Home Blog Page 1465

Suarez, Buescher Prevail In NASCAR All-Star Heat Races

By
Official Release
-
Daniel Suarez won the first of two Saturday heat races for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, clinching pole position for Sunday's event. (NWS/HHP photo)

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 20, 2023) – Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher will start Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race on the front row, after the pair triumphed in their respective 60-lap heat races on Saturday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

By virtue of his pit crew posting the best pit stop of any All-Star Race team in Friday’s NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear, Suarez started Heat 1 from the pole – but his lead was short-lived.

Chase Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports-owned Chevrolet quickly passed Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing-owned Chevrolet and paced the field for the first 26 laps – on wet tires in a constantly changing track. Suarez gradually chased down Elliott and passed him before a caution period enabled the 11 teams in Heat 1 to change to a fresh set of wet tires. From there, Suarez pulled away and beat defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano to the line by 1.529 seconds. Chase Briscoe was third with Christopher Bell fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.

Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford wired the field in Heat 2 – which set the outside rows for Sunday’s race. Buescher started from the pole and led all 60 laps en route to clinching the outside pole.

Austin Dillon finished 1.67 seconds behind Buescher, who pulled away even after the field – which began the race on dry tires – pitted for wet tires after a Lap 25 caution. Tires didn’t faze Buescher, who was the class of the field for the entire heat. William Byron followed Buescher and Dillon across the line. Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five.

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TRACKHOUSE RACING CHEVROLET (HEAT 1 WINNER): “It was fun to go through those transitions of a wet track and then a halfway dry track. It wasn’t 100-percent dry, it was halfway there. We started the race and nobody knew what to expect. The 9 (Elliott) did a better job than me at the start. The first 10 laps, I didn’t have anything for him, but around Lap 15 I knew it was coming, and by Lap 20 I knew I was better. Unfortunately, tomorrow’s going to be nice and sunny, so everything we learned today isn’t going to matter tomorrow. But I’m really proud of my team.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 17 RFK RACING FORD (HEAT 2 WINNER): “Our guys did a great job. It’s a heck of a start. I felt good about this thing in practice and I feel even better about it now. I want to race here every weekend. This is awesome. It’s fantastic. … We’re definitely in a good place for tomorrow. I feel like our Fastenal Mustang is really good.”’

TUNE-IN:
Fans can catch Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by the All-Star Race at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Fans can also listen live on MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

MORE INFO:
Fans can connect with North Wilkesboro Speedway and get the latest news regarding NASCAR All-Star week and North Wilkesboro Speedway by following on Twitter and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS All-Star Heat Race Quotes

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
All-Star Heat Races | Saturday, May 20, 2023

Ford Finishing Results (Heat Race 1)
2nd – Joey Logano
3rd – Chase Briscoe
6th – Ryan Blaney
8th – Kevin Harvick
9th – Austin Cindric

Ford Finishing Results (Heat Race 2)
1st – Chris Buescher
4th – Brad Keselowski

HEAT RACE 1 QUOTES:

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “It wasn’t wet. We probably could have put dries on it and it would have been fine, but I know we’re playing it a little safe for the first time. Overall, racing here at North Wilkesboro is just cool in itself. On the first run I thought I saved my tires and I was OK, and I started kind of maintaining and catching the 9 at the end and then the caution came out for some reason. Then I was like, ‘I’ve got to go now’…but I burnt everything up and then I was playing defense the rest of the race. It’s fun because you’ve got to play it smart inside the car. You’ve got to have the strategy and if you make the wrong decision you pay the price because of the tire wear, especially with the rain tires on. It’s a fun race and overall we’re starting third in the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang for a million bucks tomorrow night.”

WHAT IS TOMORROW GOING TO BE LIKE? “I don’t care as long as our car is up front. I’m sure it’s gonna be great. There is gonna be a lot of tire wear and the strategy is really gonna come into play, especially towards the end that last 100 laps there with the amount of tires that’s gonna be left. There’s gonna be a hard decision. Either way it’s a gamble depending on when you put your tires on. You put them on with 50 to go, you put them on with 20 to go, either way it’s a gamble depending on how the race plays out.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang – “I almost felt like we had more grip on the wet weather tires than we did the slicks. It was definitely interesting. I don’t know what lap times we were running, but I definitely felt like we were running way faster than what we were on slicks. I don’t know. Maybe we need to change them a little bit just to make them to where there’s a little more fall off. I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s definitely something we can do week in and week out. I think we’ve proved that. I’m looking forward to the future and racing more in the rain.”

YOU WERE RIGHT BEHIND LOGANO. WERE YOU CONFLICTED ON WHAT TO DO THERE? “Yeah, you definitely don’t want to take another Ford out, but at the same time we were way faster and I just kept on hitting him. I couldn’t get by him. I kept trying to move him, but right where I was better is where he would always slow me down. He’s just really good at doing that with all of his experience, so I felt like I learned a lot, honestly, just being behind him and trying to set him and trying to pass him because I definitely had a faster car, it was just a matter of trying to figure out how to do it and I didn’t want to just use him up. It got a little tricky there at the end because the 20 caught me and I was having to play defense, but I thought our car was really good. I would have loved to run it in the full dry because I felt our car was extremely good yesterday, but we’ve got a good starting spot and we’ll see what we can do.”

HEAT RACE 2 QUOTES

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE CAR THERE? “That was the plan. We didn’t want to give you anything to talk about. That was awesome. I was so proud of our group. This Fastenal Mustang has been really fast from the time we unloaded off the truck. The pit crew did a fantastic job and put us in a great spot here today. We’re in a good place for the race tomorrow evening. I’m excited. I’m ready for this thing. Let’s go. Let’s go get a million dollars.”

YOU WERE PART OF THE TIRE TEST HERE. HAS IT BEEN A PROGRESSION FOR YOU AT THIS PLACE? “Yeah. The tire test was cut short by rain and we only got a day in, so we really didn’t get the opportunity to work on the car and get it better, so we did leave there with a game plan. We knew what we wanted to change and our group just did a great job of implementing that and getting us back here. It’s been good off the truck. We’ve made very little adjustments to both race cars. We’ve got speed in both of ours, so it’s definitely a benefit. I’d hate to see what could have happened if we would have gotten the second day of that tire test. I would have been on rails (laughing), but, no, it was really good and our group has done a fantastic job.”

WINNER’S PRESS CONFERENCE

CHRIS BUESCHER – “It was a lot of fun. It’s awesome and so cool to be back here. It’s so special to see how much has changed since the Dale Jr. clean-up day here and thinking that was the demise of the racetrack – that that was its last savior and it was destined to be bulldozed and here we are. Marcus Smith and his group have done such a fantastic job. The track is a blast to run. It just brings me back to Saturday night short track racing. The track has a ton of character – more fall off than most places. I know a lot of it has been patched up to where we’re not going out there and sticking your foot down in the cracks that were here a while back, but it gives you something to chase and things to move around and look for. The track race was a lot of fun to watch, watching them use the apron. I don’t think that’s something our cars are gonna do very well, but it was noted I’m sure by everybody in this race tomorrow. I’ll be watching the Open closely to see if anybody tries it, but I feel like our Fastenal Mustang is really good. I was really happy after practice. Short run speed, long run speed, it was all showing up well and really just trying to control our own pace tonight and made sure we didn’t give you all too much to talk about.”

WHY WON’T YOU USE THE APRON TOMORROW? “Our cars are just stiffer, more travel limited than the cars of old – old truck arm cars. The trucks just have more movement. You watch them go down there and they droop out a lot better. You see our cars, even in a crash situations, people go down to the apron to avoid a wreck and you watch one or two tires cross the platform – the car come off the ground. We just don’t have the movement to be able to do it, especially in turn one. Three and four, maybe. I’d be curious to see if any of that comes up in the Open. As you get on track a lot of cars fighting for position it’ll be in the hot of day where we’ll be in the night. I think the track picked up a little grip. I’d be watching it, but if it happens, I would say three and four.”

THERE WERE NO RUNS LONGER THAN 30 LAPS. WOULD IT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT WITH 20 MORE LAPS? “It was dictated by weather. In both heat races we just basically split them to either check on rain tires from the beginning of the first heat or switch to rains for ours. It’s not that we’re out there wrecking stuff. I would have like to have seen it drive out a little bit longer and see what we had, but we were really conserving tires on slicks when we thought that was probably gonna run to the end and really trying to take care of them as much as possible. I would have loved to have seen what that would have done for us in another 20 or 30 laps, and then bolting on the wets it was the same thing, trying to get a comfortable cushion and then kind of roll out of it from there to where we weren’t trying to burn out stuff up too much in case it did fall off hard there at the end. Honestly, the wet weather scenario doesn’t really matter anymore. Tomorrow’s radar looks way better and I don’t think we’ll be dealing with that. We’ll definitely focus on that slick tire run and see what we can do to work on it and study it a little bit and see what we feel like it would have done with another 20 laps.”

WHY HAVE DRIVERS WHO WERE IN THE TIRE TEST HERE SO FAST HERE? “Anytime on a track that’s brand new to everybody – none of us were here in ‘96. We were mostly in diapers, so it’s a lot of us are seeing it for the first time and that March test just gave you those first handful of laps. I’ll tell you, the biggest advantage it was was lap one on track in practice, watching everybody sail off into the corner thinking that we had Martinsville grip and we don’t. I watched a lot of people really slide way up the hill and had a good idea of where we were at, so track time always helps. That test was also rain shortened by a day, so typically tire tests on the second day you get to work on it a little bit. We didn’t get that opportunity, but we had the first day to study. I think we all had ideas of what we wanted changed for that second day and didn’t get to, but I would say there’s something to be said for being able to think about that and come back with it. I think that’s why you push hard to volunteer to do those things. Teams take the money out of their pockets to go do it knowing that it can hit you good on the tail end. You would love to do every one of them, but that’s not how it works. We hit the lottery knowing that it would be a good one for us and now it’s showed up in some speed and I think our group has just done a really good job at studying the notes from that and knowing what we’re up against and what we’re chasing.”

