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GLENN GETS GETTRX ALL-STAR CALLOUT VICTORY; LANGDON, PROCK & GADSON WIN MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE IN NORWALK

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Official Release
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Langdon, Prock, Anderson and Herrera roll to No. 1 qualifiers at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals

NORWALK, Ohio (June 27, 2026) – Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon rolled to a clean sweep on Saturday as part of a dominant day at Summit Motorsports Park, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over teammate Doug Kalitta and also qualifying No. 1 at this weekend’s 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Dallas Glenn won the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout, while Austin Prock (Funny Car) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Langdon, Prock, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) qualified No. 1 at the 10th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta Motorsports has been a major step ahead of everyone in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge the past two years in Top Fuel, remaining in complete control of the bonus race in 2026. Langdon knocked off his teammate on Saturday with a stellar run of 3.695-seconds at 333.08 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster, winning the Challenge for the third time this season.

Kalitta has won it four times, meaning the Top Fuel tandem has won the bonus race at seven of the eight races this season. It’s another example of Langdon’s remarkable season, as the past world champion also qualified No. 1 for the fifth time this year with his 3.695. Langdon dipped into the 3.60s on both qualifying runs on Saturday, putting him in a prime position to extend an already huge points lead on Sunday in Norwalk.

“The magic is really just the consistency that these cars have shown over the last couple seasons, being able to make the semifinals of the races, being able to get into the show of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty and then making good quality runs during the Challenge,” Langdon said. “Both cars have been really good the last few seasons, so that’s just the end result of that.

“I absolutely love being the No. 1 qualifier when there are 15 cars. I feel our cars have made a pretty good statement over the last year or two. Our Kalitta cars have made some really incredible runs throughout the season and so I think anybody that pulls up to us on the Sundays, they’ve got to bring a pretty fast race car.”

Josh Hart moved to second with a 3.722 at 332.51 and Epping winner Leah Pruett qualified third after going 3.731 at 334.07.

In Funny Car, reigning back-to-back Funny Car world champ Austin Prock clinched his first No. 1 qualifier of the year and also took the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory, going 3.875 at 333.49 in his 12,000-horsepower Ford Racing Mustang for Tasca Racing, holding off Ron Capps in a thrilling final of the bonus race.

It’s the second Challenge victory for Prock, who made the quickest run in three of the four qualifying sessions this weekend in Norwalk. That included a massive blast of 3.863 at 337.41, setting the track speed record and handing Prock his first No. 1 qualifier since joining Tasca Racing this season.

He’ll open raceday against Jeff Arend, looking for his second straight victory at Summit Motorsports Park and also his second victory of the season. Prock has impressed in a major way this weekend and seems intent on finishing in style on Sunday.

“It’s been a great weekend for us so far,” Prock said. “We pretty much gobbled up every point that was available except one yesterday in Q2. I’m really proud of what we have accomplished this weekend. We came in here with a plan that we were going to press harder and try to become the dominant race team that we know we’re capable of being.

“I can’t say enough about this Ford Racing team. It’s an honor to work with them. We’ve really made incredible progress each weekend in these 10 races. Our progression has been very linear. It’s just kind of been a steady pace. The entire show has been better this weekend and that’s great for these packed Norwalk grandstands.”

Alexis DeJoria moved into the second spot with a 3.886 at 330.31 and Capps took third thanks to Friday’s 3.891 at 326.63.

Dallas Glenn became the fourth different winner of the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout in four years, securing the $40,000 prize when Matt Hartford went red in the final round. Glenn would have been tough to beat, going a Saturday-best 6.556 and 207.98 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.

It’s the first All-Star Callout for Glenn, who also beat Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Aaron Stanfield to reach the final round of the bonus race.

He also qualified No. 2 as he looks for a clean sweep of the weekend in Norwalk.

“We made a fantastic run there in the final,” Glenn said. “I’m really excited about tomorrow. I’ve been wanting to get one of these ice cream scoop trophies for a long time. I’m really excited about that, and that nice big bonus check should be pretty nice, too.

“I don’t feel like I do well in these races, but I just came in trying to do my own thing, and I don’t know if being in a new car kind of kept me from overthinking anything, just because there was so much new stuff, or what it was, but I just tried to stay as relaxed as I could.”

Anderson clinched his seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season, going 6.550 at 209.36 on Saturday. Glenn is second and Hartford is third with a 6.564 at 209.04.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Richard Gadson got the best of his Vance & Hines teammate Gaige Herrera in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge when Herrera went red by .007.

That hands Gadson, who is the current points leader and reigning world champion, his second straight Challenge victory on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki as the teammates continue to try to get the best of each other.

“He double-bulbed me up there, and I didn’t know what he was going to do,” Gadson said. “That just shows the competitiveness between him and me. Every time we race each other, our little tournament saying is, ‘Are you willing to red light?’ because that’s pretty much where we’re at right now. So, thankfully, he did that time, and it got me the gift for today.”

Herrera finished in the No. 1 spot with a 6.768 at 199.64, earning his second straight No. 1 qualifier. Following Gadson is Joey Gladstone, who went 6.795 at 198.70.

Eliminations for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.

NORWALK, Ohio — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 10th 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. Shawn Langdon, 3.695 seconds, 339.70 mph vs. Bye; 2. Josh Hart, 3.722, 332.51 vs. 15. Scott Farley, 4.669, 162.51; 3. Leah Pruett, 3.731, 334.07 vs. 14. Antron Brown, 3.825, 329.50; 4. Tony Stewart, 3.734, 335.07 vs. 13. Justin Ashley, 3.801, 328.30; 5. Maddi Gordon, 3.734, 339.79 vs. 12. Spencer Massey, 3.793, 329.91; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.741, 310.20 vs. 11. Will Smith, 3.788, 326.32; 7. Shawn Reed, 3.746,

331.69 vs. 10. Clay Millican, 3.784, 339.11; 8. Doug Kalitta, 3.751, 336.07 vs. 9. Billy Torrence, 3.772, 333.49.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.863, 337.41 vs. 16. Jeff Arend, Dodge Charger, 4.077, 308.14; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Chevy Camaro, 3.886, 334.32 vs. 15. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.983, 324.67; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.891, 333.66 vs. 14. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.968, 318.54; 4. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.911, 332.02 vs. 13. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.965, 322.96; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.912, 329.67 vs. 12.

Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.938, 326.95; 6. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.916, 335.90 vs. 11. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.935, 329.18; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.917, 327.11 vs. 10. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.934, 328.70; 8. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.930, 335.90 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Toyota Supra, 3.934, 332.67.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Joe Morrison, 5.160, 151.41.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.550, 209.36 vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.607, 208.55; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.556, 209.07 vs. 13. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.594, 208.26; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.564, 209.04 vs. 12. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.593, 209.04; 4. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.574, 209.10 vs. 11. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.592, 209.23; 5. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.575, 209.92 vs. 10. Aaron

Stanfield, Camaro, 6.591, 208.94; 6. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.577, 209.30 vs. 9. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.587, 209.33; 7. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.577, 207.46 vs. 8. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.579, 209.26.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.768, 199.64 vs. Bye; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.790, 198.44 vs. 15. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, 9.102, 98.32; 3. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.795, 198.70 vs. 14. Bud Yoder II, Buell, 7.227, 181.62; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.800, 200.62 vs. 13. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.050, 189.34; 5. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.829, 197.94 vs. 12. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.976, 192.14; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.834, 199.46 vs. 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.951, 195.36; 7. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.841, 196.76

vs. 10. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.914, 197.10; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.853, 194.52 vs. 9. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.865, 196.19.

