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Specialized Services or Options Available at SGT Auto Transport

By
SM
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Photo by Yuvraj Singh on Unsplash

SGT Car Transport offers a range of specialized services and options to meet the diverse needs of customers in the auto transport industry. From expedited shipping to enclosed transport and international shipping, SGT Car Transport provides tailored solutions to accommodate various vehicle types, timelines, and destinations. This article will explore the specialized services and options available at SGT Car Transport, highlighting the key features and benefits of each.

Expedited Shipping:

SGT Car Transport provides accelerated shipping services to clients who need their automobiles to be delivered in a reasonable amount of time and in a timely manner. With accelerated shipping, automobiles are given priority for collection and delivery, which cuts down on the amount of time it takes for them to travel and ensures that they get to their destination on time. It doesn’t matter whether you have to meet stringent deadlines, react to urgent circumstances, or just want a speedier delivery alternative; accelerated shipping offers a solution that is both easy and dependable. Individuals who are transferring for employment, acquiring automobiles from out of state, or participating in time-sensitive events such as auctions or exhibits are great candidates for the accelerated shipping services offered by SGT Car Transport.

Enclosed Transport:

For customers seeking maximum protection and security for their vehicles, SGT Auto Transport offers enclosed transport services. Enclosed transport involves transporting vehicles in fully enclosed trailers, shielding them from external elements such as weather, road debris, and vandalism. This premium service is ideal for luxury cars, classic cars, exotic vehicles, and high-value collections that require extra care and attention during transit. With enclosed transport, customers can have peace of mind knowing that their vehicles are protected throughout the shipping process, from pickup to delivery. SGT Car Transport’s enclosed transport services provide a safe, secure, and stress-free shipping experience for valuable and sensitive vehicles.

International Shipping:

SGT Car Transport is a company that specializes in providing international shipping services to clients that need the transportation of automobiles across international boundaries and internationally. Whether you are moving to a new country, acquiring a car from another country, or taking part in foreign events, SGT Car Transport is able to make the transfer of your automobile to any location in the globe as smooth and trouble-free as possible. In addition to ensuring compliance with international rules, the firm is responsible for handling all elements of international shipment, including customs clearance and paperwork duties. SGT Car Transport is able to guarantee that automobiles are carried across international borders securely and expediently, regardless of the distance or destination, thanks to their considerable experience and competence in international logistics.

Door-to-Door Delivery:

SGT Car Transport offers door-to-door delivery services for added convenience and peace of mind. With door-to-door delivery, customers can have their vehicles picked up from their location and delivered directly to their desired destination, whether it’s a residence, business, or another specified location. This eliminates the need for customers to drop off or pick up their vehicles at terminals or depots, saving time and effort in the shipping process. SGT Car Transport’s door-to-door delivery services provide a hassle-free and personalized shipping experience, allowing customers to focus on other aspects of their move or project.

Exotic and High-Value Vehicle Transport:

For customers with exotic cars, high-value vehicles, or unique transportation requirements, SGT Car Transport offers specialized services tailored to meet their needs. The company has experience transporting a wide range of exotic and high-value vehicles, including luxury cars, sports cars, vintage cars, and custom-built vehicles. SGT Car Transport’s team of experts understands the unique challenges and considerations involved in transporting exotic and high-value vehicles, such as delicate finishes, low ground clearance, and specific handling requirements. With specialized equipment, training, and expertise, SGT Car Transport ensures that every vehicle is transported safely, securely, and with the utmost care and attention to detail.

Conclusion:

SGT Car Transport offers a range of specialized services and options to meet the diverse needs of customers in the auto transport industry. From expedited shipping to enclosed transport, international shipping, door-to-door delivery, and specialized transport for exotic and high-value vehicles, SGT Car Transport provides tailored solutions to accommodate various vehicle types, timelines, and destinations. With a commitment to excellence, reliability, and customer satisfaction, SGT Car Transport sets the standard for specialized auto transport services, ensuring that every vehicle is transported safely, securely, and efficiently to its destination, regardless of the requirements or challenges involved.

Sources

Jesse Love outlasts two overtime shootouts for first Xfinity career win at Talladega

By
Andrew Kim
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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA - APRIL 20: Jesse Love, driver of the #2 WAT Chevrolet, and RCR team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Richard Childress pose for photos in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 20, 2024 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

After generating an impressive start to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, rookie Jesse Love sealed the deal by notching his first career victory in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 20, amid two overtime shootouts. 

The 19-year-old Love from Menlo Park, California, led five times for 28 of 124 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row alongside teammate and pole-sitter Austin Hill. After spending nearly the entire first stage period running behind Hill amid the draft, Love overtook him on the final lap prior to Justin Allgaier wrecking out of the event to capture the stage victory. 

Love then spent the remainder of the event battling within the draft and towards the front while avoiding a handful of late on-track calamities that sent the event into overtime twice. After sneaking his way back into the lead for the start of the second overtime shootout, Love survived on a low tank of fuel and fended off late challenges from Leland Honeyman and Brennan Poole to score his first Xfinity Series career victory in his ninth series start. 

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, April 19, Austin Hill notched his fifth Xfinity career pole position, his first of the 2024 season and his third straight at Talladega after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.629 mph in 52.723 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate and rookie Jesse Love, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 181.120 mph in 52.871 seconds. 

Prior to the event, the following names that included Jeb Burton, Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. 

When the green flag waved and the race started, Austin Hill received a push from Cole Custer on the outside lane to muscle ahead before he then transitioned to the inside lane and moved in front of teammate Jesse Love through the first two turns. As the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch, Hill would manage to fend off the early challenges and maintain control of both lanes to return to the tri-oval with the lead and lead the first lap.  

On the second lap, Sammy Smith would challenge Hill for the lead from the backstretch through the frontstretch amid the draft as the field fully fanned out to three packed lanes. Smith, however, would lose ground during the following lap as he had no drafting help on the inside lane as Hill, who continued to have both lanes under his control, maintained the top spot ahead of teammate Love, Parker Kligerman, Ryan Truex and AJ Allmendinger through the fifth lap mark. 

Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with a majority of the field migrating to a long line on the outside lane, Hill was leading ahead of teammate Love, Kligerman, Truex and Chandler Smith, who was trying to ignite a drafting run from the inside lane, while Cole Custer, AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Sieg trailed in the top 10 ahead of rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman, Jeremy Clements and Sheldon Creed.  

A lap later, Custer, who was drafting Chandler Smith on the inside lane, made a bold move beneath Smith to assume the runner-up spot before he then made a move beneath Hill in a bid for the lead through the frontstretch. Despite drawing even against Hill through the first two turns and the backstretch, Hill quickly fought back on the inside lane as he had teammate Love drafting him while Custer was trying to keep pace amid the draft. 

By Lap 15, Hill was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Love followed by Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Truex while Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, van Gisbergen, Kyle Weatherman, Clements and the rest of the field followed suit, with the top 29 of 38 starters trailing within three seconds. 