WE ACTUALLY RAN A RACE ON A WET TRACK TONIGHT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? “I’m sure you want me to talk a lot of good things about it (laughter). I won’t be mean about it because I can appreciate the fact that we got the show back going for the fans. I’m gonna sit here and say I don’t think we needed to put them on for our race at all. That being said, the first race, let’s use that one. The track was wet, damp, being able to bolt tires on, go out there and turn the lights on, that was good. That got us going almost on time and kept the show rolling. It was a success. We went out there and nothing was crazy. What I should say about our Heat 2 and bolting the tires on there, I didn’t have my eyes on a weather screen and didn’t know what may have been coming. I’ve been the person sitting up here really upset when we’ve sailed off into a corner and it’s raining there on slicks, so I don’t want to sit here and say that was the craziest thing we’ve ever done. We should have been on slicks, no doubt. There may have been something else in play and I can appreciate it if that’s the case. And they worked fine. We saw it in the first heat. To your point, I don’t want to do this every week. I don’t want to race in the rain. I don’t want it to be windshield wipers turned on in our cars, but the fact that so many fans come out to support this event at North Wilkesboro, how appreciative we are of them for really showing up in these massive numbers. I’m glad that we were able to keep the show going for them. It’s not like it was raining hard enough. People were up there without ponchos and umbrellas. They were ready to see some racing and we got that going for them.”

WOULD YOU BE OK WITH THIS PLACE HAVING A POINTS RACE IN 2024? “Yeah. I’m a big fan of that. I would love to see it and I would have said that before I knew we were gonna be fast tonight. I love tracks with this much character. It takes me right back to growing up ARCA racing and whether that was Salem and going up and watching the banking just fall off the side of the mountain or side of the banking just rolling off. It was so rough, so much character and so many things that you did different to try and prep for that. We left the test here and the best thing I could relate to was Berlin and running an ARCA race there. We got wide-open two laps in a 200-lap feature – just no grip. That’s what it feels like here. That’s character. It makes you search. It makes you try and think about longevity of tires. It makes you think about how you’re gonna approach early runs versus long runs and puts strategy back in the game for our crew chiefs and crew members. It puts so many things back into the race that we used to talk about every week because there’s so much character. There are so many variables with a track like this and I love it. I love places that make you think about it and make you work hard for it and I want to get down to the bottom of the racetrack and drop a tire right below that white line and say, ‘Man, there was a big hole right there,’ or ‘there was gravel there’. You watch the truck race and watch them run down in the gravel. Where else on our schedule do you run through gravel other than road racing when none of us really know what we’re doing anyway. We all just sail up through the beach. I love the fact that there’s so much of it here and wish we had 10 more racetracks that were just like this in different ways. I’d be a big fan of seeing a points race here.”

YOU WERE HERE IN DECEMBER 2019 FOR THE CLEAN UP, RIGHT? “Yes. I didn’t realize it was that long ago. That makes me appreciate the transformation so much more. I’ve driven by this place countless times on my way to Bristol through the years and watched the evergreens grow up through the grandstands of one and two, and just knew that it was a lost racetrack. It was one of those things where Junior Motorsports put together the track cleanup day and a call for help on Twitter. One of the rare moments I got on Twitter and was actually roaming around and I was like, ‘I’ve got a skid steer. I’ve got a dump trailer. I’ll come scrape the track up and help out.’ I love doing stuff like that, so I threw my name into the hat and came up here. A lot of the heavy lifting was already done, so I got to walk around here with a shovel scraping dirt out of the cracks. It wasn’t near as much fun as I was hoping on the skid steer, but it was cool to see it come from what it was that day and watching a photographer leg went through a grandstand floorboard. It was rough. This room right here was terrifying. I mean, post-apocalyptic. It was disgusting. Stuff all over the place. It was insane and to see what it is today it’s amazing. Hat’s off to everybody. It’s really cool. That makes it that much more special. I’m telling you, when we walked through that door right there it was straight out of the Walking Dead in here. It was terrifying. There was a gurney on its side right here. It was terrible. I’m telling you, it was something else. I hope we cleaned the blood stains up and everything is good underneath this carpet (laughter). It was so wild to see it and I actually just now is the first time I’ve walked in this room. We went up top earlier and I was like, ‘That’s better.’ I wouldn’t have wanted to turn the lights on before, so much better.”

TONIGHT MUST HAVE BEEN FUN AND SATISFYING. “Yeah, the whole weekend is a fun weekend. It’s fun for our pit crew members yesterday – to say, ‘Look, go put everything on the line and do a fast stop.’ If a tire falls off, there’s no penalty – not really. It’s one of those situations where we come here and let’s go give everything we can everytime we’re on track. That’s fun. I talk about it more than I probably should, but I hate points racing. I hate the thought of not giving your 105 percent effort every week because you have to think about points and the long run. I feel like that can take away a lot in our big race. You get a win and you get to go away from points racing for the most part. That Daytona 500 win means a whole lot more than just getting to leave the car down in the museum there. It means you get to go racing like we all grew up racing. That’s what this weekend is for us. We come down here and don’t worry about any of that. Let’s go win a race and, oh, by the way, there’s a million dollars at the start-finish line and a really cool trophy, so just a couple added incentives there, let alone the fact we’re back at North Wilkesboro for the first time in almost 30 years. There are a lot of cool things about it that add up, but it’s just a fun weekend. It’s really neat. Like I said, the amount of people that were here for the pit crew competition last night and for today have been here all day long. It’s fantastic and really cool.”

YOU RACED AT ROCKINGHAM AS WELL AND WE HAVEN’T GONE BACK THERE. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? “Is it wrong to say Dale Jr.? Is that the wrong answer? When Rockingham was revived it was Andy Hillenburg that went back in and really got it started back up. The track was raceable and it was a fun race. It was early on in my ARCA career and some of the first big tracks I was able to run and I really enjoyed it. The track had the character like this place, but it did not drum up the amount of support. I don’t have a good rhyme or reason for it other than everything about this weekend has been talked about since 2019. It’s how does this recover? How does it come back? I guess we just haven’t had the buzz around Rockingham to get back there. Even now. Rockingham is being repaved right now. Every now and then you see pictures of equipment out there grinding it up and getting it ready and we don’t talk about it much, and, honestly, I don’t know much about it and I knew everything that was going on here the whole time – watched it steadily evolve and become what it is right here tonight. I think if it’s possible to have the same effort and same backing behind Rockingham, you’ll see a fantastic show there as well. Hopefully, it can do the same thing because it’s another one of those really historic racetracks that would be right no top of this one. It has tons of character. Let’s go do it. Let’s go make it happen. The best way I can come from and say is the fact that if I’m a fan right now, I haven’t heard near as much about Rockingham as I would like to or don’t really know the plans going forward about it and I’ve known about this one and known what was coming and known the potential of it.”

Suarez, Buescher claim front row starting spots for 2023 All-Star Race

By
Andrew Kim
-

Daniel Suarez won the pole position for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race and will share the front row with Chris Buescher after both won a Heat Race qualifying event that determined the official starting lineup for the main event at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, May 20.  

The starting lineup for the two Heat races consisting of 60 laps was determined through NASCAR’s Pit Crew Challenge that occurred on Friday, May 19, with the drivers’ qualifying time determined based on their respective crew’s pit stop time through a four-tire pit stop and the timing lines being established one box behind and ahead of the designated pit box. The teams who delivered the fastest pit services would enable their respective entries to start towards the front of the two All-Star Heat Races or the All-Star Open.

Following the pit stops, rookie Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew won the Pit Crew Challenge after the team posted the fastest pit service overall in 13.012 seconds. Gibbs, however, is currently not locked into the All-Star Race and will look to race his way into the main event while on pole position in the All-Star Open that will occur on Sunday, May 21, prior to the All-Star feature. As a result, Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing pit crew led by crew chief Travis Mack placed the former Xfinity Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, on pole position for the first Heat Race after posting the second-fastest pit service overall, but first as an eligible competitor, in 13.297 seconds.

During the first Heat Race, which determined the official starting lineup of the inside rows for the All-Star feature, Suarez, who lost the lead to Chase Elliott at the start, led the final 34 of 60-scheduled laps while on wet weather tires amid one caution period and occurrences of precipitation around the circuit to win and claim pole position in the All-Star Star for the first time in his career. As a result, Suarez, a two-time All-Star Open winner whose best result in the All-Star Race is second from 2018, will vie for his first All-Star victory in his fourth attempt on Sunday.

“The car was very fast,” Suarez said on FS1. “I have to thank my guys. I have an amazing team. We have a great group of people. We haven’t been able to show that in the last races, but we’re fast. I can’t thank enough everyone that helps us to get to this point. Just happy to be here and hopefully, we can have a strong performance tomorrow as well.”

Joey Logano settled in second place behind Suarez followed by Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. Ryan Blaney settled in sixth while Chase Elliott ended up seventh followed by Kevin Harvick, Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Erik Jones, respectively, all of whom will start on the inside rows for the All-Star event.

Meanwhile, Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing pit crew placed the former Xfinity Series champion from Prosper, Texas, on pole position for the second Heat Race after posting the third-fastest pit service in 13.381 seconds.

During the second Heat Race, which determined the official starting lineup of the outside rows for the All-Star feature, Buescher led all 60-scheduled laps as he beat runner-up Austin Dillon by more than a second and claim a front-row starting spot (second place) for Sunday’s main event. During Buescher’s dominant victory, the second Heat event also featured a single caution period due to rain and that enabled the teams to switch from starting on slick tires to wet tires. As a result, Buescher, who will be making his third All-Star career start on Sunday, will also vie for his first All-Star victory.

“That was awesome,” Buescher said. “I was so proud of our group. This Fastenal Mustang has been really fast from the time we unloaded off the truck. The pit crew did a fantastic job and put us in a great spot here today. We’re in a good place for the race tomorrow evening. 

“I’m excited. I’m ready for this thing. Let’s go. Let’s go get a million dollars.”

Dillon settled in second followed by William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace while Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10, respectively, all of whom will start on the outside rows for the All-Star Race.

With 21 competitors earning guaranteed starting spots for the 2023 All-Star Race, the remaining three vacant spots for the main event will be determined at the conclusion of the 2023 All-Star Open which will occur prior to the All-Star feature on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1. With 16 competitors competing in the All-Star Open, the top-two finishers of the Open consisting of 100 laps will transfer to the main event. The 24th and final starting spot will be awarded to the competitor who is named the Fan Vote winner.

