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Newgarden Takes First Pole since 2022 at St. Petersburg

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Official Release
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Saturday, March 9, 2024) – One of Josef Newgarden’s goals entering the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season was to win a pole, especially considering his last NTT P1 Award came in June 2022 at Detroit.

Time to get a magic marker and put a big check in that box.

An exuberant Newgarden ended a 27-race pole drought and captured his 17th career NTT P1 Award on Saturday with a top lap of 59.5714 seconds in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, taking the top spot for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.

“I get jacked up every time I show up for an INDYCAR race,” two-time series champion Newgarden said. “It’s an elevated level when you start out the year because you have no idea if you’re going to keep coming back and producing results. It’s very difficult. You saw how tight it was.

“I didn’t know this would come today. I just thought, ‘Look, let’s through Round 1, let’s get through Round 2 and see what we can make happen in the (Firestone) Fast Six. Really proud of this team. This is a rock star team.”

Up next is the warmup at 9:10 a.m. ET Sunday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 100-lap race at noon (NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Felix Rosenqvist continued a magic carpet ride in his first weekend with Meyer Shank Racing, ending up second at 59.5772 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda – just .0058 of a second behind reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Newgarden. That’s the closest front row for an INDYCAR SERIES street race since June 2012 at Detroit, when Scott Dixon edged Will Power by .0044 of a second.

The drama ratcheted in the closing seconds as Newgarden took the top spot on his final flying lap with about 15 seconds remaining in the Firestone Fast Six. Rosenqvist then fell just short of toppling Newgarden just five seconds before qualifying ended on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit.

Rosenqvist, who moved to MSR after three seasons with Arrow McLaren, led practice Friday.

“It’s been an incredible start,” Rosenqvist said. “We don’t want to get carried away; the race is a different challenge. But we had a feeling from practice, from rolling off the truck, and that’s great. It’s not often you have that, especially the first weekend with a new team.”

Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta will share Row 2 on the starting grid. O’Ward qualified third at 59.6540 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with Saturday morning practice leader Herta fourth at 59.8189 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

Romain Grosjean continued the strong start with his new team at Juncos Hollinger Racing, qualifying fifth at 1:00.0642 in the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet. Reigning St. Petersburg winner Marcus Ericsson rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:03.5583 in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda.

There was plenty of parity in the Firestone Fast Six, as five teams – Andretti Global, Arrow McLaren, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Meyer Shank Racing and Team Penske – fought for the NTT P1 Award.

Speed also was a storyline of the three-segment qualifying session. Rosenqvist broke the track record in the Group of 12 with his leading lap of 59.2706 to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, eclipsing the mark of 59.3466 set by Power in 2022.

The top three finishers in last year’s standings – champion Alex Palou, runner-up Dixon and Scott McLaughlin – will have work to do to climb the order Sunday in the race. Two-time series champion Palou will start 13th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, six-time series champion Dixon 11th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and McLaughlin ninth in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.

Tom Blomqvist was the quickest of the five rookies in the 27-driver field. He will start 17th after a top lap of 59.9968 in the No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Round 1
1.8 mile(s)
Streets of St. Petersburg
Official Results of Session
Qualifications

Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Session
1 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 59.5714 108.777 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
2 60 Rosenqvist, Felix D/H/F 59.5772 108.766 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
3 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F 59.6540 108.626 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
4 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F 59.8189 108.327 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
5 77 Grosjean, Romain D/C/F 01:00.0642 107.885 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
6 28 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 01:03.5583 101.954 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
7 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F 59.5501 108.816 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
8 12 Power, Will D/C/F 59.5594 108.799 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
9 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F 59.5741 108.772 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
10 11 Armstrong, Marcus D/H/F 59.6127 108.702 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
11 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 59.8483 108.274 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
12 45 Lundgaard, Christian D/H/F 01:00.0172 107.969 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
13 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 59.7897 108.380 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
14 14 Ferrucci, Santino D/C/F 59.8182 108.328 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
15 7 Rossi, Alexander D/C/F 59.8164 108.331 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
16 6 Ilott, Callum D/C/F 59.8911 108.196 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
17 66 Blomqvist, Tom (R) D/H/F 59.9968 108.006 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
18 27 Kirkwood, Kyle D/H/F 59.9102 108.162 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
19 8 Lundqvist, Linus (R) D/H/F 01:00.0034 107.994 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
20 78 Canapino, Agustin D/C/F 59.9308 108.125 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
21 20 Rasmussen, Christian (R) D/C/F 01:00.2021 107.637 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
22 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 01:00.0953 107.829 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
23 4 Simpson, Kyffin (R) D/H/F 01:00.2956 107.471 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
24 41 Robb, Sting Ray D/C/F 01:00.4125 107.263 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
25 51 Braun, Colin (R) D/H/F 01:01.3044 105.702 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
26 30 Fittipaldi, Pietro D/H/F 01:00.5336 107.048 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
27 18 Harvey, Jack D/H/F 01:00.5712 106.982 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2

Toyota Racing – NCS Phoenix Quotes – Denny Hamlin – 03.09.24

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Official Release
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Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 9, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin made available to the media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. Hamlin’s pole is the 150th for Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Brakes Plus Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you perceive this weekend as a potential preview to what we will see in November?

“Normally, I would say yes, and there will always be correlations to who runs well in the spring and who runs well in the fall, but everyone is dealing with a new tire and new aerodynamic package that all of you have well documented. I think it will take time for some to adapt to it, and so while you may see some who – like the 11 car, who maybe found something that really works with it, hopefully we can carry that into the fall so we are not so far behind, others will eventually catch up to it. I think the answer is yes and no. It would be easy to overreact, but I think since we had those two big variables, things will change in the next several months.”

Is it important to start in the front with the difficulty to pass here?

“I saw some of the driver’s comments and I understand everyone’s frustrations and what not, but I certainly believe data doesn’t lie. It is better, while it is a very, very small amount, it certainly is better. The tire I think is the biggest gain over what we’ve had over the weekend. Having a tire that is faster on the short run, falls off more on the long run, so hats off to Goodyear for bringing a better tire to the race track. It needs to continue to evolve as they see what happens tomorrow, keep evolving it. Keep pushing it, keep pushing the limits of the tire. I think overall, the weekend is going to be good. Being up front is good. Kind of the position where my pit crew ended up being last week, with being one of the best on pit road, now you give them the number one stall, it could shape up to be a good night for sure.”

Was not cutting the dogleg give you a better angle off turn one to win the pole?

