Farhadi Leads Every Lap From the Pole For His First GT2 Win in His Sonoma Debut in the No. 127 TPC Racing With Dream Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2
SONOMA, California (April 6, 2024) – The TPC Racing Team with Dream Racing opened the 2024 SRO GT America powered by AWS season Saturday at Sonoma Raceway with a breakout GT2-class victory with team driver Aaron Farhadi in the No. 127 Dream Racing/TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo. In his Sonoma Raceway debut, Farhadi led every lap from the pole in the 40-minute sprint while his teammate Alan Grossberg recovered from a mid-race bump-and-spin contact incident to finish third in the No. 102 Dream Racing/TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo.
Saturday’s victory gave TPC Racing a perfect two-for-two career win record in the GT America GT2 class even though the milestone achievements happened a full three years apart. In somewhat of a history-making start in 2021 at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), a TPC Racing Lamborghini driven by Scott Schmidt secured an uncontested GT2 victory – and a top-10 overall finish – as the first GT2-spec car to compete in GT America.
This time, TPC’s GT2 race winner had to fend off the challenges of teammate Grossberg as well as returning series driver Brent Holden, who mounted a late and quick charge to catch Farhadi before time ran out.
Grossberg and Farhadi are back with TPC Racing following successful late-season runs with the team a year ago in partnership with Dream Racing that brings both of the race-winning and high-end motorsports entities together on track. Saturday’s win was the first for the TPC/Dream collaboration in just their third race together.
Farhadi set the GT2 pace from the drop of the green flag but his run to victory was aided by Grossberg’s spin when Holden couldn’t pull off an inside pass and collected the No. 102 Lamborghini. With Farhadi quickly leaving them behind, both Grossberg and Holden lost valuable time before continuing.
Grossberg was the first to move from the scene, pulling away still in second, but he soon realized his Lamborghini sustained backend damage from the hit. He held off Holden, who found some late-race pace, as long as he could but ultimately couldn’t prevent him from passing and settled for the third-place showing.
Sunday’s second and final GT America race is scheduled to start at 8:55 a.m. PDT tomorrow, Sunday April 7. The race can be seen live on the SRO YouTube channel at YouTube.com/GTWorld.
Harris Levitas, Director of Race Operations: “It was a really great race. Thank you for all of the hard work from the TPC Racing Team by Dream Racing. It’s really great to have this partnership with Dream Racing and see that we can succeed in winning in our first race of the year. Aaron drove an amazing race. He was smart at the start, built a gap, took advantage of that and ran to the end, which is fantastic. Tomorrow he starts P2, but we’ll see how he is on the race craft side of things after a strong run today and see if something interesting can happen for another win. Allen Grossberg did a great job and held second place for a while. Had a little contact, and that dropped him from second place to third, but no harm, no foul, and we’ll be out there tomorrow to fight again.”
Ado De Micheli, President, Dream Racing: “There was no doubt about how the partnership with TPC Racing would work out, so I am happy, of course, about the winning result. Today I am also especially happy and grateful to the organization and the track for the incredible effort they made to solve a situation that could have jeopardized the entire racing weekend. We’ve seen a lot of people working super hard to make this race weekend happen, so I think we need to be grateful to these organizations. And I am happy to see a series such as the GT2 category that has incredible potential. We hope it’s going to attract more people to the series. Obviously, Lamborghini proved to be a very competitive car, but there’s room for so many more cars and competitors. It’s the perfect entry level for racing people that want to have fun in a great environment, but also in a safe environment.”
Aaron Farhadi, Driver, No. 127 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo: “It’s great to have a win on the debut, but we really didn’t have the track time we wanted. Nobody did. It’s my first time here, my first time in Super Trofeo, so given the situation, it was a great result. The pace could have been way, way better toward the end. That’s something I struggle with as a driver and it’s something I need to work on. Besides that, it was a great day. It was a great pace at the beginning, we got out with a large lead and then at the end it fell off. If there’s something with the car, I know the guys will take care of it, but I think the majority of it was me. We had a bit of an issue with understeer, that was a little bit of it, but the majority I put on myself. I will take care of it for sure. The delays the last few days didn’t help. It’s definitely something I would say that lowered my expectations because it’s my first time here and, with the limited track time, I felt like ‘okay, whatever happens, happens’ and it happened to be good!”
Alan Grossberg, Driver, No. 102 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo: “We had a good battle going before the contact, had a couple of position changes, so it was unfortunate. It’s racing, so it happens, but we both managed to get restarted and go out and finish the race, which was great. My car was not in good shape to drive but I at least wanted to get to the line if I could finish it. I just drove the car the best I could drive it with what we had to learn the track a little bit more. We have all had so little practice time. I was still learning where to find my lines and solidify things for race two. We can come after it tomorrow with a little more knowledge about the track, and Brett and I will be fine. We’ll race hard again tomorrow. I can’t believe they managed to get the track back in shape. You’re talking about repaving the race track in essentially 24 to 48 hours. Getting us back on track was an amazing accomplishment by the race circuit team.”
About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.
Josh Williams qualified 23rd for the Dude Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
Williams cracked the top 20 by the first caution of the night on lap 10, running 19th. The race restarted on lap 14, and the No. 11 Call811.com Chevy Camaro moved into 18th on the ensuing green-flag stretch that lasted until a wreck on lap 36 brought out the yellow flag. Restarting from 17th with 18 laps remaining in stage one, Williams gained one spot to finish 16th.
Williams restarted 17th after pitting for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. By picking the inside line for the stage-two green flag, he avoided a massive pileup after the No. 9 missed a shift getting up to speed. Williams restarted on lap 81 in 13th after a short red flag, and following multiple additional yellows and restarts, Williams gained two more spots to finish stage two in 11th.
A slow full-service pit stop during the stage break cost the No. 11 four spots, leading to a 15th-place restart on lap 130. Williams passed the No. 2 to move into 14th on lap 163, eight laps before another caution came out. He brought the Call811.com Chevy onto pit road for tires and fuel during the yellow and restarted on lap 178 in 17th. After moving forward one spot, the caution once again displayed on lap 197. Restarting with 46 to go as the ninth car on the inside, Williams passed the No. 27 for 16th on lap 217. With 16 laps left, another caution came out, and the No. 11 stayed out to restart in 15th with 11 laps remaining. Avoiding more carnage on the initial restart, Williams took 14th place before the yellow flag was once again shown with six laps remaining to set up overtime. Williams reached 10th on the final lap, earning his first top 10 of the season.