All-Star Race Starting Lineup

1. Daniel Suarez

2. Chris Buescher

3. Joey Logano

4. Austin Dillon

5. Chase Briscoe

6. William Byron

7. Christopher Bell

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Chase Elliott

14. Kyle Busch

15. Kevin Harvick

16. Kyle Larson

17. Austin Cindric

18. Ross Chastain

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Tyler Reddick

21. Erik Jones

22. *All-Star Open Winner

23. *All-Star Open Runner-up

24. *Fan Vote Winner

With the official starting lineup set, the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

Patrick Woods-Toth Takes the Top Step of the Podium at Road America

By
Official Release
-
Photo by Gavin Baker Photography

PLYMOUTH, Wis. (May 20, 2023) – Patrick Woods-Toth took his first-career victory on Saturday afternoon during the opening race of the weekend for Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) at Road America. When the season opened at NOLA Motorsports Park just two months ago, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) recorded one second-place result and two third-place finishes, making today’s result his fourth-straight podium finish.

Woods-Toth started the race second on the grid just behind his teammate Jesse Lacey (No. 16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4). Both drivers had a clean start, and Lacey initially pulled into the point position to lead the first lap. As they raced down the front stretch, Woods-Toth pulled side-by-side with Lacey before taking over the top spot.

Meanwhile, Frankie Mossman (No. 6 Jay Howard Driver Development / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4) lined up fifth on the grid. Initially falling back a few positions with aggressive two- and three-wide racing during opening lap, Mossman rebounded to retake the fifth position just before a full-course caution was displayed. With the field regrouped and a chance to pick up track position when the race returned to green, Mossman took it three-wide coming down the front stretch. Successfully taking over the fourth position from Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4), Mossman pulled side-by-side with Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca/Rhode & Liesenfeld/Easy Drift/Penn Elcom Online/Dae Systems Ligier JS F4) to battle for the third position as they neared Turn 3. Taking over the position as they came off Turn 5, Mossman never looked back.

As they finally crossed the line to take the checkered flag, Woods-Toth led Lacey, Mossman and the rest of the field.

“We’ve had a good start to the championship, and today was our day, it looks like,” said Woods-Toth as he stepped atop the podium. “I’m happy. I’d like to thank Orlando, MRFKC, Ron Fellows, all of my Crosslink Kiwi team, and Adam and Glen for all the hard work on the car. It was an awesome day today.”

F4 U.S. returns to action tomorrow for the final two races of the weekend. The lights go out for Race 2 at 9:10 a.m. CT. Then, at 12:25 p.m., fans are invited to join us in the pre-grid area between Victory Circle and Pit Road for a fan walk. Come meet the drivers of F4 U.S. and FR Americas, collect photos and autographs, and see the F4 U.S. cars up close and personal just minutes before they take the track for their final race of the weekend. For updates, follow F4 U.S. on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or use Race Monitor to follow live timing and scoring. A live feed from the Road America Jumbotron will be available throughout the weekend on Road America’s YouTube page.

 WATCH THE JUMBOTRON FEED: YouTube.com/Road_America

About Formula Regional Americas Championship & Formula 4 United States Championship, Powered by Honda: The FIA-certified Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) & Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) are designed as entry-level open-wheel racing series offering young talent the opportunity to demonstrate their skills on an international platform while keeping affordability and safety as key elements. The Championships align with the global FIA development ladder philosophy of using common components to provide a cost-efficient, reliable and powerful racing structure as drivers ascend through the levels on their way to U.S. or global racing success. The F4 U.S. Champion is awarded a scholarship to compete the following season in FR Americas, while the FR Americas Champion is awarded a Super Formula Scholarship from Honda Performance Development and Honda Racing Corporation.

CHEVROLET NCS AT NORTH WILKESBORO: Suarez Takes Heat One Win to Capture Pole Position for All-Star Race

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY
NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE
TEAM CHEVY HEAT RACE QUOTES
MAY 20, 2023

Suarez Scores Heat One Win, Takes Pole Position for 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL HEAT ONE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Motorplex Camaro ZL1
7th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
10th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Coca-Cola Camaro ZL1
11th Erik Jones, No. 43 STP Camaro ZL1

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL HEAT TWO RESULTS:
2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1
3rd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Thorntons Camaro ZL1
8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
9th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

TEAM CHEVY HEAT RACE QUOTES:

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TRACKHOUSE MOTORPLEX CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st (Heat One)

Give us a brief recap on that first heat race and how you look towards tomorrow night.

“It was fun to go through those transitions from a wet track and then kind of halfway dry. It wasn’t 100% dry, but it was halfway there.

We didn’t really know what to expect. The No. 9 (Chase Elliott) did a better job than myself. I don’t know if he was either more aggressive or his car happened to work out better in the wet conditions. The first 10 laps, I just didn’t have anything for him. I was trying to breakeven and around lap 15 is when I said – OK, he’s coming, and on Lap 20, I knew that I was better.

It was fun to go through those transitions – learn a little bit about the tire and learn about the track. Unfortunately, tomorrow is going to be nice and sunny, so everything that we learned today – maybe it’s going to work for the future, but not for tomorrow.

Overall, just very, very proud of my team. The No. 99 Trackhouse Motorplex Chevy team has had a lot of speed lately, but we haven’t had executions and the results. We’ve been very tough on ourselves. To be able to come here and perform the way that we’ve been doing – not just myself, but the entire No. 99 team, my pit crew and engineers. It’s a lot of fun and hopefully tomorrow we can have another performance like today.”

You’ve been here all week. Can you talk a little bit about the whole experience and how much of it was to prepare for tomorrow night?

“Yeah, it’s been fun. I’ve been here since Monday, so I’ve been living here for awhile (laughs). But you know it’s been a lot of fun to see the fans – so loyal since Monday or Tuesday. It’s been a lot of fun to see that. This place has so much history. Just look at the walls.. there’s so much history everywhere you look. For me, to be a small part of this and have the opportunity to put on a show for all these fans, our race teams, NASCAR and all the fans at home – it’s quite special. Overall, just very happy to be here.”

What made you so good in rain? You just kind of checked out and those guys had nothing behind you.

“I feel like the car was very good. My car worked very, very well for those conditions. I have some experience in the rain in go-karts, but it’s completely different. It’s completely different. I feel like our team did a good job. The car adapted well. The first handful of laps after the restart, I don’t feel like I was the best. The No. 22 (Joey Logano) was better than me there for five laps. Once I was able to get a little gap, I was able to drive away and after 10 laps, it was game over. My car was just a rocket ship.

Just very happy for my team and hopefully we can put on another performance like that tomorrow.”

How much do you know for tomorrow and how much do you still not know since you weren’t on slicks at all today?

“We learned nothing.. (laughs). We learned absolutely nothing. I just hope it rains again so these guys can have the same amount of fun that we had and they can learn nothing, as well (laughs). If these guys learn something for tomorrow, we’re going to be at a little bit of a disadvantage.

But, we’ll see. The race track right now is not dry. I don’t know if they’re going to start on slicks or wets, but it’s not 100% dry. So maybe the second-half, maybe the last 30 laps, they’re going to start learning stuff. But in the beginning, it’s going to be a little bit wet. Hopefully it pours right now (laughs).”

On teammate Ross Chastain being in the second heat race:

“Yeah, but we have different cars and we have different setups, too. We have those conversations, but our cars are different and our cars are going to react different with those transitions. Yeah, it will definitely help. It would have been worse if both Trackhouse cars were in the same heat because then we would be on an island. But we’ll be find. Regardless, I feel like our team already has an idea of where we’re going to be for tomorrow.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 7th (Heat One)

It looked like your car was near perfect early on in the race, and then we had the pit stop and things didn’t go so well after that.

“Yeah, Daniel (Suarez) was good before the pit stop, but I was already kind of starting to fall off. We had our stop and we were trying to make it a little better. And then I thought maybe taking a chance for the top would have been a good move and it probably wasn’t a good move looking back on it.

But yeah, it was interesting. The tire was really nice. The track is pretty much dry other than just some areas where I think it’s got some weepers. But I don’t know that this wouldn’t be a better race with those tires than it would our slicks. If the race isn’t good the first-half tomorrow, maybe we should all come in and put on these things and finish it out this way (laughs).”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 2nd (Heat Two)

Rain tires and slicks tires, it seemed like your car was good with both on there. What do you have to battle for that million dollars tomorrow night?

“Our No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy was pretty good. I had a lot of fun out there tonight. It was weird because the rain tires were so much better than the regular slicks that I didn’t know how hard I could go. I was kind of saving there for a minute and I saw the No. 24 (William Byron) starting to struggle, so I thought we could run down the No. 17 (Chris Buescher). When I got up there, the No. 24 started coming; he changed his line a little bit and picked up some speed. Have to go back and look at what he was doing. He seemed like he had a little wider arc than us. I was kind of running the low lane off of (turn) four. It’s cool when you can move around on the track and find subtle things and save tires. But the rain tires were very surprising. It was cool. Thank you to all of our partners – Bass Pro Shops, Coca-Cola, everybody that helps us get to the track.”

 

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.

Rosenqvist Paces Epic, Historic First Day of Qualifying at Indy

By
Official Release
-

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 20, 2023) – Felix Rosenqvist led a historic day of qualifying Saturday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, turning the third-fastest four-lap qualifying run in history to lead the 12 drivers who will compete for the NTT P1 Award on Sunday.

Rosenqvist’s second run of the day, at 4:42 p.m. ET, featured a four-lap average speed of 233.947 mph in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Only Arie Luyendyk’s all-time record run of 236.986 in 1996 and Scott Dixon’s pole run of 234.048 last year were faster.

The Swede’s first attempt, at 11:55 a.m., clocked in at 233.099.

“Super proud of the whole team for executing,” Rosenqvist said. “That last run we did was just phenomenal. Almost in a 234 average. That was pretty mind-blowing how we found so much speed. We weren’t super happy on our first run, so we had two or three reasons to think we were going to go quicker. We kind of put them all together. Wow, what a run.

“Yeah, just a fun time to be in Arrow McLaren right now. Everything kind of resets for tomorrow, but we’re definitely feeling good right now.”

