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CORVETTE RACING AT COTA: First Win for Corvette Z06 GT3.R

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Milner, Udell drive No. 63 DXDT Corvette to GT World Challenge America overall victory

AUSTIN, Texas (May 18, 2024) – DXDT Racing scored the first race victory for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner and Alec Udell won the first 90-minute race of GT World Challenge America’s event at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday.

The No. 63 Pro-class Corvette won by 3.706 seconds in its World Challenge America debut race. DXDT Racing fielded its No. 08 Z06 GT3.R for Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson for the first time in the Pro Am class two weeks ago at Sebring.

Udell qualified on the Pro pole position Saturday and had to avoid a spinning car ahead of him at the first corner of the race start and fell back to fifth overall. He steadily worked his way back through the field and made the Corvette’s mandatory pit stop just past the 40-minute mark. Milner re-emerged and set the Z06 GT3.R’s fastest race lap on his way to the finish.

Sellers and Smithson finished fifth in the Pro-Am class – their best result in three races so far with the No. 08 Corvette.

Sunday’s GT World Challenge finale is set for 2:15 p.m. CT with live coverage on the YouTube GT World channel.

DXDT RACING DRIVER RACE-WINNING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s big for Chevrolet, for Corvette Racing and for Pratt Miller to get this first win for the Z06 GT3.R. As a customer car, you have to show that the car is quick and it’s capable. We’ve been close and shown that we’re fast. But until you get that first win, it’s different. This is a big milestone for the program. That monkey is off our back and we don’t have to think about it any more! Now we can just continue ahead with this program.”

On winning with DXDT Racing: “I’m super happy for my sister (Erin Gahagan, team manager). For David Askew. It’s a big day for this team. They put a lot of time and effort in making the team better. They’ve had great races, and they’re doing all the right things. But it’s hard to enjoy that until you see the successes. So I’m really happy for them.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I had hoped (success) would come this soon. Whenever you’re starting a new program, there are all kinds of unknowns. It’s the first time Tommy and I have driven together. It’s the first time I’ve raced with the team. Everything has gelled very nicely, which speaks to the caliber of the team, the caliber of the Corvette, and us being able to bring it all together is super satisfying. Especially for me at home. It’s a great feeling. It takes a little bit of pressure off. Now we can continue to focus forward and make improvements where we can.”

CHRISTIE BAGNE, CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R PROGRAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to Alec, Tommy, David Askew and everyone at DXDT Racing on securing the first race victory for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Today’s result in GT World Challenge America is the result of tremendous collaboration between DXDT, Corvette Racing support and our GM Powertrain team, even since before the team debuted with the Z06 GT3.R at Sebring.”

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.

Patrick Woods-Toth Holds Off Titus Sherlock to Win Race 1 at Road America

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Photo by Gavin Baker Photography

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 18, 2024) – Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) emerged the winner in the opening race of the weekend for Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) at Road America. A hotly-contested race, wheel-to-wheel battles emerged throughout the entire field, with Woods-Toth having to hold off the advances of his teammate, Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), during a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag.

Notes of Interest:

  • Patrick Woods-Toth earned his second-career FR Americas victory at Road America on Saturday morning. Last season, he earned his first two victories in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) competition at Road America.
  • Woods-Toth has finished on the podium in each of the four races so far this season.
  • Titus Sherlock earned the highest points finish of his FR Americas career. The driver of the No. 31 won the non-points paying FR Americas Invitational at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this month.
  • Nicolas Ambiado tied his career-best result while recording his second podium finish of 2024.
  • Nicole Havrda had the best qualifying effort of her career to line up fourth on the grid. Engaged in side-by-side racing throughout the entire event, she tied her career-best finish with a fifth-place result.

Woods-Toth led the field down the starting grid, but it was Sherlock who got the jump when the lights went out. With Sherlock completing the pass to overtake the lead by the time they reached Turn 1, Woods-Toth stayed tight on his gearbox as they worked through the opening turns. As they approached Turn 5—one of the best passing opportunities at the 4.048-mile circuit—Woods-Toth decided to brake late and drive to the inside of Sherlock. Racing side by side, the two engaged in a heated battle all the way through Turn 7, when Sherlock drove a bit too wide, giving up a couple positions and allowing Woods-Toth to drive away.

Opening up over a five-second lead as the race passed its halfway point, Woods-Toth appeared to have an easily-sailing path to victory. In the meantime, Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) was engaged in a tight battle with Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd / Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3), Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Justin Garat (No. 17 Speed Factory Ligier JS F3) while competing for the fourth position. With just 12 minutes left on the clock, Bowling went wide on the exit of Turn 12, lost control of the rear of his car and spun around to make contact with the wall. An extensive cleanup ensued, which put Woods-Toth back on the defense for a one-lap shootout finish.

As the green flag waved, Sherlock pulled tight on Woods-Toth’s gearbox and raced side by side all the way through Turn 8. As they raced through the Carousel, Woods-Toth cleared Sherlock, holding the lead and taking the checkered flag with just a 0.215-second advantage.

“The yellow came out at about the worst time for us,” Woods-Toth said on the podium. “We were pushing pretty hard to get a good gap—we weren’t saving any tires there. When the yellow came out, I knew it was going to be a fight. I just had to stay out of trouble. It was a good race with Titus [Sherlock]; he did a good job.”

FR Americas is back on track this afternoon for Race 2 at 5:25 p.m. CT. A live feed from the Road America Jumbotron will continue to be available throughout the weekend at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the Road America SpeedTour will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Bell’s No. 20 Gibbs Crew Takes Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear, Logano Claims All-Star Pole

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Members of Christopher Bell's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew celebrate their victory in the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (HHP/Harold Hinson Photo)

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 18, 2024) – Fast speeds paid big dividends on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew posted a 13.223-second pit stop during NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying, which earned the crew a $100,000 prize and the trophy from the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear.

Bell, however, won’t start Sunday’s All-Star Race from the pole. Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford posted the quickest overall time in Saturday’s All-Star Race qualifying, which included a four-tire pit stop and three laps around North Wilkesboro’s 0.625-mile oval.

Logano and his crew completed the job in 89.754 seconds, which eclipsed Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing Ford team by 0.386 seconds. Bell, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher completed the top five in overall time.