NORWALK, Ohio — Saturday’s final results from Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel Challenge — Shawn Langdon, 3.695 seconds, 333.08 mph def. Doug Kalitta, 5.624 seconds, 121.40 mph.

Funny Car Challenge — Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.875, 333.49 def. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.901, 333.66.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Challenge — Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.850, 175.75 def. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.

NORWALK, Ohio — Saturday’s final results from GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.556, 207.98 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

NORWALK, Ohio — Final round-by-round results from the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Shawn Langdon, 3.696, 339.70 def. Tony Stewart, 3.751, 333.08; Doug Kalitta, 3.751, 336.07 def. Antron Brown, 8.045, 75.59;

FINAL — S. Langdon, 3.695, 333.08 def. D. Kalitta, 5.624, 121.40.

FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.863, 337.41 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.912, 329.67; Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.891, 326.63 def. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.270, 217.39;

FINAL — A. Prock, 3.875, 333.49 def. R. Capps, 3.901, 333.66.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.790, 198.26 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.800, 200.62; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.780, 198.99 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.903, 191.27;

FINAL — R. Gadson, 6.850, 175.75 def. G. Herrera, Foul – Red Light.

NORWALK, Ohio — Final round-by-round results from the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

GETTRX PRO STOCK ALL-STAR CALLOUT:

ROUND ONE — Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.575, 208.97 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.591, 208.52; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.611, 208.78 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.603, 207.85; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.558, 208.39 def. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.597, 208.78; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.564, 210.01 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.543, 208.26;

SEMIFINALS — M. Hartford, 6.584, 208.71 def. E. Enders, 6.575, 209.33; D. Glenn, 6.583, 207.82 def. A. Stanfield, 6.603, 208.94;

FINAL — D. Glenn, 6.556, 207.98 def. M. Hartford, Foul – Red Light.

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Sonoma Pole Quotes – Ty Gibbs – 06.27.26

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Official Release
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TOYOTA RACING – Ty Gibbs
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 27, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

This is Ty Gibbs’ first pole of the season, and third of his career. It is first pole since July 2024 at Pocono.

Counting the All-Star Race at Dover, Team Toyota’s drivers have started first in six of the last seven races.

TY GIBBS, No. 54 SAIA Freight & Logistics Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What made you feel like you had one more good lap in the car?

“I just thought that I didn’t have a great first lap. It was pretty good, but just I think I could get better and I just stuck to that.”

How do you feel about the car in practice?

“I was really happy with it. I felt like it did a really good job, and I did a good job as well. So, yeah, just got to keep getting better, keep working on that. I feel like we’ll be pretty strong tomorrow. Just got to stick with it.”

How much credit do you give iRacing and Austin Green for your road course racing success?

“I would say a lot, honestly. Everyone thinks I have a ton of road course experience, and I really don’t have a lot besides being in NASCAR. So, yeah, I would say I credit a lot to that, and yeah, he’ll probably kill it here later.”

How does qualifying compare to the racing tomorrow?

“Tomorrow is a whole different program. You’re going to be a lot easier on the car instead of hammering it, like in qualifying. So, it’s just completely different. You could be on the pole today and suck tomorrow. You just have to be really focused on the race and that’s the most important part. We’ll stick to that.”

Is Sonoma a rhythm race track?

“I would say it is definitely a rhythm, a lot of flow, a lot of elevation, and just really fun. It is a little abrasive on the tires, but Sonoma is a great track. One of my favorites on the schedule and just honored to be in position I’m in, and to be able to drive this Cup car and this SAIA car is super cool.”

Growing up, what drew you to NASCAR?

“Yeah, very blessed to be in the position I’m in. Honestly, I didn’t really grow up wanting to race to NASCAR. I grew up, if my mom didn’t say no, I’d probably be racing pro motocross right now, outdoors. That would be my thing, but fortunately, she said no, and this you get paid a little better (laughter) and probably you can get a little longer career. So, it was probably a little bit better business decision, but I really just love competing, love racing on wheels if it’s from bikes to this, I just enjoy it. This is just what the path was that God took me down and here I am.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

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

Ty Gibbs notches third Cup career pole at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Ty Gibbs seized upon a rerun qualifying run to edge Carson Hocevar and win the Busch Light Pole Award for the 2026 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 27.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through a group qualifying session. The field of 36 competitors was split into two qualifying groups. Each group was allotted 20 minutes to post the fastest lap. The competitor who posted the fastest lap between the groups would be awarded the pole position.

Gibbs, who was the sixth-fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session that occurred before qualifying, utilized a last-minute rerun qualifying run to post his fastest lap at 95.738 mph in 74.829 seconds. Gibbs’ latest lap was enough for him and his No. 54 Saia/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE team to claim the top-starting spot over Hocevar and his No. 77 Classic Collision/Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team.

With the pole, Gibbs notched his third NASCAR Cup Series career pole for his 141st series start, his first on a road course event in NASCAR’s premier series and his first since starting in first place at Pocono Raceway in July 2024. In three previous Cup starts at Sonoma, Gibbs achieved his highest-finishing result of seventh place at the track this past season. With Sunday’s Sonoma event also marking the first of five In-Season Challenge events of the 2026 season, Gibbs, who is the reigning In-Season Challenge champion, will bid to defend his title throughout the tournament.

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 27: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 SAIA Freight + Logistics Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 27, 2026 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

“The [qualifying] reruns are just super weird here,” Gibbs said. “Sometimes, you can go a lot faster; sometimes you don’t. I feel like I just had some more speed out there. My Saia Toyota Camry is really fast this weekend, and we’re really excited to race it tomorrow.”

Carson Hocevar qualified in second place for a third time over the previous four Cup events, including for Sunday’s main event at Sonoma after he initially toppled Shane van Gisbergen off the top of the qualifying charts. Hocevar notched his best lap at 95.706 mph in 74.854 seconds.

Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell and Ross Chastain will start in the top five, respectively. Shane van Gisbergen, the reigning Cup Sonoma winner who was the fastest in practice and initially the fastest in qualifying despite spinning on his final run, qualified in sixth place with a lap at 95.630 mph in 74.914 seconds. Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively.

Notably, Bubba Wallace posted the 26th-fastest lap despite being involved in a single-car accident just past Turn 10. It remains to be determined if Wallace’s No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota team can repair the primary entry or drop to the tail end of the field in a backup entry. In addition, Erik Jones, who spun and wrecked in Turn 10 in practice, and Cody Ware, who spun through Turn 2 during qualifying, will start 32nd and 36th, respectively.