Rosenqvist’s teammate Alexander Rossi was second at 233.528 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou was third at 233.398 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Rinus VeeKay was fourth at 233.395 in the No. 21 Bitnile.com Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing, with six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon fifth at 233.375 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, making his final NTT INDYCAR SERIES start in this race, was sixth at 233.347 in the No. 66 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Arrow McLaren put all four of its cars in the top eight today, while Chip Ganassi Racing put its four in the top 10.

Katherine Legge made history with her qualifying run in the No. 44 Hendrickson Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, turning the fastest single qualifying lap and four-lap qualifying average by a female driver in Indy 500 history. Her fastest lap of 231.627 broke the record of 230.201 set by Simona de Silvestro in 2021, and her four-lap average of 231.070 eclipsed the mark of 229.439 set by Sarah Fisher in 2002 and secured the final locked-in starting spot of the day, 30th.

While positions 13-30 were locked into the field today, PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying continues Sunday with the dramatic Firestone Fast Six runs for the NTT P1 Award and the pressure of making the 33-car field in Last Chance Qualifying.

The 12 fastest drivers from today will participate in Top 12 Qualifying from 2-3 p.m. ET (live, Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network), with the six fastest from that session competing for the pole in Firestone Fast Six Qualifying from 5:15-5:45 p.m. In between those two sessions, the four slowest drivers from today will compete for the final three spots in the field in Last Chance Qualifying from 4-5 p.m. NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will broadcast the last two sessions live from 4-6 p.m.

Participants in Top 12 Qualifying are Rosenqvist, Rossi, Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Kanaan, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato (233.322 mph today, No. 11 Deloitte Honda), Pato O’Ward (233.252, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), Santino Ferrucci (233.147, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet), reigning “500” winner Marcus Ericsson (233.030, No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda), rookie Benjamin Pedersen (232.739, No. 55 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties) and reigning series champion Will Power (232.719, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet).

Last Chance Qualifying will feature Rahal Letterman Lanigan drivers Christian Lundgaard (231.056, No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda), Jack Harvey (230.098, No. 30 PeopleReady Honda) and Graham Rahal (228.526, No. 15 United Rentals Honda), and rookie Sting Ray Robb (229.955, No. 51 biohaven Honda).

On-track action Sunday starts with Top 12 Qualifying Practice from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by Last Chance Qualifying practice from 12:30-1:30 p.m., with coverage of both sessions on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

History was made almost as quickly as the 34 cars circled the 2.5-mile oval today under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.

Besides Rosenqvist’s epic run and Legge’s history-making laps, Pedersen’s four-lap average was the second-fastest ever by a rookie, topped only by the 233.100 turned by Tony Stewart in 1996. The first lap of Pedersen’s run, 233.297, was the fastest ever by an Indy 500 rookie.

The number of qualifying attempts in a single day was the final record to fall on a frantic day of nearly non-stop attempts during the six-hour, 50-minute session. There were 84 qualifying attempts today, shattering the mark of 73 set in 2019.

Five drivers endured the pressure of four qualifying attempts in one day: Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), Lundgaard, David Malukas (No. 18 HMD Trucking Honda), Rahal and Robb.

Public gates open at 10 a.m. Sunday at IMS.

The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Indianapolis 500 Day 1 Qualifying Results

  1. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Chevy, 02:33.8810 ( 233.947)
  2. (7) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.1569 ( 233.528)
  3. (10) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.2432 ( 233.398)
  4. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.2449 ( 233.395)
  5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.2584 ( 233.375)
  6. (66) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.2768 ( 233.347)
  7. (11) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.2932 ( 233.322)
  8. (5) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.3394 ( 233.252)
  9. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.4093 ( 233.147)
  10. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.4866 ( 233.030)
  11. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.6797 ( 232.739)
  12. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.6932 ( 232.719)
  13. (33) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.7128 ( 232.689)
  14. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.7206 ( 232.677)
  15. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.7311 ( 232.662)
  16. (20) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.8833 ( 232.433)
  17. (2) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.9039 ( 232.402)
  18. (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 02:35.0837 ( 232.133)
  19. (28) Romain Grosjean, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.1744 ( 231.997)
  20. (06) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.2032 ( 231.954)
  21. (26) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.2055 ( 231.951)
  22. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.2539 ( 231.878)
  23. (18) David Malukas, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.3270 ( 231.769)
  24. (98) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.3857 ( 231.682)
  25. (24) Stefan Wilson, Dallara-Chevy, 02:35.4083 ( 231.648)
  26. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.6061 ( 231.353)
  27. (78) Agustin Canapino, Dallara-Chevy, 02:35.6287 ( 231.320)
  28. (77) Callum Ilott, Dallara-Chevy, 02:35.7212 ( 231.182)
  29. (50) RC Enerson, Dallara-Chevy, 02:35.7574 ( 231.129)
  30. (44) Katherine Legge, Dallara-Honda, 02:35.7971 ( 231.070)

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT INDIANAPOLIS 500: TEAM CHEVY SATURDAY QUALIFYING REPORT

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT
MAY 20, 2023

CHEVROLET QUALIFIES EIGHT IN THE TOP-12 ON SATURDAY AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  • Arrow McLaren INDYCAR’s Felix Rosenqvist topped the leaderboard in his No. 6 Chevrolet with a four-lap average of 233.947 MPH.
  • Rosenqvist’s last run of Saturday was the third fastest four-lap qualifying average in Indianapolis 500 history.
  • Rosenqvist’s teammate Alexander Rossi, in the No. 7 Chevrolet, finished his four-lap average second with a speed of 233.528 MPH.
  • Chevrolet captured eight of the top-12 positions at conclusion of the Saturday’s Indianapolis 500 qualifications.
  • The two entries by AJ Foyt Racing, Santino Ferrucci and rookie Benjamin Pedersen, continue to shine, qualifying in the top-12 and setting up to start amongst the first four rows of next week’s Indianapolis 500.
  • Pedersen’s qualifying attempt of 232.739 MPH was the second fastest four-lap average by a rookie behind Tony Stewart in 1996.
  • Pedersen also clocked the fastest single-lap speed by a rookie with his first lap at 233.297 MPH around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  • A record number of 84 qualifying attempts were made by the 34 vying for a qualifying spot at the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500, breaking the single-day record of 73 set in 2019.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-12 QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver

1st Felix Rosenqvist

2nd Alexander Rossi

4th Rinus VeeKay

6th Tony Kanaan

8th Pato O’Ward

9th Santino Ferrucci

11th Benjamin Pedersen

12th Will Power

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES)

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“We’re just trying to make it into the next show tomorrow, and the Fast 12. Unfortunately, I think that’s just what we had today. We really went aggressive, about as aggressive as you can go, and it just wasn’t there. I’m really proud of the team for really giving an effort. You’ve got to do that. You’ve got to try. We were close enough to give it a try, and unfortunately, we were a little short. I think we’ll have a great racecar. I’m really proud to drive the Shell car. Everybody is fueled by Shell in this field with a completely renewable fuel because of Shell, so it’s a big deal in the INDYCAR series, be the first U.S.-based motorsports championship to say that. Proud of Chevy too. I think Chevy has done a great job this weekend. Just bummed we’re not going to be there tomorrow, but we’re going to work towards next weekend.”

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I can’t believe how tight this qualifying session was today. Before our last run we trimmed the Verizon 5G Chevy and changed gears, and ran basically the same speed. It’s an incredibly fierce field. This No. 12 team has done a great job, but it’s a very competitive field. It shows just how tough INDYCAR is, and I think it’s great.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I think we lacked a little bit of downforce. I tried to hold on as flat as long as I could and everyone was pretty solid, you guys you guys would be all over the replays. The Pennzoil Chevy was tight but you got to hold it in Indy 500 qualifying and it was fine. We will go back out and try to get cranking speeds in the car. It’s amazing.”

ON SECOND RUN: “When I was on the first lap, I thought we had something but then every lap, it was just too stuck (too much downforce). We had to go for more speed to make it in the Fast-12, but it was not there. We had four really fast and consistent laps but it wasn’t there.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“Definitely a super strong run and that’ll be enough to get to the top-12. Not saying we’re not going to come back out and see we can make it a little bit better for preparation you know for tomorrow. But that was a really, really solid run–very happy with that. The winds are getting a little gusty here and it started getting a little wiggly there in turn four but I’m very, very happy with that.”

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“Man, it did (surprise me). I have no words. Phenomenal run. Big thanks to Arrow McLaren, Team Chevy. Every time we’re out there, we’re learning something. The first run wasn’t optimal. I wasn’t super happy with it but it was clearly quick enough. We said let’s go out again and learn something for tomorrow and kind of be the same conditions, or hotter. I thought it was good experience, and then like I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was unreal. We trimmed the car out a little bit and tuned up the balance. But I had no idea I was going to be that quick. Definitely puts a smile on my face.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“This is INDYCAR and knowing how this works probably not another run for us. An amazing team effort from Arrow McLaren and Chevy brought some amazing horsepower this month which is which is awesome and the balance every day it’s been getting better and better. This team is unbelievable. So happy with that first one for sure. We’re in the show.”

“An amazing team day. I don’t have enough to say about the whole group. To get four cars in the top 12 – I can’t put into words how challenging that is. It’s really special to be a part of. Tomorrow’s going to be an amazing day, and hopefully one of us can be on pole.”

Tony Kanaan, No. 66 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“I don’t know if it’s a drama. We started the day a little bit more conservative. We just kept digging. I need to thank definitely my teammates for it. They’re all in. They kept supporting me, asking me, You got to do it again, you got to do it again. We finally on the last run nailed it. Great team effort. It was nice. It was unexpected, especially I don’t think I’ve ever done that many qualify attempts in this place. I guess because it’s my last one they kept sending me out, so it paid off.”

Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“Saturday qualifying for the Indy 500 is, I think, the coolest day in motorsports. It can go either way on you. Today was a good day. We wanted to give each of our cars a shot at the pole, and we’ve got that – all four in the top eight and the two quickest of the day. Tomorrow is the day that counts, though. Strong day for the team. Let’s have some fun tomorrow.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“Fast enough. I mean, we’ve got good cars three good cars. Pace, as usual, is just faster than us. So tough to say. But I mean, it’s the most comfortable I’ve been here in a while qualifying. So we got to run again and try to get our way in there. But I’m not sure how much more raw speed there is in the car. Yeah, so we’ll see. What differences can you make? What changes? What are you looking for? For that second round, it will just be small changes. And you know, you got to drive it out of control here to be fast, so we just have to get it more out of control.? It was most comfortable because we just dialed in the balance but the problem is comfortable, too slow. So we got to be able to control and we got to add a little bit of a headdress that was coming out to during that run so hopefully we can tie it all together when we get back in the car.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“To be honest, I’m most happy when it’s over. But I mean, this team gives me gives you a great car where, you know, I was barely making any adjustments. It was all in all very, very detailed work. But that was a great car to drive. I’m very happy and yeah, I mean, look at Chevy, you know, they’ve upped their game, so, yes, really good day. I think we’re hanging in there confidently. today. So, you know, you want to drive the least possible especially me, maybe the team wants to go out but I don’t think so. Anyway, great job by the team great performance and yeah, very proud to drive the car. It’s always nice to have them around and they are as excited as it gets, especially my dad. You know, I’m, I’m afraid his heart’s gonna stop sometime because it’s blood pressures through the roof. But you know he’s the best that I could ask for at the racetrack. And of course, my mom was there to calm him down. But now they’re the great parents. Very solid.”

Ed Carpenter, No. 33 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“I think there was one awkward shift there that did it. So that’s how tight it is right now in the NTT INDYCAR Series. I am disappointed for my team and BITNILE.COM. This isn’t what we are accustomed to, but – got a ton of confidence and what we’ve been doing the whole month-just keep doing those things. The race cars are really good. I felt as strong as I have in a long time. I’m just gonna have to do some more work this week. We have Rinus (VeeKay) in the Fast-12, so we will all focus on helping him advance to the Firestone Fast Six. Then Monday, we all go work on our race cars and the final two practices.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Good run for us. I will work to keep our momentum rolling! Driving for AJ Foyt I think it makes it even more special. It’s a relief to be honest. you know, I’m just happy where we are today. I think it’s a huge testament one day at a time for this team, but I will tell you right now, I think we have a better race car than we do a qualifying car. That will make it more exciting for us. So I think we will go out again around 4:00 PM because I guess that’s what you are supposed do.”

Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“It’s helpful but at the end of the day, you’ve got to get in the race car and go. But man, it was a pretty good car. You know, there’s little things where I could have done that a little bit better. But honestly, it was a really good run and yeah, it’s it’s fast. It was my first but my best ever qualifying here but that’s because it’s my first ever qualifying here. So the presence here is amazing. The vibe everything AJs presents being right over my shoulder with running on track is very special.”

Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“We made the race. First of all, great. But it was looking a bit difficult, especially a week ago, coming here. Not easy, and we’ve been through some wars. We had to change the chassis last night, then a big unknown going into today. Bit of an impossible task, but we pulled it off. Obviously, there’s a bit more to achieve. We’ve got to get the racecar in a good window, but yeah, I’m super happy to be making the race. It’s a lot of hard work that everyone behind the scenes has been working to achieve, and thanks to Juncos, big thanks to Chevy.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“We have finished qualifications on the first day. I am very proud of my team. I am very, very happy to be in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in my life. Now, we’ll focus on the race. We’ll do our best to finish in the best possible position.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 23 Chevrolet at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:

“Qualifying was harder than I thought it would be with the first run. Usually, it’s pretty straight forward. Not sure why we slowed for the second two laps. I didn’t see that coming with the handling. The whole car just took off to the wall in turn three. That wasn’t a clean run for us. We lost the consistency in the balance of the car. That really hurt our average speed. We will wait and see how the other speeds go throughout the day. We found a problem with the first run. So, we fixed it and the second run was much more consistent. We picked up six sports. Maybe we’ll go later in the day if conditions remain the same. We wanted to run four consistent laps and get an overall faster speed for qualifying. It’s a lot of work with a new team and new crew. This team is very good, but everything is new for me. And I am new for them. It takes time to blend everything throughout the month of May.”

Stefan Wilson, No. 24 Chevrolet at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:

“I was very nervous going out later as the track was getting hotter. Sun was beating down on the track. It was a good run, but I made a slight mistake on the third lap. I thought we would have the No. 24 DRR/Cusick Motorsports/CareKeepers Chevrolet higher on the speed charts today. The car felt great and I’m ready to go out for another run soon. It seems so easy to just be turning left for four laps, but there is so much going on in those four laps for a driver. You are always making adjustments during the qualifying run. I’m very proud to be part of Team Chevy this year. This is my third year with a Chevrolet engine. Seems like every year Chevy just gives us more power.”

Dennis Reinbold, Team Owner, Dreyer & Reinbold:

“We know we have good race cars after this week’s practice runs. We were a little disappointed in our first qualifying runs for both drivers. We had some speed fall off in the last two laps for both guys. We know what happened there, so we look to run again with those adjustments. We believe we can be more consistent with all four laps again and improved our four-lap averages.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET, SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, NO. 66 TONY KANAAN, ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET, AND CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET – End of Day Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: We are going to go ahead with our news conference, wrapping up day one of qualifying. Felix Rosenqvist P1 today, as well as Tony Kanaan, Santino Ferrucci, and Josef Newgarden will also join us.

Already joining us here up on the stage is Callum Ilott, qualified 28th. That’s where he’ll start.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by Tony Kanaan, sixth quick after some late drama in qualifying. Also joined by Santino Ferrucci.

Tony, some drama there for you, got kind of emotional as well.

TONY KANAAN: I don’t know if it’s a drama. We started the day a little bit more conservative. We just kept digging. I need to thank definitely my teammates for it. They’re all in. They kept supporting me, asking me, You got to do it again, you got to do it again.

We finally on the last run nailed it. Great team effort. It was nice. It was unexpected, especially I don’t think I’ve ever done that many qualify attempts in this place. I guess because it’s my last one they kept sending me out, so it paid off (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: We’ve never seen this many qualifying attempts before. Today set a record for single day qualifying attempts for the Indy 500.

Also joining us Felix Rosenqvist. Felix, P1 today, which is great. Doesn’t mean anything for tomorrow. But you advance to round two tomorrow.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I think it’s still a pretty big day for us. I mean, we’ve been good here the last couple years. Today to have all the cars in the top eight, in this competition, it’s really hard. We saw with Tony today, even if he’s doing a perfect job, still things that can outside factors that can play in, it can become really difficult in this field.

Super proud of the whole team for executing. That last run we did was just phenomenal. Almost in a 234 average. That was pretty mind-blowing how we found so much speed. We weren’t super happy on our first run, so we had two or three reasons to think we were going to go quicker. We kind of put them all together, wow, what a run.

Team Chevy as well, great job. Yeah, just a fun time to be in Arrow McLaren right now. Everything kind of resets for tomorrow, but we definitely feeling good right now.

THE MODERATOR: Callum Ilott, after the drama yesterday, you’re in the show. How much of a relief is that?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know where to start with that. It’s been a tough week, a tough month actually from the open test. We changed chassis middle of yesterday. I was kind of given an almost impossible task from what some people said. Just tried to keep the confidence high.

The first run wasn’t great. I don’t think my engineers would even look at the video because they were scared to watch it. We just managed to turn the car around into something that was fast, managed to scrape four laps out of it.

THE MODERATOR: Santino Ferrucci joins us, getting into round two, the top 12. How excited is the team and you?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I think it’s a pretty impressive feat for the team. To see the 14 up the front, my teammate right there as well who went earlier in the day, it’s been pretty awesome. To see us up there is pretty sick, man.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. Santino, when we talked to you out there in the bullpen, you were trying to get in on the Fast 12. Now that you’re officially in the Fast 12, to have an A.J. Foyt Racing driver in the Fast 12 at the Indianapolis 500, how big of an honor is that? How much do you feel you want to go the extra distance and get it for A.J.?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, definitely. Like I said, the goal here is to bring home A.J.’s sixth win, sixth 500 victory. I actually feel a lot more comfortable in the race car than I have been in the qualifying car. To be in the Fast 12 and have a shot at pole tomorrow I think is huge.

Our car definitely has some more in it. It’s getting really tight up top there. Inches are going to make the difference. I’m excited to see what we can do tomorrow.

Q. What did A.J. say to you when you got out of the car?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: I think he’s really happy to see that car up on top. I think he’s more thrilled that both cars are equally competitive. I think he believes in what we’re doing. He believes in the program. It’s just one of those things where he’s ready to see what we can do on race day.

Q. T.K., you’re a McLaren guy now, but you’re a former Foyt driver. How big a deal is this?

TONY KANAAN: C’mon, it’s a big deal. The team doesn’t have the budget of all the other big teams. They work really hard. It’s a big family there. They’ve been through some tough times lately with some personal stuff.

I’m glad to see. Really happy to see them there. I’m pretty sure A.J. is laughing pretty hard, but going to give Santino a run tomorrow again so he better be on his toes.

Q. It seemed kind of effortless that Arrow McLaren has been able to put all four in the Fast 12. Can you describe what it’s like being on the inside watching that happen?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I think the team is really maturing. We’re still a fairly new team as the current structure. But you really feel a difference. There’s a lot of young guys. When I joined the team, a lot of young guys on the team now becoming pretty experienced, being up front for many years, still not a championship, but we’re up there lurking all the time now.

You really feel that the confidence is growing in the team, I think both on the engineering side, driving side. Now especially with Tony and Alex joining, it’s just a good environment.

We’re having fun. I feel like we’re able to attack. When we have tough days, we’re pretty good at bouncing back quickly which normally puts us in the mix. To do it four cars as well. I think already on the 7 car this year with Alex, it’s really impressive with what they’ve done because it’s pretty much a completely new group. Then you have Tony’s car on top of that. I think a couple of months ago we were like, what people are we going to use for running these cars? Here we are in the top eight, all of us. It’s really remarkable.

As I say, it feels not effortless, but it feels like we’re vibing, it’s a fun group.

TONY KANAAN: Yeah, I mean, it’s a tough job. I mean, I was in the shop in January, and we didn’t have probably between the 7 car and my car half of the people yet. I walked in, Where is everybody?

They said, This is everybody.

I’m like, Whoa.

