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RAFA Racing Brings Home Season-Best Top Five Finish From Misano in GT4 European Series

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Lancaster and Martinez Drove to P5 in Pro-Am, While Lawrence and Hepworth Qualified on the Overall Front Row Before Bad Luck Shortened The Day

MISANO, Italy (May 20, 2024) – In a weekend of highs and lows, the RAFA Racing Team ultimately escaped Rounds Three and Four of the SRO GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club with a front row qualifying effort and a season-best finish from two different McLaren Arturo GT4s. “Race As Family Always” was on full display for the American team who receives overseas technical assistance from Greystone GT.

Cameron Lawrence qualified he and Jem Hepworth’s No. 81 RAFA Racing Club McLaren Arturo GT4 on the front row of the 49-car field for Sunday’s second race of the weekend. In Saturday’s race, the duo drove from 30th on the grid to 17th overall and 13th in a very competitive Silver class with a rough and tumble run through the field.

Sunday’s qualifying effort had spirits high for the entire team, but the moment was short-lived. Failed alternator belts meant the McLaren didn’t fire when it was time to head to the grid, and despite an attempt at an emergency repair and starting from pit lane, Lawrence didn’t get started on time. The team kept working, and he was able to run four laps later in the race, turning the second-quickest lap of the race to prove the car’s speed.

With the No. 81 essentially out of the race, Sunday’s attention went to the No. 812 RAFA Racing Club McLaren of Rafael Martinez and Jon Lancaster. Martinez started the race 38th overall and 12th in the Pro-Am class.

Martinez kept pace with the field, improving class positions during his stint before handing the car to Lancaster during the mandatory pit stop. Lancaster had a deep deficit to overcome, but after a safety car period bunched the field he was 34th overall, ninth in Pro-Am and could see his competitors on the track.

The final 17 minutes of the 60-minute race were spectacular for Lancaster and the No. 812 McLaren. Lancaster picked up an additional 20 positions on the overall field, including four in the Pro-Am class, finishing 14th overall and fifth in class. That was an improvement from Saturday’s 26th overall finish, ninth in class.

Depsite the rollercoaster of ups and downs throughout the weekend, both RAFA Racing McLarens showed a step forward in pace from the season opener. Hepworth and Lawrence were the second-finishing McLaren in the field on Saturday, and Lancaster and Martinez took the same position during Sunday’s race.

RAFA Racing Team’s GT4 European Series season resumes in just over a month, June 27-30 at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. It’s four-car domestic team is in action this week at the Texas-based team’s home track of Circuit of the Americas, where it continues to chase a Porsche Sprint Challenge North America championship in the Cayman Pro-Am class. Martinez, along with Ian Porter, Paige Morales and Caroline Candas, are the team’s drivers in that championship.

RAFA Racing Quote Board

Rafael Martinez, Driver, No. 812 McLaren Arturo GT4: “It’s a bittersweet feeling for me and I am sure for the whole team. Our car performed extremely well, I showed a lot of progress getting much closer in speed to the top of the AM drivers in the Pro-Am class, and Jon showed his class making up ground to deliver our best result of the season. Coming into this year I am not sure I would have set expectations as high for only the second round of the Championship so it is just very telling how much all of the work we have put in has brought us along. Unfortunately the No. 81 car has continued to have mechanical issues and it really hurt us Sunday after Cameron put us in an incredible spot at P2 to start. What could have been a special day for the team turned out to be a big deflating moment when we had to basically retire the car with an alternator issue before the race even started. Having had both cars finish in the top 15 and potentially on the Silver Class podium would have been incredible, but that’s racing. We have Round Three at Spa in a month to look forward to, we must get the cars right and hope to come away with a good result there!”

Cameron Lawrence, Driver, No. 81 McLaren Arturo GT4: “The weekend was a big improvement from Paul Ricard. The team and drivers all had more pace and confidence going through the weekend. Our first race wasn’t perfect but we moved up nicely and had a decent result. Race two was our chance to push for our first podium but luck wasn’t on our side after losing two alternator belts. We’ll be stronger and ready for the next round at Spa.”

Jem Hepworth, Driver, No. 81 McLaren Arturo GT4: “It was an interesting weekend, but there are a lot of positives for sure. My qualifying wasn’t amazing, but Cameron was great to get second. I got my lap deleted for track limits, so that was frustrating for me. From practice and into race one, we showed we have the pace to be at the front of the grid. Today was a really, really hard one to take because we were ready to give that one a shot. It’s a real shame, but at least we know we’ve got the pace and we can take that to Spa. We just have to look forward now and hope we can get a little bit of luck.”

Jon Lancaster, Driver, No. 812 McLaren Arturo GT4: “I’m really pleased in general. Everything across the board, on track and off track, we’ve all put some effort in to really progress things and we have done that. I think it shows on track with Rafa’s performance and the general car performance, both cars have been better in general feel and car drivability. Everything has just been a good step forward. Now it just shows the potential that Rafa has and we have to keep that going. He’s fully committed to doing that, and I’m fully committed to helping him. The team is fully committed to giving him the tools to that, we just have to keep it going. I’m super pleased with my second half of Sunday’s race as well, that’s always fun to do. Bring on Spa! Hopefully we can take a few more steps, start a bit further up and walk away with our first bits of silverware.”

About RAFA Racing Club:

RAFA Racing, utilizing the motto “Race As Family Always,” is a motorsports club and race team founded by and made for high-performance auto drivers, supporters, and fans of all types. Started by Rafael Martinez, the Club aims to create a space for high-performance car enthusiasts to enjoy like-minded individuals, network and share ideas on and off the track, and bond as one team with a common interest. The RAFA Racing Team made its debut in 2023 with a runner-up finish in the McLaren Trophy Europe Series, and expands that footprint to include Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and SRO GT4 Europe in 2024. The Club’s off-track presence can be felt on social media and beyond, including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and at RafaRacing.Club.