“We had to overcome multiple issues tonight, but the No. 11 Call811.com team never quit. We still have work in front of us, but to come away with our first top 10 is a really rewarding feeling.” – Josh Williams
SHANE van GISBERGEN No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
Shane van Gisbergen qualified 19th for the Dude Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
Starting in 19th, the first yellow flag of the night waved on lap 10 with Van Gisbergen scored in 17th. Staying out, he restarted 17th on lap 14. Battling a loose WeatherTech Chevrolet, Van Gisbergen was scored in 23rd when the second caution flag of the night waved on lap 37. Staying out once again, Van Gisbergen restarted in 19th on lap 43. He ended stage one in 19th on lap 60. Under the stage one caution break, Van Gisbergen hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
A quick caution flag waved on the stage-two restart with Van Gisbergen scored in 19th. Following a lengthy clean up, SVG restarted in 13th on lap 81. Learning his way around the Martinsville short track and having fun, Van Gisbergen ended stage two in 15th on lap 120. Under the stage-two break, Van Gisbergen hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Following a lighting-quick stop, Van Gisbergen picked up five spots on pit road.
Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 10th on lap 131. On lap 137, Van Gisbergen reported there was a possible issue on his WeatherTech Chevrolet and was scored in 20th with the caution flag waving on lap 171. During the caution, Van Gisbergen hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the stop, Van Gisbergen rejoined the field in 19th. Continuing to learn his way around the iconic NASCAR track, Van Gisbergen was scored in 14th when the caution flag waved once again on lap 235. Staying out, Van Gisbergen maintained his position for the lap 240 restart. Following a green-white-checkered finish, Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line in 11th.
“I had a lot of fun today. Once I got the rhythm of the track, we started moving forward. We had some great pit stops tonight, so all in all it was a good night!” – Shane van Gisbergen
AJ ALLMENDINGER No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro
AJ Allmendinger qualified 15th for the Dude Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
When the caution came out on lap 10, Allmendinger was running in 10th and was quiet on the radio. After the restart on lap 14, the No. 16 drove up to seventh before the next caution came out on lap 37. Allmendinger reported he was a tick tight in the center of the corner, especially in traffic. The team stayed out under caution to restart in sixth place on lap 43. Allmendinger gained an additional spot after the field took the green to finish the opening stage in fifth place.
Under the stage break, Allmendinger told his crew chief, Alex Yontz, he needed a little more center turn to finish the corner. The team came down pit road for adjustments, and Allmendinger restarted 16th after a slow pit stop on pit road. When the field took the green on lap 72, the outside line stacked up, resulting in significant damage to the No. 16 Action Industries Chevy, ultimately ending Allmendinger’s night. The No. 16 was scored 36th in the Dude Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
“Really disappointing end to the night but nothing that we could control, just unfortunate. I’m really proud of the speed that we had; I feel like that is the best we have been at Martinsville in several years. That makes it more disappointing that we didn’t have a chance to finish the night. At the end of the day, at least the race car had speed and that’s what we are trying to make better.” – 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 made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and added a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. In 2024, the team will once again field two, full-time entries in the NCS and continue to field three, full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Capture Fourth Consecutive Top-10 Finish with Eighth-Place Result at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 9th Start: 11th Points: 4th
“We were not how we wanted to be here tonight at Martinsville Speedway, but it’s good to leave the track with another top-10 finish in the Whelen Chevrolet. We all wanted to be better, especially on the back end of runs. I gave it all I could on the entry to the corners, but other cars could drive in deeper than I could. I’m not sure what we really needed to be able to do the same. We will just go to work. I have so much faith in this No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team, and I know when we come back here in the fall, we will be stronger. It was a hard night of racing, but it was still a lot of fun. I knocked guys out of the way, had guys move me, and just hoped I would be on the better end of it. What you can’t take away from this Whelen Chevrolet team is that we fight hard. We want to get better. I need to do better things in the car and the team wants to be better as well. Once we do that, I think we will be able to win races.” -Jesse Love
Restart Pile-Up Forces an Early Exit for Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 34th Start: 10th Points: 3rd
“I had a fast Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet tonight. The cycles on tires seemed to be good for our Camaro, and I was excited to come in to pit and work on our car. We made it up to eighth place and I thought we had a top-five car. Man, I haven’t seen the replay yet, but it seemed like someone missed a shift on the restart and stacked us up. At the end of the day, I maybe could have seen it coming sooner or checked up earlier. I will go back and watch it to see if there was anything that I could have done differently inside the car. It was a bummer of a day, but I’m really proud to have the Bennett Truck Driver of the Year award recipients here at the track with us and their names on the decklid. Wish we could have put on a better show for them, but that’s good ole Martinsville Speedway. Short track racing at its finest.” -Austin Hill
ALMIROLA CLAIMS MARTINSVILLE TROPHY, DASH 4 CASH BONUS Joe Gibbs Racing earns fourth victory in first seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 6, 2024) – Aric Almirola dominated most of the Martinsville NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and made a pass on the final restart to score his first Toyota victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Almirola, who also claimed the Dash 4 Cash bonus, led 148 of the 251 laps.
It was another stellar day for Joe Gibbs Racing as Chandler Smith finished third and Sheldon Creed was sixth. Both Smith and Creed are eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus at Texas Motor Speedway.
Smith, who is the only driver to finish inside the top-10 in every NASCAR Xfinity Series race this season, leads the point standings by 35 over Cole Custer.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series Martinsville Speedway Race 7 of 33 – 131.5 miles, 250 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, ARIC ALMIROLA 2nd, Sam Mayer* 3rd, CHANDLER SMITH 4th, Carson Kvapil* 5th, Justin Allgaier* 6th, SHELDON CREED 13th, TAYLOR GRAY 35th, COREY HEIM *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Can you describe that late race restart and getting the lead back?
“The handling of our car went away. I was just kind of holding on there in the end. Our car did not like cycled tires. We had damage on the front and once we got that damage, I felt like oh, no we are out of it – and we weren’t. The car was still decent, and I was able to manage what I had. Just really thankful to Coach (Joe Gibbs) for giving me this opportunity to come back and race for him, and to do it for this organization – all of these people at Joe Gibbs Racing. It is really awesome to come and play, and that is what I really get to do – I get to play, and not a lot of people get to do that and finish their career like that. Just really humbled. Really thankful to Coach, and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. Our Toyotas are really fast – any one of our cars can win on any given weekend. I’m just really thankful for the He Gets Us ministry and all of those people to give me this opportunity to semi-retire and still get to come out and race and win.”