Just past the Lap 20 mark, Hill continued to lead just ahead of teammate Love as Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Truex, Allmendinger, Allgaier, van Gisbergen, Weatherman and Clements were running in the top 10 ahead of Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton, Alfredo, Perkins, Taylor Gray, Creed, Herbst, Custer, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams, all of whom were running under two seconds. 

On the final lap of the first stage period, the event’s first caution period flew after Allgaier, who was running in the top 10, got loose entering the backstretch and made contact with Herbst that sent Allgaier spinning before the Illinois veteran T-boned the inside wall hard at full pace as his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro then came to a halt back across the track, with Allgaier managing to emerge uninjured. Allgaier’s incident not only spoiled his chances of achieving the third Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus of the season, but it was also enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 25 to conclude under caution as Jesse Love, who overtook teammate Hill for the lead on the frontstretch and prior to Allgaier’s wreck, captured his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Kligerman ended up second followed by Hill, Chandler Smith and Allmendinger while Truex, van Gisbergen, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Custer were scored in the top 10. 

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Love pitted for service while the rest led by Matt DiBenedetto and including Joey Gase, Caesar Bacarella, Leland Honeyman, Jordan Anderson, Dawson Cram, Mason Massey and Hailie Deegan remained on the track. All including Josh Bilicki, who exited pit road first the lap prior, pitted during the following lap, which allowed Love to cycle back into the lead. Kligerman, who slid through his pit box earlier, also returned to pit road for another pit service. 

The second stage period started on Lap 30 as teammates Love and Hil occupied the front row. At the start, Love and Hill battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns and entering the backstretch until Hill muscled back ahead with the lead exiting the backstretch as Ryan Truex followed suit in second. With the field fanning out to three tight-packed lanes during the following lap, Hill maintained control of both lanes amid the draft.  

On Lap 34, a three-wide battle for the lead ensued as Custer, Truex and Hill battled dead even for the lead through the frontstretch until Custer muscled his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang into the lead. Hill then fought back during the following two turns and the backstretch before Custer moved in front of Hill to stall his momentum. This allowed Ryan Sieg to move into the lead despite drawing dead even with Truex through the first two turns before Custer fought back and battled Sieg for the lead through the backstretch and the frontstretch. With the field tight-packed amid three lanes, Sieg fended off Custer to maintain the lead on the inside lane while Hill was trying to regain momentum on the outside lane by Lap 37. 

Just past the Lap 40 mark, Sieg continued to lead ahead of Hill, who surged his way back towards the front, along with Herbst while Love followed suit in fourth, though he would be overtaken by Chandler Smith, Custer and Taylor Gray amid the draft. Chandler Smith would then challenge Sieg in a side-by-side battle for the lead from the inside lane by Lap 42 before he assumed the top spot by the following lap as he had Hill following suit. Another lap later, teammate Truex challenged Smith for the lead before he got shuffled out of the draft. This enabled Smith to retain the top spot ahead of Hill and Love while Brandon Jones was trying to ignite a charge from the inside lane. 

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 50, Hill, who reassumed the lead four laps earlier, captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season after fending off a last-lap charge from Allmendinger. Love edged Allmendinger to claim second followed by Sieg and Brandon Jones while Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Herbst, Jeb Burton and Truex were scored in the top 10. 

During the stage break, a majority of the field led by Hill pitted for service while the rest led by Jordan Anderson remained on the track. The remaining competitors who elected not to pit led by Anderson would pit shortly after as Love, who only opted for fuel to his entry, reassumed the lead.  

With 58 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Love and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Love muscled ahead from the outside lane to retain the lead as he had Chandler Smith following him in the draft while Jones was trying to keep pace from the inside lane. With Hill trying to fight his way back to the front in ninth place and as the field fanned out amid the draft, Jones would assume the lead just past the halfway mark on Lap 57. With Jones leading, Kligerman followed suit along with Hill while Love was left to fend off Sieg for fourth place. 

With 52 laps remaining, Ryan Sieg muscled ahead from Jones on the inside lane entering the frontstretch to assume the lead. Sammy Smith would then rocket his way into a side-by-side challenge against Sieg for the lead entering Turn 3 as Smith had Shane van Gisbergen following him. With more battles at the front ensuing and more names carving their way to the front, van Gisbergen then led a lap for himself in his No. 97 Wendy’s Chevrolet Camaro with 50 laps remaining until Hill drafted Sammy Smith back to the lead ahead of a tight three-wide pack. 

A few laps later, the caution returned after Kligerman, who was running fourth, turned across the right-front fender of Sieg, where he then turned and sent Jones’ No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro head-on into the outside wall in the frontstretch. This triggered a multi-car wreck that involved Allmendinger, Clements, Truex, Sam Mayer, Josh Williams, Jeb Burton, DiBenedetto, Leland Honeyman and Kyle Weatherman. At the moment of caution, Hill had reassumed the lead over Sammy Smith. 

During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Hill pitted for service while the rest led by David Starr remained on the track. As the rest of the field, including Starr and DiBenedetto pitted during the following few laps, Hill, who only opted for fuel to his entry, cycled back into the lead. 

As the event restarted under green with 41 laps remaining, Sieg received a push from Custer to maintain the lead on the inside lane as Herbst tried to follow suit in third place. Hill, however, would fight back on the outside before Custer moved in front of Hill to stall his momentum. Amid the field fanning out through the frontstretch, Herbst would assume the lead with 40 laps remaining. Then as Herbst was trying to fend off Love for the lead, the caution returned after Allmendinger’s rear bumper cover split, came off of the car and fell on the backstretch. 

During the following restart period with 35 laps remaining, Herbst muscled his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang ahead from the inside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns before he transitioned up to the outside lane to block Sieg and retain the lead. With the field fanning out to three lanes and charging hard to the front, Hill challenged Herbst for the lead during the following lap, but Herbst received a strong push from Sieg, Custer and Kligerman amid the draft to maintain the lead from the outside lane, which dropped Hill out of the top five as he was trying to regain momentum with drafting help from Alfredo and Love.  

With 30 laps remaining, Hill, who led the previous lap by a hair, over Herbst, was leading by a mere margin over Herbst amid a side-by-side battle while Alfredo, Sieg, Custer, Love, Kligerman, Sheldon Creed, Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith were running in the top 10 ahead of van Gisbergen, Jeb Burton, Sammy Smith, Parker Retzlaff and Taylor Gray. By the following lap, the top-29 competitors were separated by two seconds as Herbst rocketed back into the lead ahead of Ford teammates Sieg and Custer while Kligerman, Creed and Hill followed suit. 

Five laps later, Kligerman, who led the previous lap, was leading ahead of Hill followed by Herbst, Sieg and Custer while Creed, Alfredo, van Gisbergen, Love and Jeb Burton were scored in the top 10 within the bevy of cars battling in the pack.  

