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Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Frontline Enterprises Ford Mustang Team Martinsville Competition Notes

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Official Release
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TEAM AND RACE NOTES:

Todd Gilliland heads to the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this weekend with Frontline Enterprises riding along his Ford Mustang. This will be the first race of the season that Frontline Enterprises will be riding with Gilliland and the No. 38 Ford.

Gilliland heads to Martinsville after extending his streak of top-15 finishes to four this past weekend at the Bristol (Tn.) Motor Speedway with an 8th place finish.

Frontline Enterprises has been a longtime partner of Gilliland, going back to his Truck Series days where they were the primary partner for his win at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway.

The NOCO 400 will take place Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

COMPETITION NOTES:

After adding another top-15 finish to his season stat line this past weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race, Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Frontline Enterprises team head to the Martinsville Speedway as strong contenders for Sunday’s race. Gilliland is no stranger to the beating and banging of the 0.526 mile long track, he captured his first win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series there just four years ago.

CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

“We’re in a great spot as a team right now. Everyone has been working day and night getting our cars ready and its been paying off. The momentum we have built is growing stronger and stronger each week and we have a great car this weekend that will keep that momentum going.”

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

YOU’VE HAD TWO TOP-10 FINISHES IN THE LAST THREE RACES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOME MOMENTUM GOING INTO MARTINSVILLE? “I think the last four weeks in general have been a big confidence booster. I was kind of joking with my crew chief about how fast my expectations have changed. Like I was actually kind of disappointed after Bristol, because I felt like we were few changes away from contending in the top-five… kind of top-three area. Definitely, overall, really confident – especially going into Martinsville, which is one of my favorite race tracks. I see no reason why we can’t keep this momentum rolling.”

YOU HAVE THE MARTINSVILLE CLOCK STRATEGICALLY PLACED BEHIND YOU. THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC TROPHIES IN THE SPORT. HOW DID THAT VICTORY FEEL, ALSO KNOWING THAT WAS GOING TO BE YOUR PRIZE? “It is… I actually didn’t do it on purpose. It’s right here in the living room. It’s a perfect place in my opinion. To me, especially, I think Martinsville has such a special place in my heart. I think I ran my first late model race there when I was 15 years-old. Growing up in late model stocks, to me, that was like the biggest race. Going to Martinsville then, I was really close. A second year I went there in late models, and then we always ran well there in the Trucks. So to finally be able to win one was so special. To me, it’s probably one of the coolest trophies out there – top-five coolest in the Cup series I’d say.”

AFTER YOUR FINISH ON BRISTOL DIRT, WHERE DO YOU STAND ON DIRT RACING IN THE SPORT? “I might be the unpopular opinion, but I’ve always loved it. I just feel like it’s so much fun. It’s definitely really tough… to see guys just spin-out on their own… I half spun-out on my own there in Stage 1… it’s very challenging. At some point, it’s maybe not the best look. But when you see the clips of the guys running three-wide for the lead during big slide-jobs, it’s just so much different than what we normally do. To me, it’s a really cool and fun departure from the norm. These cars aren’t probably made for dirt, but to me, they’ve been always so much fun to drive on dirt.”

HOW MUCH IMPROVEMENT HAVE YOU SEEN AT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS FROM LAST YEAR? “Especially on my team, I think it has been really cool to see Ryan Bergenty take charge of our team – set expectations high, set the standard high for our team and guys. It’s been really cool to watch from the beginning of the season which didn’t go so well, seeing guys like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work’ or whatever to the last four weeks, which have been really, really good for my team. It’s been a lot of the same guys that have beaten down for years, and this Cup series is really tough. It can still happen just as easily this weekend. Just going to enjoy the good times, and it shows that the hard work is paying off.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN YOU AND CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY? “Anytime you get a new crew chief, it definitely takes a little bit of getting used to. He’s a really intense guy, from the Northeast. I always joke with him. He’s really intense, and comes from a modified background. It’s funny, I give him a hard time about that. But overall, it’s really hard to fake trusting and having confidence in each other. To me, I’m very thankful that we’ve had this stretch of races where I feel very confident in him. Hopefully, he feels the same with me. That’s really, really hard to get at the beginning of any relationship, just because you’re not on the same page to begin with and then things just maybe go separate ways. But, I feel very confident right now going to the racetrack with him and the team we have.”

HAS BEING YOUNG IN THE SERIES ADDED ANY STRESS? “I mean there was definitely some pressure when we were trying to find fill-in races. But, I don’t know. I was just thinking about that this morning, and I don’t really feel like I’ve prepared any differently or raced any differently at all. Our cars have been faster, and our communication has been better along the way. I think that’s racing in general – sometimes you can prepare as much as you can, but you’ll still run back, and other times you’ll feel a little bit underprepared but still go out and run fast. I’m just thankful for fast cars.”

BOTH YOUR TOP-10 FINISHES CAME FROM A WIDE-VARIETY OF TRACK CONFIGURATIONS – ONE AT A ROAD COURSE AND THE OTHER ON A DIRT SHORT TRACK. HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE TRACK DIVERSITY ON THE SCHEDULE SO FAR? “I think, for me, this is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of the schedule – for sure. It seems like the West Coast is sort of where you get your bearings of where the best teams are going to be, and from there, it’s really fun to go to Atlanta, COTA, to a short-track in Richmond – which I really love short tracks, because I grew up racing those. Love the road courses, and then the dirt race… for Front Row Motorsports, that’s where we kind of feel like we can go and compete well. We need to perform well at those races, because there are going to be other places where maybe we aren’t our best. I think it’s really good, but saying it and going out and doing it are two different things. It’s been really nice to see us be able to execute that. To me, I just love doing something different every week. If we ran mile-and-a-halfs every week, I’d be pretty bored out there.”

YOU SAID YOUR CARS ARE FASTER. CAN YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ANYTHING FROM LAST YEAR, OR IS IT A COMBINATION OF JUST EXECUTING BETTER AND LESSONS LEARNED? “I don’t think there’s really one thing you can point it to. I think that’s racing in general, just all the small details of it. I think I’m definitely in a better place than I was at this point last year – just having a year under my belt of knowing what to expect, kind of managing the race better from start-to-finish. These short practices, I kind of know more of what I need, and I think the team does too. With a whole year of experience with the NextGen car, we can get to a better place. I think we’ve definitely been unloading faster, or just in a better place with a year of notes. I don’t think it’s one thing in particular. My crew chief is very detail oriented. He was the car chief on the No. 34 last year. All that stuff has been really good, to point us in a better direction.”

DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOU’VE ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS FROM LAST YEAR? “I think it does to me. I think you can pick-out this part of the schedule where we might be stronger than, say, another section. But I am still really proud that we’re able to go out there and do well. The road courses last year are where we were our best. So to get a good finish there [COTA]… I think over the duration of about a month now, we’ve been running way better than we did last year. Last year when we got these finishes, it was kind of random in my opinion – one week we’d show up and be good, and then the next week we’d be really bad. So, just to do it over four weeks against this kind of competition, in my opinion, shows a little bit of improvement.”

HOW MUCH OF A CATALYST HAS ZANE SMITH’S PRESENCE WITH THE TEAM BEEN? “I feel like the answer to that is that I’ve been really giving 100 percent, right? Truthfully, there’s always pressure. There’s always the next best guy coming up. So, I feel like there’s as much pressure last year as there is this year. I think this year it may be more publicized, because it’s all out there. But, there’s always going to be another guy trying to get in your car and do the better job. To me, it’s just nice to be able to come out and have a better year. You never know. You always try to just be better. I try to be better, and maybe subconsciously a little bit, I’ve been more focused. But honestly, I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of the same stuff. Honestly, the Truck team helps just going out and winning races. It brings the whole morale up in the shop – that those are our standards and to be the best we can.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THIS YEAR AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY? “I think Martinsville this year should be a little different with the lower downforce package that we’re running there. We’ll see. I think that has helped, and I feel like I’ve noticed more of a difference at Richmond than Phoenix. So, hopefully it’ll be a good race. I love short-track racing – it’s just what I grew up doing. Just beating and banging, I feel like you can do a lot more with the car. Should be a lot of fun. This race can usually go green and gets pretty strung out. So, it’s important to qualify well. I’d say that’s where most of my studying is going into right now, is trying to get a good qualifying lap. We see guys lock-up the left-front tire a lot in qualifying, so just getting a good starting spot can really set you up for the whole weekend.”