How much pressure was there to win and how important was it to find victory lane?
“It was really important. Everybody just automatically assumes that you are going to win. With all the experience in Cup, and going to Xfinity, everybody assumes – Cup veteran, getting in the best cars in the garage – he’s going to win. That is a lot of pressure, so just thankful to be able to do that and kind of get that checkmark, and to be able to do it at Martinsville – a place I absolutely love.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 Wheelers Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How did you get up there to battle for the win?
“It was really wild. I definitely had the good Lord looking down on me tonight – just helping me guide through all of that traffic there. There was a point with that big pileup where the 9 (Brandon Jones) missed a shift – I was going to take the top, and I ended up taking the bottom and that could have ended our night right there. Just really, really proud of everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. All of the men and women that put this thing back together last night working through the hours of the night. We had a really fast no. 81 Wheelers Toyota GR Supra. Just got a little behind on my adjustments there in the end, but we have really good notes for when we come back in the fall.”
SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
How was your race?
“Overall – good night for us. Good qualifying. Really fast at times. Struggled a little bit with balance at times, but overall – able to run pretty much top-three all night, so that was nice, and just to be able to go and learn. That is the first night I felt like I was really comfortable in the car. Just a good day to build off of, and now we kind of know what we need to work on when we come back and things that I like for the future.”
COREY HEIM, No. 26 GEARWRENCH Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
What could you see?
“Not much. It looks like the 9 (Brandon Jones) missed a gear. I’m not sure what happened, but just ran into the back of him, and got ran into as well. That was it.”
What did you feel like you learned this weekend in the Xfinity car?
“Just got to qualify better on my part. I felt like we were actually pretty good, but just got taken out.”
What is the next Xfinity Series race for you?
“Next weekend at Texas. Super proud of everyone at Sam Hunt Racing and thank you to GEARWRENCH and everyone at Toyota Racing.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.
S. Torrence, Prock and J. Coughlin Jr. earn No. 1 qualifiers at NHRA Arizona Nationals
PHOENIX (April 5, 2024) – J.R. Todd powered to the Funny Car victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday at a sold-out Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating John Force in the final round of the specialty event as part of the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.
Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, while Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) claimed No. 1 qualifiers at the third of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Todd held off Force in the final round of the Challenge with a run of 3.974 at 316.67 in his 11,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra. It gives the former world champion his second victory in the specialty race, with the first coming last year in Sonoma. Todd swept that weekend, which is something he would certainly love to replicate in Phoenix. Todd knocked off Matt Hagan in the earlier round before leading from start-to-finish against Force in the final round.
“Anytime you could turn on a win light against the greatest of all time, that’s it’s doing something whether it’s the Mission race or the actual Sunday event,” said Todd, who won the Gatornationals earlier this season. “He’s a tough one to get by.
“It’s weird to say that we’ve been struggling this year, but we have been struggling to get down to try to make clean runs and haven’t really been consistent a lot, so coming up to this race I think the game plan was just going from A to B to make sure we got a good clean run. to start off the weekend.”
Austin Prock’s 3.840 at 334.40 from Friday in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS held up, giving the first-year Funny Car driver his second No. 1 spot in three races. He’ll open eliminations against Buddy Hull. Bob Tasca III took second with a 3.876 at 334.65 and Paul Lee qualified third after going 3.889 at 329.02.
In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher picked up the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory with a run of 3.925 at 292.77 in his 11,000-horsepower Leatherwood Distillery/RAC Financial dragster, getting past Brittany Force in the finals of the specialty race. It’s the first victory in the Challenge for Schumacher, an eight-time Top Fuel world champ, who likes the direction the team is headed.
“This does a lot for us,” Schumacher said. “The car has been running well. They’ve made some changes. We’re happy where we’re at. We’re gaining knowledge. We have a great race car. I’m driving the car well, minus that last round. All things considered, we get to do it again tomorrow. This is a great race track, it’s a sold out show today and I’m looking forward to getting started for tomorrow.”
Steve Torrence’s strong run from Friday stood up, as the four-time world champion earned his first top spot of the season with his 3.678 at 336.23 in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. He’ll open eliminations against Top Fuel rookie Travis Shumake, looking for his first victory of the season. Brittany Force qualified second thanks to Friday’s 3.689 at 334.90, while defending world champ Doug Kalitta’s 3.697 at 323.66 put him third.
Enders’ Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge win in Pro Stock came against Mason McGaha, as the defending world champion tracked down McGaha with a run of 6.541 at 210.87 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car. It’s the second specialty event win for motorsports’ winningest female, and she’ll look to pick up her 50th career national event win on Sunday.
“We’re obviously very thankful for what Mission is doing for our sport and our class, and it’s exciting to have a race within a race despite the stress that it has been,” Enders said. “Rolling off the trailer and having no shots at the Tree or the racetrack before that round of eliminations, it was nerve-wracking. Fortunately, my horsepower saved me. I’ve saved my car before and today they saved me.”
Her Elite Motorsports teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. swiped the No. 1 spot from the six-time world champ during the final session, as the veteran went 6.517 at 210.64 in his Scag Power Equipment car. It’s the 35th career No. 1 qualifier for Coughlin, who returned back to full-time racing this season. He’ll open eliminations against Phoenix-area native Matt Hartford, looking to win for the first time since 2020.
“It’s very exciting and a big testament to this team,” Coughlin said. “To be on the pole, it feels fantastic. We unloaded off the trailer with a good run right off the bat. I had my hands full the first three gears and we tuned it up for Q2. It was the quickest of the session and went straight down the track. They tuned it up for Q3 and gave me a little more and it felt really nice. The car feels good and the team is gelling, and that’s what it takes.”
Enders’ 6.518 at 210.90 put her second, while Dallas Glenn took third with a 6.537 at 209.14.
Eliminations for the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park.
NHRA Agate from Chandler, Ariz.
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 39th annual NHRA Arizona
Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing
Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Steve Torrence, 3.678 seconds, 336.23 mph vs. 16. Travis Shumake, 4.175, 203.61; 2.