With 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots, all made the main event.

Sonoma – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Ty Gibbs, 95.738 mph, 74.829 seconds
  2. Carson Hocevar, 95.706 mph, 74.854 seconds
  3. Kyle Larson, 95.686 mph, 74.870 seconds
  4. Michael McDowell, 95.677 mph, 74.877 seconds
  5. Ross Chastain, 95.631 mph, 74.913 seconds
  6. Shane van Gisbergen, 95.630 mph, 74.914 seconds
  7. Chase Briscoe, 95.540 mph, 74.984 seconds
  8. AJ Allmendinger, 95.463 mph, 75.045 seconds
  9. Denny Hamlin, 95.454 mph, 75.052 seconds
  10. Joey Logano, 95.412 mph, 75.085 seconds
  11. Tyler Reddick, 95.393 mph, 75.100 seconds
  12. Austin Hill, 95.276 mph, 75.192 seconds
  13. William Byron, 95.065 mph, 75.359 seconds
  14. Christopher Bell, 95.056 mph, 75.366 seconds
  15. Chris Buescher, 95.033 mph, 75.384 seconds
  16. Ryan Blaney, 95.025 mph, 75.391 seconds
  17. Connor Zilisch, 94.996 mph, 75.414 seconds
  18. Chase Elliott, 94.836 mph, 75.541 seconds
  19. Ryan Preece, 94.727 mph, 75.628 seconds
  20. John Hunter Nemechek, 94.712 mph, 75.640 seconds
  21. Daniel Suarez, 94.590 mph, 75.737 seconds
  22. Alex Bowman, 94.472 mph, 75.832 seconds
  23. Austin Cindric, 94.465 mph, 75.838 seconds
  24. Zane Smith, 94.452 mph, 75.848 seconds
  25. Riley Herbst, 94.415 mph, 75.878 seconds
  26. Bubba Wallace, 94.404 mph, 75.887 seconds
  27. Cole Custer, 94.359 mph, 75.923 seconds
  28. Josh Berry, 94.315 mph, 75.958 seconds
  29. Todd Gilliland, 94.164 mph, 76.080 seconds
  30. Austin Dillon, 94.103 mph, 76.129 seconds
  31. Ty Dillon, 93.902 mph, 76.292 seconds
  32. Erik Jones, 93.889 mph, 76.303 seconds
  33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 93.605 mph, 76.534 seconds
  34. Noah Gragson, 93,519 mph, 76.605 seconds
  35. Brad Keselowski, 93.487 mph, 76.631 seconds
  36. Cody Ware, 92.512 mph, 77.439 seconds

The 2026 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Sonoma Quotes – Erik Jones – 06.27.26

By
Official Release
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TOYOTA RACING – Erik Jones
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 27, 2026) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Erik Jones was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Sonoma Raceway.

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

You’ve completed all but nine laps this season. You’ve completed the third most of all the drivers in the Cup series. How important is it to have clean races?

“Yeah, I mean, it’s important. I think you’ve seen the last month just with our group. We’ve had some good days in there too, but we’ve not had any real bad ones, and that’s what’s kind of leap frogged us here in points pretty far up the standings so far is that a lot of guys have just had bad days, even Shane (van Gisbergen) last week getting wrecked in San Diego, Preece just having a few bad weeks. Just the guys that were racing around have had struggles, and so, for me, I think, it’s a mentality thing. I feel like I’ve been in just a good spot of being able to take what I can get on whatever day it is and whether that’s a day like Michigan contending for the win or a day like San Diego, just trying to run top 20, we’re just taking what we can get and making the most of it. So, yeah, it’s super important. I didn’t know that statistic, to be honest with you this season, but I feel like it’s been a clean year. We haven’t made a lot of mistakes, on either end, on my end or on the team’s end and the times that we have, we’ve been able to kind of clean it up and salvage day out of it. So, yeah, I’m proud of that for sure. I think that’s something to be proud of and it’s shown that here in our points position and hopefully we can just keep that going a handful a bit longer.”

Can you tell us about all the new owners coming in your side, and how does that hype the team up and give you more visibility?

“Yeah, I think Jimmie (Johnson) has a vision for what he sees LEGACY becoming as a team and some of that involves the celebrity investment we’ve seen over the last couple of months, and I think there’s more to come on that side. So, It’s been fun to see. It’s fun to get eyes on the sport, people involved. These are people who I think they’re probably more time race fans, and now they’re just getting a chance to really get up close and personal with it a little bit. So yeah, I enjoy it. It’ll be fun to have them come out to the track and obviously we had Darius (Rucker) out in Nashville and this weekend, I believe, I think Guy’s (Fieri) making a stop at the track this weekend. So, that’s going be pretty neat, and it’s all at a nice time for us as a company. We’re running well and doing things well on the racing side, so getting the off-track stuff on a comparable level with it, I think is going to be just as important here going forward.”

Are you aware of the barriers they have put in?

“I think something they’ve been kind of developing. I’m assuming you’re talking about turn 11 and we put up some traditional style walls the last couple of years with the tire packs. They were just getting pretty much ran over most of the race and they would get pushed back and that corner would change a bunch as you went through the day. So just getting it to stay the same and having a true barrier, we’re a little bit unique in our sport in the Cup series that we don’t have what you would think of as a traditional track limits as some guys do. So, you’ve kind of got to protect us from ourselves a little bit and having a giant wall, I guess, eliminates that option of doing anything else. So, I don’t think it’ll change racing a whole lot. You don’t want to see a mess down there. Somebody gets wrecked and it’s pretty narrow now with those walls, but I don’t think it’s going to change things a whole bunch.”

Does it excite you going into next week at Chicagoland?

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I mean, obviously, we’ve got to get through here and have a decent day tomorrow. I’ll be honest with these two weeks. I was not super excited about between San Diego and Sonoma. We were having a great stretch there of races and the road courses haven’t been great for us. So, we’ve done a good job getting through one. We got to get through one more tomorrow., and then Chicago, I think, is a place we’re all looking forward to.

When we went there years ago, I felt like I ran good there as a driver and I think for us just as a team where we’re at and where we run well, a track like Chicago with a lot of character and roughness and high wear, I think will be good for us. I hope it is, and also having a practice there, I think, is good for us having a real practice session as a as a two-car team is a big deal. So, there’s a lot of things that, we could go and say we’re going to perform well. I hope to get out of here with a decent day tomorrow and just be in a spot here for this next stretch of eight races on from Chicago to have a good shot trying to get in the Playoffs.”

How do you kind of prepare to kind of counteract what’s been happening on road courses coming into Sonoma this weekend?