“This qualifying session is the most fun session of the year,” Logano said. “I think that’s why we didn’t cancel it for rain last night, we just postponed it. Everybody looks forward to this. It’s a very detail-oriented exchange, where you really need to put it all on the line to do the job.

“It’s a special pole – really, it’s the most special pole I’ve ever won.”

Bell was pleased with his third-fastest overall time, but thrilled for his crew taking the $100,000 prize.

“I’m incredibly happy for them and honored to be their driver,” Bell said. “I was happy to stop on my mark, which has been a huge topic of conversation in our meetings. These guys did amazing. That was a whole lot of fun.”

Tyler Reddick was sixth on the overall speed chart with Ross Chastain seventh and Martin Truex Jr. eighth. Michael McDowell and A.J. Allmendinger completed the top 10.

Two-time NASCAR All-Star Race winner and FOX: NASCAR analyst Kevin Harvick continued his substituting role for Kyle Larson, who won last year’s All-Star Race but spent Saturday attempting to qualify for his first Indianapolis 500. Harvick was 12th in qualifying, but Larson will re-take the seat of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday for the All-Star Race.

TICKETS:

Tickets, camping and parking for 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend events, as well as 2025 tickets, 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.

Joey Logano Puts Ford Mustang Dark Horse on the All-Star Race Pole

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
All-Star Race Qualifying | Saturday, May 18, 2024

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse won the pole for tomorrow night’s NASCAR All-Star Race. He stopped in the infield media center and talked about the session, which included a timed pit stop to help determine the winner.

POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – TAKE US THROUGH THIS QUALIFYING PROCEDURE. “It’s probably the most fun qualifying session we have all year, and I think that’s why we didn’t cancel it last night. We just postponed it to today because everyone looks forward to this event, and it really does a great job at showcasing every team member on the team. From setting the dash to make sure all the lights are right and making sure you maximize your speed on pit road, to the car going fast obviously. Executing onto pit road, rolling time. The spotter helping me be able to make sure I hit all the right lights around the corners to maximize that. Obviously, the pit crew doing their part and then back onto the racetrack. It’s a very detail-oriented exchange all the way through that we typically see every weekend when we have green flag stops, but it’s really neat to put it all on the line and do that today. It’s a very special pole, maybe the most special pole I’ve ever had because it’s a great example of everybody and I’m proud of that. It’s a lot of work that goes into the minute-and-a-half out there.”

IT LOOKED LIKE FROM WATCHING THE GHOST CAR THAT YOU MADE UP MOST OF YOUR TIME GETTING ON PIT ROAD WITHOUT SPEEDING. WAS THAT A POINT OF EMPHASIS FOR YOU? “It’s hard to say where exactly it was. Our lap was really good. Our lap was maybe the second or third-best, so we were pretty good there. On the pit road, it seemed of the ones that did not speed we were ahead every time by the time we got to pit road speed. It looked like our corner speed was good. It looked like I was able to roll a little bit of distance just from watching the Fox broadcast probably like everybody else on the SMT data they put up there. You can’t tell the into stall part. They didn’t show that – how hard you get into the stall or how good you left to get back to your pit road lights, but I’d say overall we didn’t have the advantage pit stall. There was one that was better than the other, for sure, and we didn’t have that, so to overcome that makes it even more special.”

BEING OUT FRONT WILL THAT HELP WITH THE TIRE WEAR ON THIS SOFTER TIRE AND DO YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT GO 100 LAPS IF YOU HAVE TO? “I don’t know. Yeah, being out front helps tire wear, no doubt, and you can run your pace and you’re not scrubbing your tires in dirty air and all that type of stuff. I don’t think the strategy is very clear yet. We got 50 minutes of practice I went through a set on and ran as long as they felt comfortable out there, or as much time as they had to run that many laps, and looking at the data afterwards it’s still not super clear what you would do. A lot of it depends on what place you’re running and all that, but it’s not as clear as you may think when it comes to when you’re gonna put the softs on, or the option tire. I don’t know. There’s a lot of question to it.”

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THEY’LL LAST? “Hopefully, they last longer than the next guy. It’s like outrunning a bear. You’ve just got to go faster than the slowest guy (laughing).”

ZIZZO, PROCK, ENDERS AND M. SMITH GRAB PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT GERBER COLLISION & GLASS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS

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CHICAGO (May 17, 2024) – Chicago native T.J. Zizzo made the quickest Top Fuel run in each session on Friday at Route 66 Raceway, taking the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.

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

Zizzo powered to a run of 3.735-seconds at 331.77 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Rust-Oleum dragster, putting the part-time racer in line for his first career NHRA No. 1 qualifier. Clay Millican went 3.746 earlier in the session before Zizzo closed out the day with an impressive pass in front of a host of family and friends. Zizzo was a provisional No. 1 qualifier in 2019 in Gainesville, but it didn’t hold. This time, he’ll look to keep the No. 1 spot at his home track.

“Today has been a dream,” Zizzo said. “You have the opportunity to do all kinds of things in this world, but to do this with friends and family is really special. We have worked really hard to get this done and it means a lot.

“I have to say that Don Schumacher was riding along with me today. He was instrumental in the success of this team. We don’t race as much as I’d like but I have confidence that when the car runs, every nut and bolt is right. My crew is all volunteer, but they’ve all been with me for a long time and I have complete confidence in them.”

Millican’s 3.746 at 332.84 has him second, while defending world champion Doug Kalitta sits third after going 3.750 at 332.84.

Funny Car points leader Austin Prock is searching for his first career victory at Route 66 Raceway and that journey got off to a good start on Friday, going 3.907 at 332.43 in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS to take the No. 1 spot. Prock made the best run in each session, slipping past Bob Tasca to close out the evening in the Funny Car category. Should that hold, Prock would pick up his fourth No. 1 qualifier in six races this season, another impressive mark in Prock’s first Funny Car season.