Million-Dollar Sunday: Logano Speeds To Second NASCAR All-Star Race Victory

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Official Release
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Joey Logano celebrates after winning Sunday's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (HHP/Harold Hinson photo)

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 19, 2024) — If two or three drivers could hang with Joey Logano in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, there were none who could out-run him.

Logano started Sunday’s 200-lap race from the pole and withstood challenges from Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin en route to his first NASCAR Cup Series win of any kind since March 19, 2023, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The result capped off a dream Sunday for Team Penske, who qualified 1-2-3 at the Indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and added a million-dollar All-Star Race winner’s prize at night.

Hamlin finished second with Buescher third and Kyle Larson fourth. Larson flew to North Wilkesboro after he qualified fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier in the day. The defending All-Star Race winner had to start last in the 20-car field and wasn’t a factor until the final 50 laps, when he pitted for the soft, red-badged Goodyear tires brought to the event to give teams an additional strategy option.

Larson gave up seventh place to take on a set of soft tires, and needed only six laps to jump from 12th to third. His bid for an unexpected victory fell short when he couldn’t clear Hamlin for second, and ultimately lost third to Buescher in the closing laps. Larson and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney completed the top five.

Logano led an All-Star Race-record 199 of 200 laps in securing his first All-Star Race victory since 2016.

Bubba Wallace finished sixth with Ross Chastain seventh and Chase Elliott eighth. Martin Truex Jr. and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10. Bell, whose Toyota slid up into Logano’s Ford as the two raced side-by-side for the lead on Lap 113, faded from contention soon after and ended up 17th at the finish.

The race was slowed by two organic caution periods: on Lap 2 for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s crash after contact with Kyle Busch, and on Lap 117 — when Busch nudged Ty Gibbs into a spin in Turn 2.

Sunday’s race marked the first night-time race on North Wilkesboro’s brand-new pavement. The zMAX CARS Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race on the 0.625-mile oval prior to the return of the NASCAR All-Star Race May 16-18, 2025.

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE FORD (RACE WINNER): “It feels good. It’s funny, because the first thing going through your mind is, ‘Gosh, I wish this counted for points.’ But a million bucks, that’s a lot of money. We had a great weekend. We learned a lot at the test (in March) I ran 800 laps over two days. I thought when we got here this weekend, that it’d be a single-groove track like most repaves, but they did a fantastic job with this one. You could race all over the race track. The fact they made a race track that’s not a single-groove is a major success. To see guys racing three-wide was crazy.”

PAUL WOLFE, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE FORD (WINNING CREW CHIEF): “You had to have a really well-balanced car to make (the soft tires) work for the whole race, and we had a well-balanced car. Hopefully, tonight was a good boost for everybody. It wasn’t a points race and it didn’t lock us into the Playoffs, but it showed we could put together a weekend like this from qualifying through the race. We didn’t do anything super-fast (in qualifying), but Joey did a good job, the pit crew had a solid stop and that’s what it took to get that track position today and control the race from there.”

DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing TOYOTA (RUNNER-UP): “It would’ve been really tough to get around (Logano) without really just knocking him out of the way (on the final restart). Maybe it’s coulda-woulda-shoulda, but I thought I’d have a little more time. I thought the tires would fall off a little bit more to give us an advantage late in the run, but we just kept hanging on there. I think we ran, on the last lap, an 18.60. It’s incredible how well the tires hold up. It’s live and learn. Certainly, coming in second, I don’t think it pays anything, but at least we had some fun today.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 17 RFK RACING FORD (THIRD PLACE): “There at the end, it just took too long to get around (Larson). It’s a good night on a night where only one position matters. I’m proud of the group. I’m pumped for the Coke 600 next week. Last year we led laps there and had a stage win at a time when we weren’t hitting our stride. Tonight, we needed two more (positions), but we’ve got good momentum. It was a really strong night for us overall.”

TICKETS:
Tickets and camping for the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend can be purchased online by visiting www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com.

MORE INFO:
Fans can connect with North Wilkesboro Speedway and get the latest news regarding NASCAR All-Star week and North Wilkesboro Speedway by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan.

Kekai Hauanio Drives from Last to First to Win at Road America

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Official Release
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#29 Kekai Hauanio, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, N.E.Where Trans, New'T Racing , , winner, Victory Lane

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 19, 2024) – Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4) put on a clinic, driving from last to first to win Race 2 at Road America on Sunday morning. After suffering a broken transponder during Race 1 yesterday, Hauanio was left without an official lap time, which required him to start today’s event from the back of the grid.

Notes of Interest:

  • Today’s win marks the second-career victory for Kekai Hauanio, who earned his first win in the Ligier JS F4 Series just last month at NOLA Motorsports Park.
  • Christopher Parrish, one of 14 drivers to earn the Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) Powering Diversity Scholarship, earned his career-best finish (second).
  • Rookie driver Jake Pollack finished a career-high third in today’s Race 2 at Road America.
  • Three teams were represented on the podium, with Hauanio taking the win for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, Parrish finishing second with IGY6 Motorsports and Pollack in third with JENSEN.
  • After setting the fast lap in Race 1, Teddy Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) led the field down the starting grid with Harbir Dass (No. 49 Berg DMG Racing Ligier JS F4) to his outside. As the lights went out, Musella immediately jumped to the front of the field, and yesterday’s runner-up finisher, Brad Majman (No. 95 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4), ran into trouble. Dropping water on the frontstretch during the standing start, Majman’s car continued to push water, leading the Australian to be black flagged. The close racing that was noted throughout Race 1 continued on Sunday morning, with tight battles between the likes of Musella, Hauanio, Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) and Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4). Despite rolling off last, Hauanio had climbed to fifth by the time they made it back to the start/finish line and made a pass on Szuch to claim the second position as they raced into Turn 1 working the third lap. While Hauanio, Zelenka and Szuch fought among themselves for the second position, Musella began to drive away, opening up as much as a five-second gap.

