keeping our track position. We battled handling all day, and track position was key. All in all, running inside the top 15 all day and having top-10 speed is great. Our day, along with Daniel’s [Hemric] top-10 finish, is great for the organization and our momentum.” – AJ Allmendinger

About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Charlotte Post-Race Report – 04.28.24

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Official Release

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April 28, 2024

ASHLEY CAPTURES SECOND VICTORY OF 2024 AT CHARLOTTE FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
Toyota extends Top Fuel winning streak to six

CONCORD, N.C. (April 28, 2024) – In a fierce final round Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, Justin Ashley was victorious in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for his 13th career win and second of the season. This was also Ashley’s first win at zMAX Dragway and his first in a Four-Wide Nationals. The New York native started the day No. 3 overall, winning each of his quads on the way to the Wally Trophy. His Toyota Top Fuel teammates, Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown, also reached the final round on Sunday.

Ashley’s win marks six consecutive wins for Toyota in Top Fuel, including all five of the races so far in 2024 – with Ashley’s two victories (Pomona and Charlotte), Shawn Langdon’s two wins (Gainesville and Phoenix), along with Doug Kalitta’s at Las Vegas.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd came home third in a stacked final round. Todd won his first quad on Sunday and advanced through round two but fell short of another Wally Trophy to couple his Gainesville triumph. Other GR Supra Funny Car drivers Alexis DeJoria and Ron Capps were defeated earlier in Sunday’s eliminations, with DeJoria reaching the second round and Capps bowing out in round one.

With the final round appearances in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, Toyota has now reached the finals in 28 consecutive NHRA events.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
zMAX Dragway
Race 5 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W. (3.763) v. T. Stewart (3.762), D. Mercier (3.831) & D. Foley (3.730) W. (3.711) v. A. Brown (3.728), B. Force (3.729) & T. Stewart (5.779) W (3.710) v. C. Millican (3.722), D. Kalitta (3.725) & A. Brown (4.780)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Finalist	Adv. (3.729) v. J. Salinas (3.700), S. Reed (3.757) & C. Krohn (3.790) Adv. (3.760) v. C. Millican (3.710), B. Torrence (4.544) & J. Salinas (4.695) L (3.725) v. J. Ashley (3.710), C. Millican (3.722) & A. Brown (4.780)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Finalist	W. (3.718) v. B. Force (3.743 – holeshot), S. Torrence (3.729) & S. Langdon (4.129) Adv. (3.728) v. J. Ashley (3.711), B. Force (3.729) & T. Stewart (5.779) L (4.780) v. J. Ashley (3.710) C. Millican (3.722) & D. Kalitta (3.725)
Billy Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	Adv. (3.725) v. C. Millican (3.705), T. Schumacher (3.770) & J. Hart (3.790) L (4.544) v. C. Millican (3.710), D. Kalitta (3.760) & J. Salinas (4.695)
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.729) v. A. Brown (3.718) v. B. Force (3.743 – holeshot) & S. Langdon (4.129)
Shawn Langdon	Autodesk Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (4.129) v. A. Brown (3.718) v. B. Force (3.743 – holeshot) & S. Torrence (3.729)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Finalist	W. (3.918) v. A. DeJoria (5.444), B. Hull (5.414) & R. Capps (16.244) Adv. (3.933 – holeshot) v. J. Force (3.713), C. Pedregon (3.931) & A. DeJoria (9.999) L (3.978) v. M. Hagan (3.946 – holeshot), D. Wilkerson (3.928) & J. Force (3.960)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	Adv. (5.444) v. J. Todd (3.918), B. Hull (5.414) & R. Capps (16.244) L (9.999) v. J. Force (3.713), J. Todd (3.933) & C. Pedregon (3.931)
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (16.244) v. J. Todd (3.918), A. DeJoria (5.444) & B. Hull (5.414)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

TF Final Result: Winner

Another win for you. What would it take to derail the momentum you have right now?

“Well, I think the only thing that could derail us is ourselves. If we get out of focus. It’s not about focusing on the competition, even though you want to know where you are and relevant to everyone else, but our focus is on being the best version of ourselves that we can be. As long as we keep that internal focus, I think we’ll have a lot of success. Mike Green (crew chief), Tommy DeLago (co-crew chief), Dustin Davis (team owner), the whole SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Philips Connect team work so hard day in and day out. They’re the ones who deserve to hold this Wally Trophy. It says zMAX on it, but it should say SCAG Power Equipment and the names of everybody on our team on it. So proud to represent SCAG Power Equipment and all of SCAG nation, all the wonderful dealers, users, owners out there. Man, these things are tough to win, so I get a little bit emotional sometimes. Couldn’t be prouder nor more grateful for this opportunity.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Final Result: Finalist

Can you describe your day?

“We made a good rebound from qualifying. It’s always good to get to the later rounds, the final round in a Four-Wide Nationals. We dropped the cylinder really early in the run, which stinks. I think we had a good shot at winning that thing if it ran on all eight. That shows that we’re making good strides with this DHL GR Supra – just need to keep picking at it. We didn’t have lane choice all day, and I don’t think it’s a big factor in regards to Four-Wides. I don’t think qualifying is a big factor when it comes to Four-Wides, either. That’s not the reason we put a hole out. We’ve been battling, dropping cylinders all weekend. Now, we have a couple weeks off so we’ll go back home and give the guys some rest, regroup and get ready for Chicago.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).

Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT BARBER: Team Chevy Race Report

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Official Release

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April 28, 2024

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
LEEDS, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
APRIL 28, 2024

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN PUTS CHEVROLET IN VICTORY LANE AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK

Chevrolet Finishes with Three in the Top-10, Including McLaughlin, Team Penske’s Will Power in Second, and AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci in Seventh

Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Chevrolet, utilized a three-stop strategy at Barber Motorsports Park to win Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix.
McLaughlin’s win at Barber is a back-to-back victory for him and his No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet crew.
Leading 58 laps to win at Barber, McLaughlin raced to Chevrolet’s 113th 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected V6 era win since 2012, and Team Chevy’s ninth at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn “Augusta of Motorsports” course. Additionally, Chevrolet has now led 695 laps at Barber Motorsports Park.
The victory is the second for Team Chevy in 2024 as the series heads next to Indianapolis for the month of May.
Making it a Chevrolet 1-2 finish, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and McLaughlin’s teammate, drove to a strong second place finish and his 100th career podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Additionally, today’s second place finish is Power’s 30th career runner-up, tying him for seventh on the all-time list.
Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, ran a strong race and led 14 laps Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park to finish seventh. Ferrucci was one of three Team Chevy drivers to represent the Bowtie-brand in the top-10 after the checkered flag.
McLaughlin and Power led the field to the green flag after qualifying first and second, respectively, to give Team Chevy an all-front row start.
Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 12 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, paced the morning warm-up session for Team Chevy, finishing the 30-minute practice third with his fastest lap of 01:06.8787 seconds.