“It definitely feels good, especially after Charlotte where we weren’t happy,” Prock said. “We didn’t race smart in Charlotte and it cost us. Here, we made two great runs. I’m getting more seat time and we changed a few components on the car as far as steering. This is just my sixth race, but I’d say I’m more comfortable in the Funny Car. From day one, I’ve been saying I’m oddly comfortable in there. Don’t get me wrong. This thing is a beast and anyone who tells you otherwise is crazy, but I feel really good right now.”

Tasca III is currently second thanks to a run of 3.913 at 329.91 and Paul Lee’s 3.922 at 323.13 has him third.

Looking for her 50th career national event victory this weekend, Pro Stock’s Erica Enders took back the provisional No. 1 spot to close out the day at Route 66 Raceway, going 6.548 at 209.69 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car. Should that hold, Enders would earn her second No. 1 this season and the 36th in her career. The defending and six-time world champ also made her selection for Saturday’s GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout, selecting longtime rival and No. 2 seed Greg Anderson.

Dallas Glenn called out Troy Coughlin Jr., followed by Aaron Stanfield selecting Matt Hartford as his first-round opponent. The other matchup features Cristian Cuadra against Deric Kramer, and Enders is excited for Saturday’s bonus race.

“We went to Tulsa to test this week because it’s no secret that we’ve been struggling a bit and this race is very important to me for a number of reasons,” Enders said. “I have a lot of great memories here. Obviously, it’s where I got my first win and to think I could also get my 50th would be amazing. I know it’s a tall order but it’s what we’re shooting for.”

“Our team talked strategy (for the Callout). We eventually decided to take Greg, and our thinking was go big or go home. When you think about it, Greg and I have battled for the top spot for the last ten years or more and I expect we’ll go back and forth until the end of our careers.”

Coughlin is currently second in qualifying with a 6.554 at 209.75 and Anderson is right behind after his run of 6.554 at 208.78.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith impressed during both sessions to kick off the weekend, making the quickest run each time, including a Friday-best 6.708 at 201.40 on his Denso Auto Parts/Matt Smith Racing Buell. It was a solid step forward for the six-time world champ, who is looking to snap Gaige Herrera’s class-record streak of 11 No. 1 qualifiers. Smith is off to a strong start with that, getting close to the 6.60s with his second run on Friday. It would also be Smith’s 53rd top qualifier if it holds up.

“I think we’re running well and we’ve made this bike very competitive,” Smith said. “Our goal is to just keep getting better and hats off to this whole team for the progress we’ve made. We’re learning and we’ll keep trying to improve.

“We’ve been working hard and testing to get out sixty-foot times better. I had a 1.05 in Charlotte and the bike wouldn’t shift and I had a 1.05 here on Q1. We put some power in it and it stuck. Really, our goal is just to make our program better.”

Herrera, who has won seven consecutive races, is current second with a run of 6.745 at 200.17, and LE Tonglet is third thanks to a run of 6.772 at 200.44.

Qualifying continues at 11:40 a.m. CT on Saturday at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway. The first round of the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout starts at 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, with the semifinals to follow at 1:45 p.m. and the finals at 2:55 p.m.

JOLIET, Ill. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway, sixth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. T.J. Zizzo, 3.735 seconds, 331.77 mph; 2. Clay Millican, 3.746, 332.84; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.750, 332.84; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.771, 332.10; 5. Shawn Reed, 3.772, 324.51; 6. Antron Brown, 3.775, 331.36; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.776, 336.65; 8. Tony Schumacher, 3.779, 328.22; 9. Dan Mercier, 3.779, 325.14; 10. Billy Torrence, 3.780, 330.63; 11. Jasmine Salinas, 3.798, 320.28; 12. Josh Hart, 3.803, 319.98; 13. Cody Krohn, 3.824, 319.75; 14. Justin Ashley, 3.840, 318.77; 15. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.847, 320.20; 16. Tony Stewart, 3.877, 320.58.

Not Qualified: 17. Doug Foley, 3.889, 275.11; 18. Krista Baldwin, 4.001, 255.00; 19. Luigi Novelli, 4.139, 291.89; 20. Brittany Force, 4.296, 190.19; 21. Travis Shumake, 5.959, 109.54.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.907, 332.43; 2. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.913, 329.91; 3. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 3.922, 323.12; 4. John Force, Camaro, 3.930, 326.95; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.936, 330.55; 6. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.939, 327.90; 7. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.953, 314.75; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.957, 319.90; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.962, 321.58; 10. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.963, 312.86; 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.012, 322.27; 12. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.062, 314.46; 13. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.092, 315.49; 14. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.095, 311.63; 15. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 4.318, 222.91; 16. Jack Wyatt, Charger, 5.866, 123.62.

Not Qualified: 17. Justin Schriefer, 6.588, 102.59.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.548, 209.69; 2. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.554, 209.75; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.554, 208.78; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.559, 209.23; 5. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.563, 208.14; 6. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.572, 208.88; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.583, 208.07; 8. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.584, 208.81; 9. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.588, 208.97; 10. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.590, 208.55; 11. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.592, 208.65; 12. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.595, 208.17; 13. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.596, 209.69; 14. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.605, 208.59; 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.606, 856.05; 16. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.623, 208.39.

Not Qualified: 17. John DeFlorian Jr., 7.019, 206.83; 18. Sienna Wildgust, 10.962, 81.46.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.708, 201.40; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.734, 23.45; 3. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.772, 200.44; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.778, 200.26; 5. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.782, 200.95; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.823, 199.05; 7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.827, 197.54; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.838, 130.78; 9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.862, 196.10; 10. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.875, 197.86; 11. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.890, 194.13; 12. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.894, 196.96; 13. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.948, 193.32; 14. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 7.065, 195.90; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki,

7.237, 185.51; 16. Eiji Kawakami, EBR, 7.408, 184.60.

Not Qualified: 17. Lance Bonham, 7.409, 179.80.

Meyer Shank Racing Fast Friday Report

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#60: Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Indianapolis, Ind. (17 May 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) completed the final day of Indianapolis 500 practice before Saturday’s qualifying. Tom Blomqvist, Felix Rosenqvist and Helio Castroneves all ran several qualifying simulations on Friday and closed out the day feeling confident heading into Saturday (11:00am ET, Peacock TV, SiriusXM Ch. 218).