As the race pushed toward the halfway point, Hauanio was second, but under nearly constant pressure with Zelenka right on his gearbox. The two drafted together, slowly cutting away at Musella’s lead. With just five minutes left on the clock, Haunaio and Zelenka had caught Musella. A minute later, Hauanio pulled side by side with Musella as they raced down the frontstretch and made a pass for the lead as they reached Turn 1.

With Hauanio leading the field to the white flag, Zelenka drove to the inside of Musella in Turn 14, looking to overtake the second position. As they raced through Turn 1 on the final lap, Zelenka was on the inside of Musella when contact between the two sent Musella rolling toward the wall, with Zelenka spinning in his wake. A full-course caution ensued as the field proceeded toward the checkered flag. With Musella and Zelenka removed from contention, Christopher Parrish (No. 83 Save22 Ligier JS F4) and Jake Pollack (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F4), who had quietly been engaged in their own battle throughout the race with Maite Cáceres (No. 6 Abitab / Supermatch Ligier JS F4) and Harbir Dass (No. 49 Berg DMG Racing Ligier JS F4), inherited podium positions.

“We had a transponder issue yesterday, so I didn’t get any laps in and had to start last today,” explained Hauanio atop the podium. “We made a good run. The car felt great—thanks to Crosslink Kiwi.”

Bacon Zelenka Caps Off Weekend with Another Win at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 19, 2024) – Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) earned his second win of the 2024 season in Race 3 at Road America in a race filled with lead changes and intense battles.

Notes of Interest:

Bacon Zelenka won his second Ligier JS F4 race this afternoon at Road America.
Kekai Hauanio earned his second podium of the weekend, and third of the season.
Maite Cáceres’ third-place result marked her third podium of the season.
Cáceres was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race for her performance this weekend, and was presented a bespoke Omologato timepiece.
Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4) started from the pole for the first time in his young Ligier JS F4 Series career. First challenged by Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) as they exited Turn 1, it was third-place starter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4) who took over the lead by the completion of the first lap.

Race 1 and 2 polesitter Teddy Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) started at the back of the field due to a penalty assessed following Race 2. With a quick car, he worked through the field and reached the fourth position before the safety car was deployed while working lap three. When the green flag waved just two laps later, Musella moved into the third position, overtaking fourth-place starter Maite Cáceres (No. 6 Abitab / Supermatch Ligier JS F4) on the restart. As the field reached Turn 5, Musella was engaged in a tight five-car battle racing for fourth, but an off in the Carousel slowed his progression and dropped him back to 10th.

Meanwhile, at the front of the field, Hauanio continued to lead the pack, with Cáceres passing Zelenka for second. Brad Majman (No. 95 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) made his way around Zelenka to claim the third position after starting the event from the back row. As the clock ticked down, Cáceres applied more and more pressure to Hauanio, looking to overtake the lead. With 10 minutes left, the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship winner made a move in Turn 14 to take control of the race. As she paced the field, the top five continued to run wheel to wheel and nose to tail, jockeying for position. Four minutes were left on the clock as Majman and Hauanio worked their way around Cáceres, and on the white flag lap, Zelenka made his way around her, too. Hauanio pulled to the lead, with Majman in second and Zelenka in third, but the battle wasn’t over as they raced toward the checkered flag. Coming to the line three wide, the trio made contact just yards from the finish line. Hauanio was first to turn, collecting Zelenka ahead of him and leaving Cáceres with no room to escape. Zelenka crossed the line first followed by Majman in second, Hauanio in third and Cáceres in fourth.

The stewards of the race reviewed the incident, ruling that Majman had avoidable contact with Hauanio’s No. 29, resulting in a 30-second penalty applied to the final result. With the change, Majman was relegated to ninth on the official results, with Cáceres taking over the third and final podium position.

“The important thing is, everyone’s fine,” said Zelenka after the race. “The people are good; the cars are not, but we can fix the cars. Everybody was just doing all they could [to get the win]. I have to thank the team at Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport; they do a great job. I want to thank my mom, the people at Ligier, the guys at Mountune—everyone that I know has helped me tremendously.”

Ligier JS F4 takes on Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its next round, June 20-23. A live stream of the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour will be available on YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates about Ligier JS F4 are available on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Daniel Quimby Earns First-Career F4 U.S. Win in Race 2 at Road America

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Official Release
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Photo by Gavin Baker Photography.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 19, 2024) – Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) earned his first-career Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) win on Sunday morning at Road America. Making just his fifth start in the series, Quimby jumped out to an early lead after starting the race in the second position to take the victory.

Notes of Interest:

  • This was the first-career win for Daniel Quimby in F4 U.S. The Australia native joined the championship for the 2023 season finale at Circuit of The Americas, making this his fifth F4 U.S. start.
  • After earning his first podium yesterday, Connor Roberts took another step up on the podium to finish second in Race 2, marking his career-best finish.
  • Three teams were represented on today’s podium – Atlantic Racing Team with driver Daniel Quimby, Roberts Racing with driver Connor Roberts, and Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport with Nicolas Stati.
  • This weekend marks the debut of the new Ligier JS F422 chassis and Ligier Storm V4 engine. The car was unveiled exactly one year ago at Road America.
  • Once again doing a rolling start, Nicolas Stati (No. 15 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) was in the control position as the field rolled down the frontstretch toward the green flag. Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) started on the outside of the front row, with Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) and Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entrophy Cellars Ligier JS F422) following in row two. As the green flag waved, Quimby timed his start perfectly to jump to the inside of Stati, taking it three wide as the field raced toward Turn 1. Completing the pass to take control of the race, Quimby never looked back in a race that stayed green from flag to flag.