DOES THE SHORT TRACK PACKAGE COMPLIMENT YOUR DRIVING STYLE OR IS IT AN ADDED CHALLENGE? “It really hasn’t been a huge difference for just single-car, driving by yourself. I’d like to think it’s a little bit better in traffic, but for me, it honestly hasn’t been a huge difference. I’m hoping we can pass a little bit easier at Martinsville. It’s all directionally, the right way of taking grip away, and it’s pretty interesting with these cars. You can just downshift to fourth gear and pretty much map the gas. That just really shows how much grip these cars have. I’m sure it’ll be a little bit less than that, and that’ll be nice to hopefully get someone loose off the corner and be able to pass them. Maybe more separation within the field, but really, that’s what makes you able to pass is when someone’s slower by a couple tenths instead of a half-tenth which is actually common at Martinsville – the field is so tight. That’s what makes it so tough to pass.”

HOW DOES A DRIVER ADAPT WEEK-TO-WEEK WITH DRASTIC TRACK VARIATIONS – FROM SHORT-TRACKS TO SUPERSPEEDWAYS, ROAD COURSES TO DIRT? “I think last year at this time, it really threw me for more of a loop because you’re really preparing for one thing and then it’s completely different the next week. It seems like by the time you go to another road course, because COTA was just a couple weeks ago, it seems like it’s totally washed out of your memory because you’ve done so many different things since then. But for me, this year, I’ve been trying to plan ahead and be more prepared. My team and engineers have been giving me a lot more data to look at the week of the race. It’s been really good. We’ve been more prepared as a team, rather than kind of two separate entities of the driver and team doing different things. That’s been really nice, to keep everyone on the same page. It is still really tough, especially on the teams. They are preparing a superspeedway car right now and a short-track car at the same time. I’d say it’s more hard on them than me.”

HAS THERE BEEN A DEFINING MOMENT SO FAR THIS SEASON, WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE CLICKING? “I don’t think there’s really been one moment that made me feel more confident. I think it’s, like anything and in sports, it’s a snowball of getting better and better. Sometimes it’s a little off and you lose a little bit of confidence, but you try to keep the ball rolling in the right direction. For me, we’ve really picked up momentum the last four weeks. So, the whole mood in the shop has been really good. It’s been really cool. It’s been giving me the opportunity to be more of a leader in the shop, just having better results to lift everyone up. And also, Michael [McDowell] has been doing just as well getting a top-10 also at Richmond. So, I’m just really proud of the whole team. They’ve been knocking out some fast cars. I always try to be mature and do the best I can in bringing the people up around me.”

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Todd Gilliland Martinsville 1 Transcript

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway Advance | Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Gener8tor Skills Ford Mustang, builds momentum into Martinsville Speedway following his best finish of the season so far – eighth on dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. Gilliland, a 2019 Martinsville winner in the Truck series, has two top-10 performances this year (Bristol Dirt, 8th; Circuit of The Americas, 10th). He will be making his 45th Cup series start in his sophomore season.

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Gener8tor Skills Ford Mustang – YOU’VE HAD TWO TOP-10 FINISHES IN THE LAST THREE RACES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOME MOMENTUM GOING INTO MARTINSVILLE? “I think the last four weeks in general have been a big confidence booster. I was kind of joking with my crew chief about how fast my expectations have changed. Like I was actually kind of disappointed after Bristol, because I felt like we were few changes away from contending in the top-five… kind of top-three area. Definitely, overall, really confident – especially going into Martinsville, which is one of my favorite race tracks. I see no reason why we can’t keep this momentum rolling.”

YOU HAVE THE MARTINSVILLE CLOCK STRATEGICALLY PLACED BEHIND YOU. THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC TROPHIES IN THE SPORT. HOW DID THAT VICTORY FEEL, ALSO KNOWING THAT WAS GOING TO BE YOUR PRIZE? “It is… I actually didn’t do it on purpose. It’s right here in the living room. It’s a perfect place in my opinion. To me, especially, I think Martinsville has such a special place in my heart. I think I ran my first late model race there when I was 15 years-old. Growing up in late model stocks, to me, that was like the biggest race. Going to Martinsville then, I was really close. A second year I went there in late models, and then we always ran well there in the Trucks. So to finally be able to win one was so special. To me, it’s probably one of the coolest trophies out there – top-five coolest in the Cup series I’d say.”

AFTER YOUR FINISH ON BRISTOL DIRT, WHERE DO YOU STAND ON DIRT RACING IN THE SPORT? “I might be the unpopular opinion, but I’ve always loved it. I just feel like it’s so much fun. It’s definitely really tough… to see guys just spin-out on their own… I half spun-out on my own there in Stage 1… it’s very challenging. At some point, it’s maybe not the best look. But when you see the clips of the guys running three-wide for the lead during big slide-jobs, it’s just so much different than what we normally do. To me, it’s a really cool and fun departure from the norm. These cars aren’t probably made for dirt, but to me, they’ve been always so much fun to drive on dirt.”

HOW MUCH IMPROVEMENT HAVE YOU SEEN AT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS FROM LAST YEAR? “Especially on my team, I think it has been really cool to see Ryan Bergenty take charge of our team – set expectations high, set the standard high for our team and guys. It’s been really cool to watch from the beginning of the season which didn’t go so well, seeing guys like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work’ or whatever to the last four weeks, which have been really, really good for my team. It’s been a lot of the same guys that have beaten down for years, and this Cup series is really tough. It can still happen just as easily this weekend. Just going to enjoy the good times, and it shows that the hard work is paying off.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN YOU AND CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY? “Anytime you get a new crew chief, it definitely takes a little bit of getting used to. He’s a really intense guy, from the Northeast. I always joke with him. He’s really intense, and comes from a modified background. It’s funny, I give him a hard time about that. But overall, it’s really hard to fake trusting and having confidence in each other. To me, I’m very thankful that we’ve had this stretch of races where I feel very confident in him. Hopefully, he feels the same with me. That’s really, really hard to get at the beginning of any relationship, just because you’re not on the same page to begin with and then things just maybe go separate ways. But, I feel very confident right now going to the racetrack with him and the team we have.”

HAS BEING YOUNG IN THE SERIES ADDED ANY STRESS? “I mean there was definitely some pressure when we were trying to find fill-in races. But, I don’t know. I was just thinking about that this morning, and I don’t really feel like I’ve prepared any differently or raced any differently at all. Our cars have been faster, and our communication has been better along the way. I think that’s racing in general – sometimes you can prepare as much as you can, but you’ll still run back, and other times you’ll feel a little bit underprepared but still go out and run fast. I’m just thankful for fast cars.”

BOTH YOUR TOP-10 FINISHES CAME FROM A WIDE-VARIETY OF TRACK CONFIGURATIONS – ONE AT A ROAD COURSE AND THE OTHER ON A DIRT SHORT TRACK. HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE TRACK DIVERSITY ON THE SCHEDULE SO FAR? “I think, for me, this is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of the schedule – for sure. It seems like the West Coast is sort of where you get your bearings of where the best teams are going to be, and from there, it’s really fun to go to Atlanta, COTA, to a short-track in Richmond – which I really love short tracks, because I grew up racing those. Love the road courses, and then the dirt race… for Front Row Motorsports, that’s where we kind of feel like we can go and compete well. We need to perform well at those races, because there are going to be other places where maybe we aren’t our best. I think it’s really good, but saying it and going out and doing it are two different things. It’s been really nice to see us be able to execute that. To me, I just love doing something different every week. If we ran mile-and-a-halfs every week, I’d be pretty bored out there.”

YOU SAID YOUR CARS ARE FASTER. CAN YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ANYTHING FROM LAST YEAR, OR IS IT A COMBINATION OF JUST EXECUTING BETTER AND LESSONS LEARNED? “I don’t think there’s really one thing you can point it to. I think that’s racing in general, just all the small details of it. I think I’m definitely in a better place than I was at this point last year – just having a year under my belt of knowing what to expect, kind of managing the race better from start-to-finish. These short practices, I kind of know more of what I need, and I think the team does too. With a whole year of experience with the NextGen car, we can get to a better place. I think we’ve definitely been unloading faster, or just in a better place with a year of notes. I don’t think it’s one thing in particular. My crew chief is very detail oriented. He was the car chief on the No. 34 last year. All that stuff has been really good, to point us in a better direction.”

DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOU’VE ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS FROM LAST YEAR? “I think it does to me. I think you can pick-out this part of the schedule where we might be stronger than, say, another section. But I am still really proud that we’re able to go out there and do well. The road courses last year are where we were our best. So to get a good finish there [COTA]… I think over the duration of about a month now, we’ve been running way better than we did last year. Last year when we got these finishes, it was kind of random in my opinion – one week we’d show up and be good, and then the next week we’d be really bad. So, just to do it over four weeks against this kind of competition, in my opinion, shows a little bit of improvement.”