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda

Four-Lap Average Rank: P6

Four-Lap Average Speed: 232.906 mph

Qualifying Draw: 24

Felix Rosenqvist Quote: “Fast Friday done! We’re pretty happy. We’re the fifth fastest four-lap average with an hour to go – but we’ve decided to call it today. We’re happy with the car. We have a good window with the setup and we feel confident going into tomorrow. We might trim a little bit to get that extra ‘spiciness’ out of the car but it was a productive day. I think we’re the strongest Honda so far.”

Helio Castroneves, MSR w/ Curb-Agajanian No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs Honda

Four-Lap Average Rank: P14

Four-Lap Average Speed: 232.200 mph

Qualifying Draw: 33

Helio Castroneves Quote: “Really promising day today, we really fine tuned the car. I think we can be in the Fast 12 tomorrow, that’s the goal. We’ll have to do a little more tuning to make it to the Fast Six but I think we’re in a good spot right now.”

Tom Blomqvist, No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda:

Four-Lap Average Rank: P27

Four-Lap Average Speed: 230.945

Qualifying Draw: 22

Tom Blomqvist Quote: “Wow, my first ever Fast Friday done and dusted! It was an interesting day – and actually, I was pretty nervous going into today, it was the first time I’ve had 100 more horsepower behind my back. Honestly, though, it was easier than I expected. Once you get into the car, you work pretty well at those speeds. We just need to tune up the car a little bit, I’m missing a bit of speed compared to my teammates so we need to see what we can do. We have to keep chipping away, see if we can find more speed in the car, but my teammates look pretty good. I’m happy with the day, getting through it with no issues, and getting a few good runs in, though not all of them green ones. We’ll look at the data and see if we can find a few steps forward.”

Penske Flexes Muscle on ‘Fast Friday’ as Qualifying Looms

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Indianapolis, IN - during Indianapolis 500 Practice in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by James Black | IMS Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 17, 2024) – If “Fast Friday” is any indication, the record pole speed for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge could be in jeopardy Sunday, and Team Penske has that mark squarely in its sights.

Penske teammates Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were the three fastest drivers during simulated qualifying runs in practice Friday for the 108th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” as the focus shifted toward PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday and Sunday on the 2.5-mile oval.

Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Newgarden averaged 234.063 mph in his best four-lap qualifying sim in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou set the event record last year with an average speed of 234.217 en route to his first career “500” pole.

Speeds soared Friday because the Honda and Chevrolet engines that power the field featured approximately 100 more horsepower due to increased boost levels that also will be available this weekend during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying.

“You can’t get too excited on a day like today,” two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden said. “We’re testing. Everybody’s testing. It counts when it counts, but I think we have fast cars. There’s no doubt. We’ve got to be somewhat pleased at what we’re looking at. This team has worked hard.

“We need to put our pieces together tomorrow. It’s going to be harder tomorrow; it’s going to be even harder on Sunday.”

The first day of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying takes place from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. Saturday. A practice session will precede qualifying from 8:30-9:30 a.m., with two 30-minute groups.

Positions 13-30 in the starting field will be set Saturday, with the Last Row Shootout, Top 12 and Firestone Fast Six qualifying sessions Sunday afternoon deciding the rest of the 33-car starting grid.

McLaughlin posted the second-fastest qualifying sim, 233.623 in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet. 2018 Indy 500 winner and two-time series champion Power was third at 233.451 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

Arrow McLaren drivers took the fourth and fifth spots on the qualifying sim speed chart. 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was fourth at 233.355 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, while Pato O’Ward was fifth at 233.043 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Colton Herta was the fastest driver overall on a single lap Friday, with a top trip of 234.974 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian.

“I’m happy with what we were able to do,” Herta said. “We seem to be lacking a little bit of speed (for qualifying runs). It’s nice to be quickest, but it doesn’t mean much for qualifying.”

Rookie Kyle Larson was second fastest overall on a single lap at 234.271 in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. He was 10th on the qualifying sim speed chart at 232.549. 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson is attempting the “double” of racing in the “500” and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26.

Newgarden’s lap of 234.260 – the first on his fastest four-lap qualifying sim – ended up as the third-fastest single lap overall.

All 34 drivers attempting to earn one of the 33 starting spots combined to turn 990 laps today, a significant reduction from Wednesday and Thursday as teams focused mainly on solo runs in qualifying simulations instead of running numerous laps in traffic to test race setups.

There was one incident in the six-hour session. Rookie Nolan Siegel spun in Turn 2 during a qualifying simulation and hit the SAFER Barrier. Siegel’s No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda then rolled and became briefly airborne, landing on its left sidepod and sliding down the backstretch on its roll hoop. Siegel was unhurt. The car was heavily damaged, and Siegel said the team is shifting to a backup car.

The 108th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT INDIANAPOLIS: Team Chevy Friday Practice Report

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY FRIDAY PRACTICE REPORT
MAY 17, 2024

CHEVROLET SHOWS STRENGTH AND SPEED DURING INDIANAPOLIS 500 FAST FRIDAY PRACTICE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  • Team Chevy closed Fast Friday practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with seven drivers and teams in the top-10 of best one-lap speeds, with Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet leading the Bowtie brand at 234.271 mph.
  • Chevrolet additionally captured the top-five four-lap average results, in addition to eight of the top-10, with Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet leading at 234.063 mph.
  • Larson continued to impress while going the fastest he’s ever had in a racecar, logging 34 laps for the day and clocking the fastest Turn 2 exit trap speed at 231.178 mph.
  • At the checkered flag on Fast Friday, Chevrolet completed 456 laps of the 990 overall on the day, with 2,409 total laps of 5,189 during the first week of preparation for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
  • Armed Forces Qualifying weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway kicks off Saturday with practice at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 11 a.m. ET. Saturday’s events will stream live on Peacock.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT (FOUR-LAP AVERAGE):
Pos. Driver
1st Josef Newgarden (234.063 mph)
2nd Scott McLaughlin (233.623 mph)
3rd Will Power (233.451 mph)
4th Alexander Ross (233.355 mph)
5th Pato O’Ward (233.043 mph)
8th Agustin Canapino (232.875 mph)
9th Santino Ferrucci (232.867 mph)
10th Kyle Larson (232.549 mph)

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT (ONE-LAP BEST SPEED):
Pos. Driver
2nd Kyle Larson (234.271 mph)
3rd Josef Newgarden (234.250 mph)
4th Scott McLaughlin (234.102 mph)
5th Alexander Rossi (234.006 mph)
6th Will Power (233.864 mph)
7th Pato O’Ward (233.748 mph)
10th Santino Ferrucci (233.412 mph)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):

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

“It was a rollercoaster of a day for us today, but I ended up quite happy with the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy, and I think we’re ready for qualifying tomorrow. We ended the day strong.”