Two laps later, Sieg, who was battling for the lead, lost pace and pitted under green to address a flat right-rear tire to his No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang after he made contact with the frontstretch’s outside wall earlier. The move pinned Sieg a lap down and currently out of contention to claim the third Dash 4 Cash prize while allowing Allmendinger, who was racing in the middle of the pack, to draw himself back into contention for the prize. Amid Sieg’s late-race issue, Anthony Alfredo cycled into the lead as he was trying to fend off Kligerman, Chandler Smith and a bevy of competitors towards the front and in the draft. 

Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with a majority of the field migrating to a long single-file line towards the outside wall, Alfredo was leading ahead of Kligerman, Hill, Creed and van Gisbergen while Burton, Josh Williams, Retzlaff, Custer and David Starr were racing in the top 10. Behind, Love, Weatherman, Herbst, DiBenedetto and Patrick Emerling occupied the top-15 spots ahead of Blaine Perkins, Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, Chandler Smith and Anderson. 

Five laps later, Custer, who assumed the lead the previous lap, was leading ahead of teammate Herbst while Alfredo, who nearly wrecked amid contact with Creed, had drifted out of lead contention. Custer would then get stuck in the middle of a three-wide packed competition that resulted with him losing the lead and a handful of spots as Herbst assumed a brief lead before Love assumed the lead back to the frontstretch. 

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Love was leading both the race and a long line of competitors running towards the outside wall, with Kligerman, Hill, Herbst, Creed, Williams, van Gisbergen, Alfredo, Retzlaff and Perkins following suit in the top 10. By then, the top-19 competitors were running within two seconds of one another. 

With five laps remaining, Love continued to lead ahead of Kligerman, Hill, Herbst, Creed and a long line of competitors within the lead-lap draft, with some including Jeb Burton, Custer and Chandler Smith starting to fan out of the line and attempt to mount a charge from the inside lane. 

Two laps later, the front-runners started to scatter and fan out as Hill made a move underneath Kligerman through the first two turns to settle behind the leader and teammate Love, with Creed also mounting a charge from the outside lane amid the draft. Entering the frontstretch, Kligerman ran towards the outside wall to overtake Creed for position as Hill overtook teammate Love for the lead with two laps remaining.  

Then with two laps remaining, Hill got loose exiting the backstretch after he received a tap from Kligerman within the draft that resulted with Hill spinning his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro across the front nose of Alfredo’s No. 5 Dude Wipes Chevrolet Camaro while Weatherman, Gray, Anderson, Starr, Burton, Herbst and Emerling also wrecked in an attempt to avoid Hill’s carnage as the rest of the front-runners scattered. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime as Kligerman escaped with the lead followed by Williams, Love, Perkins, van Gisbergen and Creed. 

The start of the first overtime attempt did not last long after Creed, who was running fourth, got bumped by Sammy Smith exiting the frontstretch that resulted with Creed running into the side of Williams and sending Williams sideways before he spun and clipped Kligerman’s No. 48 Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet Camaro as Kligerman hit the outside wall head-on and was taken out of contention for his first victory. The incident occurred as van Gisbergen, who restarted on the second row, fell off the pace after he ran out of fuel. Amid the carnage and fuel concerns amongst the leaders, Love escaped with the lead followed by Sammy Smith while Leland Honeyman, Hailie Deegan, Joey Gase, Caesar Bacarella, Brennan Poole and Ryan Ellis followed suit in the top eight. During the caution period, however, Smith fell off the pace after he ran out of fuel, where he then needed a wrecker to push his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro back to his pit stall. 

The start of the second overtime attempt generated a different outcome as Love rocketed his No. 2 WAT Chevrolet Camaro away from a side-by-side battle involving Honeyman and Deegan through the first two turns. With Ryan Ellis slipping sideways and coming to a halt towards the bottom of the track while the race remained under green flag conditions, Love was left to defend a stacked three-wide charge behind through the following two turns. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Love remained as the leader as he had Honeyman drafting him just past the start/finish line. With Love leading a scattered field through the backstretch, he then threw two blocks on Honeyman before Brennan Poole mounted a charge entering Turns 3 and 4 followed by Alfredo. Poole then drew even with Love and tried to take the lead entering the tri-oval, but his momentum stalled as Love muscled back ahead. With the field fanned out to four lanes and as Joey Gase wrecked through the tri-oval while charging to the front, Love had enough momentum, motor and gas to drive across the finish line first for his first ever checkered flag in the Xfinity circuit. 

With the victory, Love, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion, became the 177th competitor overall to win in the Xfinity Series and the seventh to do so at Talladega. He also became the seventh winner through the first nine events of the 2024 Xfinity schedule. 

In addition, Love recorded the 95th Xfinity career win for Richard Childress Racing and the first for RCR’s No. 2 entry since Myatt Snider won at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February 2021. The victory was the first in eight years in the Xfinity circuit for veteran Danny Stockman Jr., who returned to RCR as a crew chief for the California rookie. 

“Man, it’s been just a journey to get to this point,” Love said on FOX. “I got so many people to thank. Man, I wanted [this win] so bad. I had PTSD flashbacks from Atlanta and burned [the car] to the ground. It’s awesome. I love Talladega, my favorite speedway. I love the fans. My team did a phenomenal job. I was just going back and forth to if I thought I was doing a good job and then, I was making dumb decisions. Towards the end, the bottom [lane] started rolling. I don’t even remember what happened. I’d be lying if I told you I remembered what happened. Just a phenomenal car. Just ready to go celebrate with my family. A lot of people that I love very much that sacrificed a lot for me to get to this point.” 

Behind Love, Herbst mounted a late rally to finish second while Alfredo, Leland Honeyman and Brennan Poole finished in the top five. 

Sheldon Creed, Caesar Bacarella, Matt DiBenedetto, Jeb Burton and Custer completed the top 10 on the track. 

Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg finished 17th and claimed the third Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2024 season and his first overall by two positions over AJ Allmendinger, who ended up 19th. Sieg, Jesse Love, Riley Herbst and Anthony Alfredo will square off against one another for the fourth and final Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2024 season next weekend at Dover Motor Speedway.

There were 34 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps. In addition, 22 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap. 

Following the ninth event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Chandler Smith leads the regular-season standings by 14 points over Cole Custer, 16 over Austin Hill, 41 over Jesse Love, 79 over Justin Allgaier and 85 over Riley Herbst. 

Results. 