Brittany Force, 3.689, 334.90 vs. 15. Tony Stewart, 3.982, 255.24; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.697, 323.66
vs. 14. Terry Totten, 3.858, 318.24; 4. Antron Brown, 3.738, 329.34 vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.841,
308.07; 5. Shawn Langdon, 3.750, 327.74 vs. 12. Josh Hart, 3.820, 320.81; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.755,
328.38 vs. 11. Justin Ashley, 3.802, 330.15; 7. Krista Baldwin, 3.755, 325.37 vs. 10. Billy
Torrence, 3.799, 328.86; 8. Shawn Reed, 3.772,
327.74 vs. 9. Jasmine Salinas, 3.774, 318.92.
Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.840, 334.40 vs. 16. Buddy Hull, Dodge Charger, 4.158,
260.31; 2. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.876, 334.65 vs. 15. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra,
4.134, 301.74; 3. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.889, 329.02 vs. 14. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.068, 307.72;
John Force, Camaro, 3.901,
325.37 vs. 13. Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.052, 302.41; 5. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.923, 320.58
vs. 12.
Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.027, 311.85; 6. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.927, 324.44 vs. 11. Ron Capps,
GR Supra, 4.020, 310.34; 7. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.941, 323.35 vs. 10. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.008,
271.57; 8.
Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.974, 294.43 vs. 9. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.976, 312.57.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Dave Richards, 4.227, 296.31; 18. Terry Haddock, 4.457, 240.34.
Pro Stock — 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.517, 210.64 vs. 16. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.595,
208.81; 2.
Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.518, 210.90 vs. 15. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.590, 208.62; 3. Dallas Glenn,
PHOENIX (April 6, 2024) – Funny Car legend John Force picked up his first victory in two years, powering past Matt Hagan of Tony Stewart Racing to win the postponed Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, which was completed on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix.
Justin Ashley (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the postponed Pomona race on Saturday at Firebird Motorsports Park, which was the second of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, went 4.033-seconds at 318.24 mph in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS, slipping past Hagan’s 4.048 to claim his 156th career victory and first since April of 2022. Force now has eight Winternationals wins to his credit and this marked another special one in his iconic career.
“I’m just facing the truth in life, that, you know, time’s running out, and I’m trying to hang on,” Force said. “This morning, I was talking about, ‘You know, maybe this is it, maybe I should just walk out the gate and go to the casino,’ and then all sudden you win and your weight and your personality just changes.
“I was mad, mad at myself [for losing in the Mission Challenge earlier in the day], and I started saying, ‘You just need to get out of the seat, you’re just too old for this stuff’ or ‘Get out there and fight the fight.’ And I did and things went right, and I got the win, so I’m excited.”
In Top Fuel, Justin Ashley kept his Winternationals winning streak alive, even in a new location, winning the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals for the third straight year and defeating Tony Schumacher on a holeshot with a pass of 3.802 at 330.15 in his 11,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment dragster. Ashley posted an impressive reaction time of .023 to hold off Schumacher’s run of 3.772 at 326.00
It is Ashley’s 12th career victory and first this season, and certainly one of the more unique ones in his young career.
“It’s very special. Even though is not in Pomona, the NHRA Winternationals is a very prestigious race so to win it once is extraordinary. To win in three times in a row is an incredible blessing,” Ashley said. “This event, the way everything played out, it was a test for our team and they came through just as they seemingly do every time. I think we needed this as a team.
“This was a huge round win. It’s just so special because you never know when you’ll be in another final and you want to try to take advantage of that opportunity and you never know when you’re going to win your next race so you just have to try and enjoy it. This one feels a little bit different and a little bit different in a good way.”
In Pro Stock, Glenn defended his Winternationals victory with a second straight win, this one coming in Phoenix and on a holeshot against reigning world champion Erica Enders. Glenn went 6.537 at 209.14 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, using an .024 reaction time to hold off Enders’ 6.531 at 209.52.
It’s the ninth career win for Glenn and his first in the 2024 campaign, giving the young standout some much-needed Phoenix success.
“I was just thinking that the last two times I’ve raced here in Phoenix I’ve lost first round both times, so Phoenix hasn’t been the best place to me,” Glenn said. “I definitely wanted to finish that last one in Pomona. We tried some new things and kind of took a few runs to get it dialed in, but it definitely came around in the final. I just tried to do everything I can to hit everything I could on that one. I’m just glad to be able to get it done because I was feeling really good in Pomona.”
Eliminations for the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park.
Saturday’s final round resuls from the rain delayed 64th annual NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out
Pomona
Dragstrip.
Top Fuel — Justin Ashley, 3.802 seconds, 330.15 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.772 seconds, 326.00
mph.
Funny Car — John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.033, 318.24 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.048, 283.61.
ASHLEY WINS WINTERNATIONALS; S. TORRENCE EARNS NO. 1 QUALIFIER IN PHOENIX Justin Ashley claims 12th Top Fuel win
CHANDLER, Ariz. (April 6, 2024) – Steve Torrence completed a strong two days of qualifying for Team Toyota by earning the No. 1 qualifying spot for the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The Texan laid down a swift 3.678 elapsed time during the Friday evening session to claim the top spot. It’s Torrence’s first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and the 38th of his career.
The final round of qualifying also served as the makeup finals from the Winternationals at Pomona two weeks ago, where Justin Ashley defeated Tony Schumacher in a holeshot win to take his first Wally Trophy of the season. This is the New York native’s 12th win in Top Fuel and 14th overall in his NHRA career.
In Funny Car, J.R. Todd, qualified 5th for tomorrow’s elimination rounds, followed by Ron Capps in 11th and Alexis DeJoria in 15th. Todd also captured the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty victory Saturday by defeating John Force in the first qualifying session.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series NHRA Arizona Nationals Firebird Motorsports Park Race 3 of 20
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Qualifying Position
First Round Opponent
Steve Torrence
CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
1st
T. Schumake
Doug Kalitta
SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
3rd
T. Totten
Antron Brown
Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
4th
C. Millican
Shawn Langdon
Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
5th
J. Hart
Billy Torrence
CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
10th
K. Baldwin
Justin Ashley
SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
11th
T. Schumacher
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Qualifying Position
First Round Opponent
A. Prock
Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car
1st*
B. Hull
J.R. Todd
DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
5th
C. Pedregon
Ron Capps
NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
11th
B. Alexander
Alexis DeJoria
Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
15th
B. Tasca III
*= Non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
STEVE TORRENCE, CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing
TF Qualifying Result: 1st
Take us through your qualifying run this weekend.
“I enjoy racing here. To go out and run well on Friday always is important. We’ve really worked hard at creating power and running near our career best speed (336.23 mph) shows our progress (but) consistency is still the key. If we can remain consistent, we will be lethal out here.”