Callum Ilott, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“We had a bit of a stronger finish to the day than the start. We built things up a lot the whole way through and had some good speed. Now, it’s just about unlocking it. I think we’ve got a better baseline for tomorrow than what we started with today. I’m looking forward to it.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a good Fast Friday. I always love when we get to turn up the boost around here. I think the car is very close. It’s competitive as always out there, but I think we have the ability to fight for it tomorrow.”

Kyle Larson, No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“I think I have to play it by ear and see how much you’re off or whatever. The Penske cars seem really fast, (Alexander) Rossi seems fast. I feel like the McLarens are the next best to the Penske cars. Just kind of see where you are on speed and then adjust. I felt like the one run where I felt closer to the limit, I would’ve made it a fourth lap. I guess that’s not a fun feeling being on the limit, I guess, in this place. Overall, I thought it was a decent day. Good to have it go smooth for once with no weather delays, or anything pop up. Just happy about today.”

“I think our car balance was in a comfortable spot that allowed me to be a little bit calmer in the car. If I went out there and felt on the limit of the rear tires, I would have felt like I was probably going a lot faster. I think they did a good job to deal with the balance and keeping me comfortable.”

What goals do you have for Qualifying weekend?

“I’m not sure. I think it’d be pretty neat to make the Fast 12, and then the Fast Six. I think that’d be pretty neat, but being a rookie, I don’t know if that’s to be expected but it’d be pretty cool to make that and be in the front couple of rows of the race. Just want to get a good, smooth run in and make the show first. Being the top rookie in qualifying would be cool as well.”

Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:

“We are in the mix. Now, it is going to be about getting the details right for tomorrow. We had a good day and are focused on a strong qualifying tomorrow.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“Friday was fast. I think we’ve got some speed for tomorrow. Still got some left. Hoping for a good draw since it will be hot tomorrow. Let’s make sure we get to do it again on Sunday.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“I got used to the boost quick! I thought the car had good balance. In the afternoon, when it warms up, everything was a little more dicey. I think we had a lot of wind this afternoon as well. That definitely makes a bit impact, but a lot of valuable lessons learned today. Got comfortable with the high boost and ready to go into qualifying. We’ll see what happens!”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET and JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET– End of Day Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: We’re going to begin our end of day news conferences, Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta will be on their way up. We’ll start with Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Kyle picked up the second quickest lap of the day at 234.271 miles an hour. Kyle, before you got up there you said it felt like a much smoother day today for you. Describe that a little bit.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, today went a lot smoother. Just more so as planned. Where yesterday did not. I thought with the weather being — the forecast being good, I would get lots of laps, but did not. Was pretty frustrated with things yesterday.

Yeah, it all went smooth and was good to just get some reps with the boost and feeling all that. Yeah, happy with how it all went.

THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden also joins us who had the quickest four-lap average during all the qual sim runs that were happening. 234.063 miles an hour, back driving the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet, set to qualify for your 13th Indianapolis 500. Your thoughts on — seemed like a pretty good day for a lot of teams today.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s always interesting to see how this shapes up. Friday is one deal, and then tomorrow is going to be where it really comes together and you’re going to see where the field truly stacks up. But I think today is a good indicator, and we feel like we’re in a decent spot. We’re definitely in the mix, which is great to see. We’ve been working the last four years to try and get back into the mix in qualifying.

Really proud of the team. I think they’ve built fast cars. That’s what happens when you’re quick in qualifying here. It’s about a team effort and building fast cars. It doesn’t matter how good you are. You can’t will the car faster through ability. It is a team effort at Indianapolis.

The race is one deal, but qualifying really shows the true nature of the build quality. I think everybody at our shop should be really proud. They’ve done a good job over the off-season, and we’re excited for tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Josef also the top no-tow speed today, 234.260 miles per hour.

Q. Kyle, the fact that you work with Brian Campe at Hendrick Motorsports on the stock car side but he has a tremendous understanding of INDYCAR having worked at Team Penske, how huge of an asset is that for you in this endeavor?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I think it’s good just having somebody that I’ve gotten to be around the last couple years on the stock car side of things, somebody I’m comfortable with, and with his experience here at Indy as well as working with others, winning championships and big races and stuff, I know he’s been very excited to be a part of this opportunity. It’s been fun working with him and seeing him catch up with old friends and stuff.

He’s been a little rusty, though. He sent us out the first day a couple times looking for a pack. Just I’m out there all alone. Then today the first run he called me in after the third lap instead of making it four laps. I was joking with him that he’s a little bit rusty.

Either way, he’s a very intelligent person I feel like, and we’re lucky to have him at Hendrick Motorsports.

Also lucky that they loaned him for the couple weeks here.

Q. Josef, you worked with Brian Campe and Gavin Ward when they were both over at Team Penske. The fact that you realize he’s got them in their corner, how valuable do you think that is for what he’s trying to do?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think they’re super valuable. They’ve both been my race engineer at some point in time, so I know them very well. Great guys, super — to Kyle’s point, very smart individuals, and no surprise to see where they are in their careers. Different paths but both super successful.

I think the strength on this team beside us is showing today. They all look very strong, and I think we’re going to have possibly a good fight this weekend. We’ll see how it ultimately shapes up.

It’s tough. There’s a lot of good talent in this series. Just to speak about my team, we feel like we’re in a good spot. We’ve got a lot of really good people. It’s also bigger than one person. We preach that at Team Penske. It’s a group working together trying to get the most out of each other, and when one person either moves on or we lose somebody, we try and just fill it in with our strength, and I think we’re pretty good at doing that.

