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Top Ten Finish for Meyer Shank Racing After Big Comeback in the Sonsio Grand Prix

By
Official Release
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Indianapolis, Ind. (11 May 2024) – A nearly flat out 85-lap race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course saw Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) face adversity in the initial laps. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) fell to last after contact in Turn 1 sent him to the rear of the field, but the Swedish racer went to work and raced his way back to 10th place at the checkers. Teammate Tom Blomqvist had one of his best showings in the early stages of the race before troubles sent him back for a 23rd place finish.

Rosenqvist set a new Meyer Shank Racing team record by finishing in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive race.The Swedish veteran started 10th but got caught in a maelstrom of race cars in the first turn, resulting in Rosenqvist getting pushed off course and dropping 17 spots. Undaunted, he went to work, steadily climbing up the scoring pylon.

Recovering quickly from the first-turn contact, both MSR cars were the first ones to pit on the day, each of them taking on red-walled alternate Firestone tires on Lap 10. Rosenqvist and Blomqvist made good use of the new shoes, using their push-to-pass capabilities to gain positions. Blomqvist climbed all the way to 12th in just 14 laps while Rosenqvist was up to 16th by the time the rest of the field made their first stops.

Blomqvist saw things go awry soon after however, as he incurred a drive-through penalty for a pit-lane violation which ended up costing him a lap to the field. A nearly all-green race unfortunately did not allow Blomqvist to regain his lap which saw him cross the finish line 23rd in the order.

Rosenqvist would keep plugging however, moving up to 14th prior to his final stop with 24 trips left to go around the 2.439-mile road course when the day’s only caution flag changed the tune. Restarting 11th with 16 laps to go, and as the only driver in the top 15 without any push-to-pass remaining, the veteran driver moved up to 10th where he would finish the day.

The finish not only set a new MSR team record, but allowed Rosenqvist to remain fifth in the provisional series point standings after four races.

The race officially opens preparation for the May 26 Indianapolis 500, which will see the team expanded to three cars as MSR minority owner Helio Castroneves attempts to win his record fifth Memorial Day Classic. Practice will start this Tuesday with qualifying taking place Saturday and Sunday.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: “Unfortunately we got completely done at the start after that, we were last, P27. So we came in early, got off the blacks and then did the rest of the race on reds. We had really good pace, I think this is the best car I’ve had in this race even though we ended up doing a good bit of fuel saving. I’m excited to be top ten after being last, but at the same time I’m bummed about the start. I’m definitely curious where we might have finished had we been able to hold our spot at the start. But still super pleased to get our fourth top ten to start the season and be fifth in the points, thats a good start and we will keep building on that.”

Tom Blomqvist: “Obviously we rolled the dice and stopped early to try and undercut guys, which really worked. We made up some good spots and the car was working really well when I was pushing. And then I had to go into a fuel save and then it just kind of spiraled from there. You start to lose brake temperature, you start to lose tire temperature and I just started to make mistakes. And then I broke too late and ran over the line on pit exit and I had to do a drive through, then that kind of ruined our day. I think in the race we could have had a decent result today.”

Justin Allgaier prevails to win Xfinity Series race at Darlington

By
Angie Campbell
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Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Justin Allgaier dominated the Xfinity Series field to claim a decisive win at Darlington Raceway. He won the first two stages in his No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, led 119 of 147 laps and captured the checkered flag for his 24th victory in the series.

It was his third win at Darlington and his 24th Xfinity Series win, tying him with team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. He also leads the series with 267 top-10 finishes, breaking a tie with Kyle Busch.

“I didn’t know if the day would come when I’d be able to match Dale Jr.,” Allgaier said after the race. “Not only is he a great boss but a really good mentor and an unbelievable race car driver.

“To be able to come here, to be able to tie him, to be able to take over the all-time top 10s, man, there’s nothing better than that.”

Austin Hill led six laps, finished second and leads the series by 3 points. Cole Custer was third as Sam Mayer and Aric Almirola rounded out the top five finishers at Darlington.

Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst, rookie Jesse Love, Sheldon Creed and Brandon Jones rounded out the top 10.

The post-race inspection was completed with no issues.

The Xfinity Series is off next week and returns to completion on May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Xfinity-at-Darlington-results-May-202422411_STATPACK

ABEL Motorsports scores INDY NXT podium at Indy to increase points lead

By
Official Release
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  • Jacob Abel becomes the only driver to score podiums in all four races to start the 2024 season
  • Missig powers to a 13th place finish as Sundaramoorthy gets caught up in lap one incidents

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (11 May 2024) – Jacob Abel and ABEL Motorsports captured their fourth INDY NXT by Firestone podium of the season Saturday, increasing their series points lead to 25 after the doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jordan Missig scored a solid finish, showing good pace in only his second series race. Yuven Sundaramoorthy found himself caught up in two lap one incidents, neither of his own making, to put him 21st at the checkered flag.

After taking his second victory of the season in race one, Abel was ready for a repeat in the 35-lap event on Indy’s tricky 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course – while both Sundaramoorthy and Missig were looking for more following rough rides on Friday. After a morning of junior formula races and NTT INDYCAR SERIES warm up, the INDY NXT field took the green just ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix Abel again started on pole, with Missig 16th and Sundaramoorthy 17th.

Abel also looked for a repeat of Saturday’s start, when a solid jump at the green kept him out ahead of the front straight draft. But Caio Collet, starting alongside, had been a student of that start and stayed close, sliding past on the inside through Turn 1.

Unfortunately, Sundaramoorthy’s weekend woes continued, as he was clipped in Turn 5 and sent spinning. He kept the car running and rejoined, albeit at the back of the field. Missig was able to take advantage of the first turn chaos and moved up the P12.

As the race settled in, Abel focused not only on Collet ahead, but also Louis Foster, third in points, just behind. Foster was able to make the move in Turn 7, putting Abel back to third. Missig continued to run strong in P13 while Sundaramoorthy laid down consistent lap times as he looked to move up.

On lap 15, team engineers advised Abel to play the waiting game, as Foster and Collet battled hard ahead, burning up tires and push-to-passes uses. With 11 to go, Foster passed Collet for the lead and in Turn 1, Abel made the move around to take second, just 1.5 seconds back.

At the checkered flag, Abel had scored his fourth podium in four races, coming home second behind Foster. Missig earned a 13th place finish, with Sundaramoorthy 21st.

Abel believes the team’s performance to start the season only validates the talent behind him – including his two teammates.

“We have some really smart and talented people on this team and I’m so proud to show the paddock what we can do,” said Abel. “It’s also great to have two teammates, who are getting better and better, that I can work with. These doubleheader weekends are really important so to come away with two strong results is huge for the championship. Louis was able to get by today, but I don’t want that to overshadow the job the team did this weekend. We knew Louis and Caio would battle and use up their tires, while we kept the gap close and managed tires and push-to-pass. The plan worked out exactly the way we wanted it to, though Louis just had a bit more. So now, we’ll take some time to enjoy the Indy 500 and be back at it at Detroit.”

“We had a good start and a hole opened up, and I had the ability to choose my own destiny from there,” said Missig. “Through the entire race, I just focused on getting a gap and putting the car where someone wasn’t in the corners. Solid day, and a great way to finish my first weekend in the series – I can’t thank the ABEL crew enough for putting together such a great car. I learned a great deal this weekend and have plenty I can work on going forward, whether it be Detroit or Road America.”

“That was a tough day,” said Sundaramoorthy. “It was a really fast start, which wasn’t the way anyone thought it would go, so everyone ahead just checked up, damaging my front wing. And then I got hit in Turn 5, which put me even further back. From there, just struggling with pace. I know there’s much more in there, in me and in the car, so we’ll work on it and come out fighting at Detroit.”

Team owner Bill Abel echoed his son’s words about the caliber of the team, and the level of performance at Indy.