“I was kind of 50-50 on it, because I didn’t cut it during the first round, and consistently saw that I was about half a car length behind entering turn one, but my angle was better, so that was a very indecisive decision. Well, okay, I won’t go all the way, I won’t stay where I was, so it kind of looked like I netted out in a good position, where I was able to cut a little bit, but I was able to keep my angle turning into turn one. Right as I’m leaving pit road to go on the lap, I’m thinking about will I or will I not do it. I think a lot of it depends on how I got up to speed off of turn four, and since I got a good run off of four, I decided to just barely cut it, slightly.”

Do you think you have a winning car?

“Most practices over the last two or three years, we’ve been three tenths off in practice and we end up racing between fifth and 10th, so for yesterday to only be a tenth off, it shows me that we shouldn’t be a fifth-to-10th place car tomorrow, we should be better than that. There are certainly cars better than us but give my team some time to think about it overnight. We have some dialogue about things and how we are going to adjust. We certainly have the capability of getting there – to be the best.”

How important is it to get the pole at a place like Phoenix?

“I think this track is one of the biggest advantages to having the number one pit stall. They have kind of the cameras at pit out, so close to the number one pit stall, so that it’s such an overwhelming advantage for those guys. More than likely we will have somebody pretty competitive choose right behind us, because rolling it, it looks like those guys were all really fast. I think a lot has to do with pit selection, so even though this pit road has plenty of room to move the camera back, it’s always been right there right at the number one stall. We’ve seen championships won that way. It’s great for our team to not be at a disadvantage when it comes down to us racing someone for the win. If it comes down to pit road, we are certainly not at a disadvantage, we are at an advantage for once.”

What it look like, from the owner’s seat, to add horsepower back to the cars?

“You just call up Doug Yates and TRD and say we are going to go back to our old 750 plate – it can be before next weekend, and they said it wouldn’t change any of our durability we have. It can be done with one phone call with no additional money.

Would you advocate for more horsepower?

“Absolutely. I think any horsepower I think you can add will make the racing better. It is hard to pass because we are all in the gas so much. You have to get us out of the gas whether through the tire or the horsepower. That combination is what makes passing so difficult. The more you can get us out of the gas, which means if we have more horsepower, we have to let off sooner, that gives us the opportunity to overtake for the cars behind. 50 horsepower, while it may not be a game changer, any horsepower gain will be an advantage for passing.”

How do you defend the dogleg tomorrow?

“One of the things – it will be a factor because you don’t want people to gain position on you. If they want to be aggressive going down there, they can. With the simple diffuser that is on the back of the car, it won’t tear up as much stuff going down there, so you will probably have to do more defending, where with the old underbody, you had to kind of be careful not to wear the bottom of your car out by going down there quite a bit, so I think you will see more and more guys going down there.”

What do you remember about winning your first pole here in 2005?

“I was in way over my head in 2005 when they put me in the FedEx car, and I was just trying to do the best I can, but luckily this race track kind of fit my style. It really did. The easy on entry, really hard on exit type of style of driving. The old Phoenix really rewarded that quite a bit. It gave me the opportunity to then get a start in the Shootout in 2006 that I won. It really was a crucial moment all together and certainly the first pole for the 11 car for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), so it was crucial for me. I had no idea what I was doing. We didn’t have all of the information that we have nowadays, where you can kind of see what you are doing is good or bad, you just had to look at the stopwatch, and you just kind of wonder if guys are a tenth faster or a tenth slower. You just had to go figure it out yourself. I was soaking it all in trying to figure it out, but back then, that is when Tony Stewart was just killing everybody on the short tracks. I was beneficiary of some of the setups that he had.”

Is there anything more you feel like you can do to get NASCAR to make a change with a horsepower?

“We don’t need to prove it. I’ve been in the sport for 20 years now. I’ve been a part of all of these tests where we’ve squeezed it down, squeezed it down and every time we’ve squeezed it down, we would go in the building during the tests and say, that’s harder to pass – every time we’ve done that. I don’t understand – there is obviously other reasons. They are trying to get other manufacturers in here and do this or do that. There is a bigger picture that I won’t understand, you won’t understand. No one will ever understand, but we don’t need to sacrifice our actual product for trying to entice someone new. I think if you put on good racing people will want to come, no matter what. We are going to continue to beat this horse until it finally gets some movement, but I don’t know if it will happen just because for reasons that we will never understand and will never get explained.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Three Mustangs Qualify Top-10 at Phoenix

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Shriners Children’s 500 Qualifying | Saturday, March 9, 2024

Ford Performance Qualifying Results:
7th – Noah Gragson
8th – Chase Briscoe
9th – Michael McDowell
14th – Chris Buescher
16th – Ryan Blaney
18th – Brad Keselowski
23rd – Joey Logano
24th – Harrison Burton
27th – Ryan Preece
29th – Todd Gilliland
32nd – Kaz Grala
33rd – Justin Haley
34th – Austin Cindric
36th – Josh Berry

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 SERVPRO Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Qualified 7th)

“These guys at Stewart-Haas have been getting better and making progress all weekend from where we unloaded. I was a bit concerned with our pace on the short run and being able to fire off a fast lap time but it seemed like the long run was really good. I am happy with it. We did a package change to end practice and our second package was a lot better and that is what we ran for qualifying. I feel really comfortable on entry and I feel like I can go wherever in the center and it is really good on exit with throttle. I am proud of everyone on the team and just want to continue — I know I have been saying it a lot but I want to continue to improve and be better than we were last week. It takes time to develop the camaraderie with the team and get the atmosphere where we want it and the communication. I don’t know if it has been expedited and we still have a long way to go but it has been a lot of fun working with this group.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Qualified 8th)

“The first round was really good. I thought I left a little on the table the first round but the second round the track just changed a lot. It was way slicker and we were sliding around a lot and that caught me off guard. I wish I could have that one over again. We left the car the same from the first round thinking it would be okay but the track just changed. Still a top-10 starting position which is good and I feel like we have a good car for tomorrow, so that is good.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Qualified 9th)

“I just got loose in that second run. It is one of those things where I was a little free the first run but we ran so fast I was afraid to do too much but we should have probably worked on it a little bit. Just freed up and got loose in the middle of one and then stayed that way the rest of the lap. I am proud of the effort. Obviously we wanted to get the pole but we will be ready to go for tomorrow. Our long run stuff and packages we went through yesterday were successful and we tried a few things we wanted to try. I think we will be close. We were a top-10 car yesterday and a top-10 car again today so we will see what happens.”