JUSTIN ASHLEY, SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, SCAG Racing
TF Qualifying Result: 11th
Does this win mean more coming off a holeshot?
“No, I don’t think so. Holeshot or no shot, a win is a win. That seemed like a pretty close drag race.I’ll have to take a look at the slip.First of all, Tony (Schumacher) is a great guy. Great team over there and I have a lot of respect for them. Joe Maynard and that whole operation. But this is the first official Top Fuel win for Randy (Gloede), Maria (Oldenburg) and the whole team at Metal Craft of Mayville and SCAG Power Equipment. We are out here because of all of the SCAG users, all of the SCAG dealers and distributors that let us come out here and do what we love. Thank you for all that you do. Mike Green (crew chief) and Tommy DeLago (co-crew chief) have been fighting this race car and worked so hard. From top to bottom, this team has done a great job. Just to turn on a win light for everyone at Toyota, Phillips, Lucas Oil, Mac Tools. What a blessing it is to be here. We couldn’t finish in Pomona, but it’s still a Winternationals Wally Trophy and I couldn’t be happier.”
J.R TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports
FC Qualifying Result: 5th
Do you think the win in the #2Fast2Tasty challenge provides momentum for the weekend?
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it’s weird to say we’ve been struggling so far this year, but we have been struggling to get down the track and make clean runs. I haven’t really been consistent, but we’ve had luck on our side coming up to this race. And then yesterday, our gameplan was just to go from A to B and make sure we had a clean run to start off the weekend. The 3.923 was a good run. When you see 3.800 times out there, you get a little greedy. But honestly, it turned out to be a pretty good run and put us in a good spot for Sunday, even though there are never any easy draws on Sunday. Yeah, we’ve made three good runs and we were fortunate to win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty deal. Thanks to Mission Foods for putting up the extra money and bonus points. It’s always good to have those points in your back pocket later in the year when it mattered.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).
Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
Seventeen years after being credited a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Aric Almirola earned an Xfinity victory with JGR in the DUDE Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 6, following a dramatic, overtime shootout to the finish.
The 40-year-old Almirola from Tampa, Florida, led six times for a race-high 148 of 251 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in sixth place. He quickly made his name known at the front by assuming the lead for the first time on Lap 28, where he would win the first stage period on Lap 50.
Amid a series of war of attrition and on-track chaotic moments, including a series of late-race restarts, Almirola, who spent the majority of the event battling with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates towards the front, capitalized on an overtime shootout period to muscle away from Sam Mayer and retain the lead on the final lap amid a race-ending caution to achieve both his first race-winning checkered flag and first Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2024 season.
On-track qualifying on Friday, April 5 determined the starting lineup with Brandon Jones initially recording his first Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 96.15 mph in 19.694 seconds. Jones, however, was forced to start at the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment to change brake rotors on his pole-winning car along with teammates Allgaier and Sammy Smith. Akinori Ogata, Leland Honeyman, Ryan Ellis and Chandler Smith also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective entries.
As a result, Cole Custer, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 95.845 mph in 19.757 seconds, led the field to the green flag as he started alongside Sheldon Creed, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap at 95.840 mph in 19.758 seconds, on the front row.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Custer and Creed battled for the lead through the first two turns until Custer muscled his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang ahead on the outside lane through the backstretch. Custer would then move in front of Creed’s front nose entering Turns 3 and 4 and proceed to lead the first lap.
Through the second to fifth lap mark, Custer retained the lead by within three-tenths of a second over Creed while Jeb Burton trailed in third place ahead of Aric Almirola and Alfredo Alfredo, all of whom were racing in the top five. Behind, Sam Mayer occupied sixth place ahead of rookie Jesse Love, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg and AJ Allmendinger while Austin Hill was scored in 11th ahead of newcomer Carson Kvapil, Matt DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and rookie Shane van Gisbergen.
On the ninth lap, the event’s first caution period flew after Sammy Smith, who attempted to throw a dive-bomb move underneath Garrett Smithley and Dexter Bean, made contact with both entering Turns 3 and 4 resulting in Bean spinning.
When the event restarted under green on Lap 14, Custer managed to fend off Creed for a full lap to retain the lead. As Custer muscled ahead during the Lap 15 mark, Almirola challenged teammate Creed for the runner-up spot while Burton and Mayer remained within close distance.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Custer was leading by half a second over Almirola followed by Creed, Burton and Mayer while Alfredo, Retzlaff, Love, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10 ahead of Hill, Kvapil, Jeremy Clements, Corey Heim and Riley Herbst. Meanwhile, Brandon Jones was running in 23rd place behind teammate Sammy Smith and Hailie Deegan while Gray, DiBenedetto, van Gisbergen, Parker Kligerman and Josh Williams were running in the top 20. In addition, Chandler Smith, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Richmond Raceway, was mired back in 25th.
Seven laps later, Almirola challenged and overtook Custer for the lead through the first two turns. Almirola would proceed to stretch his advantage to half a second by the Lap 30 mark while teammate Creed tried to close in on Custer for the runner-up spot.
On Lap 35, the event’s second caution period flew after Brennan Poole tapped and sent Hailie Deegan for a spin in Turn 2, where she was then hit by Kyle Weatherman and sustained damage to her No. 15 AM Racing entry. During the caution period, some including the JR Motorsports’ competitors Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones pitted as part of a strategic plan while the rest led by Almirola remained on the track.
During the following restart on Lap 42, Almirola muscled his No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota Supra ahead to retain the lead on the inside lane ahead of teammate Creed and Custer. Almirola would continue to lead through the Lap 50 mark as Creed and Custer followed suit in second and third, respectively. Behind, Mayer occupied fourth place while Allmendinger trailed in fifth as he was ahead of Alfredo, Burton, Ryan Sieg, Retzlaff, Hill, Love, Herbst and Gray.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Almirola fended off a late challenge and bump from teammate Creed to capture his third Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Creed settled in second followed by Custer, Mayer and Allmendinger while Alfredo, Ryan Sieg, Hill, Burton and Retzlaff were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, all five JR Motorsports competitors led by Sam Mayer and including teammates Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Jones and Kvapil, remained on the track while the rest led by Almirola pitted for service. Amid the pit stops, Herbst was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Kligerman was also penalized for speeding on pit road.