HOW MUCH OF A CATALYST HAS ZANE SMITH’S PRESENCE WITH THE TEAM BEEN? “I feel like the answer to that is that I’ve been really giving 100 percent, right? Truthfully, there’s always pressure. There’s always the next best guy coming up. So, I feel like there’s as much pressure last year as there is this year. I think this year it may be more publicized, because it’s all out there. But, there’s always going to be another guy trying to get in your car and do the better job. To me, it’s just nice to be able to come out and have a better year. You never know. You always try to just be better. I try to be better, and maybe subconsciously a little bit, I’ve been more focused. But honestly, I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of the same stuff. Honestly, the Truck team helps just going out and winning races. It brings the whole morale up in the shop – that those are our standards and to be the best we can.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THIS YEAR AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY? “I think Martinsville this year should be a little different with the lower downforce package that we’re running there. We’ll see. I think that has helped, and I feel like I’ve noticed more of a difference at Richmond than Phoenix. So, hopefully it’ll be a good race. I love short-track racing – it’s just what I grew up doing. Just beating and banging, I feel like you can do a lot more with the car. Should be a lot of fun. This race can usually go green and gets pretty strung out. So, it’s important to qualify well. I’d say that’s where most of my studying is going into right now, is trying to get a good qualifying lap. We see guys lock-up the left-front tire a lot in qualifying, so just getting a good starting spot can really set you up for the whole weekend.”

DOES THE SHORT TRACK PACKAGE COMPLIMENT YOUR DRIVING STYLE OR IS IT AN ADDED CHALLENGE? “It really hasn’t been a huge difference for just single-car, driving by yourself. I’d like to think it’s a little bit better in traffic, but for me, it honestly hasn’t been a huge difference. I’m hoping we can pass a little bit easier at Martinsville. It’s all directionally, the right way of taking grip away, and it’s pretty interesting with these cars. You can just downshift to fourth gear and pretty much map the gas. That just really shows how much grip these cars have. I’m sure it’ll be a little bit less than that, and that’ll be nice to hopefully get someone loose off the corner and be able to pass them. Maybe more separation within the field, but really, that’s what makes you able to pass is when someone’s slower by a couple tenths instead of a half-tenth which is actually common at Martinsville – the field is so tight. That’s what makes it so tough to pass.”

HOW DOES A DRIVER ADAPT WEEK-TO-WEEK WITH DRASTIC TRACK VARIATIONS – FROM SHORT-TRACKS TO SUPERSPEEDWAYS, ROAD COURSES TO DIRT? “I think last year at this time, it really threw me for more of a loop because you’re really preparing for one thing and then it’s completely different the next week. It seems like by the time you go to another road course, because COTA was just a couple weeks ago, it seems like it’s totally washed out of your memory because you’ve done so many different things since then. But for me, this year, I’ve been trying to plan ahead and be more prepared. My team and engineers have been giving me a lot more data to look at the week of the race. It’s been really good. We’ve been more prepared as a team, rather than kind of two separate entities of the driver and team doing different things. That’s been really nice, to keep everyone on the same page. It is still really tough, especially on the teams. They are preparing a superspeedway car right now and a short-track car at the same time. I’d say it’s more hard on them than me.”

HAS THERE BEEN A DEFINING MOMENT SO FAR THIS SEASON, WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE CLICKING? “I don’t think there’s really been one moment that made me feel more confident. I think it’s, like anything and in sports, it’s a snowball of getting better and better. Sometimes it’s a little off and you lose a little bit of confidence, but you try to keep the ball rolling in the right direction. For me, we’ve really picked up momentum the last four weeks. So, the whole mood in the shop has been really good. It’s been really cool. It’s been giving me the opportunity to be more of a leader in the shop, just having better results to lift everyone up. And also, Michael [McDowell] has been doing just as well getting a top-10 also at Richmond. So, I’m just really proud of the whole team. They’ve been knocking out some fast cars. I always try to be mature and do the best I can in bringing the people up around me.”

HighPoint.com Racing: Chase Briscoe Martinsville Advance

By
Official Release
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CHASE BRISCOE
Martinsville Advance
No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: NOCO 400 (Round 9 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 16

● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

● Layout: .526-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/210.4 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 220 laps

● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe enters Sunday’s NOCO 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway fresh off his first top-five finish of the season. Briscoe finished fifth in the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last weekend to earn his fourth finish inside the top-15 in the last five races.

● Briscoe’s best finishes this season have come on tracks 1 mile or less in length. He finished seventh on the mile oval at Phoenix Raceway on March 12 and 12th two weeks ago on the .75-mile oval at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Though his most recent finish was on the Bristol half-mile oval, its concrete surface was covered for the lone dirt race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

● In four Cup Series starts at Martinsville, Briscoe has two top-10 finishes. He placed ninth in both 2022 events at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped track, and was seventh in his last NASCAR Xfinity Series start there in October 2020. Briscoe also owns two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Martinsville with a best result of 11th from the eighth starting position in April 2017. He returned with the Truck Series that October to start on the pole and lead the first 39 laps before a late-race accident relegated him to a 19th-place finish.

● HighPoint.com makes its second appearance of the season on the No. 14 Ford Mustang this weekend at Martinsville, the first coming at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Briscoe finished 24th. This weekend will also mark HighPoint.com’s first time appearing as the primary sponsor on the No. 14 at Martinsville for a Cup Series event.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

The trend of doing well on the short tracks for you and the team has continued this year. Do you feel good about what you’ve learned heading into Martinsville?

“I’m really excited about Martinsville. We definitely have a better grasp of what we need on short tracks than we had before the NextGen and we’ve done really well the last two years. We gambled a little in the fall Martinsville race trying to get into the championship race, but we had a really good car and that’s what allowed us to come out with the finish that we did.”

You see guys who really excel at places like Martinsville, and others who have a really hard time figuring out how to get up front and make it work. What have you learned as a driver that has helped you run up front there?

“I didn’t grow up doing this kind of racing, so I had a really hard time when it came to short tracks. It’s a different kind of aggressive driving and you really have to have a car that can stick to the bottom and turn well to be able to do anything. I think the biggest thing I’ve had to learn, and I think it’s probably something I’ve just had to learn in general, but taking care of the tires is so important. It’s a long race, tempers get heated and, if you end up using everything up, you’re going to get run over or moved out of the way.”

No. 14 HighPoint.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey
Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Dylan Moser
Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink
Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Race Preview: Martinsville Speedway

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Official Release
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Race Information

  • Round: NASCAR Cup Series race No. 9 of 36
  • Track Location: Martinsville Speedway- Martinsville, Virginia
  • Race Name: NOCO 400
  • Broadcast: Sunday, April 16th at 3:00 PM ET live on FS1 (TV), MRN (Radio) Sirius XM NASCAR Ch. 90
  • Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Noah Gragson & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro Zl1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1Suns

Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Martinsville Speedway Stats

  • NCS Starts: 1 Best start: 17th; Best finish: 25th

NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats

  • Starts: 5; Best start: 2nd; Best finish: 1st (Fall, 2021); Top Fives: 4 Top 10s: 4

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Stats

  • Starts: 4; Best start: 3rd; Best finish: 1st (2017); Top Fives: 3; Top 10s: 4

2023 NCS Season Stats

  • Starts: 8; Best start: 10th; Best finish: 12th (Atlanta); Laps led: 1; Current points position: 30th
  • About Sunseeker Resorts: Opening in 2023, Florida’s newest luxury resort located in Charlotte Harbor is the first resort property of Sunseeker Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor occupies over 22 waterfront acres with 785 guest rooms, including 189 Signature Sunsuites™. Set upon the Peace River and Florida Gulf Coast, this premier resort offers 20 original food and beverage concepts; including seven stand-alone restaurants, eleven bars and lounges, two poolside offerings and a 25,000-square-foot multi-dining experience. Additional hotel amenities include a waterfront promenade, two unique rooftop and waterfront pool experiences, 60,000-square-feet of combined convention space, full-service spa and salon, a 7,100-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center with four group exercise studios with specialty instructor lead classes, three retail and market shops, and an 18-hole championship level golf club exclusive to hotel guests only. The resort is conveniently located within a short drive of Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and Tampa airports. For more information, visit www.sunseekerresorts.com. Follow on Instagram: @sunseekerresorts and like us on Facebook: @sunseekerresorts.
  • Clocking in: Noah Gragson scored his first ever NASCAR series win on Oct. 28,2017 at Martinsville Speedway. Racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Gragson passed two-time series champion Matt Crafton on a restart with 10 laps to go for his first career victory. The win for Gragson – who was only 18 years-old – came in his 22nd career start.