Q. Josef, do you feel like a favorite for tomorrow or for the weekend now after putting in that run? It looked like an on-rails kind of run. I don’t know what it was like from the cockpit. Can you put yourself in a favorites role at this point?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, I don’t think at Indianapolis. I’ve never felt like a favorite here, and I don’t know that I ever would. There’s so many good-quality teams nowadays. This race has changed from where it was 20 years ago. Just to speak recently. Certainly changes from 30, 40 years ago.

I think you could really choose who had the fast car throughout the month or who had the fastest cars.

Qualifying is still one thing. It shows general car speed. But you can’t ever get ahead of yourself here. That’s been my experience the last 12 years running at this place that stuff surprises you. There’s so many good quality teams and drivers that I just don’t think you can ever feel too confident and comfortable.

I think we’re in a good spot. There’s no doubt. I just wouldn’t consider ourselves a favorite. I think we’ve just shown up prepared and ready, and now we need to execute tomorrow and Sunday.

Q. Kyle, what was it like getting the extra horsepower today? Did it feel like a different beast? What was it like to drive that with more horsepower?

KYLE LARSON: For me, surprisingly, it didn’t feel as different as I was expecting it to be. It’s obviously different. You can tell you’re going faster and you’re a little bit more on the limit of things.

But I was expecting like from what I’ve heard or just from watching Indianapolis stuff in the past, the commentators do such a great job of making it seem like it’s like, boom, you’re going 100 miles an hour faster.

It didn’t feel way different, so I was happy about that. I think our car balance was in a comfortable spot, too, that allowed me to be a little bit calmer in the car, where I think if I would have went out there and felt on the limit of the rear tires, then yeah, I would have felt like I probably going way faster.

I think they did a good job today with the balance and keeping me comfortable.

Q. Kyle, going back to the frustration of yesterday and feeling like, hey, we got a lot of time here to make laps, can you walk us through that? Was it just the engine change in the morning and then things compounded from there and caught the team out?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m not sure all the setbacks throughout the day, but I know that — we knew on — what was yesterday, Thursday? Tuesday, that we were going to have to change. So I was all ready for that. I don’t know, I think it all just took longer than anticipated. I was told we were going to be ready about 45 minutes after, and then it ended up being like another 45 minutes later, and then we went out and had to do our install stuff. I made just one run by myself to get familiar with things, and then we tried to go out there in a little draft run, but there wasn’t much of one, and then everybody left to go swap over to Q trim, so then we did, and then that took a little bit longer than expected.

By that point, the rain was approaching. I just didn’t get a lot of time, which I felt like I’ve missed out on some good opportunity of people drafting.

That just is what it is, and I know there will be more chances on Monday and Friday hopefully if weather cooperates. But yeah, I was just expecting — like hey, Thursday has got the best forecast of this week, so I thought I was going to — I think my optimism was too high, I guess. You never know what’s going to happen with weather here and issues that pop up.

I just thought that I was going to run a lot more. But nobody’s fault. I wasn’t mad at anybody. I was just mad that I didn’t get to run more.

Q. Today how comfortable were you with the tools? I know you said you practiced that with the knobs and the buttons. Was that easier than you thought? I think Townsend and Hinch were saying on the broadcast they noticed one time the shifting pattern might have needed a little bit of improvement or the precision of the weight jack. Are they working with you on that stuff a little bit?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t do very good multitasking at all. Like it was okay when I went out there and just ran sixth gear the whole time and I could just worry about the weight jacker and my balance was in a good spot. I didn’t even feel like I needed to adjust the car at all. But then there was other runs where I had to adjust the bar, and then I hit the weight jacker, then I adjusted the bar, then I go down the straight, like oh, shit, I have to hit the button again, and then I’m about to the corner.

It’s just more than what I’m used to doing. But I think each run I got a little bit more comfortable and we got to kind of adjust moving some buttons around and playing with the colors of things. I think that was all coming to me a little bit.

But thankfully, again, the balance was in a comfortable spot, so I didn’t really have to be super busy in the cockpit.

Q. Kyle, this is the fastest you’ve ever been in a race car, but you’ve driven sprint cars that have a lot more horsepower. Did that feeling of acceleration — how different did that feeling of acceleration feel when you’re going that fast, when you get up to speed, compared to being in a sprint car or something like that?

KYLE LARSON: Well, it’s just so different. When you’re in a sprint car, you’re 950 horsepower, 1,400 pounds on a quarter mile with the gear to match that. So yeah, that acceleration is different.

But I feel like the acceleration in an INDYCAR is pretty incredible for what I’ve gotten to ever feel in a two-mile track or whatever, two and a half mile, whatever this is. Just like going through the gears, it accelerates way faster than a stock car does. That’s fun, feeling that.

But it’s hard to compare between a sprint car and an INDYCAR.

Q. Josef, hearing Kyle talk about all the different buttons and the tools and the adjustments, does it remind you of everything you had to experience when you were learning about all the different things from an INDYCAR, when you were adjusting from Indy Lights? Any flashbacks of that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, definitely. First time I drove an INDYCAR was really the first time I drove anything professionally. I’m sure it’s a little different experience for Kyle. He’s coming from a different place and background.

But it’s a process for sure to learn this specific form of motorsport. I can only imagine going to the NASCAR side would be similar in that there’s a lot to learn. Maybe the process is different, tools are different. But —

KYLE LARSON: There’s no tools.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: There you go, there’s no tools. But it is true nowadays, you get to — top levels of everything, everybody is so in tune and specialized at what they do, and they know it so well. Regardless, I think it’s a lot to take in and master quickly.

I think that’s the challenge for sure is you’re coming up in a — Kyle has got an opportunity to compete against people that are doing this all year, just trying to maximize this form of racing. It’s a fun challenge I’m sure. I can only imagine trying it the other way. It’s cool to have him here. Obviously for us, we want to have the best of the best running in this race, and Kyle only adds to that, which is fantastic.

Q. Kyle, this race has a lot of traditions and pageantry and stuff like that, and one of the first ones is the qualifying draw that comes up next. A couple years ago Tim Cindric picked for Josef and Scott and got booed off the stage. Last year Scott picked on his own and stormed off in a rage at what he drew. Who’s picking for you, and do you have any idea of where you want to be when that thing flips?