It’s a big challenge. It gives a lot to Gavin making a best out of people, Barnhart, all the group there. It’s a really good environment. They give you the freedom. Gavin is really good picking up who is good at what. Doesn’t mean if you’re not good at one thing he will place you somewhere else. I think it has shown how strong this team is.

I think between the driver lineup, it’s the same thing, we have an awesome combination. We have two young kids, they’re fired up. Alex is there with his experience, then I come. It’s a really good environment. They’ve been doing it.

It’s not a surprise. Look how strong they start the season. It’s a work in progress. It’s not easy, especially adding a fourth car. It’s remarkable. I think it’s something. Props to everybody there.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden.

You went for it there at the end, trying to get something to happen for you.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, no doubt. I couldn’t be more proud of my team. This is what Indy is all about. We had to go for it and try. Unfortunately we just weren’t good enough. I really wish we had just a little bit more. We were really, really going for it.

I felt like we were as aggressive as we could reasonably be at the end there. We definitely gave it a good attempt. It just was still not quite strong enough.

Unfortunately we got to work towards the race now. Feel really confident that we can put together a good day next Sunday. Just sad that we’re not going to be in the fight tomorrow. But we are where we are.

We’ll be working towards hopefully a great race day with Shell and Chevy. Team Chevy did a phenomenal job today. I don’t think we were lacking anything there. Really proud for the whole group.

Q. Callum, after the first run you said as long as you could get some clean laps. 231, that’s where you ended up. Did you pretty much have the second run just fairly smooth?

CALLUM ILOTT: First two laps were good. I think I put two 232 twice, then dropped off big-time, just super loose.

We kind of undershot it the first time with the car, then overshot it the second time aero-wise. Made it quite difficult. I got it across the line, so…

Q. For the Chevy drivers, it definitely has a Chevy heavy day today. Marco Andretti, one of the first things he said was that Chevy was holding something in their pocket all week. Do you feel you are the advantaged engine right now?

TONY KANAAN: Yes, the grass is always greener on the other side.

I think it’s pretty tight. I’m talking about it because I’ve driven a Honda a year ago, then I switched. I really think both manufacturers have advantages and disadvantages in some areas.

I really think it’s pretty tight. It’s not like we are holding things up. We did not. Maybe we did a better job at ballast. If we look at how tight this field is, how many attempts of qualifying, how close we were.

One thing I would love people to realize, if you would convert that to lap time, you will see how close it really is. I don’t see it. But I’m not good at math so…

Q. Santino, you told us the other day you didn’t like qualifying. Have you changed your tune on that? Felix, how do you celebrate this?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: I’m still never a fan of qualifying. I’m a racer through and through. Getting these four laps out of the way was amazing for us and the team to be as fast as we are. It’s incredible, a major feat. To have to go out and do it again tomorrow against once again the same super competitive top 12, obviously it’s something that I’m looking forward to as a team because it’s something new for everybody.

Personally as a driver, yeah, it’s definitely something I’m happy to check off the list, happy I don’t have to pass as many cars come Sunday. But, yeah, I’m more looking forward to the race than anything else.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, I think in this field when you get a run like that, it’s always special. We’re fully aware that this doesn’t get any points. It gives some good memories, though. I think it was a phenomenal day for us as a team. I think we have the right to celebrate for a couple of hours, then kind of resetting tomorrow.

Tomorrow, the wind might be different, the humidity, the track, the engine. Everything changes. I think that’s the beauty of it. Also everything that goes into every time you’re out there, I only did two attempts today, but some poor guys, like this fella, had to go out like five, six.

CALLUM ILOTT: I only did two (laughter).

FELIX ROSENQVIST: It sucks if you have to do that.

TONY KANAAN: I think my engineer was trying to make me match every single qualify I’ve done in this place in one day. We’re doing 26 today (smiling)?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: All the commitment it takes, when you get a run like that, you’re pretty happy with it. We wake up tomorrow, it’s a new day.

Q. Josef, where do you feel like you sit after the end of today? As a team, how do you feel it’s gone today? How can you reflect on that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, perhaps as the rumors have stated we’re just holding something in our back pocket. It’s a very interesting strategy I guess, but…

Look, there’s no place to hide. We’re just not fast enough. We really weren’t. It’s unfortunate. I feel terrible for our team because I’m front and center of being able to witness the amount of effort that has gone into this place. It is just not from a shortage of effort.

We’re obviously just missing something else. I don’t know how we’re missing it. We’ve worked hard, all of us collectively. We’ve tried to have no ego about it. It’s just not enough.

I think we’re still short. Unfortunately the weird thing was I think we were more in the mix yesterday. I think the wind plays a big factor into that. Maybe we’re missing something in these type of conditions that we saw today.

Any way you want to slice it, we just weren’t good enough. We’ve got to go back and really assess again. Unfortunately we’ve been doing that every single year here. What’s most important now is we’re going to focus on the race. I do believe with how tight the field is, as Tony talked about, there’s opportunity anywhere. If you qualify for the race, there’s opportunity anywhere to win this event. We have to put our focus to that now and be able to collect ourselves after the 500 and see what we can do better. I have strong confidence we have great race cars and can be in the fight on Sunday.

Q. Santino, four Ganassis and four McLarens in the top 12 in qualifying. You’re making it up with them. Does that give you any sort of boost or enjoyment that you’re up there with those guys?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: It’s pretty funny. You sit there going against two four-car teams that have an insane budget, up front like this for a long time. McLaren is new, but you guys have been doing a fantastic job. To compete with them is definitely something special.

I think we’ve definitely been there more on the racing side of things, at least I have in the past few years. To see us up there on raw car speed is pretty cool.

Q. Callum, the last 24 hours has been a whirlwind. What can you share that you’ve talked to your crew about in the run you had today?

CALLUM ILOTT: Sorry, the last part of your question?

Q. What did you say to your crew and everyone that put your car back together?

CALLUM ILOTT: To be honest, I obviously was there when they were rebuilding it. This morning it was a big thank you. Then it was hard work, trying to stay in it because it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t a nice car to drive at first. But we managed to make it drivable and fast. Then at the end there when we knew we made it through, that was another big thing. I’ll buy them dinners at some point soon, but I’m going to have a quiet one on my own and destress a bit.

Q. How important is the Monday practice going to be to get your car ready for the race?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, I mean, today included, we just found so many little quirks with this car that we obviously didn’t experience with the other chassis that we had or we never got to experience because of how bad it was.

That’s going to be interesting to fine-tune as we come to the race with different speeds and that. But again, even though it wasn’t perfect this morning, I was so much more comfortable with it than what I had. Honestly I think we know where to target now, now that I’ve got something.

Credit to Agustin because he’s kind of had to do what I did the whole of last year, which is go on your own and go for it. He led us into our starting point this morning. Yeah, it wasn’t perfect, but we didn’t stray too far away from it and that was more because of the quirks of our car.

Hopefully now we can build as a team, and Monday and Friday get a quicker race car.

Q. Felix, talk about the last run a little bit, how hairy was it.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, it was one of those runs where you have kind of like a perfect balance. You feel the rear sliding, but you’re not reacting that much on the wheel. You’re just putting in less wheel. You get a perfect arc, which is great. You’re not shaving off speed on any axle really. I was kind of able to keep that balance for the whole run. Got a little bit spicy on the last lap.

The speed was just there. Actually when I looked down at my dash the first time on lap three, I saw a 33.7, I actually thought it was stuck from lap one. I didn’t even know I had done a 234 at the time. My steering wheel was like a Christmas light for most of the run, which normally means you’re going quick.

Yeah, that’s just awesome. It’s fun. I wish I broke into the 234, but we can try that tomorrow.

Q. A lot of athletes when they’re getting ready to end their career, they want to still have something on the table rather than the sport necessarily. Pretty obvious you still have a lot left on the table.

TONY KANAAN: Yeah, I mean, I guess, but I never doubted I could still drive. To come back next year, the following year. But I think it’s time. I have other goals, other projects that I want to pursue.

Every year, let’s face it, it gets tougher and tougher. I had a really good year last year, then I got this opportunity. Once I did that, I was like, Hmm, maybe let me call it before somebody else decides that.

I’m not leaving or quitting INDYCAR racing because I don’t think I’m competitive or anything like that. I just think it’s time. I love being with the team. I’m enjoying other parts of somehow a new role. I still get to race all the type of cars.

Yeah, I mean, I’m okay with the decision. I am not coming back, so people keep making fun of me.

TONY KANAAN: Yeah, somebody can come with an offer. That’s what happened last year.

Q. Josef, you mentioned you have tried the last few years to get back in. McLaren second straight year has all their cars in. Do you feel as the Chevrolet camp, have they passed Penske?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think there’s no doubt that they’ve done a tremendous job. They’ve just excelled. We fell short today. There’s no hiding it. We did not do a good enough job. I can’t speak highly enough about Chevrolet. I think they’ve been tremendous this whole season, particularly tremendous today.

You can see that by evidence of everybody that was up there. We weren’t missing anything from that side. They’ve been a great partner for us.

We seem to be able to figure out most situations, but for whatever reason this cruel mistress, she’s just tricking us. I don’t understand how so. I think all of us don’t fully understand it.

You don’t stop working. I think for us, we’ve just got to continue to put in the work and not have an ego about it. We weren’t good enough, let’s figure out why. Indy is not easy. This is not an easy place to just succeed. I don’t care how many Indy 500s you have, what team you are, there are no guarantees when you show up here.

We don’t have an ego about it. We have to work hard, come back, do a better job.

Q. Tomorrow as close as it is, how do you balance making even a subtle change between now and tomorrow?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: I’m having a good dinner, go to bed (laughter). Driving the same car tomorrow. Nothing I’m changing.

Q. Callum, given the courses of the last 24 hours, to know now you’re going to race tomorrow, does that make this entire experience a little bit more special for you knowing it was not a guarantee 24 hours ago?

CALLUM ILOTT: Last year was the first experience for me at the 500. There was no Bump Day. It was quite an easy process. Made life a lot more relaxing. You still want to do better. Made it easier.

48 hours ago, I even put bets that I wasn’t going to make the race basically because you just knew it wasn’t going well. At that point then it becomes a pit of a panic, desperation. For sure for me, I was probably the first to be quite desperate as soon as I drove the car on Wednesday. But we had time to work with it.

Coming into today, I was really confident. Honestly I just knew if we just got a clear couple of runs, the car had pace.