1. Jesse Love, 28 laps led, Stage 1 winner 

2. Riley Herbst, 13 laps led 

3. Anthony Alfredo, six laps led 

4. Leland Honeyman 

5. Brennan Poole 

6. Sheldon Creed 

7. Caesar Bacarella 

8. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led 

9. Jeb Burton 

10. Cole Custer, four laps led 

11. Mason Massey 

12. Hailie Deegan 

13. Kyle Sieg 

14. Austin Hill, 41 laps led, Stage 2 winner 

15. Taylor Gray, one lap led 

16. Josh Bilicki 

17. Ryan Sieg, seven laps led 

18. Joey Gase 

19. AJ Allmendinger 

20. Josh Williams 

21. Sammy Smith, two laps led 

22. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap led 

23. Blaine Perkins, one lap down 

24. David Starr, one lap down, one lap led 

25. Chandler Smith, one lap down, three laps led 

26. Ryan Ellis, one lap down 

27. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, DVP 

28. Dawson Cram, four laps down

29. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led 

30. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Ignition 

31. Jordan Anderson – OUT, Accident, one lap led 

32. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident 

33. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident, four laps led 

34. Ryan Truex – OUT, Accident, one lap led 

35. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident 

36. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident 

37. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Engine 

38. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident 

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, April 27, and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: Strong Drive Forward for AWA

By
Official Release
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Fidani, Bell advance nine spots to finish season-best sixth in wild GTD battle

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 20, 2024) – AWA’s Orey Fidani and Matt Bell continued their upward momentum in the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with their best finish of the season – a sixth-place GT Daytona (GTD) finish Saturday in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The pairing advanced from 15th in class at the start of the third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to knocking on the door of a top-five finish in a frantic and fraught 100-minute race around the Long Beach Street Circuit – the team’s first trip to the historic California circuit.

The gain of nine positions put a bow on a strong weekend for the AWA duo with Bell setting the fastest GTD time in Friday’s opening practice – the first for the first-year AWA and Corvette partnership.

Fidani began Saturday 15th in class and drove the first 40 minutes for his first career action at Long Beach. He gained a position at the start and two more by the race’s first full-course yellow with just 12 minutes running. Despite falling back a couple of spots, Fidani’s laptimes continued to drop once the race went green again.

The Corvette picked up another spot on the restart, and Fidani made AWA’s first pit stop just shy of the 40-minute mark. Bell rejoined in 14th and was immediately in the thick of a fight. He was hit from behind on his out-lap but managed to carry on and advance to 11th only a couple of laps later.

Heads-up driving by Bell got the AWA Corvette firmly into the top-10 as the final turn on the Long Beach circuit was blocked by traffic and stalled cars. He came to a stop momentarily but drove through the chaos and into ninth place. Bell picked up three more spots to sixth before the race’s third and final full-course yellow with 15 minutes remaining bunched up the GTD field.

The lead pack of six cars were single-file during the final eight minutes with the Corvette on the tail of the top-five. Bell and the Z06 GT3.R made solid gains through the corners and twisty parts of the circuit, which is notoriously difficult to make a pass. Nevertheless, the end result of sixth adds to the momentum heading into the team’s next race.

AWA and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program – including the two GTD PRO entries from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – will compete next in the Motul Course de Monterey from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, May 12.

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The race went really well based from where we started. The car was mega and easy to drive. We got up to sixth, and we’ll take that. I’m really happy with the finish from where we started from.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m really happy with that result. Our first effort at Long Beach as a team and pulling a top-six out of the bag is pretty strong. It was a great effort by the team. We executed the pit stop really well and jumped some cars. Unfortunately on cold tires on the out-lap, I gave a couple of those up. There was some rough racing from competitors but fair in the end, and I managed to get them back later on. The Corvette was absolutely glued to the track. I think we were the best car around the corners. We were lacking just a little bit of straight-line speed to challenge those top-five guys. But I’m really proud of the effort this week. It’s definitely our cleanest and best week in the AWA Corvette era. A big thanks to the team, big thanks to Corvette, General Motors and Pratt Miller. We’ll keep rolling into Laguna Seca.”

About Chevrolet
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No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Secures Top-Ten Finish in Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

By
Official Release
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LONG BEACH, California (April 20, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team took on the challenge of the 100-minute sprint race on the streets of Long Beach. Starting the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from fifth in a competitive 17-car GTD class, Danny Formal gained two positions on the opening lap to move into podium contention. Formal was able to maintain the third position throughout the remainder of his 35-minute stint before coming into the pits.

A well-executed pitstop by the No. 45 DEX Imaging crew and a driver change to Kyle Marcelli entered the second stint looking to continue the momentum that co-driver Formal had to open the race. Marcelli was able to hold the strong pace shown earlier in the race within the top ten of the GTD class. A late incident in Turn 11 saw Marcelli trapped behind a multi-car blockage with minimal room proceed forward, resulting in the loss of four places. Marcelli was able to regain two of those positions awarding the No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team their best result of the season, finishing in eighth.

“It was a good outing for the GTD program, and I am really proud of these guys,” said Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti. “They were quick all through practice, and in the race, they were running in third before their luck changed. Nevertheless, this team is continually improving and pushing. We are happy with their first top-ten finish.”

The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team will continue a stretch in California heading to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the traditional two-hour, 40-minute sprint race on May 10-12, 2024.

No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Kyle Marcelli: “Gutted for the team. All weekend we’ve just been checking the boxes through practice and qualifying. Everything has been going well and mistake free. The DEX Imaging GTD has been fast. We had high hopes for today’s race, certainly thought a podium was doable, starting P5. Danny had a great start, and we were up to P3 before the pitstop. We executed a flawless stop, and I thought we were in good shape, but we ended up losing two spots after the cycle went through. Then we were chugging along, and what hurt us the most was Turn 11. There was an ambitious move up ahead that turned a car around, and it became a traffic jam. I was blocked in the middle and lost four or five spots to cars that were able to drive around the outside. That sort of summed up our race. We got a few spots back, just through attrition and finished P8. I know we’re all deflated because we hoped for more. We are making small gains forward if you look at results from Daytona to Sebring to here, so we’ll take that as a positive and move on.”

Danny Formal: “Started off extremely well, but that’s racing at Long Beach. We went from fifth to third in my stint. We had great pace, one of the faster cars on the racetrack. I guess we burned a little bit more fuel than everyone else, so our pitstop was just a little bit longer. We went back to fifth leaving the pit lane, and Kyle was in a bad position at a bad time, kind of got shoved around. We went all the way back to eleventh, then came back to ninth, and Kyle got somebody near the end and went up to eighth. Extremely happy with the pace we had in the first stint. It really showed how hard the team has been working and how hard this championship is and how competitive it is. Extremely grateful for the partners: DEX Imaging, WTRAndretti, Lamborghini Squadra Corse and everyone involved in this team. Laguna Seca is in three weeks and we’ll show what we got there.”

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

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

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

WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Lamborghini Squadra Corse, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.

Cadillac Racing dominates at Long Beach

By
Official Release
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Cadillac V-Series.Rs go 1-2 for Cadillac’s sixth win on the circuit since 2017

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 20, 2024) – Does the expression third time’s a charm applies to motorsports?