Quimby’s lead was not without challenge, as Stati remained tight on his rear wing, and less than two-tenths of a second separated the two as the race reached its halfway point. While Stati searched for the right opportunity to attempt an overtake, Roberts had fallen more than four seconds behind the leader. However, as the clock ticked down, Robert’s car got dialed in, allowing quicker and quicker lap times. With less than three minutes left on the clock, Roberts reached Stati’s gearbox as they raced down the frontstretch. The two raced nose to tail and side-by-side all the way through Turns 1 through 12. On the exit of Turn 12, Stati went a bit wide, nearly getting airborne on the rumble strips and allowing Roberts to complete the overtake for the second position just before the white flag.

As the clock ran out, they crossed the line with Quimby in first, Roberts second and Stati third.

“Yeah, it was a tough battle with Nicolas [Stati],” said Quimby from atop the podium. “We managed to hold him off. I’d like to say thanks to my Atlantic Racing Team. We worked hard last night trying to put a new floor on after a Turn 1 incident yesterday. I’d like to thank all my sponsors: Motorhome Republic, FIJI Airways, Cruise America. Thanks to the guys for the good race.”

Pablo Benites Jr. Earns Scuderia Buell’s First F4 U.S. Win

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 19, 2024) – Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F422) earned his first-career Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) win, as well as the first F4 U.S. win for his Scuderia Buell team. With an impressive drive, the Argentina-born racer climbed from his sixth-place starting position to take the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon.

Notes of Interest:

Pablo Benites Jr. won his first Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) race in just his sixth attempt after joining the championship last November at Circuit of The Americas.
With three podium finishes during the Road America SpeedTour, Connor Roberts was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race for his weekend performance, earning him a bespoke Omologato timepiece.
Nicolas Stati finished on the podium in all three of this weekend’s races, with a first-place result in Race 1, and third-place finishes in Races 2 and 3.
Once again, three teams were represented on this afternoon’s podium with Scuderia Buell winning the race, Roberts Racing finishing second and Crosslink Kiwi coming home third.
Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) led the field down the frontstretch to the wave of the green flag. While Quimby raced wheel to wheel with second-place starter Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entrophy Cellars Ligier JS F422), drivers raced three-wide behind them. As they worked through the opening turns, Quimby claimed the lead as they fought for second behind him. With Roberts in second, Benites Jr. quickly climbed to third. As they crossed the line to compete the first circuit, only 0.058-seconds separated Quimby and Roberts. Benites Jr. was also in hot pursuit, just 0.249 seconds behind the leader. Less than a second behind, Nicolas Stati (No. 15 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) and Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) were battling for fourth.

In the minutes that followed, Quimby, Roberts and Benites Jr. all jockeyed for the point position, with each of them leading the race at one point or another. As the clock ticked down, it became a five-car battle, with Stati and Crosbie both joining the fight. Continually racing two by two before flanking out to drive nose to tail, less than two seconds separated the group for the majority of the event.

As they passed the halfway point, Roberts nosed ahead as they crossed the start/finish line to hold a 0.040-second advantage over Benites Jr. However, it wasn’t long until Stati climbed from fourth to the second position. In fact, the 15-year-old Stati was in the lead as the field took the white flag, but Benites Jr. had the preferred line racing through Turn 5 on the final lap. Stati went wide, opening the door for Benites Jr. to overtake the top position, and did it again in Turn 6, allowing then third-place Roberts to drive by.

When they crossed the line, Benites led the way, followed by Roberts in second and Stati in third.

“This is amazing; I can’t believe it,” said Benites Jr. atop the podium. “We made some changes for Race 2 and it was bad—it was really bad. We had no pace. We came back and we made some changes for the final, hoping that we’d be good, and it was amazing! I’d like to thank the team—they work so hard, all of them—my grandparents for making this possible, and all the people here.”

F4 U.S. takes on Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its next round, June 20-23. A live stream of the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour will be available on YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates about F4 U.S. are available on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Joey Logano Takes Mustang to Victory Lane in All-Star Rac

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
All-Star Race | Sunday, May 19, 2024

JOEY LOGANO WINS SECOND CAREER ALL-STAR RACE

  • Joey Logano won the NASCAR All-Star Race for the second time in his career tonight (2016).
  • Logano led 199-of-200 laps, which is the most ever in a NASCAR All-Star Race.
  • He becomes the third Ford driver to win multiple All-Star Races, joining Davey Allison and Mark Martin.
  • Ford has now won the NASCAR All-Star Race 14 times and twice in the last three seasons.

Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Chris Buescher
5th – Ryan Blaney
9th – Michael McDowell
11th – Noah Gragson
16th – Brad Keselowski

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – HOW FUN WAS THAT? “A lot of fun when you’ve got a car this fast. The Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, it’s just so great to get in Victory Lane. All of our sponsors and everyone who stuck with us to get a win, it feels nice. It’s been a while. I wish it was for points, but a million bucks is still a lot of money and I feel great about that.”

THOUGHTS ON THE OPTION TIRE AND GOING 100 LAPS? “Well, we did the first 100, so why wouldn’t it last the second 100. That was our thought, so it was definitely an aggressive strategy, but it worked out good.”