“We’ve put a ton of work in between us as drivers, myself and John Hunter (Nemechek), and on the team, on the cars, trying to improve. We took a big swing at San Diego, and I think we missed a little bit, but we were able to make some changes overnight from Friday and Saturday and get it better. Here at Sonoma is a bit more typical of a road course, obviously, and we have a bit bigger notebook to go off of, and I think we’ll hopefully have ended a bit closer here this afternoon, but I think for me, I’ve done as much work as I can, as just trying to improve as a driver and focus what I can focus on. The Next Gen car on the road course has been extremely different than what the Gen 6 car was, and for me, it’s still been an adjustment period of trying to get better, and I think you’ve seen a handful of guys that have struggled with it and haven’t quite hit on it yet. There’s been days where it’s been better, but not consistently. So, all I can do, though, is the work I’ve done and put it in and try to get better on my end and hope that this afternoon when we unload, it’s going to show.

Your spotter, Will Rodgers, is going to be racing today. Did he call you last night with some tips or how does that just kind of help you across the weekend?

“Yeah, we chat a bit about him running here. He got to run here last year, and so that was cool, and Will’s (Rodgers) is a great road racer. He won a race here in, at the time, I think it was called the K&N Series that I was actually running and I finished fifth or sixth and he won the race by, I don’t know, 10, 15 seconds. So, he excels on these places. I know he loves getting in the race car when he can, and he had an opportunity, a little bit earlier this year, Watkins Glen, with that group, and they had a decent day, and hopefully he has just another good day today. I would love to see him get up around, top 15 in a top 10 would be amazing for that group and that team. So, it’s fun to see. Fun to watch him get in there and do it, and I know, like I said, he really enjoys it and it’d be fun to watch him this afternoon.”

You said the goal coming into this weekend was just to have a good day. So, what exactly does that look like? Also, what type of preparation were you guys even able to do for this track with it being sandwiched in between two relatively unknown racetracks?

“Yeah, it’s been tough. I would say we probably didn’t get to do as much preparation as we wanted for Sonoma. We focused really heavily on San Diego with it being unknown, and then most of us, all of us, really stayed out here, this last week to come here to Sonoma. So, there wasn’t as much as we got to put into it other than just film and notes and trying to remember everything. Fortunately, we’ve been here a bunch. So that helps out. It’s a little easier to go out to somewhere you’ve been a bunch, but, I think a good day for us, I would say if we could steal some stage points, that’d be great. Some of these guys flipping the stage and we can stay on grab some points, it would be awesome. But if we could come out of here with that and a top 15, I think that’d be great. I think San Diego was to keep the car clean, come home top-20. We’d hit that kind of on the button. I wish it was a little bit better than that, but we did, and then this week, I think our expectations are a bit higher. Just having more experience here, a bigger notebook, and what we believe we can do. So, yeah, some stage points and a top 15, I think would be a great day for us.

Can you talk about the sunscreen sampling that your foundation is doing here this weekend?

“Yeah, so real quick, the Erik Jones Foundation is out here this weekend, Dollar Tree, donated a ton of sunscreen samples to us. So actually, we’re out in the fan zone right now passing out samples. We were in the campground yesterday handing out samples. So, it’s been fun. It’s spreading the skin cancer awareness and learning more about that, sharing that with the garage and the fans and you’re sitting out in the sun all day when you’re watching one of these races and just being able to hand out some sunscreen samples and keep everybody safe has been a great effort from us from the foundation and just happy to have Dollar Tree jumping in and support too. They donated a bunch of sunscreen for this weekend, and it’s cool to see them taking on some work with the foundation, helping us out.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

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

What It Takes to Drive 500 Miles at 200 mph: The Physical Demands NASCAR Fans Never See

By
SM
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The conversation about driver fitness in NASCAR has come a long way from the era when the physical conditioning of stock car racers was treated as an afterthought. The modern Cup Series driver is a professional athlete in the full sense of the term, managing a physical workload across a 38-race schedule that runs from February through November and places demands on the body that the broadcast rarely captures and the culture of the sport has historically downplayed. The truth is that driving a NASCAR Cup Series car at race speed for three to five hours in a cockpit that regularly exceeds 120 degrees Fahrenheit, while managing 40-plus pounds of lateral and braking g-forces on every corner, is a serious physical undertaking.

The drivers who hold their focus and physical quality in the final 50 laps of a 500-mile race are not simply tougher than the ones who fade. They are the ones whose preparation for the physical demands of the event was most deliberate, and whose recovery between races allows them to arrive at each event with the same physical and cognitive reserve they brought to the first one of the year.

What Happens Inside a Race Car for Three Hours

The cockpit of a NASCAR Cup Series car is an environment that most people have never experienced and would find genuinely challenging in ways that extend well beyond the speed. Ambient temperatures inside the car regularly reach between 100 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit on a summer afternoon at a track like Darlington or Michigan, with the engine heat, friction from the brakes, and the driver’s own metabolic output all contributing to a thermal environment that produces significant fluid loss across a race distance.

Dehydration at the levels that a long summer race can produce, two to three percent of body mass in fluid, creates measurable impairments in reaction time and decision-making quality that are directly relevant to performance on a 200 mph racetrack. The cognitive demands of NASCAR racing are often what separate outcomes in the closing laps: reading traffic in pack racing, making the call on when to pit under a caution, and managing the balance of the car with feedback to the crew. All of these cognitive functions degrade under dehydration before the physical effects become obvious to an outside observer.

The neck, shoulder, and forearm musculature takes a sustained load during a long race that accumulates into genuine fatigue by the final stage. The lateral g-forces through the corners, particularly at superspeedways where speeds are highest and the banking loads the body consistently, require the neck to resist forces that amount to a significant fraction of the driver’s body weight applied to the side of the head across hundreds of laps. Drivers who have not maintained neck strength through the season show measurable degradation in head position stability in the closing stages of long races. Quality clean whey protein consumed as part of a consistent post-race recovery routine supports the repair of the neck, shoulder, and forearm musculature that race distance loads most heavily, building the structural resilience across a 38-race season that holds up in the events that count most.

What Research Shows About Motorsport Physiology

A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport examining physiological responses in motorsport athletes during competitive events found that heart rate, core temperature, and cognitive performance metrics all reached levels comparable to sustained aerobic sport competition during race conditions. The researchers documented significant impairments in reaction time and decision accuracy in drivers who began events in a dehydrated state relative to those who were adequately prepared. Critically, the study found that cognitive performance declined before physical performance in dehydrated subjects, meaning drivers were making worse decisions before they felt physically compromised. On a NASCAR track, a decision made from degraded cognitive capacity has consequences that most other sports simply do not produce.

The cardiovascular demand of a Cup Series race sits comfortably in the aerobic zone that exercise physiologists classify as sustained moderate-to-high intensity effort for the race duration. Drivers who maintain aerobic conditioning across the season through dedicated training show smaller performance drops in the closing stages of long races compared to those who rely on race fitness alone.

The 38-Race Season and How It Adds Up

The NASCAR Cup Series schedule is one of the most demanding in professional motorsport by the simple measure of race count. Thirty-eight-point races plus exhibitions across nine months means the physical management of driver fitness is a season-long discipline rather than a preparation for a handful of marquee events. The drivers who are performing at their peak in the Playoffs in September and October are those who have managed the cumulative physical load of 30-plus races without allowing the schedule to deplete the reserves that the pressure events demand.