Cadillac Racing, which came away with runner-up finishes after earning the pole in the two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship marathon races, capitalized on a third pole start to win the sprint Saturday on the streets of Long Beach.

Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, held off the sister No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by pole-sitter Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken by 0.564 of a second to secure Cadillac Racing’s sixth victory at Long Beach and 30th overall since joining the IMSA prototype class in 2017.

The victory is the fifth for Bourdais at Long Beach, who teamed with van der Zande to win on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in 2022. Every Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) race winner this season has started from the third spot on the grid.

The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which registered its second runner-up finish, has qualified on pole in all three races.

In addition to the race win, leading 60 of the 68 laps and pole position, Cadillac Racing hybrid racecars paced the GTP field in both practice sessions.

“Congratulations to the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R team and drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande for winning the hard-fought race on the streets of Long Beach. It was a strong effort all around with pole sitter Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earning their second runner-up finish in three races. A great day for Cadillac Racing at Long Beach,” said Mark Stielow, GM director of motorsports competition.

Derani pitted from the lead for the lone time in the 100-minute race with 63 minutes left for energy and left-side tires and gave way to Aitken, who was making his debut on the circuit. Inheriting the lead from Derani, Bourdais brought in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R a lap later for service and switch to van der Zande. The Chip Ganassi Racing team decided not to change Michelin tires, and van der Zande was able to get the advantage on the out-lap over Aitken. They ran 1-2 the final 48 minutes.

“Our tires were pretty old at the end. I was just hanging on at the end,” said van der Zande, who upped his IMSA victory total to 20 and has won at least one win in each of his 11 seasons. “This team is fantastic. Thanks to Chip, the guys, Mike O’Gara, my teammate Seb … this is how to win races, and I’m enjoying it.”

Bourdais and van der Zande, who teamed with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon to finish second in the 12-hour race last month at Sebring, moved to 58 points out of the GTP points lead. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is third in points.

A Cadillac DPi won five consecutive races at Long Beach through 2022 (no event in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), including podium sweeps in ‘22 and ’21, to extend GM’s victory streak to seven in the event. A Chevrolet Corvette DP won the 2015 and ’16 races.

Download: Cadillac Racing on-track photos for editorial use

Cadillac Racing will look to successfully defend its victory May 12 in the 2-hour, 40-minute race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca when Bourdais and van der Zande took the victory. Derani and Alexander Sims placed third.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “It’s special. It’s win number five here for me at Long Beach. I’m super happy. We’ve had so many hardships and things just not working out. Our last win was Laguna Seca last year, so it’s been almost a year. I’m super happy for Cadillac, for Chip Ganassi Racing and for the boys. They work so hard and it feels like we deserve more than that a lot of the time. Hopefully this is the start of a new cycle for us. We had an excellent car, so I was a little frustrated that we were not able to get a better lap in during qualifying, but the strategy was perfect during our pit stop. The team did a great job to get us out front and Renger did the rest by holding the 31 off and bringing the car home to victory lane. It sure felt good to get this win for everyone in the shop and everyone from GM.”

Renger van der Zande: “We are very happy right now with the biggest trophy we could get — the first-place trophy. Chip Ganassi racing did a fantastic job again. Leading the race from the halfway point and making the right strategy call. We used only one set of tires and that was key to win this race. Our car has been fast all year so I am thrilled that we were finally able to bring home the win. The team deserves that. Our tires were pretty old at the end. Chip (Ganassi) asked me how were those tires, and I told him not so good. I was just hanging on at the end. This team is a fantastic team. Thanks to Chip, the guys, Mike O’Gara, my teammate Seb… this is how to win races, and I’m enjoying it.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “If you look overall, this championship comes down to a little at the end. To be our second time on the podium, three pole positions so far… you try to accumulate as much points as you can and carry it all the way to the end. Obviously we would have liked to win, especially starting at the front here. It’s just one of those things here at Long Beach. If the guy behind does the complete opposite to you, he might come out ahead and that’s what happened today. We’re happy that it’s a Cadillac 1-2. We wish it was the other way around but we did the best we could. We’ll take the points and keep pushing forward.”

Jack Aitken: “It was a really tough one because once they have track position on the circuit, like any street circuit, it’s extremely difficult to pass without taking a huge amount of risk. I think the couple of yellows we did have during the second half of the race just helped Renger (van der Zande) take care of those tires and they lasted surprisingly well. Better than I think anybody expected from the start this weekend coming here with the soft. I think we had a great car all weekend. I think we’ve been really, really strong on pace since the start of the season, and it’s a bit frustrating to miss out on a win up to this point. But we had really good points, but at least if we’re going to get beat, at least it’s the other Cadillac. I enjoyed my fight.”

No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 Team Lead Charge for WTRAndretti at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

By
Official Release
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LONG BEACH, California (April 20, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP teams took to the streets for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. As the opener to the sprint season for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 100-minute showdown on the streets of Long Beach always proves to be full of action.

Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 saw the green flag wave from eighth position and capitalized on the start to move into sixth on the opening lap. Albuquerque ran steady within an earshot of his No. 40 teammates and the lead GTP teams. Pitting just before the one-hour remaining mark, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 crew serviced for the race’s only pit stop as Ricky Taylor climbed behind the wheel. For Taylor, it was all about continuing forward on the grid to gain positions on the GTP competitors. With a challenging second stint on the 1.968-mile street course and a drive through penalty for incident responsibility with the No. 85, Taylor brought home the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 in eighth.

For the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06, Jordan Taylor started the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sixth on the grid with a mission to get to the front. With an impressive move on the start of the 100-minute sprint race, Taylor was able to move up a position into the top five. Keeping the front GTP competitors within distance, Taylor came to pit lane and the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 crew went to work with full service and a driver change to Louis Delétraz. Through the pit stop cycles, Delétraz was poised to gain a position on track but unfortunately made contact with the wall in Turn 1, ending the day early for the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team.

The WTRAndretti team will continue a West Coast swing as they head to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on May 10-12, 2024.

Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti: “That was a pretty rough weekend. I don’t know, we never had the pace all weekend; can’t figure out why. We tried some different strategy in the race, but it didn’t work because it was just a little bit too late with the yellow. It was unfortunate that the No. 40 car went off because of their points in the championship. Sorry to our partners, Acura, HRC, Konica Minolta and DEX Imaging. The team works hard and we’ll come back stronger.”
No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor: “This was a difficult weekend for the team. On the No. 10 Konica Minolta car side, we were in a position where we could take some risks, and the way the race went it just didn’t quite work out today. I took some risks that resulted in a penalty, and that was just on me, taking a little bit too much risk. But I think we improved the car throughout the weekend. Coming off of last year we had really high expectations. For whatever reason, when we unloaded, we didn’t have the same performance. The team worked really hard to improve throughout the week, and I think we ended up racing the best car we had all weekend. So, we’re going to keep taking steps forward. We have a test coming up in Laguna Seca, so we’ll put this result behind us and have a good second third to the season.”