-Closest finish ever – Last fall, Gragson let 153 of 257 laps and edged out competitor Daniel Hemric at the finish line by .064 seconds for the closest Xfinity Series finish ever at Martinsville Speedway. The dramatic overtime win was Gragson’s eighth victory of the 2022 season.

-See Noah- Fans at Martinsville Speedway on raceday will have the opportunity to see Gragson at the Team Chevy Stage in the Martinsville Speedway fan zone. He will participate in a question and answer session at 11:50 a.m. Sunday, April 16.

  • From the Driver’s Seat: “I am really excited for Martinsville, I had the opportunity to drive there in the 48-car last year, so going in with an idea in mind of what it is going to be like is a big learning opportunity from last year. I am excited to get the chance to battle with the No. 42 Sunseeker team this weekend, Martinsville has always been a good track for us. I’ve won Martinsville in Trucks and Xfinity, so I am excited for it.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Martinsville Speedway Stats

  • NCS Starts: 12; Best start: 8th (Fall, 2019) Best finish: 8th (Fall, 2021); Top 10s: 1

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Stats

  • Starts: 5; Best finish: 3rd (2015); Top 5s: 2; Top 10s: 4; Laps led: 2

2023 NCS Season Stats

  • Starts: 8; Best start: 8th; Best finish: 8th (Atlanta); Top 10s: 1, Laps led: 14, Current points position: 26th

-About Allegiant: Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant’s fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com.

-Leaving Bristol in the dirt – Erik Jones and the No. 43 team’s weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway was anything but clean. The dirt proved challenging as Jones recovered from a spin, a flat tire and powered back from three laps down to avoid the chaos and finish 14th. Jones and the team were very happy with their recovery and finish.

  • Where it all started – A very young Jones made his first NASCAR national series debut at Martinsville Speedway on April 6, 2013, driving the No. 51 truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Jones was just 16 years old that day, starting the .5-mile paperclip-shaped track from the 19th position and finishing ninth. Running a limited schedule of five races for KBM that year, Jones proved to be a quick study and found victory lane in just his fifth start.
  • From the Driver’s Seat: “I am excited about Martinsville, last year in the fall I felt like we ran pretty well, so hopefully we can take some of that momentum and learn a little bit about the short track package and what we had in Richmond to try and make it a little bit better. I am ready to get out there, hoping for another solid run, hopefully get up in the top 10 and contend.”

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional motor racing team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, owned by Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB operates two full-time entries, the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Noah Gragson and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Erik Jones. The team also fields a third part-time entry, the No. 84 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, for Johnson’s limited racing schedule in 2023.

Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY MOTOR CLUB operates alongside GMS Racing, which fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS Racing in 2012, Gallagher, along with one of the NASCAR garage’s most accomplished figures, Team President, Mike Beam, built a victorious organization, capturing the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.

Our mission at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is to create an inclusive environment for auto-racing enthusiasts, celebrate the past and future legacies of our partners and team members, and to compete for race wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.

JR Motorsports — NXS Martinsville Preview

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Official Release
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JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Martinsville Speedway
RACE: Call 811.com Before You Dig 250 (250 laps / 131.5 miles)
DATE: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Broadcast Information – TV: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 / Radio: 7 p.m. ET on MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90

Sam Mayer
No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet

  • Sam Mayer returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend
    to make his fourth start at the 0.526-mile short track.
  • The Franklin, Wis. native has a best finish of fourth at Martinsville in 2021 after falling three laps down due to damage. The then-18-year-old made up those three laps and fought back to the fourth-place finish.
  • Following that fourth-place effort came respective fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the 2022 events at Martinsville during his first full-time season.
  • After finishing 17th at Richmond Raceway, Mayer currently sits eighth in the NXS point standings, 69 markers behind the leader.

Josh Berry
No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats & ATV’s Chevrolet

  • Josh Berry returns to the site of his first NXS victory this
    weekend at Martinsville. Berry won there in the spring of
    2021, leading 95 laps on the way to one of his biggest
    career victories.
  • Berry is one of the four Xfinity Dash 4 Cash drivers this
    weekend, having qualified for the second round of the
    annual bonus program two weeks ago at Richmond.
  • Berry owns two wins on the .526-mile paperclip at Martinsville, having won the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in 2019 in Late Model competition. The Tennessee driver set a track record in qualifying, started from the pole and led all 200 laps on the way to a dominant victory.

Brandon Jones
No. 9 Menards/Atlas Roofing Chevrolet

  • Jones’ average finish of 8.8 at Martinsville is tied for his second-best on active tracks in the NXS, just behind Michigan International Speedway (8.2).
  • The Atlanta, Ga., native has led 142 laps at Martinsville, which is the best among all tracks for Jones in the NXS.

    Justin Allgaier
    No. 7 Chevy Truck Season Chevrolet
  • Justin Allgaier enters this weekend’s NXS event at Martinsville with the chance to claim his second consecutive $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize.
  • The Illinois native claimed his record-tying fifth Dash 4 Cash check two weeks ago at Richmond.
  • In five career starts at the Virginia paperclip in the NXS, Allgaier has scored three top fives, four top 10s and a best finish of second, coming in the fall of 2020.
  • In 70 starts on short tracks in the NXS, Allgaier has amassed four wins, 25 top fives and 42 top 10s. Allgaier’s most recent short track wins came during the historic Richmond weekend sweep in 2020.

Driver Quotes

“I’m really looking forward to getting to Martinsville this weekend. It’s a track I have run really well at in the past and I know this weekend will be more of the same with this Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team. Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and this entire team have been preparing through the off week to make sure we are ready when we unload on Friday. There’s no better time to get our first win than this weekend.” – Sam Mayer

“We’ve been really solid at Martinsville over the last few years and have been able to build a strong notebook on what changes we need to make throughout the race to be in contention at the end. Hopefully we can be upfront all night long on Saturday with our Chevy Truck Season Chevrolet and come away with a Grandfather Clock and a second straight Dash 4 Cash bonus. I know this No. 7 team is ready to go.” – Justin Allgaier

“Martinsville is one of my favorite tracks and I’ve had a lot of success there, so we’re looking to add some more to that resume this weekend. We’ve been strong all season with a lot of top-five and top-10 finishes, but this Bass Pro Shops team is looking for our first win of the year and this is a great place to get that done, especially with $100k on the line.” – Josh Berry

“Martinsville has been one of my best tracks statistically and it’s a track where I have found a lot of success in the past. I was able to win this race last season and we ran up front the majority of the night during the fall race, so this is a track I am ready to get to and hopefully turn our luck around. Jason (Burdett, crew chief) and this entire Menards/Atlas Roofing team deserve a great finish and this is a track where we can get that done.” – Brandon Jones

JRM Team Updates:

  • JR Motorsports at Martinsville: JR Motorsports has competed at Martinsville Speedway a combined 22 times in the NXS. Over the course of those starts at the .526-mile facility, JRM has tallied two wins, 11 top fives and 15 top 10s. The average finish of 10.1 at Martinsville for the organization is the third best, just behind Michigan (9.7) and Dover Motor Speedway (10.0). JRM’s most recent win came with Noah Gragson during the 2021 season, clinching his first Championship 4 appearance in the process.
  • Dash 4 Cash: Since the beginning of the program in 2009, JR Motorsports has collected 20 Dash 4 Cash wins. Josh Berry claimed his first $100k payday last season at Dover and will compete next to teammate Justin Allgaier, who was the D4C victor at Richmond and has a record-tying five D4C wins himself, for the prize this weekend.
  • Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones will be at the JR Motorsports / Legacy M.C. souvenir rig in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone on Saturday, April 15 from 3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
  • Fan Stage: JRM drivers Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry will be at the Martinsville Speedway fan stage Saturday, April 15 from 3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for a Dash 4 Cash Q&A.

Toyota Racing – Weekly Preview – 04.12.23

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Official Release
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This Week in Motorsports: April 10-16, 2023

· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Martinsville Speedway – April 14-16
· NHRA: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – April 16

PLANO, Texas (April 12, 2023) – After racing on a short track on the dirt, NASCAR returns to a pavement short track at Martinsville Speedway, while NHRA competes in their first four-wide event of the season at Las Vegas.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS

Bell plans to add to victory total… Christopher Bell led the final 100 laps in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday evening to score his first win of the season, and fifth of his Cup Series career. With the win, Bell took over the points lead on the strength of a series-leading five top-five and six top-10 finishes in the first eight events. Martinsville Speedway also brings back great memories for Bell as the Oklahoma-native scored the walk-off victory in October to earn his first Championship 4 spot.