“The team did an outstanding job turning this car around,” said Abel. “What a weekend. This has not been our best track historically so to go out and do what we did was outstanding – it feels like a double win to us. Super proud of Jacob and the entire team.”

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

Next up for ABEL Motorsports and the INDY NXT by Firestone series will be the Detroit Grand Prix, May 31 – June 2. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

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

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

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

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

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Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200

By
Official Release
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SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 Quad Lock Chevrolet Camaro

  • Shane van Gisbergen started 17th, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 was canceled due to weather.
  • Sporting a Quad Lock throwback scheme honoring Marcos Ambrose, Van Gisbergen slipped to 22nd by the competition caution on lap 20. Battling a loose car during the remaining portion of the run, Van Gisbergen ended stage one in 22nd on lap 45.
  • Following a pit stop for four tires, fuel and adjustments during the stage break, Van Gisbergen started stage two in 18th on lap 53. After a completely-green second stage, Van Gisbergen finished in 19th on lap 90. The Quad Lock team hit pit road for four tires, fuel and another round of adjustments under the stage yellow. Following the stop, Van Gisbergen began the final stage in 15th.
  • Van Gisbergen slipped to 21st on lap 100, where he’d run when the caution flag waved once again on lap 103. After staying out under the caution, the Quad Lock team restarted 22nd on lap 109. Van Gisbergen finished in 15th following a day of learning at the “Lady in Black.”

“Overall I had a really good time. I wasn’t as good on the restarts, but once we got going, the car was really fast. I enjoyed my first race here at Darlington and came home with a pretty straight car, just a little stripe on this Quad Lock throwback.” – Shane van Gisbergen  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

  • Josh Williams started 25th, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 was canceled due to weather.
  • Williams gained one spot before the lap-20 competition caution came out. He came down pit road during the yellow for tires, fuel, and air pressure and wedge adjustments, restarting in 21st on lap 26. Williams, battling a tight-handling race car, dropped positions to finish stage one in 25th.
  • The No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy was brought down pit road for tires, fuel and a set of adjustments intended to free the car up. Williams started stage two in 29th on lap 53 and passed three cars to finish it on lap 90 in 26th.
  • Williams pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the stage caution. He started the final stage in 23rd with 49 laps to go, and four laps later, the race’s first natural caution occurred with Williams running in 26th. Williams drove the No. 11 Chevy Camaro down pit road for tires and fuel under yellow and restarted in 28th with 39 to go. He climbed to 24th before a wreck brought out the yellow flag on lap 124. Williams pitted for tires and fuel and restarted with 16 laps remaining in 21st, where he’d take the checkered flag.

“We started off super tight and were never really able to get it freed up. Without any practice, and with it being such a short race, it was hard to make adjustments and gain the positions we needed.” – Josh Williams  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro

  • AJ Allmendinger started fourth, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 was canceled due to weather.
  • On the first lap, Allmendinger took over second place. On lap seven, still maintaining second place, Allmendinger reported he was building free. The competition caution came out on lap 20, and Allmendinger told the team he was most free in the center and laterally through the corner. The team came to pit road for adjustments and restarted in fifth place on lap 26. By lap 27, Allmendinger was running fourth and reported he was more free this run. The No. 16 finished the first stage in fourth place.
  • Allmendinger came to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and adjustments to tighten up the No. 16. Allmendinger restarted in fourth place on lap 80 and remained quiet on the radio for the majority of the stage. He finished the second stage in sixth place and reported he had no lateral grip. The team came to pit road to make adjustments for the final stage. Under the caution laps, the car shut off before coming to the choose. Allmendinger fell back and restarted in 28th.
  • With 45 laps to go, the caution came out, and the No. 16 team planned to come down pit road for tires and fuel. When Allmendinger attempted to refire the car under caution, the key switch broke. During the pit stop, the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy shut off again. The team restarted the car, but following the green flag, the car once again turned off. Crew chief, Alex Yontz, called Allmendinger behind the wall to repair the issue. Allmendinger rejoined the field on lap 128, 20 laps down. Allmendinger went on to finish 35th.