Siegel Powers to First Career Pole on St. Petersburg Streets

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Official Release
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Saturday, March 9, 2024) – Nolan Siegel’s first career pole in INDY NXT by Firestone came at the right time Saturday.

In the first race of the season, Siegel was in the first qualifying group for the INDY NXT by Firestone of St. Petersburg. That proved to be the difference amid a competitive session.

New for this year, INDY NXT by Firestone competitors were divided into two qualifying groups, and Siegel’s group ran without a caution. The second group had two red flags, including one when the field was on what presumably would have been the fastest laps. That group came up a few tenths short of Siegel’s pace-setting time.

Siegel’s pole-winning and track-record lap around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit was 1 minute, 4.5759 seconds. Jacob Abel was quickest in Group 2, but he didn’t get a chance to finish his final lap due to the crash of series newcomer Callum Hedge in the final set of corners.

Second-year series driver Siegel will go for his third career series victory in the 45-lap race that begins shortly after 10 a.m. ET (Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE, INDYCAR Radio Network).

“It’s my first pole in INDY NXT, so it feels really good,” the driver of the No. 39 HMD Motorsports entry said. “Starting 2024 up front is the best way to do it, for sure. Everyone’s worked super hard in the offseason, and HMD did a great job. It’s a nice reward.”

Abel settled for the second starting position in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry. His best qualifying lap was 1:04.5825.

Series veteran Abel was pleased with the new format and applauded series officials for trying to present a level playing field for qualifying. Having 21 cars on track would have been a lot for one group, and the format is similar to the one used for years in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Drivers were placed in groups based on their best lap times from practice.

“With the format, there’s going to be a little bit of luck involved,” Abel said. “Today we got a little unlucky with all the red flags in our session.

“But we got the most out of our car there, and starting on the front row won’t be too bad.”

Abel led 27 of the 40 laps in last year’s race before finishing third, and he will be seeking his first series win in Sunday’s race. Siegel finished second in last year’s race, won by Danial Frost, and led four laps.

Series rookie Myles Rowe (No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy) and two-time INDY NXT by Firestone race winner Louis Foster of Andretti Global (No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies) will start Sunday’s race from the second row. Their best qualifying laps were 1:04.5985 and 1:04.6027, respectively. Foster led four laps last year as the pole sitter, finishing 14th.

Sunday’s race will be the first of 14 events this year for INDY NXT by Firestone.

Porsche Pilots Todd Treffert, Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen Score Overall HSR Feature Race Wins Friday in Opening Day of 2024 Competition at the Spring Fling at Sebring International Raceway

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Official Release
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Photo: HSR/Jessica Johnk
  • Todd Treffert Takes Overall and Porsche-Class Sasco Sports International/American Challenge Victories in the Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop
  • Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen Co-Drive TAG 2016 No. 991 Porsche 991 GT3 to B.R.M. Endurance Challenge GT Modern (GTM) and Overall Race Wins

SEBRING, Florida (March 9, 2024) – Porsche pilots Todd Treffert, Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen combined to secure the overall and class victories in a pair of Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) feature races Friday at Sebring International Raceway that officially opened the 2024 HSR racing season.

Perennial HSR Sebring race winner Treffert secured a flag-to-flag victory in the first HSR Sasco Sports International/American Challenge sprint of the season in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop. Treffert took both the overall and Porsche class victories to continue dominance on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring airport circuit.

Friday’s other overall winner was the TAG 2016 No. 991 Porsche 991 GT3 that team owner/driver Gruber shared with 2011 Rolex GT Champion Keen to take the overall and GT Modern (GTM) wins in the weekend’s first of two B.R.M. Endurance Challenge races.

Treffert shared the overall Sasco Sports podium with International-class winner Larry Ligas, who finished second overall in the Predator Performance 1961 No. 61 Jaguar XKE. Third overall went to Porsche-class runner-up David Agretelis 1978 No. 192 Porsche 911 SC to give the 901 Shop a top-two sweep in the Porsche division.

The Sasco American-class win went to Carlus Gann who crossed the finish line fourth overall in the Vintage Race Car Restorations 1970 No. 9 Ford Mustang Boss 302.

Gann topped an all-Ford podium in the American Sasco class that included runner-up Steve Cullman in his 1970 No. 74 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and Jeff McKee in third in his 1964 No. 51 Ford Falcon. Both Cullman’s and McKee’s Fords, which finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively, are prepared by Olthoff Racing.

Damon DeSantis raced to seventh overall in the Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 82 Porsche 911 RSR to claim the third and final Sasco Porsche podium spot while the International class top three was completed by longtime Ferrari competitor Tom Shelton in his 1975 No. 84 Ferrari 308/GTB in second and Rob Albino in third in his Hudson Historics 1999 No. 99 BMW Z3.

Friday’s final class winner was B.R.M. Historic-class victor Jim Cope in his1986 No. 50 Swift DB2. Cope led a top-three sweep in the class for Wolf Motorsports-prepared Sports 2000s. Joel Quadracci finished third in his 1985 No. 17 Swift DB2 while Benjamin Myers claimed third in his 2001 No. 29 Carbir CS2.

Gruber and Keen were joined in the B.R.M. overall and GTM top three by a pair of father-and-son teams. John Reisman and his father Paul Reisman finished second in their 2018 No. 78 Porsche 991.2 Cup car from Hudson Historics and third was claimed by Ryan Harrold and his father John Harrold in their KMW Motorsports-prepared Team Mean 2007 No. 101 Porsche 997.2 Cup car.

Spring Fling action continues through Sunday at Sebring with Saturday’s featured race going off in the early evening with the inaugural two-hour race for the debuting HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA.

The weekend’s second B.R.M. Endurance race rolls off first thing Sunday morning at 8 a.m. EDT – remember the overnight “spring-ahead” time change – and features older cars in the Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) categories. The classic cars competing in this B.R.M. race include a pair of early 1960s Lotus 23b models, a Morgan 4/4 from the same era and full contingent of 1970s Porsche RSR, IROC and 914 entries that will battle with a 1969 Camaro and more contemporary BMWs that are still over two decades old.

For detailed information on the HSR Spring Fling, including the competition schedule, entry lists and practice, qualifying and race results, visit www.HSRRace.com. Please note that this year’s Spring Fling is a non-spectator event due to the extensive pre-race facility preparations and load-in schedule Sebring International Raceway requires to prepare for the 12 Hours of Sebring, which starts Wednesday, March 13.