ROGER PENSKE PUT A CAR ON THE POLE AT INDIANAPOLIS AND YOU WIN TONIGHT. THAT’S A PRETTY GOOD DAY. “You said it. Not a bad day.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We stayed on reds all night, so that worked out pretty good for us. I’m really proud of our team. Friday wasn’t very good to be straight up about it and they worked really hard and pulled some strings, hit some buttons and got us a whole lot better for tonight, so I was proud of that to bring our Fastenal Mustang home third. I felt like we had a decent shot at it there. I was able to pace the 22 pretty good, but there at the end just took too long to get around the 5 car and really didn’t have sight of the leaders at that point. It’s a good night on a night where only one position matters. I’m proud of the group. It’s good to keep our momentum up and we’ll go onto the 600 and go win us one.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MOMENTUM YOU HAVE GOING WITH THE 600 COMING UP? “I’m pumped for it. That’s a track that was really good for us last year. We led laps and got a stage win at a time of the year where we hadn’t hit our stride, so that speaks volumes for us going into it. I’m pumped. Momentum is just a product of running good and being on our game and our team has done a fantastic job. Again, I couldn’t be more proud of them. Tonight, I wanted two more, but this is a heck of a way to lead us right into the 600 next weekend.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was an alright race. We knew we had to be creative to get up through there and we did a good job in the first caution when a lot of guys came up and put yellows on. We left the reds on and that’s how we got our track position, and then we had to leave them on until the end and actually held on alright. I didn’t get a very good restart on the front row, and then I about spun out into one and that lost me second and lost me third and then I’m just trying to make it back up, although I probably could have run about third. Overall, not a bad night from where we started.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Overstock Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We started in the back and got a lap down early, but got the lucky dog and came back to 11th. We just never got a handle on the balance all weekend. We were pretty loose in, so we need to go back and do our homework on this place. It’s tough. It’s a new place, but we’re a better race team than we showed all weekend. I’m certainly grateful for the fan support to allow us the opportunity to get in the All-Star Race. It was a fun weekend overall, but we just kind of struggled. It seemed like the soft tire was better for our car than the hard tire for whatever reason that is, but I’m just super grateful.”

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES ALL-STAR RACE WINNERS

1986 – Bill Elliott (Atlanta)

1991 – Davey Allison (Charlotte)

1992 – Davey Allison (Charlotte)

1994 – Geoffrey Bodine (Charlotte)

1996 – Michael Waltrip (Charlotte)

1998 – Mark Martin (Charlotte)

2002 – Ryan Newman (Charlotte)

2004 – Matt Kenseth (Charlotte)

2005 – Mark Martin (Charlotte)

2011 – Carl Edwards (Charlotte)

2016 – Joey Logano (Charlotte)

2018 – Kevin Harvick (Charlotte)

2022 – Ryan Blaney (Texas)

2024 – Joey Logano (North Wilkesboro)

CHEVROLET NCS AT NORTH WILKESBORO: Larson Leads Chevrolet with Top-Five Finish at North Wilkesboro

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY
NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
MAY 19, 2024

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL ALL-STAR RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
4th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
7th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Flannel Camaro ZL1
8th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
10th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1
15th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1
18th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 LeafFilter / Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1
19th William Byon, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
20th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Health / Icy Hot Camaro ZL1

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 26, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY ALL-STAR POST-RACE QUOTES

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

That last run, you came out of nowhere. Cliff (Daniels) said he pumped the tire pressures up, but ultimately did it just fall off?

“Yeah, I thought we were in great position there. Got to fourth pretty quickly; got to third pretty quickly. I thought I could just be patient. I built really loose for a little while, and then they started kind of inching away from me. I moved up and I was kind of hanging on from there. I was surprised that the guys that didn’t pit were as strong as they were. I thought we were going to be in the best position there to win.

Hats off to the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy team. I know they had a lot of work this week; having Kevin (Harvick) practice, swap seats and everything back to where I could drive it. Proud to go back and forth and have a shot to win.”

What does it mean to be top-five in Indianapolis?

“Oh, it’s awesome! It just makes it all mean something more. To be lined up on the second row of the Indianapolis 500 is pretty crazy. Yeah, I just can’t believe it, really. I thought if we could make the Fast 12, that would be exceeding expectations. To qualify as well as we did yesterday and then get into the Fast Six today was unbelievable. Happy with how it’s gone so far there, and now I look forward to hopefully get better in race trim.”

Tonight in the last stage, did going down low so much just eventually burn the tires up?

“Yeah, honestly, I felt like I could take care of my tires better down low. I was worried about building tight all race and whenever I would move up top, you’re just kind of tugging on the wheel more and you’re on the throttle. So I feel like that actually uses the tires more. I thought I was doing what I needed to maintain the balance of my car, but I think we just pumped the air up a lot and I just built really free, really quickly, on that run. And then I moved up and I just slowly got tight after that. I thought we were in a great position to win. I thought for sure we would win, but just didn’t work out. We’ll do our homework and try to get our car better for next year.”

How effective are the new tires?

“I think they were effective to get me there.. probably for 10 laps. But then after that, I just don’t think our car balance was there. Say Denny (Hamlin) pitted, I think his car was much better than ours. Had he pitted, he probably would have, or could have in my opinion, won. But we just didn’t have the speed that those guys did all race.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Health / Icy Hot Camaro ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 20th

Take us through the initial contact that you had with Kyle Busch.

“We had a really good start. He left the door wide open. I went through the middle and I almost had him cleared. The No. 34 (Michael McDowell) kind of ran up the track, and we all just kind of touched there.. nothing major. And then Kyle (Busch) tried to wreck me in (turns) three and four, and finally did wreck me there in one and two. Our No. 47 Kroger Healthy / Icy Hot Chevy was really fast. I felt really good. We were good in practice. We had already passed two or three cars there, so bummed we couldn’t see it through to the end.”

TEAM CHEVY ALL-STAR OPEN POST-RACE QUOTES

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

NASCAR All-Star Open Race

Finished: 6th

How disappointing is to not advance into the NASCAR All-Star Race?

“Yeah, for sure. It’s not what we wanted for Hendrick Motorsports, Ally and everyone on this No. 48 Chevy team. Honestly, we just kind of missed it a little bit. We were really tight on Friday and just jumped the fence a little bit today where we were too free. I felt like if I could clear the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace), get up and take care of my stuff, I’d be OK. I just heated up my right rear tire trying to get clear of him. When I finally couldn’t clear him, I was in a lot of trouble there for a little bit until I got pulled back down.