LEEDS, Ala. (April 28, 2024) – Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, captured the back-to-back victory in today’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. His fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES career win and second at “The Augusta of Motorsports,” McLaughlin additionally captured Chevrolet’s ninth victory at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn track and 113th of the 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected V6 era since 2012.

With a strong weekend from start to finish, in addition to starting the 90-lap, 207-mile Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix from first after capturing Chevrolet’s 133rd earned NTT P1 Pole Award in the V6 era since 2012, McLaughlin led 58 laps, to take the top step of the podium Sunday.

“The Good Ranchers Chevy was so good. A couple of yellows didn’t fall our way, but we just showed our pace,” said McLaughlin. “Super proud of everyone. Let’s just keep rolling. Just execution, that’s our word. It’s a good one (in discussing the win). It’s definitely one of our best drives in terms of executions and knocking out the laps. Really happy we advanced to the checkered flag there and bring home a W for Team Penske and Roger (Penske). I knew our pace, I knew we could control it and obviously, you’ve got to make sure you don’t make a mistake with a guy like Will (Power) behind you. He’s always going to push hard. I knew we had some pace, and we could cover him when we needed to, and I was proud of that.”

The victory at Barber was the second for Team Chevy in 2024 as the series now heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month of May.

“Congratulations to Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet team on today’s victory at Barber Motorsports Park,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Engineering Program Manager for INDYCAR. “To capture a ninth victory here at Barber in the 12 events ran since 2012 is a testament to our Chevrolet engineers, teams and drivers hard work, collaboration, and dedication. We’re looking forward to carrying the momentum into the Month of May at Indianapolis.”

Additionally capping off Team Chevy’s strong weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, McLaughlin’s Team Penske teammate Will Power, driver of the No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet, started and finished second Sunday to capture his 100th career podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and 30th career runner-up finish.

Rounding out representation in the top-10 was Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, led 14 laps during Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix to finish a strong seventh place.

In an eventful race from green flag to checkers, Chevrolet now holds 695 laps at Barber Motorsports Park in the V6 era since 2012, 10 NTT P1 Pole Awards, and nine victories. Overall, Team Chevy has achieved 113 victories in the V6 era, or 202 races since 2012, and holds 133 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards.

Shifting sights to the prestigious month of May in Indianapolis, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES next heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the Sonsio Grand Prix. The green flag flies for the 85-lap, 207.32-mile event live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, May 11, 2024.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RACE RESULTS:

1st Scott McLaughlin

2nd Will Power

7th Santino Ferrucci

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes);

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Solid day for us at AJ Foyt Racing. Man, we had a fast Sexton Properties Chevrolet. Got all the way up to the lead, strategy was phenomenal. It feels really good to come off of Long Beach where we had missed everything on the strat side, and then nail it today. If it weren’t for the late caution at the end, we would’ve had a nice top-five. That’s racing for us and looking forward to going into the (Sonsio) GP with momentum.”

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

“I’m all good. I think the steering wheel just kind of came off in my hands in Turn 1 as I hit the wall. I hit the marshmallows, and it didn’t do a very good job of slowing me down a little bit, but it was a weird, weird thing. It just went sideways, and I was holding onto the wheel and the wheel didn’t do anything. After I was getting ready to jump out of the car, I could see it was just the wires holding the wheel on so the hub was still attached, but the steering wheel itself wasn’t attached to the hub. I don’t know if that was contact from earlier that caused that, but it’s been a rough weekend. I feel bad for the Pray.com Chevy team, and we’re going to regroup, come back, and hopefully the Indy road course is a lot better. I like the team around me, so I have good faith in them.”

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

“At the start of the race, I got really tight with Lundgaard and tried to avoid hitting him. I didn’t really have much room and then hit the curb, spun and went all the way to the back. Then, apparently, I have some sort of magnet to my teammates the past couple of weeks. It absolutely sucks and at this point we need to re-focus and make sure it never happens again.”

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“We tried a very aggressive strategy with the fuel saving. It was probably going to pay off, but unfortunately, there was an incident with about five laps to go. I thought I was pretty good while fuel saving to keep the same pace as Ericsson and Palou. Things were going well, but it was not the best day for the team. It’s part of the game. I know the team will bounce back and it’s just about putting a good weekend together and staying focused on the task at-hand.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a struggle throughout the weekend to get some balance in the car. We switched to a three-stop strategy, and I think that was looking pretty good. It was a top-10 day based on where the cars finished but had an issue in pit lane and the tire came off. We can’t dwell on it because this team has been the best in pit lane all year. These things happen. They’re still the best in pit lane, and we just have to move forward going into the most important month of the year.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“It was a day of missed opportunities. We were running pretty good and fighting our way through, we had some good passes on track and were moving forward. Then I was shoved into the grass for the first time, which cost me a lot of positions. We had a good-timed yellow which helped us for sure and we again moved forward. Until I was shoved off track again. From there, it was just reset and try to fight our way back as much as we could. Then I made my own mistake at the end with just a few laps to go. Just an unfortunate day.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“That was a tough race. I did pass a lot of cars on track! But it was unfortunate in the end, I think we did not maximize our potential today. We will take a look at everything together as a team and make sure we stick what we learn in our back pocket. We will come back better from this and hopefully get a bit more luck in a few weeks.”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“A good weekend. Some very strong pace. Qualified a bit further than we wanted to. We tried to make the two-stop strategy work. Today seemed like the three-stop did a little bit better but I think we did a very good job as a team. The first on the two-stop for the Chevy camp, so we can be proud of that. We’ll keep working hard and get back stronger. We do have a strong road course package.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“We had a good car this race. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the pit box and after that I receive a penalty. I want to say thank you to the team. They did a really god job in the pits and strategy. The car on red tires was really fast, so thank you to the whole team. It was a shame, but I’m still learning. Hopefully, we will get some points. We will see what happens in the next race.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Just super proud of the Good Ranchers Chevy team. Just unbelievable. Our word now is execution, and we just executed to the highest we could. I’m super proud of them. Look, I just love Barber, I love Alabama. I love the vibe everyone brings, and I’m just super lucky to drive such an amazing race car these guys and girls prepare for me. I’ll just keep enjoying it, keep having fun, and see if we can get a few more wins along the way.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“I got by (McLaughlin), and then he got a run on me and got back by. I didn’t want to have two Penske cars out of the race with everything that has been going on. I was kind of easy on him in Turn 1. It is a hard-fought one-two for Penske. We were certainly fast, but a lot of strategy plays into that. We were able to use our speed to come back out in front again. I made a little mistake. I was kicking myself. I just dropped a wheel off – I had been taking the outside line of turn five, but still we got back to where we needed to be. There was not one risky move I was willing to make. Stoked to have the Verizon Chevy on the podium again. Man, we are knocking on the door of a win. It’s going to come. Just have to keep pushing for it.”