About HSR: An International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter and Instagram at @HSR_race.

CHEVROLET NCS AT PHOENIX 1: Ross Chastain Media Availability Quotes

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
SHRINERS CHILDREN’S 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 9, 2024

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

YESTERDAY, YOU WERE REALLY STRONG ON THE LONG RUN IN PRACTICE. WITH IT BEING A LITTLE WARMER AND A LITTLE WINDY, ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR SHORT RUN SPEED IN QUALIFYING, OR ARE YOU GUYS FOCUSED ON THE LONG RUN TOMORROW?

“Just focused on getting grip. We really struggled yesterday just finding balance. I couldn’t believe that we were 15th on fast lap averages. We were 12th early on and my crew chief, Phil Surgen, said ‘you’re 12th’.. and I was like, ‘wow.. I feel like I’m 35th’. I just did not feel like I had the grip in the car.

It’s a little bit tough though because we’re coming off the win here last year, so I feel like a lot of my memories are of the really good laps; the laps we were driving away from the field and when we were passing people. And as I really dug back into it last night, there were a lot of times where I saw a lot of erratic steering and heavy braking from my driving traces from last fall. So it wasn’t as good as I remembered. I had the whole offseason to think back through and dream about all the good that happened, but there were some bad. There were some moments where I wasn’t happy with the car last fall.

We didn’t fall-off as much as some people, but we were just too tight. We were way too tight coming here. We were sliding the front tires a lot. We made a lot of changes in practice and after, which has not been the norm for the No. 1 car. You see it.. we’re normally pretty spot-on. We went to work. We made a lot of changes before we had to get into the tech line.”

LAST WEEK AFTER THE RACE, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE SPEEDING PENALTIES. BUT I WONDERED.. IS IT ESPECIALLY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE OF HOW WELL, IN GENERAL, YOU GUYS SEEM TO HAVE STARTED THE SEASON, AS FAR AS SPEED, AND THERE’S A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER IN THE FIRST THREE RACES?

“Yes, sir. If I was back in my days of Premium Motorsports and going to run 27th on a good day, and I sped and it made us finish 29th… it was like, well OK. Or even if we would get back there, but I knew it took us out of it by just not doing my job, it was hard then.. but looking back, easier. Now, when we have cars capable of winning.. I watched the race back post-Las Vegas and I’m like, it doesn’t look like a race-winning car. But in the car, I felt like it was a race-winning capable car to fight with the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) and the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick). That’s why my human emotion takes over and I can’t get out of my own way of saying anything, but I was just so sad that I took us out of a shot.

We got back up there, but if we would have been up there with the No. 45.. when I sped, I was five car lengths in front of the No. 45 on pit road. We were racing with him and I felt equal to him. I just wanted a shot to continue to make adjustments on my car up front. Continue to have four tires on it.. the two tire call was great and it was a great Band-Aid. When we look back, I might not even remember the speeding penalty. Most people won’t, but I know I will. But yeah, just the speed of the car and the feel.. like it goes fast and it was driving so good that I could hustle it. That’s what makes it tough.

And then I get out and I’m human – I look back at my interviews and I should be more positive. I should be thinking about a lot more things than just that one moment that I sped by .6 mph or something, and I just can’t get past it because it’s such an unforced error that, at this level and doing it three weeks in a row, it just builds up and I just kind of lost my mind there when I realized I had done it again.”

WITH WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF SPEEDING – IN ONE SENSE, THERE’S A LOT OF ELEMENTS THAT CAN GO INTO IT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT HAS TO BE DONE OR HOW DO YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU’RE YOU ARE REACHING 10-TENTHS BUT NOT OVER THAT LINE? I KNOW YOU CAN ‘DON’T SPEED’, BUT WHAT GOES INTO THAT PROCESS OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, WHAT YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH THE TEAM OR WHAT YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT?

“Yeah, each one of our speeding issues have been a little bit different..”

HOW SO?

“Well, like Atlanta (Motor Speedway), it was going from the transition from the 90 mph zone to the frontstretch. I sped, locked the left-front up and slid into that first section. And then I also sped leaving because I stalled it and I freaked out, and when I got it fired up, I went way past my lights. I was just realizing how much time I had lost and I was going to lose the draft, so I sped like 3 mph.. that’s like unheard of. So that stemmed from hitting the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) on-track. We had slammed side-to-side, so I had pitted without telling my crew. It just spiraled out of control. There were like 90 seconds where my mind and the car just kind of went haywire. I felt like I couldn’t function because we hit and I thought I was going to blow a left-front tire.

Then you go to Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) – you slow down in the banking and then turn down into the apron. Well I went really slow.. I went six-tenths, like you’re talking about. I wasn’t trying to be 10-tenths, and then I turn on the apron; I’m slow and I just released the brake to just roll up to the line. I thought I was too slow, and then when I went back to the pedal to slow down, I realized I was too close to the yellow line. So it really came from a fact of laziness, in my mind, at Las Vegas.. where I wasn’t trying to be aggressive. I was trying to be the opposite. And in the laziness, I just let off the pedals and I let off too long.

Yeah, when the intention is to go slow and I still speed, that’s where my frustration came from; in the car and in the moment. And then there’s dejection after of just – OK, I know what my intention was.. it was very clear. I know what my mind was trying to do, and then in the moment, I don’t execute on what I’m intending to do. So it’s one thing to push to the lights and know that they’re right on the limit; it just rolls a little faster and it’s .01 faster. It’s another thing to intentionally be slow and still get popped because I was lazy with the pedals. That’s what honestly got me so upset.

But what’s so cool is that – yeah, I took the flight home and thought about it.. Monday morning, for sure. I watched the race back first thing Monday and walked away from it. And honestly my team got me and my guys were just like – Look, we’re not slowing down.. we don’t need you to be slow like you were at Vegas on the approach to pit road. We need you to go back to the Ross that wins the award. Like there are metrics that the whole garage measures pit road entry, from turn three to the yellow line. I’ve won that a lot. It doesn’t pay anything, but I’ve won it in Premium Motorsports cars. I’ve won it with different teams I’ve worked with. It’s something I’ve really focused on because it’s something I could win and I’m a competitor. And then now, I tried to back it down and I still got caught. It was cool to hear the guys and to truly change my mindset mid-way through Monday like – no, we’re not backing down from a yellow line.. that’s not going to scare us.”

