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Stewart-Haas Racing: Cook Out 400 from Martinsville

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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Cook Out 400

Date: April 7, 2024
Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 8 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/100 laps/220 laps)
Note: Race extended 15 laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 22nd, Finished 9th / Running, completed 415 of 415 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 5th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 415 of 415 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 26th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 414 of 415 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 7th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 413 of 415 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 188 points, 121 out of first)

● Josh Berry (23rd with 129 points, 180 out of first)

● Ryan Preece (26th with 112 points, 197 out of first)

● Noah Gragson (29th with 101 points, 208 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Preece earned his first top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville.

● This was Preece’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 14th, earned March 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

● Preece’s ninth-place finish bettered his previous best result at Martinsville – 15th, earned last April.

● This was Preece’s third straight top-20 at Martinsville. He finished 15th last April and 20th in the series’ prior visit to the track in October.

● Briscoe earned his third top-10 of the season and his fifth top-10 in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville

● This was Briscoe’s fifth straight result of 18th or better. He finished ninth March 10 at Phoenix Raceway, 13th March 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, 13th March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas and 18th last Sunday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

● This was Briscoe’s fifth straight top-10 at Martinsville. In his past five NASCAR Cup Series starts at the .526-mile oval, Briscoe has finished ninth, ninth, fifth, fourth and 10th.

● Briscoe finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and seventh in Stage 2 to earn four more bonus points.

● Briscoe led once for eight laps to bring his laps-led total at Martinsville to 142.

● Gragson’s 20th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Martinsville – 25th, earned in October 2022.

● Berry finished ninth in Stage 1 to earn two bonus points and 10th in Stage 2 to earn one additional bonus point.

Race Notes:

● William Byron won the Cook Out 400 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was .55 of a second.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 51 laps.

● Only 14 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Larson leaves Martinsville as the new championship leader with a 14-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“We had a really good car. I wish we didn’t qualify so badly. I know the 24 (William Byron) started back there with us and he was able to get there probably with the help of a lot of things. At Martinsville last year, we had a good car but we didn’t have that good of a car, but now we’re definitely working toward something. I’m really happy with the direction we’re going in and we’re working on, and we’re going to be a lot better moving forward.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was kind of a frustrating day for us. We ended up 10th, but we were definitely way better than 10th. We just couldn’t pass. We had not the greatest pit stop early in the race and lost some sports, and we were just kind of stuck anywhere from fifth to eighth for the rest of the race. I felt like if I ever could’ve gotten the lead, I would’ve been good enough to run up there, for sure. And then there at the end, we didn’t know if we should pit or not pit. We were kind of in a tough spot. We stayed out and lost two more spots. So, frustrating to run 10th. We definitely had better than a 10th-place racecar. This is how hard this Cup deal is. You’ve got to be perfect all race long. I made a couple of mistakes, and as a team, still, we just need to clean some stuff up. We’ll move on and continue with what speed we have. That’s encouraging. We just need to execute.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Started out struggling with the balance of the car, went a lap down, and during the second stage got the ‘Lucky Dog’ and started rolling pretty good. It just seemed like the track changed a lot with the rubber being laid down. We found a good balance to start the run, but to end the run it gets super loose. But still proud of everybody on the Overstock team. It’s not our standard, but we’ll keep working to get there. It was a tough race, but had a lot of fun, too.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“The car was fun. The field basically ran the same speed and you just can’t pass.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, April 14 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing – NCS Martinsville Post-Race Report – 04.07.24

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23XI DUO LEADS TOYOTA IN MARTINSVILLE
Wallace earns third top-five of the year, while Reddick delivers third straight top-10

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 7, 2024) – 23XI Racing had a solid afternoon with teammates Bubba Wallace (fourth) and Tyler Reddick (seventh) leading the way for Team Toyota at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday evening.

For Wallace, it was his third top-five finish of the season, and fourth consecutive top-11 finish at Martinsville. Reddick delivered his third straight top-10, while both Wallace and Reddick earned their best Martinsville Cup Series result.