KYLE LARSON: So my son is drawing, Owen. But we’ll see. I’m sure him and Audrey might fight over it here shortly.

I don’t know. I mean, it sounds like the track will be a little bit cooler, I think, when we start, so I think you would want to go out earlier. But you also would like to have some teammates go out before you, I believe.

I don’t know, somewhere in the first eight with a couple teammates in front of you would be nice. But I don’t know.

Q. Do you plan on milking the cow next week?

KYLE LARSON: What? Is that a thing?

Q. The rookies have to milk a cow.

KYLE LARSON: What? Where is this?

Q. Josef will fill you in.

KYLE LARSON: Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I guess I will.

Q. That hasn’t changed your decision to do the Indianapolis 500, has it?

KYLE LARSON: Do we get to glove up?

Q. I was talking with your dad earlier and he said one of his fondest recent memories of this race is he thought the 2012 race he thought you guys — you ran the night before the 500 and you went off to Ohio the next day and Sato and Dario had their thing, but he said it was a fond moment of you guys huddled together and watching on a phone screen of this race. Do you have any recollection of that day?

KYLE LARSON: Kind of. Now that you mention that, I just remember we were in the car driving. Did Sato win? Yeah. I just remember — I can’t believe we had live streams back then. Yeah, I think I remember watching on the screen, and he just did like a late move to the inside of Dixon, I believe —

Q. Dario.

KYLE LARSON: Okay. I remember it being a Ganassi car, and yeah, spinning. I’m half Japanese, so I remember cheering for Sato in that moment and was a little bit bummed that he didn’t win.

I was happy for both — I guess I was Ganassi then. But I was conflicted in who I was cheering for. I just remember — I don’t know if they feel the same way, but I remember watching it, like Sato was crazy. That was fun.

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.

NASCAR postpones 2024 All-Star Race Qualifying/Pit Crew Challenge to Saturday due to inclement weather

By
Andrew Kim
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Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Kaz Grala, driver of the #15 Remixers.com/Xemex Ford, drive during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 17, 2024 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race’s Qualifying session that includes the Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway has been postponed until Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET due to ongoing precipitation that prevented the session from occurring on Friday evening.

The return of this year’s All-Star Race weekend at the famed North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, also features the return of a combined session between on-track qualifying and the Pit Crew Challenge.

From the format, each competitor eligible for the All-Star event would take the green flag to commence a qualifying attempt and cycle around the North Wilkesboro circuit for a full lap before pitting their respective entries during the second lap. After the pit crews of each team perform a four-tire pit service and a mock fuel service for their respective entries, their respective competitors would return to the track and race back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and complete the qualifying session.

The competitor who posts the fastest qualifying run throughout the entire procedure, with no penalties generated during the pit stops, will earn the pole position for the All-Star Race and the event’s first of two 60-lap heat sessions that is scheduled to occur this Saturday evening, May 18. In addition, the team that generates the fastest pit service will be crowned the Pit Crew Challenge winner.

With the cancellation and through a revised schedule, the All-Star Race’s Qualifying and Pit Crew Challenge sessions will follow suit after the Craftsman Truck Series’ qualifying session for the Wright Brand 250 occurs, with the latter airing at 10:35 a.m. ET on FS1 and both occurring on Saturday. At the conclusion of both series’ qualifying sessions, the Truck Series’ Wright Brand 250 will occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 before the All-Star Race’s two 60-lap Heat events will commence, beginning at 5:20 p.m. ET on FS2 and all also occurring on Saturday. The 2024 All-Star Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, and will air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

Prior to the cancellation of the All-Star Race Qualifying session, the 2024 All-Star Open Qualifying session was also shortened due to rain, but the lineup for the event was determined based on the current owner’s standings. With the lineup, Ty Gibbs, who is coming off a career-best runner-up result at Darlington Raceway and whose No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team is ranked in seventh place in this year’s owner’s standings, will start on the pole position for the Open for a second consecutive season. Joining him on the front row will be Alex Bowman, whose No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team is ranked in ninth place in the owner’s standings and will attempt to return to the All-Star Race after being absent from the 2023 event.

Ironically, this season will mark the second consecutive time that Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota entry and Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet entry will occupy the front row for an All-Star Open.

Both Gibbs and Bowman are two of 20 entered competitors who will participate in the All-Star Open on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 as they attempt to race their way into the All-Star Race either by finishing in the top two spots on the track during the Open or by being named the Fan Vote winner, which will be announced at the Open’s conclusion.

The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race’s Qualifying and Pit Crew Challenge sessions are scheduled to occur on May 18 and air at 11:40 a.m. ET on FS1.

CHEVROLET NCS AT NORTH WILKESBORO: Kevin Harvick Media Availability Quotes

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 17, 2024

 Kevin Harvick met with the media in advance of the practice and qualifying session for the NASCAR Cup Series’ All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where Harvick will be filling the seat of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1.

Media Availability Quotes:

This double duty is a little different than what it probably meant to you before…

“It’s definitely not the attire that I thought I would be wearing this year. But it’s been a fun process. Sometimes there are phone calls that you react to different than others. When Rick (Hendrick) called and said what he needed and I said OK, everyone at FOX was kind enough to let us take the day to do what we needed to do. It’s been a fun process to be able to go through everything with Cliff (Daniels) and everybody at Hendrick. They’ve been true pros about it. SHR has been great to give us our seats and seat rails and make the fitting process a little bit less complicated. So it’s gone well. But definitely not something I expected to be doing this year.”

When you stepped out of the car at Phoenix, how does that affect your sense of finality in terms of how your driving career came to a close last fall?

“Obviously my full-time career is over. I think that sometimes there are just things that pop up that are fun. This’ll be fun for me, it’ll be fun for Cliff and it’ll be fun just to relate and talk to Kyle about what’s happening here today. Obviously he has a lot going on. So to get back in the car six, seven, eight months later, whatever it’s been, you’re definitely not as sharp as you would have been than if you had gotten right back in and run all the races. This is really more to help those guys out in this scenario. I think they were just looking for somebody who had been in a car. This car is a lot different to drive than an Xfinity car or any of the other cars that you would run. Really just having a good time with it, and we’ll see how it goes.”