The second stage period started on Lap 70 as teammates Mayer and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, however, the caution quickly returned after Jones, who struggled to launch from the second row on the outside lane, ignited a stack-up that resulted in Logan Bearden, Deegan, Allmendinger, Hill, Heim, Retzlaff, Leland Honeyman, Herbst, Burton, Bean, Kyle Sieg and Alfredo all wrecking and sustaining damage to their respective entries entering the first turn. The incident was enough to send the event in a red flag period for more than nine minutes.
When the red flag lifted and the field resumed under a cautious pace, the competitors who wrecked, including Herbst, pitted while the rest led by Sammy Smith remained on the track. By then, top names that included Retzlaff, Heim, Hill and Allmendinger were ruled out of the event.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 80, Sammy Smith and Mayer battled for the lead through the first two turns until Smith muscled ahead with the lead through the backstretch while Almirola fanned out to three lanes in his drive back to the front. As Smith retained the lead during the following lap ahead of teammate Mayer, Creed was in third ahead of a tight side-by-side battle between Allgaier and Custer while Kvapil and Almirola followed suit.
Following another caution period that occurred on Lap 84 after Kligerman spun his No. 48 Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet Camaro from 29th place in Turn 2 due to cutting a left-front tire, the start of the following restart period on Lap 90 featured a brief side-by-side battle between teammates Sammy Smith and Mayer through the first two turns. With Smith muscling ahead through the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4, Mayer then got loose after he hit the curbs exiting Turn 4, which allowed teammate Allgaier and Creed to move into second and third while Mayer, who got his car stuck on the outside lane but resumed under full pace, dropped to 10th place.
At the Lap 100 mark, Sammy Smith continued to lead by a second in his No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet Camaro over teammates Allgaier and Kvapil as Almirola and Custer trailed in the top five. Behind, Creed occupied sixth place ahead of Jones, Burton, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams while Mayer, Chandler Smith, Love, Alfredo and Taylor Gray were running in the top 15 ahead of a battle between Herbst and van Gisbergen.
Ten laps later, Sammy Smith retained the lead by a tenth of a second over teammate Allgaier, who was using the front bumper to pressure his JR Motorsports teammate for the top spot through the turns, while teammate Kvapil trailed by within eight-tenths of a second. Another lap, however, Allgaier managed to draw even with Smith on the inside lane through the frontstretch until he muscled his No. 7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet Camaro ahead with the lead through the backstretch. With Allgaier leading, Smith retained second while Almirola challenged Kvapil for third place.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Allgaier, who stretched his advantage, captured his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Almirola settled in second followed by Sammy Smith, Kvapil and Custer while Creed, Jones, Chandler Smith, Burton and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. By then, 29 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola assumed the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of Sammy Smith while Creed, Custer, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Jones, Herbst, Ryan Sieg and van Gisbergen followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier lost 14 spots due to an issue while having his left-rear tire changed while Taylor Gray was penalized for his pit crew jumping over the pit wall too early.
With 120 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Almirola and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola muscled ahead from Smith amid contact to retain the lead while teammate Creed moved into the runner-up spot through Turns 3 and 4. Teammate Chandler Smith would grab third place from Smith during the following lap, thus placing all three Joe Gibbs Racing entries in the top three spots, while Custer followed suit and overtook Smith for fourth place.
Not long after, the battle for the lead between Almirola and Creed ignited as the latter gave the former a bump through Turns 3 and 4, but Almirola retained the top spot during the proceeding laps. Behind, Custer and Jones were racing in the top five while Allgaier, Herbst, Smith, Kvapil and Ryan Sieg occupied the top 10, with a series of bumps and jostles for spots ensuing in the middle of the pack.
With 110 laps remaining, Almirola stretched his advantage to more than a second over teammate Creed as Custer intimidated Chandler Smith for third place. Almirola would stabilize his advantage to more than a second over teammate Chandler Smith as teammate Creed dropped to third with 100 laps remaining.
Down to the final 85 laps of the event, Almirola continued to lead by nearly a second over teammate Chandler Smith while third-place/teammate Creed trailed by two seconds ahead of Custer, Allgaier and Kvapil.
Four laps later, the caution flew due to a metal debris reported in Turn 3. During the caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Almirola returned to pit road for service while Kligerman, who did not have any fresh tires in his pit box, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Almirola exited first ahead of teammate Creed, Custer and teammate Chandler Smith while Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Herbst followed suit.
When the event restarted under green with 73 laps remaining, Kligerman and Almirola battled for the lead through the first two turns until Almirola managed to muscle ahead through the backstretch and move in front of Kligerman, who made contact with Custer through Turns 3 and 4. The contact allowed Creed and Custer to move ahead in second and third, with Chandler Smith following suit in fourth. As Kligerman began to lose ground on old tires while also trapped on the outside lane, Chandler Smith made contact with teammate Creed amid a tight three-wide battle during the following lap in Turn 3, though Creed managed to bump and fend off Smith for second place while Custer and Sammy Smith bumped and battled for fourth place. Amid the bumps and late battles, Almirola stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second with 70 laps remaining.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Almirola was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Creed while teammate Chandler Smith trailed by nearly a second while Sammy Smith and Custer were racing in the top five. Behind, Herbst occupied sixth place ahead of Mayer, Kvapil, Love and Allgaier while Taylor Gray, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo, Jones and Burton were scored in the top 15.
Following another caution period with 55 laps remaining after Garrett Smithley spun in Turn 1, the start of the following restart period with 46 laps remaining featured a tight side-by-side battle between teammates Almirola and Chandler Smith, which ensued for the next four laps until Almirola managed to clear Smith and move in front of him to have both lanes to his control with the lead. Smith then got loose as he tried to re-challenge Almirola for the lead, which allowed teammate Creed to battle and overtake Smith for the runner-up spot while Custer and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top five. With a series of bumps and late battles igniting in the middle of the field, Almirola slightly stretched his lead to four-tenths of a second with less than 40 laps remaining.
With 30 laps remaining, Almirola was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Creed while teammate Chandler Smith trailed by less than a second as he was trying to mount a charge on Creed for the runner-up spot. By then, Mayer carved his way back to fourth as he was ahead of Custer while Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Herbst, Alfredo and Kvapil were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Love occupied 11th place while Jones, Gray, van Gisbergen and Ryan Sieg were in the top 15.
Ten laps later, Almirola extended his advantage to two seconds over teammate Chandler Smith, who bumped into the side of teammate Creed three laps earlier, to move into the runner-up spot. Behind, Creed, who slipped up the track in Turn 1 with 22 laps remaining while giving teammate Smith a bump back following their contact, was battling Mayer for third while Allgaier trailed by more than four seconds in fifth place.