Toyota now occupies half of the top-12 spots in the standings, and all eight full-time Toyota Camry XSE drivers rank amongst the top-20 in points.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Martinsville Speedway
Race 8 of 36 – 210.4 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, William Bryon*
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, BUBBA WALLACE
5th, Chase Elliott*
7th, TYLER REDDICK
11th, DENNY HAMLIN
12th, ERIK JONES
18th, MARTIN TRUEX, JR.
19th, TY GIBBS
35th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
36th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Solid top-10 all day and finished fourth. Can you talk about your run?

“Yeah, hats off to everybody at 23XI. I appreciate all of the effort. We do a lot of stuff during the week, and I’m finally starting to understand that it all pays off. You’ve got to give the effort, because these guys are busting their ass. It is days like this that you appreciate it. I appreciate all of these McDonald’s guys – and the men and women at the shop. We needed that. My Toyota was strong today. We lost a little bit on that last stop. We got too free, but all-in-all, I was content in finishing sixth, and that’s why you never give up. Top-five – good day, and we will go on to Texas.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Can you talk about your day? Solid run for you this afternoon.

“From where we started – 19th – if you would have told me that we would finish seventh with our MoneyLion Toyota Camry, I would’ve been really, really happy with that – so naturally this whole group is. We just had to chip away at it all day long. We didn’t do a good job in qualifying so that set us behind. It definitely seemed at the start of the race, our car was really, really strong and as we went on the handling kind of went away. It got harder and harder to pass, but we did the important stuff right. We didn’t make mistakes and we were able to capitalize on others’ mistakes. We were on top of the strategy, so just really proud of everybody – Billy Scott (crew chief), this whole 45 team. The strategy call at the end got us four spots, that worked out nice. The day we needed to have.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

What was the pit strategy there in the end?

“We were just trying to do anything we could to steal one with our Sport Clips Toyota. We needed so many cars to do it – even still – the tires didn’t wear enough to matter. We saw when Joey (Logano) stayed out on those 80-lap lefts and led most of the stage. Tires didn’t wear, and we just struggled to pass all day. Once I came out of that cycle – third or fourth – that’s kind of just where I stayed.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

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

Ryan Blaney Leads Four Mustangs Inside Top 10 at Martinsville

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway
Cook Out 400 | Saturday, April 6, 2024

UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS
5th – Ryan Blaney
6th – Joey Logano
9th – Ryan Preece
10th – Chase Briscoe
13th – Todd Gilliland
15th – Chris Buescher
20th – Noah Gragson
21st – Michael McDowell
23rd – Austin Cindric
24th – Brad Keselowski
25th – Josh Berry
26th – Kaz Grala
30th – Justin Haley
33rd – Harrison Burton

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 5th)

“We got good at the end. It was an uphill battle for sure. We had the issue on pit road and had to restart in the back and nobody could pass anybody. Jonathan made a good call to put two on it at the start of the third stage and we kind of established ourselves a little bit back in the top 10. We were able to work on our car again once we got a little clean air and seeing what the car was doing and how to get it better. After the green flag stop I was really fast. I passed a handful of guys. I was kind of shocked. I held on pretty good but stalled out when I got to the 11. Overall, I am proud of the fight back from our group. Obviously not the first half of the race we wanted and we didn’t get any stage points, but I am proud of the fight and perseverance of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang 12 team. We will go on to Texas.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 6th)

“It was a solid day. I think we got fifth or sixth place points in each stage, somewhere around there. We led a bunch of laps. We got out front, but the tire came apart at the end of that stage there, which cost us a stage win, unfortunately. We took that risk to do it and ended up in the same spot that we were going to be, so really no risk there. After that, we kind of lost control of the race, and once that happened, once you lost the lead, nobody was going to pass anybody. The only car I saw passing was the 12. That was pretty impressive. The rest of us just followed each other all day.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 9th)

“We had a really good car. I wish we didn’t qualify so bad. I know the 24 started back there with us and was able to get there probably with the help of a lot of things. At Martinsville last year we had a good car, but not that good of a car, so we are definitely working toward something. I am really happy with the direction, finally, that we are going in and I think we are going to be a lot better moving forward.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 10th)

“I am frustrated. We ran 10th but that was the worst 10th. We were better than that all race long, so that is frustrating. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We lost a couple of spots on pit road and then ran long and lost a lot of track time there. I thought our car was good enough to for sure run in the top three. I don’t know what the leaders had at the end. You just can’t pass, so if you were able to get the lead, you were going to hold it if you were somewhat decent. We need to figure out how to execute a little better. We had good speed, we just need to capitalize on it better.”