Ben Bretzman, Race Engineer for the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“(McLaughlin) did an amazing job with his speed when he needed it. We got that first yellow, we were okay, and then the way it started to kind of transpire with the yellow, the (Alexander) Rossi yellow, that really put us behind. We were in a situation where he was going to pass a lot of cars. The Sting Ray Robb caution kind of brought us back into play. It was going to be “how fast can he go?” He got clear for six or seven laps there and put laps that were faster than anyone. About a second a lap for anybody. He pulled out and we were able to pit and get ahead of the No. 10 car before he came around. This is raw pace when we needed it.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Post-Race Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Will Power, the second podium of the season, second runner-up finish as well. 30th career runner-up finish, which ties him for seventh all time with the greats A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser. It’s also his 100th career podium, which ties him with Michael Andretti for fourth all time.

Will, tell us about the afternoon. How pleased are you with the podium here at Barber?

WILL POWER: Yeah, very pleased with the podium. Actually made a little mistake there in the race, went off. It’s very rare for me. I was very disappointed in myself.

We had such a gap that I came back on. I couldn’t believe it. I only lost one. I thought I can get back past Lundgaard. Lundgaard was quick, but I knew I had a bit more fuel than him. Just get close to him, go a lap longer.

But it was a tough race, man. Like, the car is so hot now, you don’t get any air. No air comes in these vents, no air comes in the helmets. They got to do something there.

Yeah, it was full wide open for us the whole race. Serious pace there.

Q. Will, the engine change, what was the reason for it?

WILL POWER: Yeah, we had an issue in warm-up. They tried a few different things back at the truck. Yeah, the decision was made to change it.

Have to take that back and see what the issue was. It was tight getting it done, so yeah, all credit to the whole team to get that put in and get out there with no issues, nothing. Ran fine.

Q. Do you feel, based on statistics, you’re in your championship form from a couple years ago?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. Yep, I know I’m going to be quick everywhere. Just like ’22, I feel like we got very good cars, good engines. I’m in very good form. So yeah, we’re there knocking on the door each week.

Just got to win a couple. That’s the thing. I just want to win a couple bloody races, you know?

Q. Will, a pretty redemptive day for you and Scott. How important is that?

WILL POWER: You say ‘redemptive’?

Q. Yes, redemption.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I would say after this week I think Roger would be pretty happy. I feel like if we’ll be like this every weekend, I think we’ll have a shot if we get it right. Obviously an unbelievably fierce field of very fast drivers.

It’s very difficult to win multiple races in a season. If you keep knocking on the door and getting podiums week in, week out, you’ll certainly be in the hunt for the championship.

Q. With the fuel strategy, you both wound up back in the field, back in the pack, had to make some moves. How combative was it?

WILL POWER: It was aggressive. It was combative, actually.

The thing is, when you’ve been running at the front in very clean air and hard, you get back there with all that dirty air, how much the car moves around, yeah, you kind of are not ready for it when it first restarts. You got to get used to the car being very much on top of the road again.

You’re also thinking in your head, like, Scott and I kind of racing potentially for the win, but we’re in the pack. The risk versus reward, you’re kind of trying to decide.

I think I wasn’t aggressive enough. I should have worked harder to keep Scott behind. I didn’t block him. With everything that’s happened this week, I just didn’t want to bloody have two Penske cars off in turn one. I just kind of let it go.

Yeah, I was happy for the team to get that, though. I was. I’ve been around long enough where you actually are happy for the team. You’re not so selfish. When you’re young like him, you just got to go. Understandably, because you want to have a long time in this series.

But I am excited to see him on the podium because I know how that feels for the first time. It’s been a long time since my first, but I think that’s cool. That’s a big deal in this field.

Q. Will, how much of a relief is it for you going into the month of May having had your good start to the season?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it kind of feels like business as normal. But the one thing that I’m missing is a win. That’s really starting to add weight to me. I want to get a bloody win.

I was a little disappointed not to win when I have the chance like that. On the other hand you look at the championship points, and it’s a smart day, another smart day.

Yeah, we’re in a good spot going into the month of May. It would be nice to sweep it. That would be big (smiling).

Q. Will, the racing was aggressive. Do you think that’s how the racing should be in INDYCAR?

WILL POWER: Yeah, absolutely. Everyone fights hard for every position in this series because it’s just so tough. I don’t expect anything else. Like, yeah, I mean, that’s the beauty of INDYCAR racing. I think it’s what fans like it. Anyone can win any week. Obviously can get so mixed up with yellows, which is exciting for the fans as well, as much as if you’re leading you don’t like that.

It’s great fun. Like no joke. I don’t think there’s a series in the world you get more satisfaction out of than this series.

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GOOD RANCHERS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Winner’s Post-Race Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: For the second straight year, joined by the champion of the Alabama Indy Grand Prix, Scott McLaughlin. Led 58 of the 90 laps today. First win of the season. Fifth of his career. Jumping 20 spots into ninth now in the points standings.

Your thoughts on a huge day for Team Penske, yourself getting the first win of the season.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We did what we thought we could do. It was execution. Like, probably one of the most I guess you could say so proud of the execution, the way that the team, particularly on the three cars, stuck together. We just kind of kept executing. That’s our word for the rest of the year. Keep knocking ’em out. Points are points. Points are imaginary things. You just, like, get them. It’s a reward at the end of the race.

It’s about executing. The higher you finish, the more points you get. Ultimately it’s a bonus at the end of the season. We’re here to just take it race by race and see what happens towards the end.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. The redemptive feeling that the team has to feel after the week they’ve had. How much do you feel it? How important is that to restore that to the team?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, there was never a lack of belief there. I’m more proud of just the people aspect of it, the way we just stuck together. We took the penalty, as we said at the start of the week. It was black and white. You move on.

We move forward together as a team race by race. We’ll just keep working hard to make sure that we win as much as we can to put ourselves in the fight come September. That’s what I’m super proud of, just the execution.

Yeah, we knew we had a fast car. We knew we were going to be there. There was a bit of confidence walking into the racetrack this weekend, even with myself. Just love this place. Probably my favorite road course in America. Just really loved it.

Q. How physically demanding is the track here?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s very hard. Can’t wait to see my WHOOP score. It was pretty crazy.

Just that was an intense mental battle. The start of the race was going pretty smoothly. I was like, This is good. We got back into the lead after our first pit stop. I had a seven-second lead. The caution comes out. I knew that was probably going to help the two-stoppers.

It’s a matter of keeping your nose clean. Will passed me in that sequence. I got him back next lap. I knew if there was a caution that fell our way later down the track, I had to stay in front of Will. He was the guy I was racing.

Physically, mentally that’s so hard. Got a couple blisters, whatever. They turn into callouses by now. You’re building through the year. Thankfully this is not the first race of the year. It’s nice to have a bit of match fitness. You could say I deserve a beer (smiling).

Q. Going through the race, different strategies. How much in your helmet are you wanting to know? How do you stay calm during that? How much of that information are you looking for what everybody else is doing on strategy?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Probably changed my approach a little bit this year, knowing INDYCAR is a wildcard, the way the yellows fall sometimes, the way the strategies fall. You can’t get yourself in a box to think are we good here, good there. You have to make the most of every opportunity you have.