Another three laps later, the caution flew after Ryan Sieg, who was running in the top 15, spun and hit the outside wall in Turn 1 after he over-drove his No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang entering the turn, which evaporated Almirola’s reasonable advantage over teammate Chandler Smith.
Down to the final 11 laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, teammates Almirola and Chandler Smith battled dead even and rubbed fenders for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then in Turns 3 and 4, Smith bumped Almirola and muscled his No. 81 Wheelers Toyota Supra into the lead. A lap later, however, Almirola bumped and sent Smith up the track in Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Almirola to reassume the lead followed by Mayer while Smith was left to battle teammate Creed for third place.
Then with a series of battles and on-track contact ensuing within the field in the closing laps, Mayer bumped and made his move beneath Almirola for the lead through the backstretch with eight laps remaining. Amid a tight side-by-side battle, Mayer then motored his No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet Camaro ahead to lead the proceeding lap ahead of Almirola before the caution returned due to a multi-car wreck that erupted when Jeb Burton got turned sideways along with Myatt Snider and resulted with both, including Clements, Kyle Sieg and DiBenedetto all wrecking and sustaining significant damage to their respective entries. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime.
At the start of the overtime period, Mayer and Almirola briefly battled dead even for the lead in Turn 1 until Creed attempted to stretch the battle to three lanes through the turn, which he got Mayer sideways amid contact. This allowed Almirola to muscle ahead on the outside lane as he reassumed the lead from Mayer while the field fanned out through the backstretch.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Almirola remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Mayer. Not long after, the caution returned and the event was deemed official after Herbst, who was racing in the top 10, got sideways entering Turn 1 and backed his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang hard against the outside wall as Ryan Ellis and Brandon Jones also piled into the carnage. With the event concluding under caution, Almirola was able to coast his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry around the Martinsville circuit smoothly for a final time before returning to the frontstretch and claiming his first checkered flag of the 2024 Xfinity season.
With the victory, Almirola, who was making his fourth Xfinity start of the 2024 season, recorded his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series career win in his 108th series start. He also achieved his first victory at Martinsville Speedway and his first series win since winning at Sonoma Raceway in June 2023 while driving for RSS Racing. As a bonus, Almirola claimed the first Dash 4 Cash’s $100,000 bonus of this season, which marked his first time achieving the award. The victory was the fourth of the season for both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.
The Martinsville victory with Joe Gibbs Racing was extremely meaningful for the veteran Almirola, whose first career start across NASCAR’s top three national touring series occurred in a JGR car in the Xfinity Series at Richmond Raceway in May 2006. In addition, Almirola was credited with his first Xfinity career victory with JGR at the Milwaukee Mile in June 2007.
The victory occurred after Almirola, who had started on pole position and was dominating early, was forced to relinquish his seat to Denny Hamlin, who was initially set to compete in the entry but was not able to arrive at the track in time for the event’s start, due to sponsorship obligations. In the end, Hamlin proceeded to win as a relief competitor while Almirola, who did not participate in the team’s celebration, was credited the victory due to starting the event.
For tonight, Almirola, who retired from full-time Cup Series competition at the conclusion of the 2023 season and rejoined Joe Gibbs Racing for a part-time campaign in the Xfinity Series, was not to be denied of earning an Xfinity victory driving for JGR while completing all of the event’s miles from start to finish behind the steering wheel.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, this is so awesome,” Almirola said on FS1. “To win for Joe Gibbs Racing, I’ve had an asterisk next to a win for Coach [Gibbs] for 17 years and this is so awesome to finally put a real win banner up inside the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing. Man, this GR Supra was fast. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Coach, for calling me and giving me this opportunity to come and have some fun and still scratch the itch of racing, but still to get to spend a lot of time with my family. I’ve had so much pressure to win. I think everybody expected me to just get in [the No. 20 car] and go win.
“The reality is it’s really hard to jump in these cars and race against the guys that do it week in and week out. This just feels really good. I’ve won a lot of races in my career, through the late model ranks and stuff to get me that opportunity to go to work for Coach. And then from there, it’s been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of struggles over 20 years in NASCAR. To cap off my career doing it the way I want to do it with Coach, with this whole organization at Joe Gibbs Racing, it feels amazing. We’re gonna celebrate this one.”
Mayer, who led 11 laps and has finished no higher than ninth during the first six events on the schedule, posted a strong runner-up result followed by Chandler Smith, who led three laps and rallied from starting at the rear of the field without posting a qualifying lap to finish third.
“The way this year’s gone, I’m happy with P2 at the end of the day,” Mayer said. “We finished the race. The car’s pretty much in one piece. Man, those restarts here are just ruthless and painful. Obviously, [Almirola] was really, really good today, and it was good that I was able to keep up and be as fast as them and pass all those [Joe Gibbs Racing] cars there at the end and march up to the front, for real. That’s the first time I’ve done that here. Super proud of [the No. 1] guys. We’re digging ourselves out of a whole little by little. At the end of the day, we needed a [win] and got one, I feel like, stolen from me there a little bit. We’re gonna go and try to haul the mail [at Texas Motor Speedway].”
Newcomer Carson Kvapil achieved a solid fourth-place finish in his Xfinity Series debut while Allgaier ended up in fifth place. Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Cole Custer, rookie Jesse Love and Josh Williams finished in the top 10.
With Almirola not scheduled to compete in next weekend’s event on the schedule at Texas Motor Speedway, the next four competitors who will contend for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus of this season will be Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed.
There were 15 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 68 laps. In addition, 24 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the seventh event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Chandler Smith continues to lead the regular-season standings by 35 points over Cole Custer, 41 over Austin Hill, 76 over Jesse Love and 79 over Justin Allgaier.
Results.