“Really disappointing end to the day. I thought the race was going fairly well; I felt like we had a top-five car there, just fighting being too loose as the run went on. Definitely didn’t have the speed to go win the race but felt like we could run third-to-fifth depending on where we restarted and the pace of the race. Some positives to take is what we’re learning, definitely need to clean up a lot to get where we need to be. At the end of the day, it’s frustrating to finish where we did, but at least we had speed most of the day to run up front.” – AJ Allmendinger  

 
About Kaulig Racing

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

Stewart-Haas Racing: Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 from Darlington

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200

Date: May 11, 2024
Event: Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 (Round 11 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 147 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/57 laps)
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 1st / Finished 3rd, Running, completed 147 of 147 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 9th / Finished 7th, Running, completed 147 of 147 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (2nd with 427 points, three out of first)
● Riley Herbst (6th with 337 points, 93 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his sixth top-five of the season and his fifth top-five in six career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Darlington.
● Custer has never finished outside the top-10 at Darlington in his Xfinity Series career.
● This was Custer’s fifth straight top-five at Darlington. He finished third and fourth, respectively in 2023.
● This was Custer’s ninth straight top-10. He finished second March 2 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth March 9 at Phoenix Raceway, fourth March 23 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin Texas, 10th March 30 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, eighth April 6 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, fifth April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, 10th April 20 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, and fifth April 27 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
● Custer led once for 21 laps – his first laps led at Darlington.
● Herbst earned his fourth top-10 of the season and his fourth top-10 in nine career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Darlington.
● This was Herbst’s second straight top-10 at Darlington. He finished sixth last September.
● Herbst finished ninth in Stage 1 to earn two bonus points and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Justin Allgaier won the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 to score his 24th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season, and his third at Darlington. His margin over second-place Austin Hill was 3.407 seconds.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 31 laps.

● Twenty-eight of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Austin Hill leaves Darlington as the championship leader with a three-point advantage over second-place Cole Custer.

Sound Bites:

“It was really tough to keep the tires under our car today. You had to really be patient the first few laps, but I’m just frustrated. We had such a fast car with a three-second lead before that competition yellow and just lost our track position on that pit stop. That happens on pit road. That’s part of it, but it’s frustrating. We’ve been so fast and just haven’t had everything go right. Our guys are doing such a great job bringing fast cars to the racetrack. Our pit stops are awesome, but we just need everything to go right because once we got back in traffic, we just didn’t adjust on it probably how we needed to. It took us until the end of the race to get it back to where we needed it to be, but I can’t thank Haas Automation and Gene Haas and everybody at SHR for bringing such fast cars. I’m just so frustrated we’re not in victory lane yet, but we’ll keep fighting.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Throwback Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“At the end of the day, I just don’t think our car was the best it could have been. We were probably about a seventh-place race car and ended up seventh. It’s just frustrating when you can’t get your car to drive how you want it to. It just felt flat, tight, bound up, but we’ll move to one of my favorite tracks at Charlotte.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Terrible Herbst Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the BetMGM 300 on Saturday, May 25 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race begins at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RCR NXS Race Recap: Darlington Raceway

By
Official Release
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Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Earn Top-10 Finish at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 8th
Start: 12th
Points: 4th

“The Richard Childress Racing team gave me a fast Whelen Chevrolet today at Darlington Raceway. By the time we reached the competition caution on lap 20, I felt like I had a good grasp of the track. With this being my first time racing here, today was a learning experience for all 200 miles. Every time we came to pit road, crew chief Danny Stockman made great adjustments and the pit crew gained positions. We ran inside the top-10 all day and I felt like we had a top-five Camaro when it was all said and done. We picked up stage points in both stages and finished in eighth-place. I’m very proud of everyone on this No. 2 team. I know when we come back in the fall, we can have a shot at winning. I need to work on a few things with my driving style, but it is a lot of fun driving at this track. I look forward to coming back here later this season.” -Jesse Love

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Take Points Lead with Runner-Up Finish at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 2nd
Start: 5th
Points: 1st