Bummer, for sure, but it’s a great event and a great racetrack. We were running the fence in (turns) one and two. You could run all the way across the racetrack. It was super fun. Wish we could have made it, but we’ll learn from it. I think we were all really tight in practice and we jumped the fence a little bit there and got too free. So hopefully we’ll have really good notes for our teammates for the All-Star Race, and we’ll be cheering them on.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 SENIX Camaro ZL1

NASCAR All-Star Open Race

Finished: 9th

“We gave it all we had. Our No. 3 SENIX Chevy was really fast. We had the fastest lap in qualifying. Unfortunately, we had to start back in 15th. We made our way forward into the top-10 with 50 laps to go. We decided to put yellow’s (tires) on, and everyone in front of us took red’s. We were hoping that because of that, they would fade, but it just didn’t happen fast enough. We were making a pretty good charge there at the end, but there just wasn’t enough time and lost too much ground on the hard tires on the takeoff. Would have liked to have seen what happened with red’s because they got to beating and banging up front, but unfortunately we don’t get another shot at it.

We’ll take this to the short tracks coming up. I think this is a big win for RCR and our short track program, so hopefully we can take what we learned; apply it and have some better runs moving forward.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Stewart-Haas Racing: NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race from North Wilkesboro

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Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race

Date: May 19, 2024
Event: NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points events)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway (.625-mile oval)
NASCAR All-Star Open: 100 laps, with a competition break at or around lap 50

● Race Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
● Second Place: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
● Fan Vote Winner: Noah Gragson of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Note: The All-Star Open was the undercard event to the NASCAR All-Star Race, where non-qualified drivers attempted to race their way into the All-Star Race by winning the Open, finishing second in the Open, or by winning the fan vote.

NASCAR All-Star Race: 200 laps, with competition breaks at or around lap 100 and lap 150

● Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Note: The NASCAR All-Star Race was comprised of drivers who won a points-paying race in 2023 or 2024, fulltime drivers who have previously won the All-Star Race, fulltime drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship, and drivers who advanced from the All-Star Open.

SHR Finish in NASCAR All-Star Open

● Josh Berry (Started 7th, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 5th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 3rd, Finished 7th / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 12th, Finished 8th / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)

SHR Finish in NASCAR All-Star Race:

● Noah Gragson (Started 20th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

SHR Notes:

● This was Gragson’s second career All-Star Race. He finished 23rd last year.

● Gragson earned his way into the All-Star Race by winning the fan vote for a second straight year.

● Berry won last year’s All-Star Open to advance into the All-Star Race.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the All-Star Race by .636 of a second over runner-up Denny Hamlin.

● This was Ford’s 14th win in the All-Star Race.

● The All-Star Race featured two lead changes among two different drivers. Twenty drivers comprised the field.

Sound Bites:

“I started in the back and went a lap down early, and then got the Lucky Dog and came back to 11th. Just never really got a handle on the balance all weekend. Pretty loose in. We need to go back and definitely do our homework on this place. It’s tough, it’s a new place, but we’re a better race team than we showed all weekend. Extremely grateful for the fan support to be able to allow us the opportunity to get into the All-Star Race. It was a fun weekend overall, just kind of struggled all weekend. Soft tires seemed to be better for our car than the hard tire. But, yeah, good time overall and super grateful.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Mustang Dark Horse

“I don’t know, we had a really good practice, we were loose in qualifying and that kind of translated to the first run. The boys on pit road had a great pit stop and got us some track position. I think the tire compound tightened us up a little bit and we were better. We still needed to be a little bit tighter. I was doing everything I could, without a doubt. I really found a lot in (turns) one and two. I was fast in (turns) one and two, but just couldn’t quite put together (turns) three and four to make a charge at them. From where we started, we knew it would be tough, but all in all it was just a great effort. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, Rodney (Childers, crew chief), this whole 4 team, Harrison’s for all they do. I hate to not be in it (the All-Star Race), but we were probably the whole show right there for how it looked. I was doing everything I could, I just couldn’t quite get to the 23 (Bubba Wallace, second-place finisher). The last couple of laps, I got a little bit better, but it would’ve been hard to pass him without really roughing him up.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Harrison’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We just didn’t really have the short-run speed. It seemed like once we got single-filed out, it was hard unless you were really, really good to go forward. On the normal tire, we were really, really loose at the start, and on the soft tire we were really, really tight. I felt like if the race was 100-lap runs, we would’ve been alright. We were pretty good on the long runs, we just didn’t quite have it on the short runs. We’ve just got to do a better job. Especially this weekend, it’s just a little tough having different tires, but I need to do a better job just understanding from practice kind of what I need for the short run versus the long run. Hated it for all of us. We’ve been having really, really good speed here lately, so I hope this wasn’t a momentum killer. But overall, I’m thankful for HighPoint. I wish we could’ve gotten them a little better chance in the All-Star Race, but we’ll just go to the Coke 600 next week and see what we can do.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We just needed a better balance, needed better track position, kind of everything. I don’t know, I guess we just didn’t have what it took to be in the All-Start Race today.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying racing on Sunday, May 26 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The longest race on the series’ schedule gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kyle Washington Secures Season-Best Second-Place GT America Finish Sunday in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R at COTA

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Official Release
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  • Late Caution Cuts Short Washington’s Challenge for the Lead After Battling for The Victory from the Drop of the Green Flag in Sunday’s Second and Final 40-Minute GT America Powered by AWS Sprint
  • James Sofronas Leads Saturday and Joins Washington on the Podium Sunday in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 Only to be Sidetracked by Aero Issues and Hit with a Restart Penalty

AUSTIN, Texas (May 19, 2024) – Kyle Washington capped a competitive and milestone month of May with a season-best second-place finish Sunday in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the second and final 40-minute GT America powered by AWS race of the weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Building on a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s first GT America sprint, Washington started fifth on Sunday and began a run to the front from the start. The front runners scrambled when the outside front row starter overshot Turn 1, and Washington jumped to fourth and then passed series veteran Johnny O’Connell in the fast downhill run into Turn 2. Washington then passed his current coach, friend and teammate James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 a few laps later to move into second.