Gibbs adds another top-10… Ty Gibbs scored another top-10 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway as the reigning Xfinity Series champion continues to impress in the Cup Series. The 20-year-old moved up two more spots in the NCS standings and sits less than 10 points out of a Playoff berth. He made his Martinsville Cup Series debut last fall and earned a top-20 finish, while owning multiple top-five finishes in the Xfinity Series at the track.

Hamlin, Truex multi-time Martinsville winners… Martinsville has been a great track for Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. over the years. Hamlin scored Toyota’s first Cup Series victory at the track in 2008 and has since added four additional wins, including a season sweep in 2010. Truex has won three of the last seven races at the track, including victories in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Nemechek battling for two wins this weekend… After a runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway, John Hunter Nemechek gets to battle for two wins this weekend. The finish qualified Nemechek as one of four drivers to run for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus against Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Josh Berry. Nemechek will also look to pick up his second grandfather clock for winning at Martinsville Speedway. He earned his first track win in the Truck Series in 2018.

Grala looks to keep up momentum… Kaz Grala delivered at Richmond Raceway as he earned his first top-five finish of the season and moved back inside the top-20 in the standings. Grala is making his Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, but the Massachusetts-native made his NASCAR debut at the track in the Truck Series in 2016 and earned a top-10 finish there a year later.

Two for TRICON in Playoff field… Tanner Gray moved back inside the top-10 in the Truck Series points after his third top-10 finish of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, joining his teammate, Corey Heim. Gray made his Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway in 2019 and earned a track-best result of third in 2021. Heim, who has four top-10 finishes this season, has one Truck start at Martinsville – an 11th-place finish in 2021.

Sawalich debut… Toyota development driver William Sawalich makes his Truck Series debut this weekend in the fifth entry for TRICON Garage, the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. The 16-year-old has been impressive already this season, winning in his ARCA East debut last month after earning the pole and leading all 150 laps of the race. Martinsville is the first of six scheduled starts for the Minnesota native.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

Capps continues to tally final round appearances…Reigning Funny Car champion Ron Capps continues to impress on-track. Capps has advanced to the final round in six of the last eight events on the NHRA schedule, including two of the first three events this season. The California-native is also the defending champion of the Las Vegas four-wide event.

Ashley on a roll… Justin Ashley has taken over the top spot in the Top Fuel standings after a stellar last two events. The New York-native has won back-to-back events, along with a #2Fast2Tasty victory and a No. 1 qualifying spot in Pomona. Ashley is looking to continue that momentum into Las Vegas and rebound from two opening round losses in the track’s events last season.

Stay Connected

https://www.toyota.com/racing @ToyotaRacing.com @ToyotaRacing

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About Toyota

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

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

No. 93 HARRISON CONTRACTING COMPANY ACURA NSX GT3 EVO22 HITS THE CALIFORNIA STREETS FOR THE ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

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Official Release
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(Deland, Fla.) April 12, 2023 — The No. 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 hits the streets of California for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Saturday, April 15. The 1.968 mile, 11-turn temporary street course along the city’s waterfront marks Racers Edge Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s first foray into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint series for the 2023 season.

Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher will pilot the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, decked in a special livery designed by Acura, for the 100-minute race. While Long Beach is their first IMSA appearance together, the duo are no strangers to each other as teammates, having six wins together, five of those and a 2022 GT3 Championship with Racers Edge Motorsports on their resume, with the latest victory earned at Sonoma Raceway in Harrison’s GT3 Pro class 2023 debut.

The green flag on the famed street circuit waves Saturday, at 2:05 p.m. PDT. Live flag-to-flag coverage is available on Peacock and USA Network beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying streams live on Peacock and IMSA.com at 5:10 p.m. PDT on Friday, with GTD class qualifying at 5:15 p.m. PDT. Additional broadcasts include IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio (Siriux 217, XM 207, Web/App 992).

No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 DRIVER QUOTES:

Ashton Harrison:
“Obviously, I’m very excited to take on the streets of Long Beach with Mario and Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti. To be working so closely with Acura and Honda/HPD Racing in their home race as the title sponsor is a complete honor. I’m looking forward to practice on Friday. Mario has had past success here at Long Beach in an Acura, so I’m planning to get up to speed quickly with his experience and hopefully continue that winning tradition. I’m so thankful for this opportunity from Acura and Jon Ikeda and so excited to release this livery to the public and participate in the special weekend Acura has planned. I’m grateful for Jon Mirachi and everyone at Racers Edge Motorsports, WTRAndretti and beyond who have transported our two Harrison Contracting chassis back and forth across the country for two back-to-back California race weekends, and especially to the crew for getting this car ready after Sebring. Coming to Long Beach is a great way to kick off the sprint rounds in the IMSA series, and even better to follow up our recent win at Sonoma.”

Mario Farnbacher:
“I’m excited to go back to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with so much support from Acura and Honda/HPD Racing. I’m really thankful that Jon Ikeda made this happen, and for the trust from Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti to have selected me as a driver for this special event. I love street circuits generally, and I’m excited to be teamed up with Ashton in the IMSA series for the first time. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. Last year, I finished second in this race in an Acura NSX GT3, so I definitely want to continue that tradition and push for the win.”
About Harrison Contracting
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc. (HCC) is a commercial painting and facility maintenance contracting company headquartered in Villa Rica, GA with divisional offices in Florida and Texas. HCC provides repainting/reimaging and facility maintenance services nationwide, and new construction painting across the southeastern US. At HCC, red is more than the company color, its culture. RED stands for Reliable, Experienced, and Diligent, and is the cornerstone for all we do. We are more than just your painter; we are your partner.

Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti is also proudly sponsored by Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD).

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES AT LONG BEACH: ALEXANDER ROSSI PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ACCURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
STREETS OF LONG BEACH
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER VIDEO CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET
APRIL 12, 2023

ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET, met with media on NTT INDYCAR Series weekly video conference leading up to Accura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Full transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everybody. Glad you’re here. Another race week here in 2023. 2023 resumes this Sunday on the beautiful streets of Long Beach for another edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the longest running races on the schedule outside of, of course, the Indy 500.

Few have had the type of success that Alexander Rossi has had on the streets of Long Beach. Back-to-back wins, back-to-back poles, 2018 and 2019. Driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet joins us today after a visit to the White House and the annual Easter egg hunt yesterday.

I got to ask you about the Easter egg hunt. How cool was that?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: It was awesome, man. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. When the opportunity presented itself to go to the White House, like why wouldn’t you? I had also never been to D.C. before, so I got kind of spoiled on my first trip there.

No, just an amazing event for not only INDYCAR to be there but for all of some 30,000 kids that got the opportunity to kind of learn about their favorite sports and kind of the physical and mental aspect that it takes to get into that sport.

We were sandwiched between the NFL and the MLB, so pretty great company for INDYCAR to be around. I think it was a pretty amazing activation that we had in terms of having the show car there, Jim Leo from PitFit Training there, a little bit of a glimpse into what it’s like. I think we definitely created some new race fans. It was really exciting to be a part of.

THE MODERATOR: You’re from California, won a couple times at Long Beach. How much are you looking forward to leading Arrow McLaren there this coming weekend?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, man. I say it all the time, outside the Indy 500 I think this is one of our flagship races if not the flagship race. It’s always such an amazing event from not only an entertainment on-and-off-the-track standpoint but a turnout standpoint. The fans there are passionate, they’re incredibly knowledgeable about the sport, there’s obviously a huge amount of history that exists with that city and that track.

Jim Michaelian and his whole group do an amazing job for us every year. Real excited to get back there. As you mentioned, we’ve had some success there in the past. With the new team and the momentum that the Arrow McLaren group has at the moment, we’re very much looking forward to the weekend.

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

Q. Could you give us an idea of how different you feel the setups are between St. Pete and Long Beach, how much confidence you take from the pace you had in St. Pete, whether you think that’s going to apply to Long Beach.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: They are different. I think St. Pete’s borderline getting to the point where it’s almost a road course, it’s so smooth and the grip level is what it is. I think you definitely take a little bit of a different approach there than you do other street courses.

Yeah, there are obviously some similarities. I think as a whole, obviously I didn’t drive the car last year, but I think the team has taken a step forward in terms of the street course program. I think Chevrolet has made monumental steps, especially coming from 2021, their evolution of ’22, then again a step this year.