Filipe Albuquerque: “When starting from the back, it’s always a hard one. Obviously, it needs to be a long recovery, everything needs to be top notch. My stint went pretty well, I recovered two places. Then I was going along together with Jordan, and we were steady there, pulling away from the guys in the back. Pitstop went well, I think. I don’t know what happened, but we lost a lot in the second stint on the first laps, maybe cold tires. We don’t know, we need to analyze that. Again, it was a hard one. But it’s just a shame because the car that I pitted ahead of in the fight in the pits finished on the podium, P3, and we finished second to last. Obviously, we need to understand what went wrong there. But nevertheless it was a hard weekend all the way, and we’re gonna keep working.”

No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz: “First of all, I am very disappointed and my apologies to Jordan, Acura, HRC, DEX Imaging and the whole team. I am still waiting to better understand what happened, but I lost the car before the actual corner on a straight line. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but, obviously, not the end we wanted especially after we had managed to get to P5. This was my first time at Long Beach. With the weekend being Acura’s home race and with so many fans, this is such a great event.”

Jordan Taylor: “Obviously a disappointing day. Coming in, we thought we’d be very strong after last year, getting pole and having probably the quickest car in the race. We thought we’d have a strong package. We seemed to lose some pace, so we need to figure out if that was the new tire we had this weekend or what it was, but I think we were fighting for fourth there when the incident happened. We’re not sure if something happened to the car which caused Louis to have the accident. It seems like everyone in the championship has one bad race and still ends up fighting for the championship, so we just need to forget about it this, move on to Laguna Seca and focus on winning some more races this year.”

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

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

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

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

Three Fords Finish Top 10 in Talladega Xfinity Series Race

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway
NASCAR XFINITY Series Post Race Quotes

FORD PERFORMANCE RESULTS
2nd – Riley Herbst
8th – Matt DiBenedetto
10th – Cole Custer
12th – Hailie Deegan
13th – Kyle Sieg
17th – Ryan Sieg
23rd – Blaine Perkins

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was hectic, for sure, with a lot of people battling fuel. I’m just really, really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, Monster Energy. We kind of know that we’ve lacked a little bit on the plate tracks to the RCR cars, and I felt like we’re as good as them now. I felt like we could beat them, but it was a weird race. It’s kind of been an up and down start to the year, but I’m proud of everybody on this 98 team for sticking with me and I’m ready to go win $100,000 at Dover.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a solid day. We led some laps and I think the Fords worked pretty well together. That’s one of the fastest speedway cars I’ve ever had, so that was a lot to hang our hats on. We just need to find that last little bit. It was gonna be within our reach to try and win, but we just started stumbling on gas. Overall, it was a really solid day, but it didn’t pan out how we needed it to. It was stumbling on gas and at that point you know you’re probably gonna run out in the next two or three laps and we had to pit.”

HAILIE DEEGAN, No. 15 AirBox Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT IS THE OVERALL TAKEAWAY FROM TODAY? “The overall takeaway is that after qualifying we knew that we were in the position to have to just hang back all race. We didn’t have the single car speed to be able to qualify well, so we ended up starting pretty far back and we just rode pretty much all race. I know I’m really good when people start wrecking in front of me of getting out of the way and slowing down, so I made sure no one was behind me to drive through me. I just tried to avoid every caution. It’s kind of what I usually do here. That’s what I did here in trucks. Then coming towards the end of the race everything worked out. We got a caution right there with two to go and we were right in it. We were right there and then everyone started running out of gas and we got another caution. It was all falling in order and then we fired off on the final restart and I was pretty much the only car on the outside but didn’t get any help. I got left off the drive completely. I tried to block a run from behind, but I knew if I kept trying to do that I was going to get wrecked, so, honestly, it’s a great finish for what we’ve had this year. But I think I punched the wall pretty hard when I got back to the hauler because I was so upset after the position we were in.”

Toyota Racing – NXS Talladega Post-Race Report – 04.20.24

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Official Release
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CREED TOP TOYOTA AT TALLADEGA
Earns Fifth Top-10 Finish of 2024 Season

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 20, 2024) – Sheldon Creed led Toyota with a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Creed overcame a late-race spin with his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 GR Supra to earn his fifth top-10 finish this season.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 8 of 33 – 300.58 miles, 113 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Jesse Love*
2nd, Riley Herbst*
3rd, Anthony Alfredo*
4th, Leland Honeyman*
5th, Brennan Poole*
6th, SHELDON CREED
15th, TAYLOR GRAY
25th, CHANDLER SMITH
34th, RYAN TRUEX
37th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Can you talk about the final two restarts and how you were able to finish sixth?

“The 48 (Parker Kligerman) ran out of fuel right when we got to the line. I checked up a little bit for the 2 (Jesse Love) just to push him through there. I don’t know what happened, but we all stacked up and it turned me. I had to come to pit road and get tires and I think I restarted 16th or 17th. I was 13th entering turn 3 so to finish sixth after the day we had with our GR Supra, I’ll take that all day.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 The Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

What happened in the incident that took you out of the race early?

“The pushes were getting more aggressive, the blocks were getting more aggressive. The whole field was three-wide I think, and everybody was just trying to shuffle to the front before green flag stops started. I couldn’t tell if somebody tried to throw a block or if somebody got hooked or what. I saw the 9 (Brandon Jones) backwards and smoke and I tried to avoid him, and I just barely got him. It must have hit him perfectly with my right front tire to just break the right front upper and cut the tire. I was hoping it was just a flat tire, but we brought it down pit road and the right front was broken. It sucks because we really didn’t have much damage. I think I just hit him in the perfect angle to kill our car. It’s a bummer. Our GR Supra was really, really good. I think all four of us were really good. Shoutout to JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) for building fast cars. We’ve struggled a little bit (at superspeedways) over the years and that was for sure the best car I’ve had at a superspeedway.”

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.

Rosenqvist Power Surge Continues with Long Beach Pole

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Official Release
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LONG BEACH, Calif. (Saturday, April 20, 2024) – Felix Rosenqvist continues to benefit from a change in scenery in 2024, winning the NTT P1 Award for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday.

Rosenqvist moved from Arrow McLaren to Meyer Shank Racing after the 2023 season, and he delivered MSR its first-ever pole for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES points-paying race with a lap of 1 minute, 6.0172 seconds in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit.

“It was hard,” Rosenqvist said. “Honestly, I didn’t think I had it because I had a big tank-slapper out of (Turn) 5. This is a hard-fought one. It doesn’t come easy. Every lap out there, you’re flirting with the walls. That was a fun one.”

While it was Rosenqvist’s first pole with MSR, it was the Swede’s sixth career pole since he joined the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2019. His last pole came in the season finale last September at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, his final race for Arrow McLaren.

Since moving to MSR, Rosenqvist has qualified second at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding and finished second in the non-points The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge last month, where he also qualified first.