“Circuit of The Americas is one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite,” Washington said. “Everything is bigger here, the GMG Racing guys set up the car in tip-top shape, and on Sunday I found myself running up front with Johnny O’Connell and James. Johnny O was one of my very first coaches, and obviously I now work with James everyday, so there is no bigger goal than to get in front of those two, and I had an opportunity to do that today. It felt amazing!”

With Sofronas racing as Washington’s “wing man” in third just ahead of O’Connell, Washington immediately took the fight to the leader but a string of late caution incidents interrupted the battle for first and ended the race under caution.

“The number one goal of our racing program, and one of my top priorities with our customers, is driver development,” said Sofronas, GMG Racing Founder and Team Principal. “Whatever I can do to help them along and expedite the process and learning curve, that’s what I will do, and I noticed Kyle had significant pace on Sunday. I wanted to give him a chance to chase down the leader and I covered his back when we were racing on track. Kyle was nipping at the leader’s heels, and with a little more time I think he could have won the race. We are at mid-season, but I am only doing select races and really helping Kyle develop. To see him get a P2 overall was really a win in my book. It was a victory for our program and what we are trying to do.”

Sofronas crossed the finish line in third and joined Washington on the podium only to be assessed, along with O’Connell and several others, a restart procedure penalty that dropped him down in the finishing order. Sunday’s disappointment followed another heartbreaker in Saturday’s race when Sofronas held the lead only to be slowed by a loose aerodynamic diffuser under the back of the car. Sofronas nursed the stricken Audi to the finish to salvage a fourth-place finish.

“We had pace on Saturday to win,” Sofronas said. “We had it covered up front, but in racing things happen, and we had a diffuser come loose while leading. The car was basically undriveable, but we still held on for fourth place. On Sunday, we had decent pace and made it to the podium with Kyle but later were hit with a restart penalty that I thought was somewhat questionable. In the end, it is all about customers and how they finished. Overall, I am happy with the results from the weekend.”

In addition to the GT America success, Washington also co-drove with coach and first-year co-driver Tom Sargent in the COTA weekend’s 90-minute Fanatec GT World Challenge America races in the Type 992 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Both drivers and the GMG Racing team continued to make progress and learn the Type 992 Porsche with a weekend-best seventh-place result Saturday in the just the third GT World Challenge race weekend together for Washington and Sargent.

Washington and Sargent combined for a pair of fourth-place Pro-Am finishes in the GT World Challenge races preceding COTA two weeks ago at Sebring International Raceway. The season-best GT World Challenge finishes began a three-week May stretch of top results for Washington that included Sunday’s runner-up finish at COTA and a Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West Masters class victory in a GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car at Utah Motorsports Campus last weekend.

Next up for GMG Racing is the IMSA Carrera Cup doubleheader at the Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, June 7 – 9.

Washington will drive the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Masters Class while Ofir Levy and Sofronas compete in the Pro-Am division in Montreal. Levy looks to build on a solid seventh place finish in his Carrera Cup debut earlier this month at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in His No. 3 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Sofronas wheels the same No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup he drove to the Pro-Am victory in the season-opening race in Sebring in March.

About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in Santa Ana, California in Orange County and with a trackside motorsports facility at 28,000 sq. ft. currently being built at The Thermal Club. The staff, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped us support our customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona and Spa, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.

RECAP: Wright Motorsports Porsche Squad Keeps Podium Streak Alive in Austin Heat

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Official Release
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AUSTIN, Tex., (May 19, 2024) – Amid hot and humid weather conditions at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Wright Motorsports continued their podium streak in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America series, earning their sixth podium finish in six races. This made it a successful weekend for the Porsche team, strengthening their standing as the championship points leaders with Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer behind the wheel of the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R race car.

“The heat in Texas really tested the entire paddock this weekend,” said Team Owner John Wright. “As always, the men and women of Wright Motorsports put up with the hot conditions and delivered a strong points weekend. Adam and Elliott are having a great debut in the PRO class, and it’s a testament to them as drivers, as well as the team supporting them.”

Race one of the two-race weekend started in the heat of the day on Saturday afternoon. Adelson took the green flag from fourth place intent on bringing the green and yellow machine to the mid-race driver change in the top-five. Turn one at COTA delivered its normal calamity, and the ripple effect of one car’s incident impacted the Wright Motorsports No. 120 Porsche, spinning Adelson out of his strong grid spot. He was able to continue and rejoined third in class. He regained some ground early, working his way through the Pro/Am field. He ended his stint in third place and pitted during the mandatory window to give the car over to Skeer. The No. 120 rejoined the race with a full load of fuel and new tires. Skeer immediately found himself engaged in a battle for second place with Varun Choksey and his BMW. The pair’s battle kept fans on the each of their seats, with tight and close racing happening at every turn. Just after Skeer made the pass to take the position, the Porsche suffered contact in the rear, and eventually lost its entire diffuser. Thankfully, the piece of downforce bodywork separated from the car, allowing Skeer to avoid an extra pit stop. He sailed to the finish line, and Wright Motorsports secured its fifth podium result of the season.

With repairs made overnight by the Ohio-based race team, Skeer started race two from pole position in class – fourth overall – with the race start again coming at the hottest point of the day on Sunday afternoon. He had initial pressure from the No. 85 of Trent Hindman, but stayed ahead, continuing to lead the PRO class. Skeer pitted during the mandatory window, and Adelson joined the race in the lead with 38 minutes remaining. Up ahead, a pair of Pro/Am BMWs led the field, but their own back and forth battle allowed Adelson to reel them in. Pro driver Alec Udell also inched up to the leaders and had a good battle with Adelson for position. The Wright driver put up a strong fight, but in the end, finished a close second place to the far more experienced driver, making it a solid points gathering weekend for the team in the championship standings.

With the weekend concluded, the series will have a 60-day break, resuming for Rounds 7 and 8 at VIRginia International Raceway, July 19-21.