“We had a fast Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet all day. I could get through the gears really well with the No. 7 on restarts, but once we got to Turn 1, I would get on the splitter and shoot up the track. There are things I can do inside the race car to be better and do a better job. We were close enough on speed with the No. 7, that whoever got the lead between us was going to keep the lead. The clean air was important and you could keep the dirty air on the guy behind you. I have to go back to the drawing board to see what I can do differently on entry into Turn 1 to try and get into the lead. If we could have gotten the lead, even on that last restart, there was a chance that we could have kept enough dirty air on him to where he couldn’t get back by us. Overall it was a solid day for our No. 21 team. Everyone at RCR and ECR has been working hard and we are showing speed everywhere we go. We will keep chipping away at it and be back in Victory Lane soon enough.” -Austin Hill

Toyota Racing – NXS Darlington Post-Race Report – 05.11.24

By
Official Release
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ALMIROLA TOP TOYOTA IN DARLINGTON
Creed places his Ivan Stewart tribute Supra inside the top-10 finishers

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 11, 2024) – Aric Almirola led Toyota with a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon.

Sheldon Creed scored his third straight top-10 with a ninth-place run. It is his seventh top-10 finish in the first 11 races of the season.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Darlington Raceway
Race 11 of 33 – 200.802 miles, 147 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Austin Hill*
3rd, Cole Custer*
4th, Sam Mayer*
5th, ARIC ALMIROLA
9th, SHELDON CREED
12th, CHANDLER SMITH
18th, TAYLOR GRAY
23rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Can you tell me about that run?

“It was a great run. Track position was tough today. The cars are so evenly matched. The 7 (Justin Allgaier) was certainly the class of the field, but I felt like – at given times – I could match his pace, and then when I finally got to second there – it was what I needed to figure out where we stacked up against them. Just didn’t execute perfectly on pit road – some of mine doing as well – but still a good run. Every time I get in this car, I plan to win and expect to win. Fifth is great, but I want to win – but Justin was so fast. Proud of everyone on this He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra. They’ve been working hard. They’ve been bringing great race cars to the race track. We will go to Charlotte.”

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Ivan Stewart Tribute Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Solid top-10, and a great livery that I know means a lot to you. Can you talk about your race?

“Overall, I love throwback weekend at Darlington. To be able to throwback to an off-road legend like Ivan Stewart was really cool for us. A great looking Supra today. Certainly, wish it would have gone a little better and we could have been faster to start – just was really, really tight at the beginning of the race, and pretty much the start of every run. I would just build slowly freer, so that I could drive against the fence and move around a little more, but ultimately, just battled too tight all day – it was a little frustrating, but good to get another top-10. Just want to run better at this place.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th 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 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NXS Darlington 1 Post-Race Quotes

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 at Darlington Raceway
NASCAR XFINITY Series Post Race Quotes

Ford Performance Results:
3rd – Cole Custer
7th – Riley Herbst
13th – Ryan Sieg
24th – David Starr
25th – Matt DiBenedetto
27th – Blaine Perkins
32nd – Kyle Sieg
36th – Hailie Deegan

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Throwback Ford Mustang Dark Horse Mustang – “It was really tough to keep the tires under it. You had to really be patient the first few laps, but I’m just frustrated. We had such a fast car with a three second lead before that comp yellow and just lost our track position. That happens on pit road. That’s part of it, but it’s frustrating. We’ve been so fast and just haven’t had everything go right. Our guys are doing such a great job bringing fast cars to the racetrack. Our pit stops are awesome, but we just need everything to go right because once we got back in traffic we just didn’t adjust on it probably how we needed to. It took us until the end of the race to get it back to where we needed it to be, but I can’t thank Haas Automation and Gene Haas and everybody at SHR for bringing such fast cars. I’m just so frustrated we’re not in victory lane yet, but we’ll keep fighting.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Terrible Herbst Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I don’t think we were very good at all. We were probably about a seventh-place race car and ended up seventh. It just felt flat, tight, bound up, but we’ll move to one of my favorite tracks next week.”