I think it’s going to be the normal competitive obviously qualifying and race. I think your normal participants are going to be fighting for pole. It’s going to take perfect execution from everyone and exciting to see how it shakes out.

Q. What is your level of excitement being inside the team? You’ve had two races under your belt, where is your mind at? How do you feel with this team settling in now?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, for sure we’re two races, but also only two races, right? It’s still early days.

I think the entire atmosphere and the positivity within the team is obvious from the outside. I think the cohesiveness that they were able to keep and also the continuity of adding a third car, the people we’ve talked about many times, it’s a testament to everyone there from the top all the way to the bottom.

It’s a real privilege and joy to be part of that team every single week. I think we’re only going to get stronger as time goes on.

Q. You mentioned Chevy feel good on a street course. Is it a different feel inside the car, torque? What is different coming from a Honda to Chevrolet now?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I mean, again, I can’t speak for what it was like. I think they had a huge focus on the bottom-end drivability side of things. Even when it was a challenge, they were still obviously very successful. Even when it was difficult in ’21, they were still winning races.

Again, it’s very hard to have that big of a difference when the engine architecture is similar or the same, and the rules have been around for so long, everyone kind of follows to the same point.

But, yes, there are still subtle differences. It’s kind of about maximizing the strengths and weaknesses of each engine, right? Honda might go about that a different way than Chevy does. For us as drivers, me making the transition from one to the other, you’ve got to understand the areas that the Chevy is working in a better range, and you got to focus on those areas to make sure you maximize the performance available.

Q. What about street course races makes you jump to another level? Do you treat these races differently?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I won Pocono, and that’s not a really big race (laughter). Pretty random actually.

It’s obviously cool to be able to have success in those types of races. But, no, it’s all the same. If you’re fortunate enough to get it right on that day, it’s cool.

Q. How crucial in INDYCAR, seems like milliseconds separate a gap from first to 10th, is pit selection? This week you’re pitting third. Do you have any input? Is there a study behind that?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, it really depends on the track. For example, Long Beach, you want to be towards the front. I assume everyone knows, but if you don’t know, it goes in order of qualifying. For example, Felix got to pick first at Long Beach based on Texas, then down the qualifying order.

For Long Beach it’s important to be in the front in terms of pit selection just so that when you’re leaving to go to practice, qualifying sims, whatever, you have as much clear track in front of you as possible.

For the ovals it’s a pretty big advantage to have an open in just because of the way the cross weight is set up, you can carry more speed into the pit box. On a track where we have a lot of cars and a small pit lane, at Mid-Ohio or Toronto, an open in or open out is kind of the preferred choice. You’ll see guys, even if they qualify third, they’ll choose the 15th box because it’s an open in or open out.

Indy is a little bit similar, but there’s the added superstition that goes into that. There’s metrics that are run on these pit boxes historically have been the most successful. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it other than odds. That’s kind of what goes into it.

It’s a little bit of everything.

Q. You have teammates around you, is there a reason you guys chose between Dixie and Josef?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: No, I mean, I think that was the order of qualifying. It went Felix, Scott, me, Josef, which just shows how important track position is.

Again, track position is that important that we all wanted to be up front. It’s the order of qualifying.

Q. What do you put down to your success in Long Beach? Do you think the track suits your driving style or just a track you enjoy?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you. I think for me it’s always an exciting event there in Laguna. It’s a home race in the sense that I’m from California. I always have a lot of friends and family turn out that come. I think everyone kind of gets a little bit of a subconscious boost and a little bit extra motivation. We hear Josef talk all the time about how much he’d love to win Nashville, his home race. That sort of exists.

Beyond that, I’ve been fortunate to have good cars there and it’s a track that suits my driving style. It’s pretty medium- to high-speed corners. There’s only one and the fountain that are slow-speed corners, so you can make time up from that standpoint.

Yeah, I mean, it’s a little bit of everything. If I had an answer for you, I’d probably win every race. I don’t think it comes down to just one thing. It’s a combination of things that work out ending up to be in your favor.

Q. Do you think traffic is going to be a big issue?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: At this point with the grid size we have, it’s an issue every weekend, aside from really Road America or Road America (laughter). That’s just the nature of it. It’s the same for everyone. You manage it as best you can.

For sure at some point throughout the weekend you’re going to get caught up in it. Everyone is. You just hope it’s not on a super critical part of the session.

Q. Qualifying is important at almost every race, but it seems like the leader is really favored at Long Beach. Does that make Saturday’s qualifications one of the more important ones of the season?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, for sure. I think you’re right: every qualifying is very critical, but especially Long Beach because the way it works out, it’s a two-stop race, pretty straightforward two-stop race.

There’s not many yellows. It’s a pretty clean race, historically speaking. The leader doesn’t really get hung out by a close pit situation type of thing.

Yeah, I mean, it’s very important to start in the top two or three I think if you’re going to want to try to win that race.

Q. A couple of the wins you had there, once you were out front, it was smooth sailing. Before you caught the end of the field, did it feel like you were on a qualifying run?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, it’s an easy two-stop race. Everyone is kind of flat out from the drop of the green. The tire life is usually pretty good there. There’s not a whole lot of strategy or saving, like, different fuel. Everyone does the same thing, so you can push pretty hard from the green.

Q. As far as the vibe, it’s one of a kind, southern California, fans turn out for it. Celebrities, glitz, glamour. Is it always one of those where you’re not only excited about racing but just excited to be there?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, 100% right. It’s an awesome event. It’s one of those ones where you feel kind of like a Super Hero when you get to go do driver introductions. It’s annoying sometimes how busy pit lane is, but that’s just a testament to the excitement and energy that exists at that track.

It’s certainly one that we try and model as many of our street courses after it. I think St. Pete comes close. Nashville comes close. I think Detroit this year is going to be phenomenal.

Yes, the pedigree it has in terms of its history, just the location, all of the extracurricular activities that you can find throughout the weekend just makes it pretty unique.

Q. Next week you switch gears and it’s the two-day open test for the Indy 500. How important is it to have everything sorted before you hit the track in May?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, it’s hugely important. That’s a really good time to really understand. Everyone has been working on their speedway cars probably since June 1st of last year. It’s such small details that add up to make a really big difference at Indy.

April is a good opportunity for you to get an understanding of what your car is lacking, and also the areas where it’s strong. Then you have a couple weeks. It’s not much time. You have a couple weeks to really dive into why maybe there’s a deficit to a teammate or to another car, whatever, and resolve that.

It’s a great test for us as drivers. Great test for the team. Then obviously it’s great to get fans out there and start to see cars on track at the greatest track in the world.

Q. You’ve talked about Long Beach being an easy two-stopper. For you as a driver, it must be better than the fuel-saving races.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I kind of am of the opinion that we could make Long Beach a little bit longer so you have the two options. Some of our best races are when you have guys on a fuel save two-stop, other guys on a flat-out three-stop race trying to make up that pit lane difference.

It’s been this length for a long time. It’s put on some great shows. Colton, I think it was ’21 or ’20, where he started 14th and ended up winning, no yellows to help him.

If you have a strong car, like always in INDYCAR, you can usually have a pretty good result. But yes, in the perfect world we’d probably extend it a little bit, but that’s for people that are paid more than me, so we’ll leave it to them.

Q. You are in your eighth season of INDYCAR. Is it something you could imagine when you came back from Europe into INDYCAR? Maybe something that surpasses your wildest dreams?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I certainly didn’t realize that I would have the longevity that I’ve had so far. Obviously very thankful for that. It doesn’t feel like eight years, but there you go.

Yeah, I mean, obviously I think it surprised everyone. I talked about it at length. Surprised everyone, including myself, the fact that we were able to do what we did in 2016 at the 500. Yeah, I’ve been very fortunate to have the amount of time in the series that I have had.

There’s still a lot of things left that I’d like to accomplish. That’s really all we’re focusing on right now.

Q. With the variety of cars that run at Long Beach, how does it impact on how the track rubbers in for the INDYCAR guys?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, that’s a good question.

Last year was a weird one. They put a sealant down, the city did. The track grip was, like, insane from lap one of practice one. The other running of the other cars didn’t really change anything because the grip level started incredibly high anyways. Pole was a new record, crazy fast all weekend.

Usually it’s a really beneficial thing because it starts out as a very low grip, green surface, because it hasn’t been use as a racetrack in a year. Having all the different stuff, especially IMSA on track, really speeds up the evolution of the track.