I knew that we were probably on the back foot, then got a somewhat lucky yellow. Stingray I think put it in the fence. That was a way of us getting back to the point where these other guys had to take the fuel and hope they made the fuel.

I knew I had the pace. If I got out in front, nailed some laps, we might be able to come out in third and fourth. We come out in the lead. I was like, This is good.

You just know. By now I know the way the race falls. It’s just experience, man. I feel like in my fourth year I really understand it.

Q. What makes this track so grueling besides the 17 turns, the heat?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There’s not much room for error. It’s high speed, risk versus reward. You got to commit in areas that don’t have much runoff. You make a mistake, you’re in the fence.

Us race drivers, we’re pretty sick. We kind of like that sort of stuff (smiling). We like the more risky stuff. I certainly do. The undulation, too. I think there’s so many corners here that you can take different lines, come out in a similar speed to someone that takes it another way. That just lends to good racing. I really enjoy it. I think it’s a beautiful place, as well.

Q. In your experience in Australia, New Zealand in Supercars, is there a track that this reminds you of?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Probably like Bathurst. It’s like a mini Bathurst that you have to commit over blind crests, big G loads. Probably like Bathurst without the walls. Their walls are like right on the racetrack like a street circuit.

You could even say honestly Phillip Island. Scratch that quote, can you? Phillip Island is probably the one. Up and down, very high speed, flowing. Wind is a factor. A lot of fun. I always went pretty good there as well. That was probably why.

Q. Last year we watched Alex Palou win the championship. The situation happens with you guys in St. Pete. You talked to us on Thursday or Friday. You said that we can still win this championship. When you endured what you did last year, go through this process, how do you remain so confident through this?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s the third race of the year. So much time is left to go. We know how much of a wildcard INDYCAR racing is. I just know how good our team is, how fast my car can be. I feel like we just haven’t reached… We’re still building, as everyone is.

It’s just hard to get into the cadence of the season. I feel like we always hit our stride around Detroit or just after. Just trust my guys, trust my team, trust my speed. Hopefully be okay.

Q. How important is it that you didn’t slowly creep into rebounding; this was an instant rebound after the circumstances?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s important. It’s important that we knew we came here with a fast car. We knew we came here with a car that we could win the race. Like I said, I love this track. It’s important that we used all that to put it to good use, get a nice little springboard back.

Yeah, it’s like I said before, it’s execution. I always said it before, if you have a car that can win the race, you have to win the race. If you have a car that can finish fifth, you finish second, that’s a bonus.

That’s exactly what we did today. It’s a bonus. Glad for the team.

Q. When you’re coming through the bridge, all of a sudden you see what looked like a body laying on the side of the track, Georgina the mannequin, what did you think?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was a little mad. Then I realized that someone else had hit the fence. That wasn’t what the yellow was for.

I love the artistic stuff, but it probably doesn’t need to be above the track to cause a yellow like that. It’s probably what will change next year maybe. I don’t know.

I do love that part of this. It’s unique. It’s just a fun track. Yeah, if I lost to that, to a lady that fell off… I won’t say anymore. It was a mannequin. It wasn’t a real person.

Q. (No microphone.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve seen it before. I thought it was a matter of time.

Q. Last week you said even through last year, dealing with visas, taxes, your businesses, it took a toll on you mentally. You were starting to feel comfortable, especially after the finish at St. Pete. Everything that happened last week. Do you feel like this kind of resets things and puts things back on the path where it was as you head into the month of May?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, yeah, it’s just a nice little momentum shift, right? We did it last year. We probably didn’t use the momentum the way we wanted to heading into the month of May. We’ve got an opportunity to change that. I feel like we have a team and a car to do that.

We’ll just keep working. It sounds pretty boring, just me keep rolling back to execution. That’s all it is. We don’t have to try and be 3 or 4/10ths faster than everyone. We just have to be better in areas that they’re not, execute to the highest level. That’s all we can do, and the rest will play itself out. That’s how we’re looking at it right now.

Q. I know once you get behind the wheel, that’s all you’re focused on. When you’re celebrating, see how happy your team is, was there a little extra emotion because of the way the rest of the week went?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. Certainly it was a little emotional, for sure. It’s just nice, yeah. It was just a nice cap. Obviously it was a pretty tough week.

Q. When Will was in, he was lamenting when you were cycling through traffic he didn’t fight harder to stay in front of you. Can you give your perspective on that? You definitely had the faster car. Did you feel like Will gave you a little bit of slack?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think we raced each other as hard as we normally do. We were smart about it. I think we had big picture.

At the end of the day, like I said before, I knew the pass with Will, that battle with Will when we were 20th or something, that was important for being positioned right if it all came our way like it did in the end. It was effectively for the race win, could you say.

We always race fairly. It’s hard. He probably cut me a little bit of slack. He still tried pretty hard. Yeah, I always enjoy racing Will. A lot of transparency there between the two of us, even the start of the race, for us to get through 1-2. Ultimately him being in second was great for me. It’s just working together, which is really nice.

Q. On Friday Tim Cindric said he expected you to be behind the eight ball because everybody else had tested besides Penske. Were you surprised how good Penske was all the way through the weekend?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I certainly felt like we had a really fast race car. It was hopefully we dropped it off at the track and be okay.

You just have to roll in with the confidence that you know what you’ve got as a race package. I hardly touched it from the start of practice one to the end of the weekend.

Thankfully, hopefully we come back in year three with the same car. I doubt it because of the hybrid system and different weights. But it would be fun.

Q. Will said when you got caught back in traffic, how the balance of the car changes because of the dirty air. How off-putting is that psychologically when you’ve been running in the clean air for so long?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it certainly is a bit of a shock to the system just thinking about where we positioned the cars and whatnot. You just got to build up to it nicely, not overstep the mark too quickly, figure out what you got, then attack.

Sometimes you don’t have as much time as you want, but it’s a bit of the seat-of-the-pants stuff. That’s where Will is amazing. He’s an amazing driver with feel and instinct. He’s a good teacher with that, someone I can analyze to be better with.

It’s a lot of fun trying to figure out any (indiscernible) positions your car should be in. It’s really cool.

Q. Coming out of all the stuff that came out last week, seeing the fans react the way they did, sort of business as normal, is that the reaction you were expecting from the fan base?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, the fans are passionate. We love them. If you’re getting booed, that’s a good thing. They’re passionate. They love the sport. If you’re getting cheered, it’s the same thing. I’ve always looked at it sort of two ways.

You don’t want to be a guy they don’t like. It doesn’t affect the way I’m racing. I just hope that hopefully I race with a lot of integrity, honesty. What happened and transpired last week was just a mistake. It’s a human game, as well.

I’ve always had a tremendous amount of support here in America. I’ve always been grateful for that. Hopefully we can win a few people back. But certainly a lot of the people that say a lot of crap online, on social media, they’re probably the people that will come shake your hand and say, Good job. It’s tit for tat. It’s part of it. That’s part of being in the spotlight as well.