HAILIE DEEGAN, No. 15 AIrBox Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We literally were going out for the restart and I guess the 07 just cleared high on me and cut my tire. There’s really not much more than that, but it ripped out all of the foam that was in the side of the car so we can’t keep going. Honestly, I thought we were having a decent day until that considering how far back we had to start. I didn’t get any practice. We had no clue how we were going to fire off and I’d never been here before with this team, so they tried a few different things from the setup they had last year and I thought it was fine. We were having a clean race on the lead lap, so I thought we were doing just fine battling with some quality cars.

CORVETTE RACING AT SPA: Difficult Day… but on to Le Mans

By
Official Release
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STAVELOT, Belgium (May 11, 2024) – TF Sport and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program in the FIA World Endurance Championship are looking ahead to the 24 Hours of Le Mans following a difficult third round of the LMGT3 championship at Spa-Francorchamps.

The No. 82 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella, Sebastien Baud and Hiroshi Koizumi completed the full Six Hours (and then some) of Spa but finished 12th and unfortunately out of the points.

The No. 81 Corvette of Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood ran well early before it retired with a gearbox issue just shy of the halfway point. Van Rompuy qualified eighth but picked up a couple of spots early and was challenging for the top-five into his second stint. He fell back to ninth with a high-speed spin just past the Blanchimont corner but kept the Corvette out of the wall and continued unharmed.

He swapped over to Andrade during a lengthy safety car period, but the car lost a gear not long after the restart and was retired shortly thereafter.

Back on the other side of the garage, Koizumi drove the first three hours and changed over to Baud from 16th position while the safety car was on track. The young Frenchman cut his way through the field and advanced to 12th before he suffered a tire puncture that forced him into the pitlane and down to 15th.

The No. 82 Corvette was a beneficiary of a nearly two-hour red flag period that reset the field as race officials put one hour, 47 minutes back on the clock. Baud restarted 13th and immediately put in his two fastest race laps before handing over to Juncadella but off the lead lap. The pace of the Corvette factory driver was strong but not enough to make up a gap to get into the top-10 and in a points-paying position.

The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and TF Sport is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15-16. It is a race that Corvette Racing has won nine times in class.

TF SPORT POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The first stint went quite well and was able to climb up one position. But it was quite fast that the tires were going down a bit. Everyone was struggling but our car, and I could see it. Our car at that point was still OK and quite fresh. The second stint was where it was about really surviving for everybody if you see the tire deg. It was super high. Then I had a big moment when I overtook two cars at Blanchimont. It was a proper moment but I managed to keep it out of the wall, which was for sure a good thing but lost three positions. So it was an eventful stint.”

RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The race was looking good. We were good on strategy and was managing to save a lot of fuel and energy behind the pack that was in front of me. The race looked like it was going to come to us in the end. Unfortunately these things happen. Now its full focus toward Le Mans and we’re going to give everything to win the big one.”

SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This race was very complicated. We started from 15th and the pace wasn’t very fast… the start was difficult. In my stint, I made up three places after the safety car but in a battle with the Aston Martin I had the puncture so we lost a lot of time there. After the red flag it wasn’t too bad because we had new tires and the car is fast around this track. Everything felt good and I could push a lot. Overall this weekend was important to prepare for Le Mans. That’s our big race and a dream for me.”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a bit of frustrating weekend. It looked good at the start of the weekend as we had a strong car. Unfortunately in the race, it didn’t go our way. We seemed to lose pace with Hiroshi in the first stint. We were a lap down but got lucky with the safety car which gave us the lap back. Things were looking good because Seb was getting in the car and then me. But he had contact with another car to cause a puncture. We lost a lot of time and then lost another lap before the red flag. That destroyed our chances, basically. I tried to learn as much as possible from the conditions in the last hour when I was driving but obviously without a real chance since we were a lap down. Not a weekend of good results but it was a weekend of learning. I enjoyed getting back in the Corvette and driving it around Spa.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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Patient Foster Earns First Victory of Season at IMS

By
Official Release
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Indianapolis, IN - during the INDYCAR Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 11, 2024) – Patience paid off with a victory for Louis Foster on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Foster sat behind leader Caio Collet for numerous laps in the second race of the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader before passing him with 11 laps to go and earning his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory of the season in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Global.