I don’t know what it’s going to be like this year, if that sealant will still have that effect or if it’s worn off after California got pummeled with rain for seemingly five months. I don’t know. We’ll have to see. Usually it’s a good thing in terms of getting the cars up to speed.

Q. Looking more towards the month of May, you’ve come from a team that’s run four or five cars at the 500, you mentioned McLaren have geared up to take on your car. Going into Indy with four cars, do you feel the team is in a good position to be able to cope with the number of cars they’re now running?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, 100%. We have a lot of people, like, a significant amount of people. I don’t think that’s any concern of anyone.

Obviously numbers aren’t everything. You got to make sure that they’re the right people in the right positions. I think the team has done a very good job. We have access to a lot of people from the McLaren F1 side of things in terms of testing, so they’re very skilled mechanics. I think Tony is in great hands.

Yeah, I don’t foresee it being any issue whatsoever.

Q. Since McLaren joined INDYCAR in 2020, I think this is the best car we seen they give to you. How important it is for the sport of the season have this Long Beach race which you actually won twice, how important is it to have the Long Beach Grand Prix as opportunity to get into the championship mix?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, every race is important. But, yes, obviously you highlight the tracks that you’ve been historically good at, either for yourself or team perspective. It was a missed opportunity for two of the cars in Texas with very fast race cars not ending up getting a result.

I think you’re correct in saying that the program that the team has this year and the performance of the cars has been really strong through the first two races. There’s no reason to not think that that won’t continue.

Yeah, we’re excited about Long Beach. We feel very confident in what we have, what we can do there. It’s just about hoping a couple things go your way and you can come out of there with a strong result.

Q. How are things with Kyle after the Texas incident?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I mean, that’s a long time ago now. So it’s all behind us.

Q. This is the first full season you’ve been competing against Pato. Now you’re in the same team. How impressed are you by his ability and speed? Do you think he’s right now the toughest driver to beat in INDYCAR?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I think everyone’s been impressed with Pato since day one that he came into the series. I think his speed was obvious. Obviously he’s very exciting to watch from his in-car videos. I think his nickname is the Ninja or whatever.

He’s very good. I didn’t have to be on his team to realize that. I think the three of us are pushing each other very hard. It’s important that we have three cars kind of at the front every single weekend. That’s the goal of the team. That’s what McLaren as a brand expects and demands from us.

Quite honestly, Pato, you could argue, he maybe should have two wins to start the year. He’s done a very, very good job. It’s going to be a fun remaining 15 races with him and everyone else.

Everyone at this level is pretty good. I think you can pick 10 guys that are hard to beat every single weekend.

THE MODERATOR: Are you worried about Kanaan and Pato together during the month of May? They’re pretty similar, aren’t they?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don’t think anyone’s really the same as Pato. He’s very unique (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, they’re both South American, highly energized and excited about seemingly everything (smiling).

Q. You’ve driven for the greatest names in all of motorsports. You’re considered one of the best race car drivers on the planet. Can you put into words what it means to race for Arrow McLaren?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: First of all, thank you (smiling).

It’s amazing. This year is the 60th anniversary of McLaren being founded as a race team. To be able to kind of be a part of that and be in history at one point a part of all of the great drivers that have gotten the opportunity to drive for this brand, it’s something very, very special. It’s something that I don’t take lightly. I take a lot of pride in. It certainly forces all of us that kind of wear (indiscernible) to elevate ourselves on and off the track.

It’s an honor, but obviously there’s responsibility that comes along with it.

Q. As a race car driver, how do you feel ending a race under caution?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: It’s a tough one. I think INDYCAR does races on distance. I think that is an important thing to remember, especially when you’re comparing it to other championships. You can’t necessarily, because of the circumstance, just change the distance of a race because you want to see a certain finish.

I think INDYCAR in the past has done a really good job at red flagging races when there is enough laps, once the cleanup is over, to kind of go through the restart process, whatever the correct terminology for that is.

For example, at Texas, it was one lap. Even if they red flagged it, there wasn’t enough laps left to get the field around and do a restart. That was a tough situation. I think obviously everyone would have liked to see it go green to the finish. Pato would obviously have liked that as well. It wasn’t meant to be. That’s just racing sometimes.

Q. How are you feeling from the mileage you’ve done on the new tires? Does the info you get from the tires get shared within the team or do you provide some feedback to the manufacturer, as well?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: So all of the above. At the end of every weekend we kind of have a debrief, every driver and team I believe has a debrief with Firestone, kind of going through the pros and cons of the primary and the alternate, what needs to be adjusted for the future. I think they take that into account, not for 2023, but certainly for 2024.

Yeah, I mean, using the tires in practice, there’s usually a pretty big grip increase that comes on the alternate that you got to make an adjustment to the balance of the car so you can’t just go out with the same race car, put softer tires on, expect to maximize it. You’ve got to change something. Usually you’re trying to figure out how big the offset needs to be.

I think Firestone has done an amazing job in the sense that we have a sustainable tire that really produces the same level of performance as a non-sustainable tire. I think that was proved in Nashville last year, and that’s why we’re using them on all the street courses this year. I think it’s a huge step for INDYCAR, huge step for Firestone, something we should all be very proud to be a part of.

Q. You have been successful at Long Beach with Andretti. With McLaren, how do you feel with a new team for this weekend?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: We’re still learning as we go at this point. Yeah, I mean, I think based on St. Pete, I think based on the fact that I think Felix was in the top six in qualifying last year, their cars are good.

Certainly there is a step we need to make to be as strong as Andretti or Penske I think on the street courses in general. But I think we’re close. I think we have just as good of a shot as anyone this weekend.

Q. You’ve been with Formula 1 before. You know what it’s like to travel internationally with a team. How do you feel about INDYCAR going to Argentina and how will it benefit INDYCAR as a whole to go international?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, I think as drivers we all would love to see not only international races but still an expanded calendar, right? I think certainly the interest that exists from Argentina, as you mentioned, obviously from Mexico, makes a very strong case to have races in a place like that.

But there’s a lot of factors other than just wanting to do it, right? I actually was talking about this with someone earlier today, talking about adding a race that we used to go to in the States. It’s like you can talk and dream and think it’s going to be this great idea, but you got to actually go out there and buy tickets, show up. You can’t just say it’s a great idea.

I think there is momentum building. I think there is an interest that exists that we certainly are looking to exploit, but there’s a lot of different factors that go into it.

I look forward to seeing how it goes. But certainly Argentina and Mexico with the interest we’ve seen there in the past 12 months, it’s certainly on the top of the list.

Q. Have you had any sort of change of opinion in terms of pit lane incident in Texas, how that played out? You made it clear you thought it was Kyle’s fault.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: No change of opinion. I think hopefully we can, as a series, learn about communication and continuity, just take lessons from it. It’s a shame to have situations exist and not really learn anything from it.

It’s something that we all talked about at length. At the end of the day it’s history now. We just got to make sure going forward everyone is on the same page.

Q. Looking back at St. Pete, there was a couple of incidents where cars were airborne. Going into another street course, do you think the street courses could be widened or changed in any way to avoid situations where cars have nowhere to go but up?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: That’s a good question, good observation. Obviously there’s airborne cars in Texas, too.

But, yeah, I think racing is dangerous. I think INDYCAR has done a really good job at putting driver safety, team safety at the forefront of what they do.

I think we’ve all seen the images of – who was the red car – Benjamin, we’ve seen the images of his car, kind of all the impact marks that went up the aeroscreen.

Everyone, despite the magnitude of that incident, walked away totally fine. I think that just goes to show that these cars are safe and the advancements that we’ve made have not been for nothing.

But, yeah, racing is always going to have risk to it. That’s just a part of life. Everything you do has risk. I think you’re always looking at ways to make it safer, but I certainly don’t think there’s any issues with street courses, and I don’t expect that to be a normal thing going forward.

THE MODERATOR: Alex, safe travels.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. We’ll see you out there.

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.

HaasTooling.com Racing: Ryan Preece Martinsville Advance

By
Official Release
-

RYAN PREECE
Martinsville Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: NOCO 400 (Round 9 of 36)
● Time / Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 16
● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
● Layout: .526-mile oval
● Laps / Miles: 400 laps / 210.4 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 220 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Still looking for his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory, a short track like Martinsville (Va.) Speedway could be the place where Ryan Preece gets it done. Preece is ready to get back to his short-track roots this weekend as the series heads to the .526-mile paperclip-shaped oval Sunday afternoon for the NOCO 400. Preece has made seven starts at Martinsville in his Cup Series career with a best finish of 16th coming in the March 2019 event. Sunday’s race will mark Preece’s first Cup Series start there with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

● Preece has tasted success at Martinsville in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and hopes that translates to his No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang this weekend. In his six Modified Tour starts at Martinsville, the 2013 series champion has one win in 2008 to go with two top-fives and 423 laps led, with an average start of 7.8 and an average finish of 13.5. He started on the pole and led a race-high 110 of 200 laps en route to a 12th-place finish in the April 2021 race.