You spent about 20 years driving a Gen 4, Gen 5, Gen 6 chassis, which were all kind of related to each other before the Next Gen. Is it more difficult to get back in this car and take to it knowing it is so different from what you ran for all but two years of your Cup career?

“I’ll let you know in about an hour. I don’t know that answer.”

Was there ever a point where Mr. H called to ask you to drive one of his racecars over the last 20 years? And how much of this is kind of a personal accomplishment to say that you’ve now driven for Mr. H?

“Any time that these conversations had come up in the past, I had been in the middle of a situation that I was happy with and good with. It’s always been a casual conversation about things. Rick being involved in Stewart-Haas Racing when I started, there obviously was a conversation that happened there to go to SHR. To have that relationship with the engine shop and all the sharing of the information, he still had to be good with it. I did have to sit there and put my Xfinity deal together in Rick’s office and let him work all that out. It’s not the first time we’ve had interaction. But it’s the first time it’s worked out to get into one of his cars and drive it on the Cup side. It’s fun.”

Does it feel different that you’re driving the 5?

“I don’t know. I’ve climbed in and out of it at the shop. The last time I got into one of these vehicles for the first time was 2013 at the open test that was basically all Hendrick with Rodney (Childers) working on the car for the first time. It’s different because I’ve been sitting in the booth watching the 5 car do what it does on the racetrack. My only job today is to get it into the pit box and try to understand the difference in the tires. It’s fun to see how the guys have approached it with something that is literally for one 50-minute practice. But we’ve approached it like we’re going into a race weekend because they want to do everything they can do to get Kyle prepared to come from the back of the pack to try to win the All-Star race. It’s been very methodical with how they’ve gone about everything. I’ve sat in all the team meetings and been in the simulator and done all those things as we’ve led up to like they were preparing for the race. Hopefully I can do my part.”

Your thoughts on the All-Star race coming back here, and is this a good venue for it?

“Seeing the venue lit up last year with all the changes and the event itself, and everybody loves the short tracks and North Wilkesboro has been talked about for a long time… so I think with the repave, now it’s what North Wilkesboro is going to be as we go through this year and next year. I guess it will be our last race of the season next year. It’s close to home, so that’s a good thing.”

Compared to SHR and elsewhere, has anything struck you or stood out about how HMS does things?

“I heard from the owner twice in two weeks, so that’s different! It’s interesting to see just the race shop, the structure and the way that everybody goes about it differently… there’s a million different ways you can do things. The thing that sticks out for me about Hendrick Motorsports in general, it’s truly run like a business that is part of an actual structure of how things flow and who you talk to. There’s just the depth of the business side and the racing side, it’s deep. That’s pretty eye-opening – just the structure from the whole thing. And I like structure. That’s something that has been good to see.”

To see behind the scenes at Hendrick and to have the success that you did knowing that you at times were able to beat them…

“The 4 team itself was very structured. We had a great group of people that communicated well and did a lot of little things well, but also took the burden of some things that weren’t as structured within the organization. To be able to do those things and still run well was a burden for all the guys on the team. I had a very special group of people that succeeded in a structure that wasn’t as structured as what we’re in currently in this situation. I had a lot of success at Stewart-Haas Racing and all the things we did, I’m super proud of. I love the relationships that we had. It’s just vastly different cultures.”

How important is it for you in the analyst chair to know what’s going on with these cars and translate it for the people at home?

“It’s priceless. This sport evolves quickly. To be understand the tires, the scenario that goes with how long these tires will last, how fast they go, what the feeling is and what all the scenarios are… listening to someone else’s team, I took my team for granted because we had been around for so long. To hear other people’s thoughts and process and understand all those things to be able to relate to the fans, it’s a pretty big deal to get a mid-year check of things that go with the evolution of our sport. It evolves quickly and can leave you behind quickly. To be still engrained in it and understand where everything’s at is always good.”

Going from a part-time broadcaster to full-time, what’s been the biggest challenge?

‘It’s just a different group of people. I’m intrigued with how to communication with people and how things are structured. On the television side, it’s a lot of people. To be able to know and understand how that process works and be able to work with different people… I just have a different team that I work with. I’ve been fortunate to not to have to get to know Clint (Bowyer). Mike (Joy), I’ve not known personally, but to get to know him and be able to be comfortable in the booth, we’ve had a good time calling the races and have been able to evolve and get better as the year has gone on. It’s been very different living outside the infield. The things I’ve been had to worry about the most this year is where we’re going to eat dinner at night. It’s much different than how you function in the infield.”

How much do you appreciate or are you intrigued with how another team operates?

“Like I said earlier, I was fortunate to have a very, very good race team at Stewart-Haas. To walk into another very, very good race team and see the things that go on and happen, it’s fun to get a look behind the curtain. Kyle is very good at whatever he races, but Cliff is also very understanding the fact that he’s off racing other things. How they talk about things and when they go through things with Kyle is very interesting. It seems like they want him to keep being Kyle. To be able to talk about the things they need in their car, how they structure things with Kyle and when they meet with him and why they do, that part to me is very insightful because we all tick a little different. Kyle likes to race all the time. Some guys don’t want to race all that. They just want to race the Cup car and show up on the weekend and do that. Some guys like to race the Xfinity car. There’s a balance for everybody that gets the most out of them. It seems they’ve leaned into letting Kyle be Kyle. That’s not always the case with everyone that drives in the Cup Series. Letting Kyle do Kyle things is surrounded by a group of people that want to be there because of him and how good he is.”

It’ll be a benefit for you to be in the car to stay current on how it’s reacting, but what about the repave and knowing how the track feels when you go back to the booth?

“All that. If we run this race on Sunday on slick tires and you’ve got the tires going on and off, just understanding how far the soft tires will go… There’s a good possibility that if you do that and the soft-tire guys have to come to pit road under green, just all the little nuances of little things. The more detail that we have, the more we have to talk about and relay to the people and you guys to understand. I look at it that we want to teach people about what our sport is, as well, and the things that are happening. There’s a number of things that go into that in order to make the car go around the racetrack that people just have no idea.”

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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