English driver Foster, who started fourth, powered to a 2.3688-second victory over series leader Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry fielded by Abel Motorsports. Rookie Collet hung on to finish third in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.

“Managed our tires, managed our Push to Pass,” Foster said. “It was quite tricky for me because I had to burn a lot (of Push to Pass) to get past Abel, and then I had to pressure Caio enough to burn off his. But I think we managed it well. All around, a really good job by the Andretti crew. Super happy.”

Abel, who won the first race of this doubleheader from the pole Friday, has finished first or second in all four races this season and leads the standings in the INDYCAR development series by 25 points over Nolan Siegel.

James Roe finished fourth in the No. 29 Topcon car fielded by Andretti Global, with Siegel rounding out the top five in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports entry.

Collet powered from his second starting position past pole sitter Abel in Turn 1 of the opening lap to take the lead, building a gap of around one second for the next 10 laps of the 35-lap race. Meanwhile, Foster passed Abel for second on Lap 11 and set his sights on Brazilian rookie Collet.

By Lap 14, Foster pulled to within one-half of a second of Collet and then pulled side by side with him on the front straightaway two laps later. But Collet parried the move in Turn 1, and Foster decided to stay close to Collet’s gearbox but conserve his Firestone Firehawk tires and Push to Pass over the next eight laps.

Foster made another attempt to pass Collet with an over-under move in Turn 1 on Lap 24, but Collet also repulsed that. Meanwhile, Abel – who also conserved his tires and Push to Pass after falling to third – stood on the gas and pulled to within seven-tenths of a second of the dueling Collet and Foster on Lap 25.

On that same lap, Foster made the decisive pass with a bold move under Collet in Turn 11.

“I put my nose there, and he got a penalty for blocking me yesterday,” Foster said. “So, I knew that if I put my nose there, he wasn’t going risk it, and he didn’t.”

Abel had more Push to Pass for the remaining nine laps and passed Collet for second on Lap 26, and it appeared a showdown with Foster for the win might loom over the closing laps.

But Foster’s pace was too quick, and he eased away for his third career INDY NXT by Firestone victory.

“I was expecting them to fall off a lot,” Abel said of Foster and Collet. “They were battling really hard. I was just sitting back, saving my Push to Pass and letting them do what they were doing. Collet fell off a ton. I was expecting Louis to kind of do the same. Louis was just super on it today. Congrats to them.”

The next race is the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, June 2 on the streets of downtown Detroit.

INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 2 Results

INDIANAPOLIS – Results Saturday of the INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix INDY NXT by Firestone event on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

  1. (4) Louis Foster, 35, Running
  2. (1) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
  3. (2) Caio Collet, 35, Running
  4. (3) James Roe, 35, Running
  5. (5) Nolan Siegel, 35, Running
  6. (9) Michael d’Orlando, 35, Running
  7. (10) Myles Rowe, 35, Running
  8. (7) Jonathan Browne, 35, Running
  9. (13) Salvador de Alba Jr, 35, Running
  10. (8) Callum Hedge, 35, Running
  11. (12) Reece Gold, 35, Running
  12. (14) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
  13. (16) Jordan Missig, 35, Running
  14. (19) Niels Koolen, 35, Running
  15. (15) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
  16. (6) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
  17. (18) Nolan Allaer, 35, Running
  18. (20) Jack William Miller, 35, Running
  19. (11) Bryce Aron, 35, Running
  20. (21) Lindsay Brewer, 35, Running
  21. (17) Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 35, Running

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 113.464mph
Time of Race: 45:08.4692
Margin of victory: 2.3688 seconds
Cautions: 0
Lead changes: 1 among 2 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Collet, Caio 1 – 24
Foster, Louis 25 – 35

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