Q. Has there been a shift in the dynamic and camaraderie with the competitors on other teams?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had a number of people text me last night congratulations, great lap. I feel like it’s been pretty nice overall. We’re all competitors. Obviously, everyone had their emotions at the time. It was pretty raw initially.

I think it’s been pretty nice and everyone has been really, really cool. Just press on, business as usual. I can’t control their emotions. It’s up to them.

About Chevrolet

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HAGAN GETS 50TH, ASHLEY, ANDERSON AND HERRERA ALSO ROLL TO WINS AT NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS IN CHARLOTTE

By

Official Release

-

April 28, 2024

CHARLOTTE (April 28, 2024) – Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan picked up his 50th career victory on Sunday, driving past John Force, J.R. Todd and Daniel Wilkerson at zMAX Dragway to get the win at the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

Justin Ashley (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the fifth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Hagan went 3.946-seconds at 332.34 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Tony Stewart Racing Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat in the final quad to power to his first win this season, defeating Wilkerson on a holeshot to pick up his milestone victory. Hagan was .029 on the starting line, holding off Wilkerson’s 3.923 at 327.50 at the finish line for the win.

Hagan won his opening-round quad with a 3.918 at 331.61 and then made the second-quickest run of eliminations with a 3.879 at 334.24 to advance to the final round. That led to his fourth victory at zMAX Dragway, which is less than two hours from home for Hagan.

“This is obviously a massive achievement to win 50 races and to have Dodge sponsoring us for so many years,” Hagan said. “To see so many people come and go out here, you just don’t realize that it’s you, you know, you’re like ‘Wow, I’ve been out here little bit over 15 years now and it’s just a huge accomplishment in my book to be able to be around a group of guys that have been nothing but the best out here, and I think that’s why we won four championships.

“To put us in a elite group of drivers with John Force and [Don] Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein is pretty crazy. I’m very blessed to still be out here, surrounded by a great group of guys. They gave me a great race car and now we’re going to celebrate.”

It was the first career runner-up for Wilkerson, while Todd took third, going 3.978 at 320.36. Austin Prock retained the points lead in the category.

Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley capped off his stellar weekend with his first career four-wide win, holding off Clay Millican, Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown with a run of 3.710 at 328.06 in his 11,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster. It’s the second victory this season for Ashley, who swept the weekend by also winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday. He’s been dynamic with double-up wins – Sunday marked his third in the last two seasons – and Ashley did it again on Sunday, winning the first two quads to get to the final round, going 3.711 at 333.58 in the second round.

In the finals, Ashley left first with another great .046 reaction time, holding off the hard-charging Millican, who went 3.722 at a strong 337.92, to claim his 15th career victory. Charlotte is where Ashley debuted, so racing at zMAX Dragway will always be special to him and he was thrilled to claim his first four-wide win on Sunday.

“For whatever reason, we’ve struggled a little bit before in four-wide races. We’d go to the traditional format and have a lot of success, but we struggled when we go four-ride racing,” Ashley said. “When you come out here and you race four-wide, the quads are so good. It really doesn’t matter who you’re racing, especially with depth of the Top Fuel field now. The quads are going to be stellar each and every time, and you saw it even in that final round. There was a lot of really good reaction times a lot of really good E.T.s and it made for some close racing.”

Kalitta, the No. 1 qualifier, finished third in the final quad with a 3.725 at 326.00.

In Pro Stock, No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson added another impressive Charlotte victory to his resumé, driving past a loaded final-round quad with a standout pass of 6.502 at 210.77 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Anderson ousted KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield and Cristian Cuadra to pick up his second victory of the season and the 105th in his career, extending his all-time lead in the category.

It’s been a banner season thus far for Anderson, who won both quads leading into the final round and making the quickest pass each round. He was also .011 on the starting line to advance to the finals and then chased down runner-up Stanfield and Glenn, who were both .011 in the final round, to pick up another meaningful victory. It’s the fifth Charlotte win for Anderson, who won the fall race last year but had not won the four-wide race at zMAX Dragway since 2012 – until Sunday. Anderson also took over the points lead in the class.

“This feels fantastic,” Anderson said. “There is so much talent out here and I’m so proud to be a part of it. We’re in a spot where anyone can win so you’ve got to dig deep to find it and I had it today. We didn’t back into it and it feels good to win a race at zMAX Dragway. It’s my home track and I love it here.

“You have to find a way to get your heart beating and get those butterflies in your stomach and get your nerves going. You can’t artificially create that. I can’t properly explain what it means to win a race for (Rick Hendrick). I met Mr. H 20 years ago and we’ve stayed in touch and he obviously know a thing or two about winning and he knows how to motivate people. It’s just an honor to have those colors on my race car.”

Stanfield finished second, going 6.551 at 209.75 and Glenn was third after his 6.551 at 209.75.

A prolonged break did nothing to slow down the dominant defending world champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle, as Gaige Herrera rolled to his second straight win this season on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki with a run of 6.684 at 202.73 in the final round. Dating back to last season, Herrera has now posted seven consecutive victories, putting together another incredible weekend in Charlotte.

Herrera qualified No. 1, setting the track E.T. record, picked up the victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday and then made the quickest pass of each session on Sunday, defeating John Hall, LE Tonglet and Richard Gadson in the finals to earn his 13th career victory and extend his points lead in the process. Herrera also defended his four-wide win from a season ago at zMAX Dragway.

“After Q1 and Q2 I was a bit worried. On the first run we had a malfunction in our wiring, and then after the second run, Matt [Smith] held on to the top spot and that’s because of the rule change,” said Herrera, referring to a recent NHRA rules revision that mandated the same fuel type for both V-twin and inline four-cylinder bikes. “It has created parity and made for better racing. We still had three Vance & Hines bikes in the final (quad).

“In the end, me and [crew chief] Andrew Hines and the bike bond so well. We’re a hard combo to beat. This is just the beginning. It’s all the haters that make us push that much harder and we’re out there to prove them all wrong. I hear people say it’s the bike and that I can’t cut a light, and today my worst light was a .021, so I was here to prove a point. We had three fast bikes and almost everyone is running the same.”

Hall’s 6.758 at 202.12 gave him the runner-up finish, while Gadson was third with a 6.767 at 198.41.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 17-19 with the 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.

CHARLOTTE — Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 14th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the fifth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

Justin Ashley; 2. Clay Millican; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Antron Brown; 5. Brittany Force; 6. Billy Torrence; 7. Jasmine Salinas; 8. Tony Stewart; 9. Steve Torrence; 10. Shawn Reed; 11. Tony Schumacher; 12. Dan Mercier; 13. Doug Foley; 14. Josh Hart; 15. Cody Krohn; 16. Shawn Langdon.

FUNNY CAR:

Matt Hagan; 2. Daniel Wilkerson; 3. J.R. Todd; 4. John Force; 5. Cruz Pedregon; 6. Bob Tasca III; 7. Dave Richards; 8. Alexis DeJoria; 9. Paul Lee; 10. Chad Green; 11. Austin Prock; 12. Buddy Hull; 13. Jim Campbell; 14. John Smith; 15. Ron Capps; 16. Blake Alexander.