WHEN YOU REFERENCE LAST FALL’S RACE – I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST SEGMENT, YOU WENT FROM EIGHTH TO THIRD. OBVIOUSLY YOU WERE UP THERE AND ABLE TO MAKE PASSES AND GET TO THE LEAD LATER ON. YOU WERE ABLE TO DO WHAT, IN ESSENCE, THIS PACKAGE THIS WEEKEND IS SUPPOSED TO ALLOW YOU GUYS TO HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF. CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE OF WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO DO SO WELL LAST FALL HERE BECAUSE YOU SEEMED TO MOVE UP BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CHANGES ARE GOING TO BE VERY MINOR AND IT’S GOING TO BE ABOUT THE SAME TYPE OF RACE.

“Yeah, I felt like early on in that first run, I was able to maintain around eighth. I think I had to fight off maybe the No. 43 (Erik Jones) first lap, and then we kind of settled in and I just maintained. As we all gapped ourselves just naturally, the leader is going to pull away the first five laps, and second through 40th is going to just have gaps. My gap just stayed the same. And then I saw the guy in seventh – he slipped his right-rear and then he got tight off of (turn) four and all these little moments. I’m like – oh mines not doing that, so I was able to just maintain early. And then we just had a very nice, balanced car, so we were wearing the tires evenly. We weren’t over-heating one corner versus the others. Mine definitely handled worse on lap 50 than it did on lap five, but I was able to as simple as maintain early, and then I made most of my passes at the ends of the runs. That’s just a sign of good balance and good mechanical grip. Air aside, as you wear these tires.. if you can wear them evenly and your balance was OK to start, I was able to go as old school as old school can get; pass them on the long run.”

NO MIC.

“I have no idea. I’ve only got a little bit of practice on it, so I just don’t know. I’ll go react in the race. I don’t go in with any preconceived ideas. A lot of drivers do and more power to them that they believe they know what’s going to happen before the race starts. I’m like, I’m going to drive it into turn one and find out. I’m going to find out with everybody else, and then it’s up to me and where I feel like I’m strong, which is reacting instantly and catching the car when it reacts different than what I thought. Of course if it handled perfect, I would be wide-open in fifth gear all the way around here, but that’s not the case.”

WHAT IN YEAR’S PAST HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TAKE FROM THE SPRING RACE AND APPLY IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE? WITH THE DEBUT OF THIS RULES PACKAGE, WHAT CAN YOU TAKE FROM THE SPRING AND APPLY IT TO THE FALL?

“Previously, by the time we’d get to the fall, I knew where I was at in points. So when I was driving the No. 4 car that’s on the screen right now, we knew if we needed to buy tires or not. We knew if we needed to finish a couple spots ahead, or if we could finish worse and it didn’t matter because we were going to get paid the same. We lost a little purse money, but it wasn’t enough to off-set the cost of four sets of tires. It’s pretty wild to think back to that and with Dawson (Cram) here, that’s cool to think that’s where I was at one point.

Now, that’s up to Chevrolet and Trackhouse Racing to think about.. what’s the difference between spring and fall. Like I was talking about in the last question, like I just react.. I react to the simulator. I react to the at-track. Yeah, we have some ideas of what we think and we want to learn from our past.. we’re not blind to it. But I don’t think – oh, it’s going to be tighter in the fall, looser or it’s going to be this – when we’re changing the packages. We’re changing the cars. This car is evolving, so I don’t believe it’s going to be something because I’ve done that in the past and it didn’t really work out for me. I just react and I let my smart people around me – I’ve surrounded myself with the smartest people in the garage, both at Trackhouse and Chevrolet, and let them think about that. I’ll react in the car when I drive into turn three.”

IN SEVEN STARTS AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY, YOU HAVE JUST ONE TOP-10 FINISH. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT PLACE THAT YOU FIND SO CHALLENGING?

“Driving across a mountain and going into Bristol, Tennessee (laughs). Just when I get there, I have struggled a lot. I had one truck and one Xfinity car that I thought I could win at in all my starts there. Bristol (Motor Speedway) was my second-ever race in the sport in 2011 – I crashed in practice; I was the slowest in qualifying in a backup car and I ran into everything during the race. It was terrible.

Yeah, if I knew, I would fix it. I just haven’t been able to make speed. My teammates are generally faster than me there, and I know that. I’ve studied Daniel (Suarez) a lot, just looking through his stuff. We’ve had completely equally-built, same setup cars at Bristol and he outran me. As a teammate, I’m happy for him, but I want to beat him. And neither one of us ran great. Obviously I have a lot of laps around there. I remember when I went there for the first time, I was supposed to have just ran the one race in 2011 in a truck, and that was going to be it.. a bucket-list race. But it went good and we finished 10th, so we found a way to fund a few more. We went to Bristol for the second race. I remember being on top of the world – this NASCAR stuff is not as hard as I thought, but boy, Bristol kicked my butt that Wednesday night. That’s back when we raced Wednesday night.

Yeah, I have those memories of the bad and the good. Why I can’t make as much speed, I don’t know.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NXS Phoenix 1 Media Availability (Cole Custer)

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200 | Saturday, March 9, 2024

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse, returns to Phoenix Raceway for the first time since winning the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at the track last November. Custer spoke about return to the Valley of the Sun with media members Saturday morning.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – LAST WEEK YOU HAD A REALLY GREAT CAR AT LAS VEGAS FINISHING SECOND. DO YOU THINK THAT THAT COULD BE A TURNING POINT FOR YOU TO START YOU KNOW KNOCK IT OFF MAYBE SOME TOP 10S TOP 5S? “That’s the hope you know I mean I felt like we definitely had a great car last week. We didn’t start out the race how we wanted it but we definitely made our car better and that’s just a testament to our guys and how we communicate and how we can get things better throughout a race. Overall, the season really started at Vegas. I felt like we had fast cars we needed to be a little bit better but I felt like overall we’re right in the mix where we need to be so just got to keep it rolling from here.”

I SAW YOU AND FRANKIE (MUNIZ) WERE AT THE COYOTES GAME THE OTHER NIGHT SO I GUESS TWO PARTS TO THAT. ARE YOU A HOCKEY FAN YOURSELF? AND I UNDERSTAND YOU’VE GOTTEN TO KNOW FRANKIE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS WORKING WITH FORD AND ALL THAT WHAT KIND OF PERSON IS HE AND WHAT KIND OF RACER IS HE I GUESS IN TERMS OF WORK ETHIC AND ALL THAT? “The Coyotes game was really cool. I wouldn’t say I follow hockey a lot but it’s probably the coolest sport that you can see in person. I feel like every single time you go to a game it’s like this is the coolest thing in the world. Frankie in general, he’s just the nicest guy in the world. He’s super easy to work with and wants to learn. I feel like he has the potential to go out there and run good. It’s just having the right opportunity and being able to execute how he needs to and get the experience because obviously he hasn’t run Xfinity cars that much. I think overall he’s going to be learning to start, but I think he does have the potential to go out there and run good.”

THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE, YOU WERE CROWNED THE NASCAR Xfinity Series CHAMPION. SO HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK? AND WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GO BACK TO BACK? “It’s pretty cool coming back in here through the garage and everything and just kind of remembering how that all went the last time we were here. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t owe you anything. Even if you’re the champion, it doesn’t really matter. You got to go out here and make sure you’re bringing the intensity to go out there and win like we were last year. So I feel like we do have the potential and the team do it. It’s just a matter of putting it all together.”

YOU’VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL HERE AT PHOENIX THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER IN BOTH THE XFINITY AND THE CUP SERIES. WHAT IS IT ABOUT PHOENIX RACEWAY THAT YOU THINK SUITS YOUR DRIVING STYLE AND WHY YOU’RE JUST SO GOOD HERE? “I don’t know. There were years here where I didn’t feel like I was that good. I think it definitely takes a good car and a good team. When you have such flat corners and high speeds, it really comes down to how your car handles because when it’s that flat of a corner, it’s very hard to get a car to handle how you want it to. So I feel like we’ve definitely worked on our cars and gotten them better and better. I think even when I first came here in a K&N car, or ARCA car now, it wasn’t a really good racetrack for me, but I think it does come down to you gotta have that car that can wrap the bottom how you need to. As a driver, you get more experience on how to get the car how you want it, but it takes the whole package here.”

THE DOGLEG HERE DISTINGUISHES THIS TRACK FROM ANY OTHER TRACK IN THE ENTIRE SERIES. SOME DRIVERS, THEY DON’T NECESSARILY CARE TO GO DOWN THERE BECAUSE OF THE TRANSITION. THEY FEEL IT’S KIND OF A VIOLENT TRANSITION. DO YOU FEEL OBLIGATED TO USE THE DOGLEG, PARTICULARLY ON RESTARTS? “You have to. There’s no avoiding it. If you avoid it, they’re going to put you three wide or they’re going to get around you or get inside of you. So you definitely have to do it even in qualifying. I feel like before it was kind of, you know, some guys would cut the dogleg some guys wouldn’t but in the Xfinity cars today I mean you’ll see pretty much everybody probably go down there because it’s I would say it’s probably worth a half a tenth to a tenth but it’s one of those things that when you come here you know you got to go down there and do it.”

PROCK, TORRENCE, ENDERS AND HERRERA GET PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 8, 2024) – Austin Prock set the Gainesville Raceway track record in his Funny Car debut on Friday for John Force Racing, powering to the provisional No. 1 position at the 55th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the first of 21 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Prock, the 2019 NHRA Rookie of the Year, moved from Top Fuel to Funny Car before the season and enjoyed an impressive start to the 2024 NHRA campaign, going 3.820-seconds at 334.65 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. If that holds, it would be his fourth No. 1 qualifier and first in his new class.

“When you’re running this quick, it’s right on the ragged edge and you have to be perfect,” Prock said. “It’s been a lot to take in, but the way this car is running and the way my dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock) is feeling, it’s definitely been a fun experience. We’re all on the same page and my whole family has the same passion for this sport. To be successful is one thing, but to do it with your family is really special. I’ve really been looking forward to this season and this was a heck of a way to start.”

Bob Tasca III was right behind, going 3.829 at 337.75, with the speed mark setting a track record. Ron Capps took the third position with a 3.871 at 333.00.

Torrence made the quickest run in both Top Fuel qualifying sessions on Friday, as the four-time world champ went 3.690-seconds at 333.08 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. If that holds, Torrence would earn his 38th career No. 1 position and sets him up nicely for Saturday’s Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout. Torrence is the No. 1 seed in the specialty race and will get the first selection for his opening-round opponent. The eight-car shootout features a big payout and bragging rights and also includes Doug Kalitta, Mike Salinas, Brittany Force, Justin Ashley, Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon and defending Callout winner Josh Hart.

“It gives me more confidence going into tomorrow,” Torrence said. “The car is performing like we want and we’ve got a good car right now. Those two runs are a product of the last 1-2 years coming to fruition. It gives my team confidence as well and it says a lot to be No. 1 (in the Callout). In this field, you’ve got some of the toughest competition out there. This place was packed today and I look forward to putting on a show in front of these fans tomorrow.”

Langdon posted an impressive run to close out his day, jumping to second with a 3.697 at 332.43. Salinas’ 3.717 at 321.19 puts him third after two sessions. Racing legend Tony Stewart, who is making his Top Fuel debut this weekend, went 3.739 at 327.82 and is currently xxx.

Looking to conquer Gainesville Raceway for the first time in her stellar career, defending and six-time Pro Stock world champ enjoyed a strong start on Friday, going 6.550 at 207.88 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment car. That closed out the day and sent the reigning champ to the No. 1 spot. If it holds, it would be Enders’ 35th career top position, but motorsports’ winningest female is more interested in winning in Gainesville for the first time.

“We’ve obviously not had a lot of great luck here,” Enders said. “We qualified No. 2, we got beat out by our teammate Troy Coughlin for the No. 1 spot last year. I went to hit the start button for first round and she did not crank so the gator bite continued, but we’re determined to change that this weekend. This is one of the last tracks on the circuit we have left to accomplish so it’s high on our to-do list. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but it definitely means we’re going to give it every bit of effort we have.”

Enders’ Elite Motorsports teammate Cristian Cuadra is second after a run of 6.552 at 209.10 and Dallas Glenn’s 6.556 at 208.59 currently puts him third.

Herrera picked up right where he left off in Pro Stock Motorcycle, both from his championship-winning 2023 season and last year in Gainesville, going to the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.752 at 198.64 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Herrera dominated the 2023 campaign, winning 11 races and grabbing 14 No. 1 qualifiers – both single-season records in the category – and showed no signs of slowing down Friday in Gainesville. The defending event winner made the quickest runs of both sessions as he looks to repeat at the site of his first NHRA win.