DRIVER QUOTES

Adam Adelson

The car was incredible. It was amazing to drive with the proper aero set up, not missing a diffuser or a broken front end. The team was perfect with the strategy. It plays a bigger part in the races than a lot of people think. We had some AC and drink bottle issues that made it really difficult for us, but I’m super happy with the way I drove. Elliott did an amazing job, and I couldn’t be more proud of the overall result. To even be able to fight Alec Udell is an awesome thing for me and I couldn’t be happier… well, I could be a little happier, but that’s asking a lot.

Elliott Skeer

All in all, it was a tough but rewarding weekend. Ultimately, we came out of the weekend strong. We thought the 911 GT3 R was going to be a strong car here. It definitely was, but we left a percent on the table and we’re going to be hungry to come back next time. We raced as well as we could. Today was a hot one in the car. I’m super proud of how Adam drove with Alec Udell and the other Pro drivers. He drove a fantastic stint. I can’t wait to get back in the air conditioning and enjoy a little bit of champagne with the team.

Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.

2024 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Field Notes

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Indianapolis, IN - during practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Jones | IMS Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 19, 2024) – Facts and figures about the starting field for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

  • Scott McLaughlin earned his first career Indianapolis 500 pole. He is the first New Zealand native and the second New Zealand citizen to win a pole for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Scott Dixon, who is a New Zealand citizen but was born in Australia, has won five Indianapolis 500 poles.
  • Scott McLaughlin’s best qualifying position in three previous Indianapolis 500 starts was 14th in 2023.
  • Scott McLaughlin produced the fastest four-lap average speed in history for an Indianapolis 500 pole winner, 234.220 mph. The previous record was 234.217 set in 2023 by Alex Palou. Arie Luyendyk set the all-time four-lap qualifying average speed record of 236.986 in 1996, but his run came on the second day of qualifications and wasn’t eligible for the pole.
  • Team Penske earned its record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 pole. The team’s last pole was delivered by Simon Pagenaud in 2019. Team Penske also has a record 19 Indianapolis 500 victories.
  • Team Penske swept the front row for the Indianapolis 500 for just the second time in Indianapolis 500 history, with Scott McLaughlin on pole, Will Power second and Josef Newgarden third. Team Penske first achieved the feat in 1988 with Rick Mears on pole, Danny Sullivan second and Al Unser third.
  • In 1988, pole sitter Rick Mears drove a yellow Pennzoil-sponsored car, No. 2 starter Danny Sullivan was a one-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, and No. 3 starter Al Unser was the defending winner of the “500.” This year, Scott McLaughlin drives a Pennzoil-sponsored car, No. 2 starter Will Power is a one-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, and No. 3 starter Josef Newgarden is the defending winner of the “500.”
  • Chevrolet-powered drivers earned the first eight starting spots this year. The last time one manufacturer earned as many of the top starting spots was 2013, when Chevy took the top 10 starting positions.
  • This is the 10th time car No. 3 has won the Indianapolis 500 pole. The last time was 2010 with Helio Castroneves of Team Penske. Car No. 1 has won the pole a record 13 times.
  • This is the second-fastest starting field in Indianapolis 500 history, with an average speed of 231.943 mph. The record of 232.184 mph was set last year.
  • This is the second-fastest front row in Indianapolis 500 history, with an average speed of 233.981 mph. The record of 234.181 mph was set last year.
  • Kyle Larson turned the fastest qualifying lap by a rookie in Indianapolis 500 history, 233.453 mph on the first lap of his Top 12 Qualifying attempt. The previous record was 233.297 by Benjamin Pedersen in 2023.
  • Kyle Larson recorded the second-fastest four-lap qualifying average by a rookie in Indianapolis 500 history, 232.846 mph. The record is 233.100 set by Tony Stewart in 1996.
  • There are eight former Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting field: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Scott Dixon (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), Will Power (2018), Marcus Ericsson (2022) and Josef Newgarden (2023). Between them, they have 12 victories. The record for most former winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912.
  • There are six rookies in the field: Kyle Larson (starting fifth), Marcus Armstrong (16th), Kyffin Simpson (18th), Christian Rasmussen (24th), Tom Blomqvist (25th) and Linus Lundqvist (27th).
  • Other than the six rookies, Pietro Fittipaldi is the only driver in the field who didn’t start the race in 2023. Fittipaldi’s last start was in 2021.
  • Helio Castroneves is the most experienced driver in the field, with 23 previous Indianapolis 500 starts. The record is 35, set in consecutive years from 1958-1992 by A.J. Foyt.
  • Scott Dixon has led 665 career laps in the Indianapolis 500, the all-time event record. The only other driver in the field who has led more than 200 laps is Helio Castroneves (326).
  • The oldest driver in the starting field is Helio Castroneves, 49 years, 16 days on Race Day. The youngest driver is Kyffin Simpson, 19 years, 230 days. A.J. Foyt is the oldest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. He was 57 years, 128 days old when he made his last start in 1992. A.J. Foyt IV is the youngest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. His 19th birthday was on Race Day, 2003.
  • Helio Castroneves will be older on Race Day than Al Unser when he became the oldest winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1987 at age 47 years, 360 days old.
  • Kyffin Simpson will be younger on Race Day than Troy Ruttman when he became the youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1952 at age 22 years, 80 days old.
  • Twenty different drivers in this year’s field have led a total of 2,279 laps in previous Indianapolis 500s.
  • There are a combined 222 previous Indianapolis 500 starts among the 33 drivers in this year’s field. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 235 years of combined experience in last year’s field.
  • The most-experienced row in this year’s starting lineup is Row 7, with a combined 62 career starts (Marco Andretti 18, Helio Castroneves 23, Scott Dixon 21). The least-experienced rows are Rows 8 and 9, with two combined career starts (Row 8: Agustin Canapino 1, Sting Ray Robb 1, Christian Rasmussen 0; Row 9; Tom Blomqvist 0, Romain Grosjean 2, Linus Lundqvist 0).
  • There are seven former Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year in this year’s field. The record is nine, in 1991 and 2021.
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