So yeah, super special. In some ways it’s kind of one of those never-give-up situations, prove people wrong on that side. At the end of the day kind of feels like a win even though you’re 27th or something. That’s life sometimes.

Q. Santino, A.J. Foyt Racing looks good. You and Ben are in the Fast 12. He’s a rookie, you’re done this many times. How is that dynamic?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: It’s actually been a pretty interesting couple of days this week between the two of us. We both rolled out really good. He was a lot happier in the open test than I was. I wasn’t comfortable. Things weren’t going well. Came here, it was a complete reset. Rolled off the trailer, car was super comfortable.

We made two, three changes this entire week. We’ve just been there. The car has had pace all three days. Benjamin has actually had pace all three days. He’s trying to get his footing in traffic, which is understandable as a rookie. Today was no exception.

He rolled out first and I was actually relying on his comments, feedback. Everything felt good for him. He was actually a little stuck. I went out with exactly the same car, conditions obviously changed slightly, the air got a little bit thinner. I was able to go quicker.

If you put the cars back to back, they’d run the same time.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.

Kyle Larson Serves Up A Tyson 250 Masterpiece

By
Official Release
-
Kyle Larson poses in victory lane after winning Saturday's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (NWS/HHP photo)

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 20, 2023) – One day before Kyle Larson goes for his third NASCAR All-Star Race victory, Larson hopped in Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet truck, flew to the front and avoided ruffling any feathers on his way to a convincing Tyson 250 win at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Larson – subbing for the injured Alex Bowman – qualified eighth and led a race-high 138 laps. He steadily moved up the field and, after winning Stage 2, set his sights on victory in the closing stages.

Larson pitted for new tires after a late-race caution and wasted little time in catching and passing Bubba Wallace for the lead to score his third career NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series triumph. Wallace put up a valiant effort on worn tires, but Larson remained patient and, once his Chevrolet’s nose moved beside Wallace’s Toyota on Lap 238, took the inside line and the lead for good.

A caution with six laps to go bunched up the field and gave those chasing Larson one last shot, but Larson quickly removed any doubt as to who would win North Wilkesboro’s first NASCAR national-series race in nearly 27 years.

Ty Majeski finished second with Matt DiBenedetto third, Carson Hocevar fourth and Wallace fifth. Pole winner and Stage 1 winner Corey Heim was sixth, followed by Matt Crafton, Chase Purdy, Ross Chastain and Grant Enfinger.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 7 SPIRE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET (WINNING DRIVER): “It was a lot of fun racing. It was a longer race than normal for the Truck Series, and we got to run a lot of green flag laps. There were some varying strategies there at the end, but we had a really great truck, and I was able to pick my way to the front. … I was just focusing on getting a good launch on that green-white-checkered and we got to the white, and then to the checkered. … It’s extremely special (to win here). I didn’t think I’d ever even set foot in this facility. … That’s probably the coolest victory lane I’ve ever been in. To say where (winning this race) ranks, I don’t know, but it’s definitely up there, for sure.”

TY MAJESKI, NO. 98 THORSPORT RACING FORD (RUNNER-UP): “I feel like we sort of missed it today as a team with all the ThorSport guys. We didn’t have a great run, but we got a decent finish out of it.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, NO. 25 RACKLEY W.A.R. CHEVROLET (THIRD-PLACE FINISHER): “I said we could run top-three today, and we finished top-three. Really proud of this Rackley Roofing team. Our guys busted their butts, and it paid off today.”

TUNE-IN:
Fans can catch Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, or listen live on MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

MORE INFO:
Fans can connect with North Wilkesboro Speedway and get the latest news regarding NASCAR All-Star week and North Wilkesboro Speedway by following on Twitter and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan.

Larson dominates for third Truck career victory at North Wilkesboro

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.

In his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start in two years, Kyle Larson made the most of the opportunity by scoring a dominant victory in the third-ever running of the Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on Saturday, May 20.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led two times for a race-high 138 of 252 over-scheduled laps, including the final 15, and prevailed in an overtime shootout amid a series of late carnages to win in the series return to North Wilkesboro while piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Corey Heim won his second consecutive pole position in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap at 112.096 mph in 20.072 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 111.629 mph in 20.156 seconds and was the fastest during Friday’s lone practice session.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Heim launched ahead with the lead on the outside lane before he quickly transitioned to the inside lane entering Turn 1. With the field behind running two lanes deep, Heim was able to cycle back to the frontstretch and lead the first lap ahead of Hocevar as William Byron, Ty Majeski and Bret Holmes were scored in the top five.

During the second lap, Heim retained the lead over Hocevar and Byron while Kyle Larson, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, had fallen back to 12th as he was struggling for grip on the outside lane. Shortly after, Colby Howard, who started in the top five and was running sixth in the early stages, lost spots to Grant Enfinger and Christopher Bell before settling in front of Kaden Honeycutt in eighth place. Amid the early battles through the first five laps, Heim continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Byron trailed by more than a second.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Heim was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Byron, Majeski and Bret Holmes while Grant Enfinger, Bell, Howard, Kaden Honeycutt and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. Behind, Matt DiBenedetto was in 11th ahead of Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Hailie Deegan and Tyler Ankrum while Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Bubba Wallace, rookie Jake Garcia and rookie Rajah Caruth occupied the top 20, with rookie Nick Sanchez running in 21st. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, who did not post a qualifying lap due to his truck failing pre-race inspection three times, was up in 24th.

On Lap 23, the first caution of the event flew when Timmy Hill turned across the front nose of Johnny Sauter, which sent Hill spinning into Turn 4 as he was dodged by oncoming traffic. By then, Heim, who started to approach lapped traffic, among which included Stewart Friesen, had retained the lead by half a second over Hocevar as Majeski moved up to third. Byron fell back to fourth in front of Bell, who carved his No. 61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the top five over Holmes while Enfinger, Howard, DiBenedetto and Larson were in the top 10.

During the first caution period, names that included Byron, Bell, Colby Howard, Christian Eckes, Tyler Ankrum, Jake Garcia, Lawless Alan, Sauter, Chase Purdy, rookie Daniel Dye, Chris Hacker and Friesen pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Sauter was penalized for speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted on Lap 31, Heim retained the lead followed by Hocevar while Enfinger battled Majeski and DiBenedetto for third place. Majeski and DiBenedetto would overtake Enfinger as the Alabama native fell back to fifth while stuck on the outside lane before settling in front of Holmes and Larson as the field fanned out, bumped and jostled for positions.

Then on Lap 43, Hocevar seized an opportunity entering Turn 2 as he overtook Heim and assumed the lead for the first time. Hocevar then started to extend his advantage to more than a second over Heim while Larson worked his way up to third as he trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Majeski and DiBenedetto were in the top five while Bell and Byron, both of whom pitted during the first caution period for fresh tires, moved up to sixth and seventh.

At the Lap 50 mark, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim followed by Larson, Majeski and Byron while Bell, Eckes, DiBenedetto, Chastain and Honeycutt were running in the top 10. A few laps later, however, Byron and Bell moved up to third and fourth on fresh tires with Larson moving up to second while Heim fell back to fifth.

During the event’s caution period on Lap 57, where Hailie Deegan spun in Turn 1 amid contact with Johnny Sauter, Hocevar surrendered the lead to pit as he led a bevy of competitors to pit road while the rest led by Byron and Friesen remained on the track.

With seven laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead over Howard and Friesen as the field fanned out again for on-track positions. A lap later, however, the caution quickly returned when Timmy Hill, who was running towards the rear of the field, got loose entering Turn 1 and clipped Deegan before spinning and coming to a stop sideways between Turns 1 and 2 with damage to his truck. During the caution period, a few drivers, including Jake Garcia, Honeycutt and Hill pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

When the race restarted with a single lap remaining in the first stage, Heim, who restarted alongside Byron on the outside lane on the front row, capitalized on fresh tires to overtake Byron’s No. 51 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST through Turns 2 and 3. The momentum was enough for Heim to cycle his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro back to Turn 4 and capture the first stage victory and his third of the 2023 season on Lap 70. Byron settled in second followed by Bell, Howard and Hocevar while Friesen, Zane Smith, Larson, Chase Purdy and Ankrum were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, names that included Byron, Howard, Friesen, Purdy, Chris Hacker, Sauter, Kris Wright and Holmes pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 80 as Heim and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Heim rocketed with the race leader on the inside lane while Hocevar battled Bell for second in front of Larson, Zane Smith and DiBenedetto. With the field battling amid two tight-packed lanes during the proceeding laps, a three-wide action and contact occurred between Chris Hacker, Connor Jones and Kris Wright, with all three battling for spots in the top 30. Amid the tight racing, Heim retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar.

By Lap 90, Heim was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Bell trailed by a second. Larson and Zane Smith occupied the top five ahead of DiBenedetto and Majeski while Ross Chastain, Ankrum and Ben Rhodes were in the top 10. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Nick Sanchez, Eckes and Byron.

At the Lap 100 mark, Heim continued to lead by more than a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Larson, who overtook Bell and Hocevar less than 10 laps earlier, while Zane Smith retained fifth. Meanwhile, Byron was mired in 12th behind Wallace, Eckes was in 15th ahead of Matt Crafton and Friesen was back in 18th.

A lap later, however, Larson battled and overtook Heim to assume the lead for the first time as the leaders approached lapped traffic. Hocevar would overtake Heim for second a few laps later while Bell trailed in fourth place by more than a second.

At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Larson extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Hocevar while third-place Zane Smith trailed by four seconds. Heim and DiBenedetto were in the top five followed by Heim, Wallace, Chastain, Enfinger and Byron while Majeski, Bell, Crafton, Friesen, Rhodes, Purdy, rookie Taylor Gray, Honeycutt, Howard and Garcia occupied the top 20.

Eight laps later, the caution flew when Dean Thompson, who got bumped by Rajah Caruth entering Turn 1, spun in Turn 2 amid contact with Josh Williams. During the caution period, the field led by Larson peeled off the track to pit for fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Larson exited first followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar, DiBenedetto, Heim and Chastain.