“We started where we left off and all the credit goes to my team,” Herrera said. “They’ve worked really hard in the off-season. I’m very happy with how I ran today. Everybody in this class has been working and it shows. This season is going to be very exciting and I’m really looking forward to it. Andrew (Hines, crew chief) works day and night in the shop and that’s where we shine. He keeps pushing and pushing, and this team never stops working.”

Matt Smith went 6.785 at 199.55 to go into the second spot, while Steve Johnson is currently third after going 6.804 at 195.70.

Qualifying continues at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 55th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, first of 21 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Steve Torrence, 3.690 seconds, 333.08 mph; 2. Shawn Langdon, 3.697, 332.43; 3. Mike Salinas, 3.717, 321.19; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.723, 332.10; 5. Clay Millican, 3.726, 332.67; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.728, 328.94; 7. Tony Stewart, 3.739, 327.82; 8. Tripp Tatum, 3.761, 319.07; 9. Doug Foley, 3.764, 318.84; 10. Josh Hart, 3.776, 318.62; 11. Billy Torrence, 3.782, 330.72; 12. Brittany Force, 3.787, 327.51; 13. Shawn Reed, 3.791, 325.45; 14. Antron Brown, 3.793, 326.16; 15. Justin Ashley, 3.892, 311.56; 16. Cody Krohn, 3.951, 286.92.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.820, 334.65; 2. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.829, 337.75; 3. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.871, 333.00; 4. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.883, 331.20; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.887, 329.26; 6. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.897, 324.90; 7. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 3.900, 327.74; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.912, 329.58; 9. John Force, Camaro, 3.920, 324.67; 10. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.977, 317.94; 11. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 3.989, 315.86; 12. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.051, no speed; 13. Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.090, 294.24; 14. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.116, 304.87; 15. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.206, no speed; 16. John Smith, Charger, 4.312, 257.48. Not Qualified: 17. Dave Richards, 8.576, 86.66.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.550, 207.88; 2. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.552, 209.20; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.556, 208.59; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.561, 208.65; 5. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.563, 209.82; 6. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.567, 209.92; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.567, 209.39; 8. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.570, 208.88; 9. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.574, 208.88; 10. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.574, 208.42; 11. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.575, 209.20; 12. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.579, 208.14; 13. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.580, 208.49; 14. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.592, 208.52; 15. Kelley Murphy, Camaro, 6.592, 203.25; 16. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.601, 208.17. Not Qualified: 17. Kenny Delco, 6.609, 209.07; 18. Camrie Caruso, 6.611, 208.33; 19. Chris McGaha, 6.611, 207.75; 20. Sienna Wildgust, 6.621, 208.46; 21. Mason McGaha, 6.636, 206.80; 22. Alan Prusiensky, 7.526, 136.41.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.752, 198.64; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.784, 199.55; 3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.804, 195.70; 4. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.814, 198.23; 5. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.817, 198.32; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.825, 196.39; 7. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.857, 197.22; 8. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.893, 194.72; 9. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.966, 191.95; 10. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.983, 193.90; 11. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.997, 192.03; 12. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.043, 192.66; 13. Bud Yoder II, Buell, 7.111, 186.43; 14. Hector Arana, EBR, 7.230, 191.24; 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.323, 184.62; 16. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.437, 186.69. Not Qualified: 17. Angie Smith, broke; 18. Joey Gladstone, broke.

Ronnie Anderson Wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race at 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400

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After a long list of triumphs in short course racing, Ronnie Anderson added the first major win of his desert racing career in Friday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race at the 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400. Anderson and co-driver Cole Keatts brought their #PO952 Polaris RZR to the finish line in 7:35:48.6, taking top overall honors ahead of Class 10 winner Tyler Mills by just 56 seconds at race’s end.

“This feels amazing!” said Anderson. “That’s my first overall desert win right there, so I’m pretty happy to do it at the Mint 400. It’s a legendary race and a really, really tough one that a lot of people would like to win. I’m super, super excited, and proud of my whole team—they work their butts off for moments like this. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way right now.”

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race is the Mint 400’s annual showcase of just how many cars can be adapted for off-road racing, and the 2024 edition was no exception. The Class 10s and pro UTVs may have been the ones fighting for the overall victory all day, but they were joined on the grueling course by a diverse fleet of everything from sportsman trucks to Baja Bugs to military vehicles. In short, if you could get it to drive in the desert, the Mint 400 had a class for you.

But which class would take top overall honors was in question all day, with the overall lead seemingly ping-ponging between the buggies and side-by-sides at every sector. Brayden Baker would lead the first lap on corrected time, but mechanical issues would befall him soon after and he’d fall out of contention after halfway. The fight would stay close regardless, with last year’s UTV PR-100 class winner Ryan Piplic leading Mills by just 4.4 seconds at one point before halfway.

That’s when attrition truly began to set in as the grueling 100-mile course, fast early in the day due to rain, got more rutted and difficult to drive. Front-runners like Baker, Branden Sims, and Dustin “Battle Axe” Jones wouldn’t finish their third laps, while Mitch Guthrie would fall out on the fourth and final lap. That allowed Anderson, who kept a measured pace all day, to pick off track position in the late stages of the race and set himself up to steal the win.

Mills crossed the line first with an unofficial time of 7:36:44, but he’d have to wait to see if he’d be adding the overall win to his top time in Class 10. Abraham Gutierrez would make it in a few minutes later in second, but Anderson would grab the top overall spot as the first UTV Pro Open entry just moments later. The Pro Open entries of Piplic and Romo would get back to Primm soon after, but neither could quite crack the overall podium. Defending Limited Race winner Joe Terrana wouldn’t defend the overall trophy, but he’d still win his second Mint in class in as many years by defeating Tim Fitzpatrick for the UTV Pro victory.

“It was a good day,” Mills said at the finish line. “We just kept moving forward. The car ran flawless all day. The track sure is rough—it got super rough, but I feel good. We just wanted to keep moving. We didn’t have any problems, any flats, nothing. We didn’t stop all day except for fuel.”

Top finishers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race at the 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 were as follows:

  1. PO952 Ronnie Anderson, 7:35:48
  2. 1008 Tyler Mills, 7:36:44
  3. 1012 Abraham Gutierrez, 7:40:52
  4. PO915 Ryan Piplic, 7:41:29
  5. 1003 Nick May, 7:44:01
  6. PO929 Sierra Romo, 7:47:57
  7. P998 Joe Terrana, 7:54:17
  8. PO913 Chase Carr, 8:08:02
  9. P906 Tim Fitzpatrick, 8:12:15
  10. PO964 Sean Krepsz Jr., 8:13:03

Saturday’s action from the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 features a full day of motorcycle, youth, and Unlimited Race action. Gates open at 6AM, with the Motorcycle Race taking the green flag at 7AM, Youth races starting at 8AM, and the green flag for the Unlimited Race at 10:45AM. To follow along with the 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, visit themint400.com or follow @themint400 on all social media platforms. To watch the live stream and follow along with live timing and tracking, visit themint400.com/live.