PRO STOCK:

Greg Anderson; 2. Aaron Stanfield; 3. Dallas Glenn; 4. Cristian Cuadra; 5. Erica Enders; 6. Deric Kramer; 7. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 8. Jerry Tucker; 9. Eric Latino; 10. David Cuadra; 11. Mason McGaha; 12. Jeg Coughlin; 13. Brandon Foster; 14. Sienna Wildgust; 15. Fernando Cuadra Jr.; 16. Dave Connolly.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

Gaige Herrera; 2. John Hall; 3. Richard Gadson; 4. LE Tonglet; 5. Angie Smith; 6. Matt Smith; 7. Chase Van Sant; 8. Hector Arana Jr; 9. Kelly Clontz; 10. Jianna Evaristo; 11. Marc Ingwersen; 12. Steve Johnson; 13. Ron Tornow; 14. Chris Bostick; 15. Hector Arana; 16. Ryan Oehler.

CONCORD, N.C. — Sunday’s final results from the 14th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the fifth of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel — Justin Ashley, 3.710 seconds, 328.06 mph def. Clay Millican, 3.722 seconds, 337.92 mph and Doug Kalitta, 3.725 seconds, 326.00 mph and Antron Brown, 4.780 seconds, 163.31 mph;

Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.946, 332.34 def. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.923, 327.59 and J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.978, 320.36 and John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.960, 329.75;

Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.502, 210.77 def. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.551, 209.75 and Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.561, 208.68 and Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.549, 210.54;

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.684, 202.73 def. John Hall, Beull, 6.758, 202.12 and Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.767, 198.41 and LE Tonglet, Suzuki, foul;

Top Alcohol Dragster — Mike Coughlin, 5.280, 268.65 def. Julie Nataas, 5.289, 267.48 and Megan Smith, 5.967, 191.92 and Hunter Green, 5.266, 268.81;

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.428, 268.12 def. DJ Cox Jr., Camaro, 5.445, 267.91 and Bob McCosh, Camaro, 5.465, 266.00 and Matt Gill, Camaro, 5.466, 267.37;

Competition Eliminator — Rickie Smith, Ford Mustang, 5.781, 249.21 def. Joel Warren, Pontiac G5, 8.617, 154.51.

Super Stock — Don Shuford, Chevy Camaro, 10.274, 129.44 def. Allen Wilson, Pontiac Firebird, Foul – Red Light.

Stock Eliminator — Brett Candies, Ford Mustang, 9.186, 147.10 def. Joshua Decker, Chevy Corvette, Foul – Red Light.

Super Comp — Colby Fuller, Dragster, 8.908, 179.11 def. Michael Handras, Dragster, 8.930, 166.99.

Super Gas — Billy Upton, Chevy Corvette, 9.886, 162.29 def. Bob Locke, Corvette, 9.882, 158.76.

Super Street — Brad Plourd, Chevy II, 10.912, 120.72 def. William Morgan, Chevy Monte Carlo, Foul – Red Light.

Top Sportsman — James Hinkle, Pontiac Grand Am, 7.272, 189.02 def. Calvin Snow, Chevy Cobalt, 7.054, 194.27.

Top Dragster — Holden Laris, Dragster, 6.568, 168.39 def. Chad Taylor, Dragster, 7.409, 132.30.

Factory X — Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 7.086, 193.85 def. Jesse Alexandra, Camaro, 7.450, 186.07.

Mountain Motor Pro Stock — Bo Butner, Chevy Camaro, 6.230, 225.26 def. Johnny Pluchino, Ford Mustang, 6.294, 224.14.

Junior Dragster Shootout — Waylon Bennett, Bos, 8.921, 71.72 def. Savannah Highhouse, 7.894, 82.75.

CONCORD, N.C. — Final round-by-round results from the 14th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway, the fifth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE — Clay Millican, 3.705, 337.66 and Billy Torrence, 3.725, 334.15 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.770, 328.38 and Josh Hart, 3.790, 327.35; Justin Ashley, 3.763, 331.69 and Tony Stewart, 3.762, 326.71 def. Dan Mercier, 3.831, 318.24 and Doug Foley, 3.730, 316.52; Antron Brown, 3.718, 334.48 and Brittany Force, 3.734, 335.82 def. Steve Torrence, 3.729, 334.07 and Shawn Langdon, 4.126, 299.13;

Jasmine Salinas, 3.700, 329.50 and Doug Kalitta, 3.729, 334.98 def. Shawn Reed, 3.757, 322.88 and Cody Krohn, 3.790, 323.66;

SEMIFINALS — Ashley, 3.711, 333.58 and Brown, 3.728, 333.66 def. Force, 3.729, 336.57 and Stewart, 5.779, 120.55; Millican, 3.710, 333.91 and Kalitta, 3.760, 334.57 def. B. Torrence, 4.544, 170.97 and Salinas, 4.695, 162.90;

FINAL — Ashley, 3.710, 328.06 def. Millican, 3.722, 337.92, Kalitta, 3.725, 326.00 and Brown, 4.780, 163.31.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.918, 323.50 and Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 5.444, 265.43 def. Buddy Hull, Dodge Charger, 5.414, 162.39 and Ron Capps, GR Supra, 16.244, 30.34; Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.893, 329.75 and John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.916, 330.72 def. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 4.250, 215.86 and John Smith, Charger, 5.109, 155.63; Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.885, 329.58 and Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.871, 336.82 def. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.929, 325.92 and Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.289, 276.35; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.918, 331.61 and Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.014, 319.60 def. Austin Prock, Camaro, 4.609, 225.86 and Blake Alexander, Mustang, DQ;

SEMIFINALS —

Force, 3.914, 330.80 and Todd, 3.933, 324.20 def. Pedregon, 3.931, 330.39 and DeJoria, 9.999, 79.40; Hagan, 3.879, 334.24 and Wilkerson, 3.906, 328.30 def. Tasca III, 4.825, 186.95 and Richards, 6.568, 99.14;

FINAL — Hagan, 3.946, 332.34 def. Wilkerson, 3.923, 327.59, Todd, 3.978, 320.36 and Force, 3.960, 329.75.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE — Deric Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 6.525, 209.30 and Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.556, 209.98 def. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.945, 206.48 and Dave Connolly, Camaro, DQ; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.552, 210.05 and Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.548, 210.14 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.534, 210.01 and Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.583, 209.49; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.525, 211.13 and Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.544, 209.88 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.592, 209.39 and Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.823, 208.68; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.512, 209.43 and Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.525, 21.08 def. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.559, 208.33 and Sienna Wildgust, Camaro, 6.586, 208.59;

SEMIFINALS — Stanfield, 6.554, 209.33 and C. Cuadra, 6.557, 209.85 def. Enders, 6.540, 211.03 and Tucker, 15.257, 59.79; Anderson, 6.530, 210.08 and Glenn, 6.552, 209.23 def. Kramer, 6.543, 209.04 and Coughlin Jr., 6.602, 209.75;