Race weekends involve more physical output than the race itself. Practice sessions, qualifying runs, sponsor obligations, media commitments, and simulator time all contribute to a race weekend that begins on Wednesday and does not fully conclude until the debrief on Monday morning. Building recovery into that structure, rather than waiting until the final event of the weekend is complete, determines how much the next race weekend begins from a position of genuine readiness.

The longer the race, the more significant the nutritional preparation that precedes it. Road course events, which now make up a meaningful portion of the Cup schedule, place different physical demands than ovals: more active steering input, more frequent braking zones, and more varied g-force directions that engage different muscle groups. The driver who prepares nutritionally for the specific physical profile of each race type is managing the season more precisely than one applying a uniform protocol to every event.

Recovery Between Race Weekends

The window between race weekends is shorter than it appears from the outside. Travel on Sunday or Monday, debrief on Monday, media and sponsor obligations mid-week, simulator preparation later in the week, then back to the track on Thursday or Friday. The physical recovery from the previous event and the physical preparation for the next one occur simultaneously within a window that does not always provide adequate time for both.

The drivers and teams that manage this most effectively treat Tuesday and Wednesday as genuine recovery days before the preparation focus begins. Heat therapy during the recovery window provides specific benefit to the neck and upper back musculature that the race cockpit position loads most consistently. Two to three mild hyperbaric therapy sessions during the recovery days of the week support the soft-tissue repair that sustained-race-distance loading creates, reducing the cumulative physical deficit that a 38-race season produces for drivers who do not actively manage it.

What Driver Fitness Looks Like When Done Right

The professional driver training programs at the top levels of the sport look considerably different from what most fans imagine. Cardiovascular conditioning targeting the sustained aerobic output a long race demands. Neck strength training specific to the lateral load profiles of the track types on the schedule. Core stability work that maintains the body position control needed to give accurate car feedback through hundreds of laps. And off-track recovery protocols that treat the hours between events as part of the competitive preparation.

The performance gap between a driver who is physically prepared for a 500-mile race and one who is not shows most clearly in the final 50 laps, when the competition is most intense and the physical reserves that determine cognitive sharpness and physical consistency are being drawn down most heavily. Building those reserves and maintaining them across a full season is the fitness work that does not appear on the timing sheets but shows up in every championship points total when the season concludes.

Sam Corry Wins General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series West Race at Sonoma Raceway

By
Official Release
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Courtesy of Sonoma Raceway & Jackson Randall
  • Sam Corry, driver of the No. 25 Nitro Motorsports Toyota, won the General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series race after leading all 47 laps.
  • Corry’s Nitro Motorsports teammate, Mia Lovell, driver of the No. 15 Toyota, earned her career-best finish, coming in second behind Corry.
  • Shane van Gisbergen earned the pole position for Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, which will be broadcast live on The CW at 2:30 p.m. PT.

SONOMA, Calif. (June 26, 2026) – Sam Corry, driver of the No. 25 Nitro Motorsports Toyota, led all 47 laps in Friday’s General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW) race at Sonoma Raceway (SR) to earn his first career AMSW win in his Sonoma Raceway series debut.

“I’m super proud of these Nitro Motorsports guys, and to be able to come to Sonoma and win is so special to me,” said Corry after earning the win. “This is a really huge win for us. It’s our first in the ARCA Series, so super excited to keep the momentum going.”

Corry’s Nitro Motorsports teammate, Mia Lovell, driver of the No. 15 Toyota, finished second, just 0.84 seconds behind Corry after briefly taking the lead in turn 11 with eight laps to go. Corry quickly stole it back and led the way to the checkered flag. Lovell battled hard, knocking on Corry’s door all day long with the second-fastest lap time in practice (1:18.670 | 91.064 mph) and qualifying (1:17.5 | 92.48 mph) behind Corry who was P1 in practice (1:17.990 | 91.858 mph), qualifying (1:17.2 | 92.806 mph) and ultimately, the race.

“She went for the inside in the last corner there, and we were just able to easily cross over and, you know, keep trucking along,” said Corry about the battle with Lovell. “That was really the only kind of pressure we had today, but you know, it’s just a testament to this team and how good they are.”

Eric Johnson Jr. (No. 5 Toyota), Cole Denton (Ford) and Patrick Staropoli (Chevrolet) rounded out the top-five.

2020 AMSW Rookie of the Year Hailie Deegan of Temecula, Calif. finished 20th in her No. 16 Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet after sustaining early damage. Today’s race served as her AMSW debut at SR after a five-year hiatus from the series, during which she spent three seasons (2022-2024) in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, made 17 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) starts in 2024 and joined the open-wheel development series, INDY NXT, in 2025.

Sonoma, Calif. native Rodd Kneeland, who, in addition to driving the No. 68 Rodd Racing Chevrolet in the AMSW also serves as Captain of the Sonoma Valley Fire Department, earned an 18th-place finish.

Prior to the General Tire 150, NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) regular Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet earned the NOAPS pole for Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 with a 75.029-second lap time (95.483 mph) – 0.227 seconds faster than fellow front-row-starter Brent Crews, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

On-track action for SR’s tripleheader NASCAR weekend continues Saturday with practice (11 a.m. PT) and qualifying (12:10 p.m.) sessions for the NCS followed by the NOAPS Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at 2:30 p.m. on The CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The weekend will culminate with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NCS race on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on TNT Sports, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Click HERE for the full weekend schedule.

Tickets:

For individual tickets, weekend packages and camping, fans can visit SonomaRaceway.com. With a ticketed adult, kids 12 and under get in FREE on Saturday for the NOAPS Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 and for only $10 on Sunday for the NCS Toyota/Save Mart 350. College students can purchase a discounted $25 ticket in the exclusive college student section at the Turn 3 Terrace.

Follow Us:

Keep track of all of Sonoma Raceway’s events by following on Facebook, X and Instagram (@RACESONOMA). Keep up with all the latest information on the speedway website (SonomaRaceway.com) and mobile app.

Sonoma Raceway is a 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course and quarter-mile drag strip located at Sears Point in Sonoma County, Calif. Built in 1968, the track is carved into rolling hills with 160 feet of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It is one of the world’s busiest racing facilities, with track activity scheduled an average of 340 days a year. A complete and versatile motorsports complex, it is home to one of the nation’s only high-performance automotive industrial parks with approximately 70 tenants.