About The Mint 400
The Mint 400 is the oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America, and is held each March in the treacherous foothills of Sin City. The multi-day event features a massive vehicle parade down the world famous Las Vegas Strip, a two day festival on historic Fremont Street, and two days of grueling off-road racing on a desolate and punishing 400-mile racecourse. Nearly 65,000 off-road and recreational enthusiasts come to watch 500 race teams in 50+ classes from 25 different states and 15 different countries go door to door, while the Livestream coverage is beamed to over 800,000 viewers worldwide. No other off road race allows fans the thrilling experience of watching the top off-road race teams from around the world battle for fame and glory, in a festival setting – complete with a luxury VIP section. The Mint 400 is “The Great American Off-Road Race”!

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Overview- Phoenix Raceway

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Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Overview-
Phoenix Raceway; March 9, 2024

Track; Phoenix Raceway – Oval (1.0-Mile)
Race: Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200; 200 Laps –45/45/110; 200 Miles
Date/Broadcast: Saturday; February 9, 2023 4:30 PM ET (2:30 PM MT)
TV: Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports App
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)- Check Local Listings for affiliate, and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90
Social Media: Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport; Facebook, Instagram, and X

Jeb Burton – No. 27 NORMA Precision Ammunition
Chevrolet Camaro SS Preview- Phoenix Raceway

Social Media; Facebook, X, Instagram

News and Notes:

  • Practice; After the completion of NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) technical inspection on Friday afternoon, Jeb Burton is scheduled to take to the 1.0-mile Phoenix Raceway Saturday morning at 10:30 AM MT for a scheduled 20-minute practice session. Practice will be shown in its entirety LIVE on Fox Sports 2 (FS2).

– Starting Position; Immediately after the conclusion of the 20-minute practice session, NXS teams will be given a brief 10-minute break to fuel and change tires before moving into qualifying at 11:00 AM MT for the Saturday’s Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200. Qualifying will consist of a single car making its fastest lap to determine the race’s starting lineup. Burton driving the Norma Precision Ammunition Chevrolet will line up 18th to make his qualifying effort. Following Practice, Qualifying will also be shown in its entirety LIVE on FS2.

– Phoenix Raceway Stats; Making his eighth NXS start at Phoenix Raceway, Burton holds an average finish of 15.4 in seven previous starts. Capturing a career best 6th place finish in March of 2021. Burton holds a 99.9% lap completion rate with 1404 laps completed of the attempted 1406. In his last appearance at Phoenix Raceway, in last season’s (2023) NXS Championship Race Burton would qualify in the 18st position and make small gains throughout the race to come away with a 12th place finish. In seven starts Burton has four Top-20 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.

Featured Partner

  • NORMA Precision Ammunition; Norma ammunition is a brand that has been a mainstay in the shooting community for over 100 years, known for its commitment to quality, innovation, and precision. Founded in Sweden in 1902, the brand has a rich history and a reputation for producing some of the most accurate and reliable ammunition in the world. Whether you’re a seasoned shooter or just starting out, you can trust Norma ammunition to provide you with the performance and reliability you need to succeed. Learn more about NORMA ammunition and all the items they have available at NORMAUSA.com or following the Norma social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Parker Retzlaff – No. 31 FUNKAWAY
Chevrolet Camaro SS Preview- Phoenix Raceway

Social Media; Facebook, X, Instagram

  • Practice; After the completion of NXS technical inspection on Friday afternoon, Parker Retzlaff will first take his No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet on the Phoenix Raceway Saturday morning at 10:30 AM MT for a scheduled 20-minute practice session. Practice will be shown in its entirety LIVE on FS2.

– Starting Position; Following the conclusion of the 20-minute practice session, NXS teams will be given 10-minutes to fuel and change tires before moving into qualifying at 11:00 AM MT for the Saturday’s Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200. Qualifying will consist of a single car making its fastest single lap to determine the race’s starting lineup. Retzlaff will pull onto the track 15th to make his qualifying attempt. Following Practice, Qualifying will also be shown in its entirety LIVE on FS2.

  • Phoenix Raceway Stats; Making his fifth NXS start at Phoenix Raceway, Retzlaff holds an average finish of 22.0 in four previous starts. Capturing a career best 13th place finish in his last visit in November (2023). Retzlaff holds a 94.8% lap completion rate with 760 laps completed of the attempted 802. In his last visit to Phoenix Raceway during last season’s (2023) NXS Championship Race, Retzlaff would qualify in the 14th position and would better the car throughout the race to come away with a 13th place finish. In four starts Retzlaff has two Top-20 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.

Featured Partners

  • FUNKAWAY; Headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, FunkAway is a line of odor elimination products that removes the horrible effects of bad smells. Guaranteed to work on clothing, shoes, gear, pet products, car interiors and more, FunkAway allows customers to renew and refresh, rather than throw away. To learn more about FunkAway, visit Funkaway.com and connect on Instagram and Facebook. #FUNKINFAST31

FVP; FVP is an automotive brand of parts that are specifically engineered to provide OE quality equal or superior in performance to national brands at a competitive price. They are available mainly through automotive shops, most parts are not available at retail. Our largest category within FVP is batteries.
The retail offering is limited to mainly chemicals and fluids available at Menards and a handful of small retailers. Menards also carries FVP Marine, Lawn & Garden and Powersports.

Each FVP Platinum Battery is engineered to meet exact OE fitment specifications and is backed by a nationwide free-replacement, nationwide warranty. FVP Platinum Batteries are only offered at automotive shops.

For more information on the FVP, visit them online at FVPParts.com, and follow their social channels on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

About Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport is a NASCAR team, owned by owner/driver Jordan Anderson and Bommarito Automotive Group President, John Bommarito. Established in 2017 the organization is fueled by an incredible, close-knit team of employees, fans, and sponsors with a focus on integrity in the pursuit of excellence. Our goal is to embrace the journey we’re on and to never give up – whether on the track, in the pits, or in life. Every single team partner, and fan of ours, is what keeps our race cars running strong and our team performing at the highest level.

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