FINAL — Anderson, 6.502, 210.77 def. Stanfield, 6.551, 209.75, Glenn, 6.561, 208.68 and C. Cuadra, 6.549, 210.54.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE — John Hall, Beull 1190RX, 6.771, 202.61 and Angie Smith, Buell 1190RX, 6.792, 201.19 def. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.893, 193.49 and Chris Bostick, Suzuki Hayabusa, 6.960, 194.46; LE Tonglet, Hayabusa, 6.745, 200.68 and Richard Gadson, Hayabusa, 6.853, 199.67 def. Jianna Evaristo, 1190RX, 6.858, 200.17 and Ryan Oehler, EBR, 7.010, 191.59; Matt Smith, 1190RX, 6.747, 201.22 and Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.805, 198.93 def. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki TL, 6.829, 199.37 and Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.936, 197.88; Gaige Herrera, Hayabusa, 6.696, 203.34 and Chase Van Sant, TL, 6.802, 199.29 def. Steve Johnson, Hayabusa, 6.967, 191.13 and Hector Arana, EBR, 6.992, 196.93;

SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 6.784, 200.53 and Tonglet, 6.778, 198.76 def. M. Smith, 14.421, 53.08 and Arana Jr, 10.125, 84.52; Herrera, 6.698, 202.70 and Hall, 6.748, 202.27 def. A. Smith, 6.798, 200.92 and Van Sant, 6.838, 198.35;

FINAL — Herrera, 6.684, 202.73 def. Hall, 6.758, 202.12, Gadson, 6.767, 198.41 and Tonglet, foul.

CONCORD, N.C. — Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 14th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway, the fifth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series –

Top Fuel

Justin Ashley, 472; 2. Doug Kalitta, 376; 3. Shawn Langdon, 366; 4. Steve Torrence, 333; 5. Billy Torrence, 304; 6. Antron Brown, 282; 7. Tony Stewart, 260; 8. Clay Millican, 257; 9. Brittany Force, 254; 10. Tony Schumacher, 235.

Funny Car

Austin Prock, 408; 2. J.R. Todd, 391; 3. Matt Hagan, 376; 4. Bob Tasca III, 339; 5. John Force, 338; 6. Ron Capps, 274; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 253; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, 241; 9. Chad Green, 225; 10. Paul Lee, 215.

Pro Stock

Greg Anderson, 449; 2. Erica Enders, 424; 3. Dallas Glenn, 423; 4. Jeg Coughlin, 340; 5. Aaron Stanfield, 289; 6. Cristian Cuadra, 280; 7. Jerry Tucker, 254; 8. Brandon Foster, 234; 9. David Cuadra, 222; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr., 207.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

Gaige Herrera, 254; 2. Matt Smith, 165; 3. LE Tonglet, 157; 4. John Hall, 150; 5. (tie) Richard Gadson, 130; Angie Smith, 130; 7. Steve Johnson, 89; 8. Hector Arana Jr, 86; 9. Chase Van Sant, 85; 10. Marc Ingwersen, 84.

McLaughlin Pulls Off Sweet Repeat To Lead Penske 1-2 at Barber

By

Official Release

-

April 28, 2024

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sunday, April 28, 2024) – Scott McLaughlin proved Sunday there’s no strategy like pure speed to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.

McLaughlin won the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst for the second consecutive year at Barber Motorsports Park, again using a mash-the-gas, three-stop pit strategy in his No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet to earn his first victory of the season and his fifth career win.

The triumph put a positive exclamation point on a trying week for Team Penske, which was penalized Wednesday for illegal use of the Push to Pass system at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden were disqualified from the race, while Will Power received a 10-point penalty.

“We know our job, we know what we need to do,” McLaughlin said. “I’m just super proud of the execution. A couple of yellows didn’t fall our way, but we just showed our pace. We just keep rolling, man.

“Definitely one of my best drives in terms of execution and just knocking out the laps. Very happy we could advance to the checkered flag there and bring home a W for Team Penske and for Roger (Penske).”

Power finished second in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet, 1.3194 seconds behind McLaughlin, after starting second. Rookie Linus Lundqvist earned his first career INDYCAR SERIES podium finish by placing third after starting 19th in the No. 8 American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda to continue burnishing his potential championship credentials after joining Meyer Shank Racing this season. Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou rounded out the top five in the No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda as Chip Ganassi Racing matched Team Penske also with two drivers in the top five.

McLaughlin, who led 58 of the 90 laps after earning the NTT P1 Award in qualifying Saturday, took the lead for the final time on Lap 76 after his final pit stop. McLaughlin, Power, Lundqvist and Christian Lundgaard were the leading drivers on a three-pit stop strategy, while Palou and Rosenqvist were among those who opted to make only two stops and conserve fuel in hopes of snatching an unlikely victory like Scott Dixon did April 21 in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Palou led Laps 46-55 while on the alternate strategy before making the last of his two stops at the end of Lap 56. Meanwhile, McLaughlin – who made his second stop at the end of Lap 46 – knew he had to build a gap of around 27 seconds on Palou after Palou’s final stop to be able to keep the lead after his third and final stop.

No problem.

McLaughlin led Palou by nearly 30 seconds before his last stop and exited the pits for the final time ahead of his Chip Ganassi Racing rival. It looked like McLaughlin had more than enough speed to hold off Power over the last 14 laps, as both were on identical fuel strategies and running Firestone Firehawk alternate tires to the finish. Meanwhile, 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Lundqvist completed his mighty march from the back of the field by passing teammate Palou for third place on Lap 84.

But the last of the race’s four caution periods threw a trick in the tail. Rookie Christian Rasmussen spun and stalled his No. 20 Guy Care Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing in Turn 13 on Lap 86.

That set up a two-lap scramble for the victory on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile asphalt roller coaster. On the Lap 89 restart, McLaughlin eased away from Power and stayed inch-perfect for victory.

“It was a hard-fought 1-2 for Penske,” Power said. “We were certainly fast, but obviously a lot of strategy played into that. We were able to use our speed to come out in front again.”

McLaughlin, from New Zealand, has won at least one race in each of the last three seasons after joining the team full time in 2021. He was a legend in the Supercars Championship based in Australia, winning three consecutive titles for Penske in that touring car series from 2018-20.

Six-time series champion Dixon, who led the points entering this event, lost the top spot with his 15th-place finish capping a challenging weekend for the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda crew.

Colton Herta took the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points lead for the first time – by one point over Power – after finishing eighth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian. Palou is third, just three points behind Herta. Dixon is fourth, just seven points behind Herta.

That sets the table for a magical Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The most fabled three weeks in motorsports begin with the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 11 on the IMS road course, followed by the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 on the IMS oval.