The margin of Rosenqvist’s superiority today was as thin as tissue paper. Two-time series champion Will Power, the leading pole winner in INDYCAR SERIES history, qualified second at 1:06.0211 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet – .0039 of a second behind Rosenqvist. That’s the tightest front-row margin on a street circuit since knockout qualifying started in the series in 2008.

Power’s strong performance came after his Saturday morning practice session was truncated by two slaps of the Turn 8 wall. It also was Power’s best qualifying performance on a road or street circuit since he surpassed Mario Andretti as the INDYCAR SERIES’ all-time pole winner with his 68th career pole in September 2022 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Power won two NTT P1 Awards last season – both on the oval at Iowa Speedway – to increase his career total to 70.

“Just getting into the (Firestone) Fast Six again is a big deal for me,” Power said. “I’ve been working hard on my qualifying. Been quick all year in practice, so super-stoked to transfer. Obviously, it’s a bit (tough) when you miss out by that much, but Felix must have done a phenomenal lap. I couldn’t pick anywhere where I made a mistake. It was about as good as I can do.

“Cool to get the Verizon car on the front row again. It’s been a long time. We can certainly win from there.”

Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Final practice starts at noon ET Sunday, with coverage on Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Series points leader Josef Newgarden, who won the season opener in St. Petersburg, qualified third at 1:06.1059 in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time series champion Newgarden will be joined in Row 2 of the starting grid by Colton Herta, who qualified fourth at 1:06.3784 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

Marcus Ericsson was the second Andretti Global driver in the Firestone Fast Six, qualifying fifth at 1:06.4039 in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda. Reigning and two-time series champion Alex Palou also will start on the third row after qualifying sixth at 1:06.5444 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Another bright spot for MSR besides its maiden pole by Rosenqvist was the solid performance by Tom Blomqvist, the top rookie qualifier in 15th in the No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda. Reigning FIA Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire qualified 22nd for his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Pourchaire is replacing David Malukas, who continues to recover from surgery to repair wrist injuries suffered in a preseason mountain biking accident.

Margins were very tight throughout all three rounds of qualifying on a partly cloudy Southern California day, and those tight gaps caught out two drivers quick in sessions earlier this weekend.

Pato O’Ward, who led Friday practice, was eliminated in the first round of qualifying and will start 14th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Reigning Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood, quickest in pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning, didn’t make it past the second round of qualifying and will start 10th in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT LONG BEACH: Team Chevy Qualifying Report

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
STREETS OF LONG BEACH
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
APRIL 20, 2024

WILL POWER AND TEAM PENSKE WILL START FROM THE FRONT ROW WITH CHEVROLET FOR SUNDAY’S ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

  • Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, will start on the front row in second for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
  • Just 0.0039 seconds separated the pole winner from Power in second, in what is the tightest front row on a street course in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history, dating back to 2008.
  • Power, along with Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden represented Chevrolet in the Firestone Fast-Six Saturday.
  • Scott McLaughlin (fourth) and Newgarden (sixth) finished in the top-six of Group 2, transferring to the fast twelve.
  • Power finished fourth in Group 1, transferring to the fast twelve and representing Team Chevy.
  • McLaughlin paced for Team Chevy during second practice with his fastest lap of 1:06.7359 in fifth.
  • Chevrolet completed second practice Saturday morning with five drivers in the top-10, including McLaughlin, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean (seventh), Power (eighth), Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Agustin Canapino (ninth), and Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi (10th).
  • Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden 200th NTT INDYCAR SERIES event, with 149 of those coming behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.
  • Sunday sees Team Chevy take to the track for warm-up at noon ET on Peacock. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach takes the green flag at 3 p.m. ET for the 85-lap, 167.28-mile event on USA Network.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULTS:

2nd Will Power
3rd Josef Newgarden

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“The Hitachi Chevy was exactly where I needed it to be. It absolutely had pole-winning potential. I just did not nail the lap completely. Still, a great effort by Chevy and everyone on this No. 2 team. Felix (Rosenqvist), Will (Power) and I were so close in time; almost historically close. We can definitely make something happen in the race from the third position.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“As the race approaches, I’m focused on finding the right strategy to stay at the front. I’ll be sending the Odyssey Battery Chevrolet toward the front on the first lap and making sure we have good stops and in-and-out laps, make the right strategic moves at the right times. While luck and good fortune play a role, if we keep heads down and keep working to hopefully find themselves at the front of the race on Sunday. I’m optimistic about our chances for success.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“I’ll take a top-six. Just getting back into the Fast Six again is a big deal for me. Working hard on my qualifying, been quick all year in practice, so super stoked to transfer. Obviously, it’s a bit when you miss out by that much, but Felix (Rosenqvist) must have done a phenomenal lap. I couldn’t pick anywhere where I made a mistake. It was about as good as I could do, so it’s cool to get the Verizon car on the front row again. It’s been a long time. We can certainly win from there. You’ve just got to be smart. You can never predict what’s going to happen. We’ll try and get a good start. We’ll try and stay in second and go from there.”

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

“I wasn’t unhappy with it, to be honest. We’re just slow or not fast enough. No real explanation for that. I thought it was going to be fine, at least, to transfer, but I think we went the wrong way in P2 and went back to what we had yesterday, and I just think we missed the window a little bit. I wasn’t unhappy with the car at all, just not fast enough. The race is a different monster, so you try and get it as good as possible for what this race trends to be, which is usually fuel-save, sitting behind the leader kind of thing, unless it starts getting messy with yellows. We just need to focus on that tomorrow and make our way forward with pit stops and all that stuff. It’s a good thing we’ve got a fresh set of greens to use in the race tomorrow, I’d say. I’d be surprised if it’s a black (tires) race. If our race car is good, I can (win). We just need to make sure we get it at that position, and we get it in that window where I can really take advantage of the tools that I’ve got. For now, we just have to really dive in to see what, where we missed it, because it’s not a tenth, it’s three-tenths. It’s quite a chunk here.”

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I’m a driver and I always want to do the best job possible. It was my first ever INDYCAR qualifying session. It was really fun. I pushed the limits. That’s not as bad as I thought. Not so far from Pato (O’Ward), and he’s a really good driver. I have to look at the data to understand where I can find some time on him, but overall, of course, it’s the first INDYCAR qualifying. That’s fine. We’ll work hard. We will improve. Tomorrow is the race, so it’s a completely new thing for me.”

What goals do you have now?