ARCA Menards West at Sonoma Raceway: General Tire 150 Post-race Notes

By
Official Release
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  • Sam Corry (No. 25 Bruce Toyota) started from the Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole and led every one of the race’s 47 laps to score the victory in Friday’s ARCA Menards West General Tire 150 at Sonoma Raceway. Corry held off his Nitro Motorsports teammate Mia Lovell (No. 15 Pine Health Toyota) by 0.840 seconds to score the win in just his second career series start.
  • Lovell bettered her career best finish with her runner-up result; her previous best was third last time out at Tri-City Raceway.
  • Eric Johnson, Jr. (No. 5 Pacific Office Automation Toyota) started third but dropped out of the top ten at the midway point before rallying to match his season-best third-place result earlier this year at Tucson Speedway.
  • Cole Denton (No. 71 Jan’s Towing Ford) finished fourth in his first ARCA Menards West start on a road course. Denton will unofficially pick up five points on series points leader Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing/Racecar Factory Ford), who finished ninth, and 15 points on runner-up Mason Massey (No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet), who finished 19th after rear gear issues cost him 12 laps just after the midway break.
  • Huddleston started shotgun on the field after a two-way radio issue on the pace lap forced him to make a pit stop before the green flag.
  • Patrick Staropoli (No. 20 American Cattle Company / Tractor Supply Chevrolet) was the lone bright spot on the day for Bill McAnally Racing. Staropoli finished fifth in his first West start since 2014. His two teammates Massey and Hailie Deegan (No. 16 Columbia Bank Chevrolet) both fought mechanical issues with Massey finishing in 19th and Deegan, who also had an off-track excursion on the second lap of the race, finished in 20th.
  • Todd Souza (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Ford) finished sixth in his first ARCA Menards West start of the season. His most recent appearance as a driver was last year at Madera Speedway where he finished 11th.
  • Robbie Kennealy (No. 1 Jan’s Towing Ford) finished seventh, his best career West finish on a road course.
  • Jeff Anton (No. 44 Deerpark Recycling / Squid Decals Chevrolet) ran as high as third before two separate off-course excursions in turn 10 dropped to ninth at the finish.
  • Gavin Ray (No. 7 Jerry Pitts Racing Toyota) dropped outside of the top 15 in the first half of the race while dealing with a sticky throttle pedal; his team made adjustments at the midway break and he recovered to finish tenth.
  • The next race for the ARCA Menards Series West is the Portland 112 at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, August 8. The race, set to begin at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT will be streamed live on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring data throughout all on-track activity and live race audio. Follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter) for up-to-the-minute updates.

About ARCA 

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization to sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit , or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).  

About Menards 

A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states.  Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building.  You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more.  To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro! 

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture.  Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries.  And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.  

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too!  For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services. 

Sam Corry dominates for first ARCA Menards Series West career victory at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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Credit: ARCA Racing.

Sam Corry led every scheduled lap en route to his first ARCA Menards Series West career victory in the General Tire 150 at Sonoma Raceway on Friday, June 26.

The 18-year-old Corry from Cornelius, North Carolina, commenced Friday’s on-track activities by notching his first ARCA West career pole in his second start in the series’ division. Once Friday’s main event commenced, Corry never relinquished the top spot as he withstood a total of four cautions, four ensuing restarts and side-by-side challenges from teammate Mia Lovell through each restart.

A key moment of Corry’s road to victory occurred with eight laps remaining when Lovell nearly executed a bold move beneath Corry to assume the lead, only for Lovell to slip and go wide through Turn 11. Amid Lovell’s misfortune, Corry reassumed the top spot, but he then had to withstand a three-lap shootout following a late-race caution. Nevertheless, Corry withstood the pressure and fended off Lovell to achieve the first ARCA West victory for himself and Nitro Motorsports.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Sam Corry secured the pole position with a pole-winning lap at 92.806 mph in 77.193 seconds. Teammate Mia Lovell qualified in second place with a lap of 92.48 mph in 77.465 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Sam Corry gained the upper advantage from the launch and he wasted no time motoring away from the field through the opening set of turns. As the field navigated through Sonoma’s 12-turn circuit, Corry led the first lap from teammate Mia Lovell while Eric Johnson Jr., Mason Massey and Patrick Staropoli occupied the top-five spots ahead of Todd Souza, Cole Denton, Jeff Anton, Robbie Kennedy and Gavin Ray, respectively.

Over the next four laps, Corry stretched his early advantage to more than two seconds over Lovell while Johnson, Massey, Staropoli, Souza, Anton, Kennealy, Denton and Taylor Mayhew trailed in the top 10, respectively. By then, Hailie Deegan, who had mechanical issues in practice that prevented her from posting a qualifying lap, was strapped in 21st place and mired three laps down after she wrecked through the Esses on the second lap. In addition, Trevor Huddleston, the reigning ARCA Menards Series West champion, was mired in 15th place behind Sage Karam.

On Lap 10, the event’s first caution flew due to Eric Nascimento Jr. coming to a stop towards the pit road entrance in between Turns 10 and 11a after he had fallen off the pace through the Esses. At the time of caution, Corry was leading by more than three seconds over Lovell while Johnson, Massey, Staropoli, Anton, Souza, Robbie Kennealy, Cole Denton and Mayhew were scored in the top 10, respectively.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 14, Corry fended off Lovell through the first two turns to retain the lead. As Corry led Lovell up through the third turn, Massey assumed third place from Eric Johnson Jr. while Jeff Anton moved up into fifth place in front of a group of competitors. With the field cycling back through to the start/finish line, Rodd Kneeland slid off the course in Turn 10 and barely clipped both the tire barriers and the concrete wall, but he managed to pit without drawing a caution. Amid the incident, Corry led the next lap by nine-tenths of a second over Lovell.

From Laps 15 to 20, the lone incident that occurred on the track was when Mayhew slipped, ran over the curb in Turn 4a and just dodged Andrew Chapman while spinning through the turn. Meanwhile, Corry was leading by more than two seconds over Lovell as Johnson fended off Anton and Massey for third place despite nearly getting loose through Turns 2 and 3 a few laps earlier.

On Lap 24, a competition caution flew as the event reached its halfway mark for a brief intermission period. At the time of caution, Corry had stretched his lead to nearly three seconds over Lovell while the rest of the field, starting with third-place Johnson, trailed by double digits. In addition, 16 of 22 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

At the start of the second half of the event with 20 laps remaining, Corry fended off Lovell to continue to lead through the first two turns while Anton and Massey dueled against one another for third place in front of a stacked field. Just as Massey assumed third place from Turns 4a to 7a, he then went off the course in 7a and had issues motoring away due to a mechanical issue. Not long after, Anton went off the course in Turn 10 and lost a bevy of spots, which allowed Staropoli, Souza and Cole Denton to move up into the top-five mark. As Corry led the next lap over Lovell, the caution returned due to Massey stalling his entry in Turn 7a.

The next restart with 16 laps remaining featured Corry fending off Lovell to retain the lead for a second consecutive time as the former proceeded to lead through the next pair of turns. Behind the two leaders, Staropoli retained third place in front of Souza, Denton and Robbie Kennealy while Huddleston was up into seventh place. During the next lap, Karam overtook Huddleston for seventh place while Corry was leading by half a second over Lovell.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Corry maintained his lead by more than two seconds over Lovell while third-place Staropoli trailed by nearly eight seconds. Behind, Souza and Denton retained the remaining top-five spots over Johnson, Kennealy and Anton while Huddleston was in ninth place ahead of Sage Karam, Mayhew, Ryan Philpott, Gavin Ray, Andrew Chapman, Tyler Tomassi, Tim Spurgeon and David Smith, respectively.