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Race Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Results Sunday of the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

(1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(19) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 90, Running
(5) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 90, Running
(10) Alex Palou, Honda, 90, Running
(3) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 90, Running
(17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(15) Colton Herta, Honda, 90, Running
(6) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 90, Running
(9) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 90, Running
(7) Graham Rahal, Honda, 90, Running
(11) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(22) Jack Harvey, Honda, 90, Running
(23) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 90, Running
(13) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
(8) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(27) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(18) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 90, Running
(12) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 90, Running
(20) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(21) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 90, Running
(24) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 89, Running
(4) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(14) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 89, Running
(16) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 59, Mechanical
(25) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 54, Contact
(26) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 41, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 106.369 mph
Time of Race: 1:56:45.7773
Margin of victory: 1.3194 seconds
Cautions: 4 for 15 laps
Lead changes: 10 among six drivers

Lap Leaders:
McLaughlin, Scott 1 – 27
Palou, Alex 28 – 29
Rosenqvist, Felix 30
Ferrucci, Santino 31 – 34
McLaughlin, Scott 35 – 45
Palou, Alex 46 – 55
Ferrucci, Santino 56 – 65
Lundqvist, Linus 66 – 69
McLaughlin, Scott 70 – 74
Power, Will 75
McLaughlin, Scott 76 – 90

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Herta 101, Power 100, Palou 98, Dixon 94, Rosenqvist 87, O’Ward 71, Kirkwood 67, Lundqvist 62, McLaughlin 59, Ferrucci 58, Rossi 53, VeeKay 53, Grosjean 50, Ericsson 49, Rahal 48, Newgarden 48, Lundgaard 48, Armstrong 45, Simpson 45, Canapino 39, Harvey 35, Blomqvist 34, Fittipaldi 28, Pourchaire 27, Robb 23, Rasmussen 22, Callum Ilott 19, Colin Braun 10, Nolan Siegel 10, Ghiotto 9

Toyota Racing – NCS Dover Post-Race Report – 04.28.24

By

Official Release

-

April 28, 2024

HAMLIN SCORES THIRD WIN OF THE SEASON AT DOVER
Hamlin, Ryan Truex deliver second straight Dover sweep

DOVER, Del. (April 28, 2024) – Denny Hamlin took the lead with 81 laps to go and held off Kyle Larson late to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday evening. Hamlin, who led a race-high 136 laps, earned his third points win of the season, in addition to his victory at the LA Clash to open the season, With Ryan Truex’s triumph on Saturday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing has now swept the NASCAR weekend at Dover for two consecutive seasons.

Martin Truex Jr. (third) and Ty Gibbs (10th) put three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s in the top-10.

Corey Heim was impressive in his Cup debut, as the Toyota Development Driver subbed for the injured Erik Jones. Heim, ran near the top-20 most of the afternoon, before an untimely caution pinned the 21-year-old an extra lap down. The Georgia-native was scored 25th in his debut.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Dover Motor Speedway
Race 11 of 36 – 400 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
4th, Kyle Busch*
5th, Chase Elliott*
10th, TY GIBBS
11th, TYLER REDDICK
20th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
25th, COREY HEIM
28th, JIMMIE JOHNSON
32nd, BUBBA WALLACE
34th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Mavis Tire Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Was your pit crew getting you out first at the end what mattered most?

“No, the winning moment – because Kyle (Larson) got back by around us. The winning moment was getting around him on that quick restart we had when we had that caution. He controlled the restart. I got a really good restart on the bottom, and that was a big moment to clear him before that caution came out. Similar to what happened with Chase (Elliott) at Texas, where I was controlling it – till I wasn’t, but the tides turned today, and I was able to control the restart. Our Mavis Tire Toyota was just so good on the short run. I knew he was going to make a charge, but I just tried to hit my marks. As long as I hit my marks, I felt confident I could hold him off. This team just did an amazing job, and we wouldn’t be here without all of our partners – Mavis Tire, Toyota, TRD, FedEx, Sport Clips, Coca-Cola, Shady Rays and Logitech.”

What does this win mean to you?

“My crew chief (Chris Gabehart) challenged me to get at least one win in the next three weeks before the All-Star break to not be depressed. You are going to have to go out and do that for me. I knew that these three tracks coming up – here, Kansas and Darlington – we can win them all.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Martin, you come home in third place. Looked like you had the dominant car. We saw the damage to the nose. Was that the difference at the end?

“I mean, at the end, yeah. In the middle of the race, losing the lead was the difference maker. Just lost the lead to the 5 (Kyle Larson) there. Once I got close to him, tried to start moving around, I got a little too tight. He was backing up. It just didn’t quite have what I needed to get by him. They all pounced on us, and we lost control of the race. Then I got the nose damage. Feel like we let one get away today. Had a really strong Bass Pro Camry. You can’t lose control of these races mid stage like that. The track changes, you get behind. Man, just stinks. Overall, a good day. Just keep working on it.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Acme Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 20th

Can you talk about your race?

“P20 on the day. Hard fought day. I don’t really know if it helped us or hurt us, as far as pit strategy and the caution coming out in the end, but we were able to wave and get one lap back and we were able to fight for the lucky dog there. Solid quiet day for this Acme Toyota team. P20. Going to Kansas next week, one of my favorite race tracks.”

COREY HEIM, No. 43 Dollar Tree/Petty 75th Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 25th

Can you tell us what it was like competing in the Cup Series?

“It was definitely a lot different. I’ve been kind of saying it all weekend – a big change compared to what I’m used to. Really from the beginning to middle of the race, I felt like we had a ton of speed. We kind of got messed up on the cycle there when the leaders pitted. I pitted a lap later and then the caution came out right away, which pinned us an extra lap down. We were beating the guys that finished 15th through 20th, so I think that’s kind of where we were supposed to end up – but that is part of racing. I’m super thankful to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB for putting me in the Dollar Tree Petty 75 Camry this weekend and believing in me. I feel like we should have been six or seven spot better, but it just didn’t work out that way.”

What were your emotions like on the grid and on the pace laps today?

“I really felt emotional. I feel like I’ve worked so hard for this moment. To finish where I ended up is unfortunate. I feel like I worked my butt off to be there. It’s a really cool moment for me.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 28th

How was your race?

“Tough day. We certainly had higher expectations for our performance today for our Dollar Tree, Family Dollar Camry. It was nice to get another race under my belt and get a better understanding of the car. We will just go back to the shop and get after it.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 XFINITY/U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 32nd

What happened out there?

“You had the long ride over here on the golf cart to figure out what you want to say, and I guess turning 30, going to be a dad – you’ve got to be more mature. It’s a bummer. I hate it for our Xfinity, U.S. Air Force Toyota. Not the result we needed – back-to-back DNF’s. Bootie (Barker, crew chief) said it perfect Monday. I was pissed off and frustrated after Talladega – he said, we are going to have to grind our asses off for Dover – from practice, to qualifying, to the race. It’s not going to be pretty. I don’t think he meant that part – the wrecking out part was not going to be pretty, but we had to grind. I’m proud of the effort we put in every week, just unfortunate that we have no results to show for it. We will just go on to Kansas, where hopefully, we are not around any squirrels and go kick their ass.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 26 electrified options.

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

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