When the race restarted with a single lap remaining in the second stage, Larson peeked ahead with the lead alongside Hocevar and amid two tight-packed lanes through Turns 1 and 2. Despite being locked alongside Hocevar through Turn 2, Larson was able to muscle ahead and clear the field through Turns 3 and 4 as he claimed the second stage victory scheduled for Lap 140. Hocevar settled in second followed by Zane Smith, Heim and Byron while DiBenedetto, Enfinger, Chastain, Wallace and Ankrum were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a few names that included Majeski and Holmes pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

With 99 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson muscled ahead with the lead ahead of Zane Smith and Hocevar. As Larson retained a steady advantage over Hocevar, Heim moved back up to third while Zane Smith fell back to fourth while battling Enfinger and Byron. As the on-track battles ensued, the caution returned with 95 laps remaining when Josh Williams, who was battling Kris Wright, Spencer Boyd, Connor Jones and Tanner Gray, was bumped by both Wright and Jones as Williams was turned off the front nose of Gray through the backstretch. Williams then clipped the barriers towards the pit road entrance before spinning across the track towards the inside wall.

With the race restarting with 88 laps remaining, Larson muscled ahead with the lead over the field as Hocevar made his way around Grant Enfinger for second.

With 75 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over Hocevar and more than three seconds over third-place Heim while Zane Smith and Bell were in the top five. Enfinger was back in sixth ahead of Byron, DiBenedetto, Wallace and Crafton while Ankrum, Friesen, Taylor Gray, Chastain and Purdy were mired in the top 15.

Then with 67 laps remaining, the caution flew when Deegan bumped and sent Dean Thompson for a spin in Turn 1 as Thompson backed his No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the outside wall and sustained significant rear-end damage. In the ensuing chaos, Deegan slapped the outside wall while trying to regain her momentum while Kris Wright hit both the wall and Thompson’s damaged truck while trying to lock up his front tires. During the caution period, the field led by Larson pitted and Larson retained the lead after exiting first followed by Heim, Hocevar, Byron, Zane Smith and Enfinger. During the pit stops, Zane Smith was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

With the race restarting with 59 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead on the inside lane as Heim made his way to second over Hocevar. Two laps later, the caution returned when Eckes bumped and sent Ben Rhodes for a spin in Turn 1, though Rhodes managed to keep his No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 off the outside wall.

During the proceeding restart with 51 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead ahead of Heim while Byron was locked in a battle with Hocevar and DiBenedetto for third. The caution, however, returned a lap later when Ankrum, who was locked in a tight three-wide battle against Eckes and Purdy within the top 15, got shoved and squeezed into the outside wall through Turn 2 as he slapped the wall. Ankrum’s incident ignited a chain reaction as Rajah Caruth ran into him along with Rhodes and Zane Smith, with all four competitors wrecking while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. During the caution period, Chastain and Deegan pitted while the rest of the field led by Larson remained on the track.

With the race restarting with 35 laps remaining, Larson rocketed with the lead followed by Heim while Hocevar battled and overtook DiBenedetto for third. As the laps proceeded and with late battles ensuing around the circuit, Byron made his way up to fourth over DiBenedetto while Larson extended his advantage to a second over Heim.

With 28 laps remaining, the caution returned when Connor Jones came to a stop on the track, a move that resulted in NASCAR holding Jones for two laps in the pits as a penalty. During the caution period, Wallace, Chastain and Deegan remained on the track while the rest led by Larson pitted. Amid the caution period, Colby Howard was penalized for speeding on pit road.

During the following restart with 23 laps remaining, Wallace retained the lead while Majeski, the first competitor with fresh tires, carved his way up to second as the field fanned out and jostled for late positions. Wallace would continue to lead on old tires over Majeski as the event reached its final 20-lap mark.

Then with 15 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Larson, who carved his way back up to second, intimidated Wallace for the top spot. After bumping and remaining in a tight side-by-side match against Wallace during the proceeding laps, Larson managed to reassume the lead for good with 12 laps remaining as Majeski challenged Wallace for second.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson was leading by a second over Majeski as Wallace trailed by more than a second. Four laps later, the caution flew when Eckes spun in Turn 3 after making contact with Chase Purdy. Eckes’ spin was enough to send the event into overtime.

When the field restarted for the first overtime attempt, Larson rocketed with the lead on the inside lane while Wallace spun the tires on outside lane, which jumbled the field and allowed Majeski to move to second followed by DiBenedetto. As the field fanned out through the first two turns, Larson started to pull away from Majeski and his rivals.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by more than six-tenths of a second over Majeski. With the clean air to his advantage, Larson was able to cruise away from the field and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and win by nine-tenths of a second over Majeski.

With the victory, Larson notched his third career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series and his first since winning at Eldora Speedway in July 2016. He joined Mike Bliss and Mark Martin as the only competitors to win a Truck event at North Wilkesboro Speedway and he recorded the second Truck career victory for Spire Motorsports.

The victory occurred nine days after Larson was announced to drive the No. 7 entry for Spire Motorsports in place of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, who remains injured with a fractured vertebra stemming from a sprint car accident in late April.

“[That was] A really fun track there, especially in the truck,” Larson said on FOX. “You can use the apron and such, and both ends there. [I] Had a good time. That was a lot of fun on the long runs there, lapping trucks. Huge thank you to [crew chief Kevin] Bono [Manion], everybody on this team.

I wasn’t supposed to run [this event]. Unfortunately, Alex [Bowman] got hurt and allowed me the opportunity to run this. Thanks to everybody at Spire Motorsports for allowing me to race their truck, HendrickCars.com, [Cup owner] Rick Hendrick for also letting me run.”

Majeski finished in second place for the second time this season followed by Matt DiBenedetto while Hocevar and Bubba Wallace finished in the top five. Heim, the pole-sitter, ended up in sixth place while Crafton, Chase Purdy, Ross Chastain and Enfinger finished in the top 10.

There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 85 laps. In total, 25 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 10th event of the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by seven points over Ty Majeski, 16 over Zane Smith, 41 over Grant Enfinger and 60 over Christian Eckes.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, 138 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Ty Majeski

3. Matt DiBenedetto

4. Carson Hocevar, 16 laps led

5. Bubba Wallace, 13 laps led

6. Corey Heim, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner

7. Matt Crafton

8. Chase Purdy

9. Ross Chastain

10. Grant Enfinger

11. William Byron, 10 laps led

12. Chris Hacker

13. Stewart Friesen

14. Daniel Dye

15. Bret Holmes

16. Christopher Bell

17. Kaden Honeycutt

18. Tanner Gray

19. Lawless Alan

20. Hailie Deegan

21. Taylor Gray

22. Kris Wright

23. Jake Garcia

24. Colby Howard

25. Christian Eckes

26. Tyler Ankrum, two laps down

27.  Spencer Boyd, two laps down

28. Josh Williams – OUT, Water pump

29. Connor Jones – OUT, Electrical

30. Nick Sanchez, 39 laps down

31. Timmy Hill, 41 laps down

32. Zane Smith – OUT, Accident,

33. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident

34. Rajah Caruth – OUT, Accident

35. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

36.  Johnny Sauter – OUT, Electrical

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is another North Carolina event as the series will travel southeast from North Wilkesboro to Concord to compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCTS N. Wilkesboro Post-Race Quotes

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Tyson 250 | Saturday, May 20, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:
2nd – Ty Majeski
7th – Matt Crafton
20th – Hailie Deegan
28th – Josh Williams
29th – Conner Jones
32nd – Zane Smith
33rd – Ben Rhodes
36th – Johnny Sauter

TY MAJESKI, No. 98 Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford F-150 – “Larson was just better. I wasn’t gonna drive into one and move him. We were lucky just to be in that spot. We just really missed it today. We got off sequence a little bit and then Joe took two tires at the end and got us some track position and we were able to hold them off.”

WHAT ABOUT THE TRACK TODAY? HOW WAS IT? “It’s slick. There’s a lot of fall off. Obviously, the setup was important and we just missed it today, but, overall, a good ending to a sub par day for us. We’ll go into Charlotte with our Soda Sense Ford F-150 and try and build on this momentum.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Denali Aire/Menards Ford F-150 – “As far as we were off yesterday we swung the bat and went too far. We got it really, really tight at the start of the race and just kept working and taking some of it back out of it. Yesterday, we were just so loose on entry and then finally kept getting it better yesterday, but we got the center way too tight today. All in all, not a terrible day. We just needed a long run right there at the end. That thing was really, really good on that long run, but I knew all the kids would start running over each other and just wrecking each other. They just don’t use their brains. They’ve never had to work on anything. They have no respect for anything and they just drive through everything. Like the kid in the 42. He never tried to pass me. He just drove in the back of me five laps in a row down in one and two. He’s a great little race car driver, but he can just be an idiot sometimes. One day I’ll return the favor. I’m like an old elephant that has a hell of a memory.”

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 – “It started when I sped on pit road. Those guys are just so sketchy back there and by the time I got told to check up that someone was in the fence I was in it. It’s just unfortunate, but that’s kind of a product of what happens when you get back there.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE TRACK? “It’s super wore out. I thought it was kind of fun. It’s the old tire-saving game. I haven’t done that in a while, so just a really good truck we had. It’s a bummer we weren’t able to make it to the end.”

WHAT DO YOU TAKE AWAY FROM TODAY? “I guess just live and learn. There’s nobody to be mad but myself, really. I didn’t think I was speeding. I was put in a weird situation when that lapped car came down in front of us and you’re just trying to maximize lights as I was watching him pull away from me and obviously just maximized a little bit too much in a certain area. I don’t know exactly where I was speeding yet, but we had a real fast Boot Barn Ford. It’s just a product of what happens when you get in the back. There’s no one to be mad at buy myself.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 – “It seems like we’re having a bad stretch of luck here. It’s been pretty rotten the last three races for sure, even further back than that. I don’t know what we’ve got to do to change it, but obviously running up front helps. Today, circumstances of running in the back led to that. We’ve got to have a little bit more speed on these short tracks and that will certainly make our luck a little bit better.”

WHAT HAPPENED? “I got dumped by the 19 and then when I came back out we had new tires on. I was just kind of running the high side and there wasn’t much I could really do. I saw the 16 run straight into the wall and from my perspective you get on the brakes and try to go low, but that spot is filled too and there was nowhere to go.”

1...1,4641,4651,466...6,651Page 1,465 of 6,651