Then with eight laps remaining, Lovell reeled in Corry and made a move beneath Corry to assume a brief lead just before she went wide in Turn 11. This allowed Corry to execute a crossover move and reassume the top spot as Corry led the next lap by eight-tenths of a second. The caution then flew with seven laps remaining due to David Smith spinning and stalling backwards in Turn 2.

Throughout a three-lap shootout to the finish, Corry fended off Lovell for the event’s duration to motor his way to the victory. Despite Lovell’s late-race effort in reeling in with two laps remaining, Corry slightly increased his advantage and managed to beat Lovell by eight-tenths of a second for his first ARCA Menards Series West career victory and the first ARCA victory for Nitro Motorsports.

“Patience was definitely the word of the day today,” Corry, a former USF2000 Championship competitor, said. “My spotters Collin Fern and Will Rodgers all day on the box there just telling me to be patient and save these tires. I can’t thank them enough; they’ve been a huge help in my career up to now. Being here and having raced here before has definitely been a help, but to be with the same team that we were with in Trans Am coming over to the stock car world has been big.”

“Today was a testament of our patience for sure,” Corry added. “I have no words right now. I’m so excited for this team. They have put in so much work on this race car. They work so hard. To Nitro Motorsports, to Toyota Racing, thank you. I can’t thank these guys enough.”

Mia Lovell, who notched her first top-three result at Tri-City Raceway in early June, achieved a career-best runner-up result in her seventh ARCA West career start. Eric Johnson Jr., Cole Denton and Patrick Staropoli finished in the top five, respectively. Todd Souza, Robbie Kennealy, Jeff Anton, points leader Trevor Huddleston and Gavin Ray completed the top 10 in the final running order. With his ninth-place result, Huddleston retains the series’ lead in the standings by 34 points over Cole Denton and Mason Massey.

There were no lead changes as Corry led every lap from start to finish, and the race featured four cautions for 14 laps. In addition, 15 of 22 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results:

  1. Sam Corry, 47 laps led
  2. Mia Lovell
  3. Eric Johnson Jr.
  4. Cole Denton
  5. Patrick Staropoli
  6. Todd Souza
  7. Robbie Kennealy
  8. Jeff Anton
  9. Trevor Huddleston
  10. Gavin Ray
  11. Ryan Philpott
  12. Taylor Mayhew
  13. Sage Karam
  14. Andrew Chapman
  15. Tim Spurgeon
  16. Tyler Tomassi – OUT, Accident
  17. David Smith, three laps down
  18. Rodd Kneeland, six laps down
  19. Mason Massey, 12 laps down
  20. Haile Deegan – OUT, Mechanical
  21. Eric Nascimento Jr. – OUT, Mechanical
  22. Dave Smith – OUT, Did Not Start

Next on the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West schedule is Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The event is scheduled to occur on August 8 and air at 9 p.m. ET with coverage provided by FloRacing.

Shane van Gisbergen notches third consecutive O’Reilly pole at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Shane van Gisbergen sped to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole position for the 2026 Pit Boxx/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Friday, June 26.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through a group qualifying session. The field of 38 competitors was split into two qualifying groups. Each group was allotted 20 minutes to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap between the groups would be awarded the pole position.

Van Gisbergen, who was the second-fastest competitor in practice that occurred on Friday prior to qualifying, posted his fastest qualifying lap at 95.483 mph in 75.023 seconds. The lap was enough for van Gisbergen and his No. 9 SuperFile/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team to secure the pole position.

With the pole, van Gisbergen claimed his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole position of the 2026 season, his third in a row at Sonoma Raceway, and his sixth for his 39th series start. The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, also recorded the 500th O’Reilly career pole for Chevrolet. As the defending Cup Series winner and a former O’Reilly winner at Sonoma, van Gisbergen will strive to extend his road course dominance. His goal is to contend for the victory for both Saturday’s O’Reilly event and Sunday’s Cup event in Sonoma, California.

Van Gisbergen will share the front row with Brent Crews, the latter of whom achieved his second consecutive front row start for an O’Reilly event a week after notching his first career pole at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado. Crews’ fastest lap occurred at 95.243 mph in 75.218 seconds.

Taylor Gray, Anthony Alfredo, and Parker Retzlaff will start in the top five, respectively. Corey Day, who was the fastest competitor in practice, will start in sixth place with a lap at 94.630 mph in 75.705 seconds. Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Austin Hill completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively. Connor Zilisch, the reigning O’Reilly winner at Sonoma, will start in 30th place.

Notably, Brad Perez and Austin Green were the only two competitors who did not post a qualifying lap, with Perez encountering a mechanical issue. Green’s reason was due to the driver being involved in a vicious head-on, single-car accident in Turn 11, which required Green to have a backup car prepared for Saturday’s main event.

With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.

Sonoma – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Shane van Gisbergen, 95.483 mph, 75.029 seconds
  2. Brent Crews, 95.243 mph, 75.218 seconds
  3. Taylor Gray, 94.947 mph, 75.453 seconds
  4. Anthony Alfredo, 94.865 mph, 75.518 seconds
  5. Parker Retzlaff, 94.662 mph, 75.680 seconds
  6. Corey Day, 94.630 mph, 75.705 seconds
  7. Jesse Love, 94.569 mph, 75.754 seconds
  8. Justin Allgaier, 94.563 mph, 75.759 seconds
  9. Sam Mayer, 94.516 mph, 75.797 seconds
  10. Austin Hill, 94.418 mph, 75.875 seconds
  11. Sheldon Creed, 94.325 mph, 75.950 seconds
  12. William Sawalich, 94.237 mph, 76.021 seconds
  13. Sammy Smith, 94.054 mph, 76.169 seconds
  14. Brandon Jones, 93.996 mph, 76.216 seconds
  15. Ross Chastain, 93.869 mph, 76.319 seconds
  16. Carson Kvapil, 93.853 mph, 76.332 seconds
  17. Dean Thompson, 93.636 mph, 76.509 seconds
  18. Josh Bilicki, 93.552 mph, 76.578 seconds
  19. Harrison Burton, 93.500 mph, 76.620 seconds
  20. Will Rodgers, 93.428 mph, 76.679 seconds
  21. Rajah Caruth, 93.400 mph, 76.702 seconds
  22. Jeb Burton, 93.323 mph, 76.766 seconds
  23. Jeremy Clements 93.219 mph, 76.851 seconds
  24. Alex Labbe, 93.162 mph, 76.898 seconds
  25. Ryan Sieg, 92.986 mph, 77.044 seconds
  26. Josh Williams, 92.887 mph, 77.126 seocnds
  27. Blaine Perkins, 92.838 mph, 77.167 seconds
  28. Kyle Sieg, 92.596 mph, 77.368 seconds
  29. Ryan Ellis, 92.592 mph, 77.372 seconds
  30. Connor Zilisch, 92.564 mph, 77.395 seconds
  31. Lavar Scott, 92.500 mph, 77.449 seconds
  32. Brennan Poole, 92.163 mph, 77.732 seconds
  33. Leland Honeyman Jr., 92.023 mph, 77.850 seconds
  34. Patrick Staropoli, 91.899 mph, 77.955 seconds
  35. Kyle Kelley, 91.248 mph, 78.511 seconds
  36. Dawson Cram, 90.417 mph, 79.233 seconds
  37. Brad Perez, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
  38. Austin Green, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds

The 2026 Pit Boxx/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 27, at 5:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM.