Stunning 1957 Chevy Bel Air Wins Walt Hollifield Best of Show At AutoFair Presented by Camping World

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Arnold Walker’s custom-made 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air won the prestigious Walt Hollifield Best of Show Sunday at the AutoFair presented by Camping World. (CMS photo)
  • Gastonia native Arnold Walker won the prestigious Walt Hollifield Best of Show Award for his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air at AutoFair presented by Camping World on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway
  • Tickets for the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals April 26-28 can be purchased online at charlottemotorspeedway.com

CONCORD, NC (April 7, 2024) – A sea of stunning vehicles flooded AutoFair presented by Camping World at Charlotte Motor Speedway as car enthusiasts from across the country transcended Victory Lane and the Walt Hollifield Best of Show winner was announced.

Gastonia, North Carolina native Arnold Walker was on the fence about entering his car into the show, but it’s a good thing he did. His 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air took home the coveted Walt Hollifield Best of Show award and the one-of-a-kind custom-made Cold Hard Art trophy as the AutoFair concluded Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve had it for 24 years. I’ve always liked the ‘57 Chevy, and I wanted a two-door hard top,” Walker said. “When I first got it it had no power, nothing, so I had it restored in 2000. I only had it about 6 months before I did a frame-off (restoration).”

As part of the restoration, he replaced white wall tires and fender skirts with more modern upgrades including racing tires, a 350-turbo engine, and custom leather interior and trunk.

Although not a daily driver, Walker travels to car shows across the Southeast to show off his freshly polished award-winning machine.

The Best of Show award was named for Charlotte-area car expert Walt Hollifield, who has been an invaluable part of AutoFair for more than 40 years. Hollifield presented his eponymous award to Walker on Sunday, alongside judges custom car builders David Ankin, Lou Santiago and Joshua Joyce, as well as Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter.

Four days of family-friendly fun and glistening cars throughout Charlotte’s 1.5 mile superspeedway also featured Hall of Fame appearances by industry experts, an all-new display by Camping World and a collection of wild and wacky machines including the iconic 1969 Chuck Miller “Red Baron.”

In addition to the Walt Hollifield Best of Show award, judges presented awards to:

  • Best of Show Runner-up: Larry Sheriff, 1962 Chevy C10
  • Best of Show 2000 & Up Winner: Tony Sofo, 2000 Chevy 510
  • Best of Show 2000 & Up Runner-up: Mason Wright, 2015 Chevy SS
  • Best of Foreign Car: Todd Kirby, 1974 Opel Manta
  • Hagerty Kids Choice: Bradley Gray, 1956 Chevy Pickup and Lake Norman Chrysler/Carolina Custom 2024 Jeep Gladiator
  • Best Restoration: Alan Middlebrook, 1966 Ford Mustang
  • Sam Bass Award (Best Paint): John Wicker, 1969 Chevy Camaro
  • Best Truck: Bobby, David and Angela Naff, 1932 Chevy Truck
  • Most Creative: Rick Salyer, 1940 Dodge Business Coupe

TICKETS:

Fans can purchase tickets to upcoming speedway events including the April 26-28 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and the Coca-Cola 600 action May 24-26 online at charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

KEEP TRACK:

Stay on pace with what’s happening at Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

Stewart-Haas Racing: DUDE Wipes 250 from Martinsville Speedway

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Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
DUDE Wipes 250

Date: April 6, 2024
Event: DUDE Wipes 250 (Round 7 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/130 laps)
Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 250-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 2nd / Finished 8th, Running, completed 251 of 251 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 22nd / Finished 25th, Accident, completed 250 of 251 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (2nd with 267 points, 35 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (6th with 206 points, 96 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his fifth straight top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville.
● Custer has never finished outside of the top-20 at Martinsville.
● Custer finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and fifth in Stage 2 to earn six more bonus points.
● Custer led once for 27 laps to increase his laps-led total at Martinsville to 33.
● Herbst earned his sixth top-25 of the season and his sixth top-25 in eight career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville.