“Starting so far back like this, I will just try to complete the race, learn as much as possible on the strategy, on the tire degradation, on the fuel saving. It will be new for me. Hopefully we can grab some positions. I will try to do my best and I think finishing in the top-15 or close to the top-10, that can be a good goal. Let’s focus on the race now. I will work a little bit on the data to see where I can improve, but overall, that was fun and I enjoyed it.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“We’ve had some moments where it was okay but struggling for grip. Not much we could do. It’s not there yet. We’ve been fighting the same problems since we rolled off, and we’ve had glimpses of it being better. It’s not just quite within the window that we need. We need to keep at it and see what we can do to make it better.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Tough day for everybody on the No. 14 crew. Just fighting some gremlins inside the car, and in this series, it’s tight. It’s hard to lose practice and then qualify competitively with how tight the field is. Overall, some valuable things were learned to move into warm up and then the race tomorrow. Without a doubt, we should be able to advance without any issues.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“Our balance on the black Firestone Firehawks was pretty good. When we switched to the green Firehawks, I couldn’t feel the car underneath me as well. It is unfortunate, we have had a strong weekend so far. We will focus on the positives and see what we can do about getting a little bit better on the greens. We’ll do our best to move forward during the race!”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“I think everyone hoped to be up there a bit further! We were pretty good on the black Firestone Firehawks, but we expected a bit more from the green tires. We have made good decisions so far and have a good plan for the race tomorrow. I look forward to passing some guys!”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“I think qualifying didn’t really go the way we wanted. I think we had a little bit more pace than where we show on track. It was probably a little bit conservative in the first part of qualifying, and we finished eighth. It was tight, and we didn’t think it would be that tight. We made some set up changes that were not the right ones, but I still think we should have been through. A bit more work to do for the race.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“We were in the worst group because I am only three tenths off on my fastest lap. I made a mistake on the last lap and I lost my fastest lap, but I only lost one position because the next lap was similar. I am three or four tenths off of the leaders. Not bad at all. I think our group is really competitive. We have good cars as we were ninth and 10th in practice. Not as good of a result in qualifying, but I think we have a chance to get good points tomorrow. Both Romain (Grosjean) and I have good cars, but in this INDYCAR it is so competitive.

WILL POWER, DRIVER OF THE NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Qualifying Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up qualifying, we are joined by Will Power (indiscernible).

WILL POWER: That’s been the story of the last two years. One of the data engineers said if we added up all the time you missed getting in the Fast Six, it would be 2/10ths. At St. Pete I missed the Fast Six by 21 thousandths. What was this one?

THE MODERATOR: 39 10 thousandths.

WILL POWER: One day I’m not going to be that far. We had a bunch of poles by 21 thousandths of a second. It ebbs and flows. That’s my experience over time.

THE MODERATOR: Is there a section of the track…

WILL POWER: There was not much left on the table. Like really, I know, every sector… The only thing I could say is a bit into 10 and the hairpin. You’re in the going to see a chunk anywhere. It’s going to be hundredths. That just shows how good of a lap Felix did, how tight it is in this series.

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

Q. How long did it take for you to nail turn eight after what you went through this morning?

WILL POWER: Pretty much my best on my last lap. Slowly got better and better and better and better. The last lap was the best.

Q. Was the car completely back to normal after the repairs?

WILL POWER: Yeah. All I was doing was damaging the toe link. I was so sideways, it bent the toe link. Done it three times. Just lights up out of there. It’s been (indiscernible). It’s much nicer. Used to have a big hump there. Now it’s really nice and smooth. A really cool corner.

Yeah, not what the boys wanted to do. I felt bad, but yeah.

Q. Obviously turn eight, the change to it, has made it a little bit different. How do you anticipate that affecting things tomorrow?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s made it nicer. It just made it so you can get on the throttle earlier, so you have more power when you’re getting out near the wall.

Yeah, I keep testing it. You should lift a little. You’ll crash otherwise.

Q. We have seen continual opposite lock seemingly corner by corner practice and qualifying. You describe why we are getting so much of that. Is it tire, track, both?

WILL POWER: I actually think it’s the right rear we have now. You can actually get away with being a little sideways and not lose time. It’s a more nimble car. You can hustle it more simply.

Q. Will, you come in here clearly having more fun. How much is that a translation into your speed or are you having more fun because you’re faster?

WILL POWER: I’m having more fun because I’m going faster, honestly. I’ve been quick all year, even in testing. Everywhere I have been quick. St. Pete qualifying I didn’t put it together. Went the wrong way on the setup. I have been quick.

Super stoked to be in the top six. I’ve worked pretty hard in the off-season. I’ve continually worked hard my whole career. I’m still working extremely hard on all my driving details, constantly improving and evolving. It’s never ending for me.

Enjoying it. Enjoying it. I love the competition. It’s tough extracting the most out of yourself. Yeah, you get to compete with different eras of guys. The young group will be around for another 20 year. Competing with the middle group, which is sort of Newgarden, Rossi. You have Dixon and myself.

Q. (No microphone.)

WILL POWER: I’m friends with all of them. I like ’em all. You do get pissed off with them at times. You just know that’s how it goes. It’s just tough competition.

There isn’t a guy I dislike in the paddock. I feel privileged to race at this level with these guys. I feel like recently there’s a lot of respect on track. There’s a lot of respect for racing.

Yeah, man, it’s a great situation to be in. You get paid to drive. Great community in INDYCAR. Very nice over here.

Q. Seemed like in a sense you must feel fortunate to get into the Fast Six because there’s so much stacking up in the early sessions. Were there close calls for you? Did you feel like you were fortunate to get in because of the stacking up and traffic?

WILL POWER: There wasn’t any in qualifying. You get a penalty if you do that.

Yeah, in practice it’s always like that here. You just can’t get frustrated. It’s just going to be that way. I was in the pits most of the time (smiling). I didn’t have to deal with it. Kind of helped, I think.

Q. You talked about the new changes to turn eight. Do you see that as a better opportunity to get a run and move going into nine?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s hard to say. Will people make mistakes because it has a bit of a weird, like, grip transition? Maybe, yeah. It’s a very open entry. It can do like O’Ward does and just jam it in there, man, jam it in there. You’re going to have to deal with someone after.

Yeah, it’s become a riskier corner to make a pass, to be honest. Used to have a curb there, so you had to slow it up and turn later. It’s a brave corner, I would say. That wasn’t your question, but I’m just putting that in there.

Q. You talked about the difference in the weight of the car at the moment, waiting for the hybrid. Are we going to see some of that translate into the differences of the car for the 500 this year in terms of weight distribution?

WILL POWER: The car we could say will be a long time at the 500 because they’re a bit lighter.

Q. (No microphone.)

WILL POWER: I think my pole will be like 236.5 will be my quickest lap. Averaging in the 35s. Yeah, that’s quick.

Q. Will, what improvements do you feel you have made as a team and yourself in qualifying this year?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s a couple of things. I think the engine’s better. I think Chevy did some really good work in the off-season. As a team, we’ve worked hard on street course setups and road course. Overall actually we were kind of disappointed with the season, even though the team won the 500.

Yeah, we’re just stronger overall. I’ve personally worked hard. I’m sure the other two boys, they’re working hard as well. I think it’s all clicking well.

About Chevrolet

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

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