LANGDON, CAPPS, ANDERSON & HERRERA GET PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS

By
Official Release
-

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2026) – Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon moved closer to his third No. 1 qualifier in the past four races, taking the provisional No. 1 position on Friday at Summit Motorsports Park as part of this weekend’s 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Ron Capps (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers in Norwalk at the 10th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Langdon went 3.742-seconds at 335.23 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster, making the quickest run of both sessions on Friday in Norwalk. If it holds, Langdon would earn his fifth No. 1 qualifier this season and 27th in his career. The points leader saw his winning streak snapped in Bristol, but he’s still advanced to six straight final rounds as he looks to keep rolling in Norwalk.

“We’re very pleased with how the car ran and I think with what we’re trying to accomplish, Brian’s [Husen, crew chief] been making great calls, and he’s been doing a great job getting the car put together perfectly, so it allows for some great runs like that,” Langdon said. “Fortunately, the car’s responding well and it’s pretty glued in. We’re very happy with the setup right now.

“I think what you saw today is just a little indication of the great racing surface, with big speeds. There’s a little more out there, so as long as we can keep that cloud cover, and the crew chiefs start getting more information and getting a little more aggressive with it, you’ll see quicker E.T.s and bigger speeds.”

Tony Stewart moved into the second spot with a run of 3.767 at 335.07 and rookie standout Maddi Gordon is third after going 3.793 at 335.40.

Ron Capps made the most of a stellar second qualifying session in Funny Car, dipping into the 3.80s in Norwalk with an impressive run of 3.894 at 328.38 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra.

The points leader was the only driver in the 3.80s, but it was a standout session as Capps was challenged on several occasions. It was a big moment for the three-time world champion, who is now in position to get his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 40th in his career. Capps has been remarkably consistent in a loaded Funny Car class this year and is after his second career win in Norwalk.

“Conditions obviously got cooler three or four cars before us. I could see the cloud cover coming, and Guido [crew chief Dean Antonelli] got back in the box about four or five times more than usual and kept coming back,” Capps said.

“This place is notorious [with weather] changing from one session to the next, let alone day to day. I’ve been doing this a long time, and it’s not that I don’t have confidence, but the Funny Car field is insane this year, and it gets that way every year.”

Defending event winner Austin Prock is second with a run of 3.905 at 334.15 and Alexis DeJoria is third after going 3.918 at 330.63.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson always looks to go big at Summit Motorsports Park and the points leader certainly did so on Friday, going low of the day with a 6.550 at 209.36 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.

The six-time world champ had the best run of both sessions, which also gives him plenty of momentum heading into Saturday’s GETTRX All-Star Callout. Anderson gets the first pick in Saturday’s bonus race and the veteran, who has three wins at America’s Racetrack, has a great opportunity for a huge weekend at a track and race that’s always meant a great deal to him.

“Yeah, it was big [the provisional no. 1 qualifier], but tomorrow’s the big day,” Anderson said. “We love special races like this, and I’ve been fortunate the past two years, so hopefully tomorrow’s another big day, but we had to set it up today. I think we got all the points we can get today.

“I don’t expect the weather and the race to be a whole lot different tomorrow. It’s a great start, so I definitely feel good going back to the hotel tonight knowing that we’ve got a good racehorse at the track tomorrow.”

Reigning world champion Dallas Glenn is second with a run of 6.561 at 209.07 and Matt Hartford, who won in Bristol, went 6.564 at 208.71, putting him third.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera continued his dominant stretch from Bristol, making the quickest run of both sessions on Friday in Norwalk, including a 6.779 at 199.64 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

After not getting a No. 1 qualifier at the first handful of races, Herrera is now on track for his second straight top spot and was only one of two riders to reach the 6.70s on Friday. He rolled to the victory in Bristol and Herrera would love to keep it going at Summit Motorsports Park, where he won during his 2024 championship season.

“I wouldn’t say it’s back to normal, but it feels good. We’ve kind of been struggling for a bit now, but we made some changes to the bike itself, so hopefully I’ll have the same bike in the sun tomorrow,” Herrera said.

“I just had a bunch of bad luck, as far as parts breaking. It’s just been one thing after another for me. Andrew (Hines, crew chief) has been looking at his notes more than anything and I think they figured something out with the field.”

Joey Gladstone, who is filling in for Matt Smith for the second straight race, is second with a 6.795 at 198.70 and Angie Smith is currently third after going 6.805 at 200.11.

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. The first round of the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout begins at 11:30 a.m.

NORWALK, Ohio — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.742 seconds, 335.23 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.767, 335.07; 3. Maddi Gordon, 3.793, 335.40; 4. Clay Millican, 3.799, 339.11; 5. Josh Hart, 3.803, 332.34; 6. Leah Pruett, 3.806, 330.72; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.814, 327.11; 8. Antron Brown, 3.828, 329.50; 9. Billy Torrence, 3.839, 329.83; 10. Shawn Reed, 3.879, 279.79; 11. Tony Schumacher, 3.886, 278.17; 12. Will Smith, 3.926, 273.27; 13. Doug Kalitta, 4.172, 219.69; 14. Justin Ashley, 4.211, 301.87; 15. Scott Farley, 4.669, 162.51.

Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.894, 328.38; 2. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.905, 334.15; 3. Alexis DeJoria, Chevy Camaro, 3.918, 331.53; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.931, 325.30; 5. Del Worsham, Toyota Supra, 3.934, 332.67; 6. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.936, 329.18; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.938, 322.50; 8. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.945, 327.59; 9. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.961, 332.59; 10. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.966, 332.34; 11. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.988, 325.06; 12. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.991, 322.34; 13. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.992, 327.43; 14. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.996, 322.96; 15. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.125, 267.06; 16. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.134, 299.33.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.550, 209.36; 2. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.561, 209.07; 3. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.564, 209.04; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.577, 209.30; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.577, 207.46; 6. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.579, 209.26; 7. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.580, 209.92; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.591, 208.07; 9. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.593, 209.10; 10. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.593, 209.04; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.598, 208.84; 12. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.617, 208.26; 13. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.624, 209.23; 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.633, 208.55.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.779, 199.64; 2. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.795, 198.70; 3. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.805, 200.11; 4. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.814, 198.44; 5. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.829, 197.94; 6. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.841, 196.76; 7. John Hall, Beull, 6.855, 199.46; 8. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.876, 196.19; 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.877, 194.52; 10. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.914, 197.10; 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.951, 195.36; 12. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.064, 189.31; 13. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 7.090, 163.26; 14. Bud Yoder II, Buell, 7.227, 181.62; 15. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, 9.102, 98.32.

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