Race Notes:

● Aric Almirola won the DUDE Wipes 250 under caution to score his fifth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season, and his first at Martinsville.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 68 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Chandler Smith leaves Martinsville as the championship leader with a 35-point advantage over second-place Cole Custer.

Sound Bites:

“We had a solid short-run car, but we just didn’t have the long-run speed today. We tried to make the most of the day though and got a top-10 out of it. Still, it wasn’t the Martinsville race that we had wanted. Our No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse had the speed, but it was definitely still tough. We have some things that we need to work on, and we’ll look at it before the next race.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Such a long day for our No. 98 Monster Energy team. We qualified deep in the field and then just had to fight our way up through the crowd. We got all the way up to forth and then got some nose damage and a pit road penalty in the second stage. Honestly, we recovered and looked like we could get a top-10 finish during the green-white-checkered. I just overstepped my entry and wheel hopped. It’s a tough ending, but we’ll look ahead to Texas.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday, April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TPC Racing Team With Dream Racing Wins Season-Opening GT America GT2 Race with Aaron Farhadi at Sonoma Raceway Saturday

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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.

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Martinsville – DUDE Wipes 250

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  • 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.

RCR NXS Race Recap: Martinsville Speedway

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Official Release
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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

Toyota Racing – NXS Martinsville Post-Race Report – 04.06.24

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Official Release
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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.

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

TODD, SCHUMACHER AND ENDERS TAKE MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE IN FRONT OF SELLOUT CROWD AT PHOENIX

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Official Release
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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;

  1. 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,

Camaro, 6.537, 209.14 vs. 14. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.589, 207.08; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.538,

210.08 vs. 13.

Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.589, 208.65; 5. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.541, 211.30 vs. 12. Deric

Kramer, Camaro, 6.583, 209.07; 6. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.557, 209.88 vs. 11. Brandon

Foster, Camaro, 6.578, 208.65; 7. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.564, 209.72 vs. 10. Kenny Delco,

Camaro, 6.576, 209.88; 8. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.572, 209.65 vs. 9. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.575,

209.75.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Fernando Cuadra Jr., 6.615, 208.88; 18. Joey Grose, 6.664, 206.92; 19. Camrie

Caruso, 8.920, 142.87; 20. Sienna Wildgust, 13.812, 76.93.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Saturday’s final results from the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at 39th

annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park.

Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Top Fuel Challenge — Tony Schumacher, 3.925 seconds, 292.77 mph

def.

Brittany Force, 4.378 seconds, 216.62 mph.

Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Funny Car Challenge — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.974, 316.67

def.

John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.007, 320.89.

Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge Pro Stock Challenge — Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.541, 210.87

def.

Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.591, 208.91.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at

Firebird Motorsports Park, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Tony Schumacher, 3.755, 328.38 def. Billy Torrence, 4.726, 158.26; Brittany Force,

3.689, 334.90 def. Justin Ashley, 3.902, 313.58; FINAL — T. Schumacher, 3.925, 292.77 def. B. Force,

4.378, 216.62.

FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.923, 320.58 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.996, 281.77;

John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.901, 325.37 def. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 8.909, 82.80; FINAL — J. Todd,

3.974, 316.67 def. J. Force, 4.007, 320.89.

PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Mason McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 17.916, 45.52 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, Foul – Red Light;

Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.518, 210.90 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.575, 209.72; FINAL — E. Enders,

6.541, 210.87 def. M. McGaha, 6.591, 208.91.

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