1. Aric Almirola, 148 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Sam Mayer, 11 laps led
3. Chandler Smith, three laps led
4. Carson Kvapil
5. Justin Allgaier, 14 laps led, Stage 2 winner
6. Sheldon Creed
7. Sammy Smith, 42 laps led
8. Cole Custer, 27 laps led
9. Jesse Love
10. Josh Williams
11. Shane van Gisbergen
12. Parker Kligerman, five laps led
13. Taylor Gray
14. Brennan Poole
15. Anthony Alfredo
16. Blaine Perkins
17. Ryan Sieg
18. Hailie Deegan
19. Myatt Snider
20. Dexter Bean
21. Matt DiBenedetto
22. Jeremy Clements
23. Kyle Sieg
24. Dawson Cram
25. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident
26. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident
27. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident
28. Joey Gase, one lap down, one lap led
29. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
30. Logan Bearden, four laps down
31. Leland Honeyman, seven laps down
32. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident
33. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident
34. Austin Hill – OUT, Accident
35. Corey Heim – OUT, Accident
36. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident
37. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident
38. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Brakes
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 and where the second Dash 4 Cash event will occur. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, April 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY COOK OUT 400 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT APRIL 6, 2024
Larson Drives Chevrolet to Third Consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Pole of 2024
By a mere thousandth of a second, Kyle Larson claimed his second consecutive pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season – posting a best-lap of 19.718 seconds, at 96.034 mph, in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Ruby Camaro ZL1.
The feat marks Larson’s second consecutive pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his 18th career pole win in 339 starts in NASCAR’s top division.
This marks Chevrolet’s third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole win this season – a streak that started with William Byron’s pole at Circuit of The Americas, followed by Larson’s pole at Richmond Raceway last weekend.
Larson delivered Chevrolet its 57th all-time NASCAR Cup Series pole win at Martinsville Speedway, and the manufacturer’s 746th all-time pole win in NASCAR’s top division – extending its series-leading record in both categories.
FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Raceway on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Ruby Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes
Obviously a big weekend, but how important – given all of the different variables going into Sunday – is track position early in the race at Martinsville?
“Yeah, we’ve all seen passing on short-tracks have been really difficult in the Next Gen cars. So, I think qualifying has been more important than it has ever been here these last few years. So yeah, I mean getting track position on Saturday, qualifying well, usually pays dividends as long as your team can execute on Sunday. It’s great to get another pole on a short-track, back-to-back weekends. I felt like it really helped our race out last week, and as long as we execute tomorrow, it should help our race out, as well.”
Big weekend for the team, but also a cool little stat – 50th career national series pole, combined, for drivers that have come out of the Drive for Diversity Program. Talk a little bit about just what the program meant for you coming up in your career and what you’ve seen as it’s evolved the last few years.
“Yeah, that’s great stat to hear. I was in the program 12 years ago or so, and it did a lot for my career then to gain experience. That was really my introduction to pavement racing, especially in stock cars. To kind of see how it has evolved over the years and the equipment that they have now, it seems really good. Drivers are able to go out there and compete at a high level now. Hats off to everybody that’s part of the Drive for Diversity Program. It’s always growing and getting better.”
A thousandth of a second difference between you and Bubba (Wallace). Obviously, you guys had a good conversation after the end of last weekend’s race. It seems like there’s good respect between the two of you. What was the conversation, if there was any, on pit road when you were driving by after winning the pole?
“Yeah, it’s cool to get a pole, but to edge Bubba (Wallace) out – because he’s got a big personality, I knew he would come up and say something on pit road. No, I think we do – although we’ve had our couple run ins along the way – I do think we have a lot of respect for each other and all of that. I respect him in and out of the race car and what he puts into everything. Yeah, he’s a passionate person – good and bad sometimes.
But no, it’s always fun to compete with him and have good battles.”
Did you know you have Linda Hendrick’s name on your car, and just what do you think will be the emotions will be tomorrow with that car leading the field?
“Yeah, I didn’t know I was going to have their names on the car until I was driving up to Martinsville today. I thought that was a really nice touch. And yeah, it’s just special. Anytime you can do anything good at Hendrick Motorsports, they’re very proud of us. They are just two of the greatest people I’ve ever got to meet. I’ve really enjoyed this year with the offseason stuff, the get togethers we’ve had as a company and a team, because we’ve really gotten to see Linda open up a lot; get up and give speeches and things. She’s always been really quiet whenever I’ve been around and all that, but this year, I’ve noticed that Rick has put a lot of – I don’t know if pressure is the right word, but he just hands the mic over to her and she always says the right thing. Her speeches are amazing. Yeah, that’s been neat. Having her name on the side of our car here this weekend is definitely special.”
When you entered Hendrick Motorsports and you think back to when you knew of this team just as a perspective driver, how cool is it now to really look at the full circle that you know how important this team is in this sport; how important it is for you and now tomorrow you’ll be going out there and racing in that red car?
“Yeah, I think this season with it being their 40th season as an organization, I think a lot of history gets brought up. Good history and you see more stats, I feel like, this year because it’s such a milestone year for the organization. Yeah, just hearing stories and all of that is really neat – to see where they’ve come from their beginnings. Rick and Linda kind of talking about before they were ever into motorsports – like getting to that point is a neat story, a great story.
Yeah, for them to go from this potentially being their last race ever 40 years ago, to winning it, and seeing what it’s been built to now – it’s just amazing. They are the greatest team in this sport, and I don’t think you could argue that. Just what Rick and Linda have built together is pretty amazing.”
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Kyle Larson claimed the Busch Light Pole Award at Martinsville Speedway Saturday evening on a nostalgic weekend honoring Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary in NASCAR.
He drove his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet, adorned in a special paint scheme to honor the occasion, to the top of the speed charts with a 96.034 mph lap during qualifying.
Larson spoke about the importance of track position.
“Yeah, we’ve all seen passing on short tracks have been really difficult in the Next Gen cars. So, I think qualifying has been more important than it has ever been here these last few years,” he said. “So yeah, I mean getting track position on Saturday, qualifying well, usually pays dividends as long as your team can execute on Sunday. It’s great to get another pole on a short-track, back-to-back weekends. I felt like it really helped our race out last week, and as long as we execute tomorrow, it should help our race out, as well.”
It was Larson’s second consecutive pole after starting first at Richmond Raceway and his 18th Cup Series career pole.
Bubba Wallace will start beside Larson on the front row for his fifth top-10 start this year after posting a qualifying lap of 96.029 mph in the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota.
“Of all people, it’d be Larson by a thousandth,” Wallace joked. “Proud of our team though, so it’s good.”
Chase Elliott (95.869 mph) will start third followed by Martin Truex Jr. (95.864 mph) and Chase Briscoe (95.830 mph) to round out the top five. Rounding out the top-10 were Joey Logano (95.811 mph), Josh Berry (95.806 mph), Denny Hamlin (95.738 mph), Ryan Blaney (95.559 mph) and Alex Bowman (95.487 mph).
You can tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