● Eight races into this season, Preece is 27th in the driver standings with 108 points. 

● Introducing the Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle from HaasTooling.com. The No. 41 SHR Ford Mustang will sport a similar but different look this weekend, adding a new Winner’s Circle logo to the red, white and black paint scheme. HaasTooling.com, the online tooling division of the U.S. machine tool builder Haas Automation, Inc., introduces the Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle, a membership program that offers customers free next-day delivery, discounted pricing on all products, and a lower threshold for free shipping. HaasTooling.com already offers industry-leading pricing and fast delivery on an expansive selection of cutting tools, toolholders, and workholding products. Now, Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle members will get the added benefits of free shipping on all orders over $49, free next-day delivery anywhere in the contiguous United States (on most orders), and 5% off every tooling purchase. For even greater savings, the 5 percent discount may be combined with other promotions, and a single membership may be used by an entire company.

● HaasTooling.com is back again in 2023 on the No. 41 SHR Ford Mustang, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation led by SHR co-owner Gene Haas. HaasTooling.com was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.

● The Cup Series took to the dirt at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last weekend for a Sunday-night race under the lights. Preece made his second start on the dirt surface. Saturday, he started third in his qualifying heat race and finished second, giving him a starting position of ninth for the main event Sunday. Preece ran up front during the first stage and finished fourth to earn seven bonus points. A broken toe link put him two laps down during the second stage and he spent the remainder of the laps trying to make up spots, ultimately salvaging a 24th-place finish.

● In the season’s first short-track race two weekends ago at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, where he won a 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event, Preece started 33rd and finished 18th.

● The previous weekend, Preece and his Cup Series competitors took part in their first road-course race of the season at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. It marked the series’ third visit to the 3.426-mile, 20-turn circuit. Preece started 26th for his second COTA appearance and finished 36th. He had a promising start as he rallied for a 10th-place finish in Stage 1. But he was ultimately caught up in a multicar accident in the closing laps of the race.

● Preece concluded the 2023 West Coast swing with his best points-paying finish of the season – 12th – at Phoenix Raceway on March 12. He followed that with a 28th-place result in his fifth Cup Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19.

● At the season’s second event at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Preece was a victim of circumstance, getting caught up in a multicar accident on a lap-88 restart and ultimately finishing 33rd. The following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he battled a tight racecar all day and was credited with a 23rd-place finish. 

● Preece opened the 2023 season with a strong showing in the 65th running of the Daytona 500. He and the No. 41 Ford Mustang qualified 20th and logged the best 10-consecutive-lap average in final practice. On race day, Preece finished second in Stage 1 before getting caught up in a multicar accident on lap 181. He was unable to return to the race and finished 36th.  

● Win a trip to the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and meet Ryan Preece! RaceChoice.com, a proud partner of Preece, has launched a giveaway for fans. The winner will receive airfare and a two-night stay in Daytona Beach. RaceChoice.com will also give the winners two pit passes for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 26 at 7 p.m. ET, preceded by a meet-and-greet with Preece, driver of the No. 41 SHR Ford Mustang. Visit https://racechoice.com/2023-daytona-giveaway/ for more information.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

We’re heading back to another short track, what is the strategy going to be for you and your team?

“We’re putting a huge emphasis on qualifying this weekend. We are going to be focused on practice and seeing where our car stacks up. Hopefully, we’re fast right out the gate and, from there, we’ve got to be strong in qualifying so we can start up front. At a track like Martinsville, we’ve seen it at the other similar tracks this season, you don’t want to start in the back. It’s so hard to pass and move up front when you start in the back at Martinsville. So, we just want to qualify up front and stay there for the race. It’s a long race, so maintaining that track position and staying out of trouble will be really important. I like Martinsville and I have experience there; it goes back to my short-track background and I’m excited to get out there and be in the mix fighting for a grandfather clock.”

What’s the racing at Martinsville going to be like?

“To me, Martinsville is a big Coliseum, so there are some things that we can take from that race. There are also some things that we have to change. I feel like our short-track stuff has been really good and shows a lot of promise so, going into Martinsville, I’m obviously very optimistic. The racing at Martinsville is always very aggressive, you have to be aggressive to stay in it. You also have to be smart so you don’t get wrecked in the corners. I’ve had a lot of success there in Modifieds, so hopefully that translates over to the Cup car. I’ve got a lot of momentum on my side right now, I’m ready to get out there and get the finishes this 41 team deserves.”

You finished second in your heat race at the Bristol dirt race and you were running up front in the beginning. Do you feel like things are finally trending in the right direction?

“I think if we could’ve kept track position, we had a top 10 car. But when it got slick like that, I don’t know how many people were actually moving forward, but it was just try and hold on. That’s the third week in a row we’ve run in the top-10. It starts with running there to win races and we’ve showed speed, so that’s something. I’m glad we’ve got the speed but, ultimately, it’s frustrating to not get the results from where you’re running. At the end of the day, the clock always resets at midnight. We’re moving forward and we’re focused on Martinsville.”

No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ryan Preece
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston
Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Lee Deese
Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina

Engineer: Scott Bingham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Kevin Teaf
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Underneath & Interior Mechanic: Clint Leatherwood
Hometown: Rockmart, Georgia

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgway
Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife
Hometown: Orange County, California

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer
Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

Conor Daly to make 100th IndyCar career start at Long Beach

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Nearly two months after competing in this year’s 65th running of the Daytona 500, Conor Daly is set to achieve a milestone start in his sixth full-time season in the NTT IndyCar Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, the driver of the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara-Chevrolet will make his 100th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

A second-generation racer from Noblesville, Indiana, Daly, whose racing career started with karts before proceeding to win the 2010 Indy Pro 2000 title, made his IndyCar debut in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he piloted the No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Honda to a 22nd-place result. Two years later, he competed in a total of five IndyCar events between Dale Coyne Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Daly’s deal with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports occurred as he replaced James Hinchcliffe for three events following Hinchcliffe’s harrowing accident during a practice session leading up to the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. During the five-race span, his best on-track result was a sixth-place finish at Belle Isle during a Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit.

In 2016, Daly joined Dale Coyne Racing on a full-time IndyCar basis. Commencing the season with a 13th-place run at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the Indiana native notched five top-10 results throughout the 16-race schedule. He also achieved his maiden podium at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park during a Chevrolet Dual in Detroit by finishing second behind Sebastien Bourdais. When the final checkered flag of the 2016 season flew, Daly settled in 18th place in the final driver’s standings with 313 points. Throughout the season, he led a career-high 56 laps and notched an average-finishing result of 14.4, which is his best as a full-time IndyCar competitor.

The following season, Daly joined A.J. Foyt Enterprises as a full-time IndyCar competitor in the No. 4 Dallara-Chevrolet. He concluded the season in 18th place in the final standings for a second consecutive season on the strength of four top-10 results, a season-best fifth-place finish at Gateway Motorsports Park and 305 points.

For the 2018 season, Daly, who lose his ride at A.J. Foyt Enterprises, made his first IndyCar start of the season during the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, where he drove the No. 17 Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in conjunction with Thom Burns Racing to a 21st-place result. He would then compete in three of the final six scheduled events for Harding Racign, where he notched a season-best 15th at Pocono Raceway.

The 2019 IndyCar season featured Daly competing for three different organizations, starting with Andretti Autosport for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. Piloting the No. 25 Andretti Dallara-Honda, he notched his first top-10 career result at his home track by finishing 10th. Three races later, he replaced Max Chilton in the No. 59 Carlin Dallara-Chevrolet for Texas Motor Speedway as he finished 11th. He returned to Carlin for the following three oval events at Iowa Speedway, Pocono and Gateway, where he notched a season-best sixth-place finish at Gateway. Then for the penultimate event of the season at Portland International Raceway, Daly drove the No. 7 Dallara-Honda for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in place of Marcus Ericsson, who was called up by Alfa Romeo to serve on a reserve driver duty for the upcoming Formula One event at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Finishing 21st for the Arrow Schmidt Peterson organization, Daly capped off the 2019 season by competing for Andretti Autosport at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he ended up 22nd.

For the following two seasons, Daly competed between Ed Carpenter Racing and Carlin. In 2020, he recorded six top-10 results throughout the 14-race schedule and a season-best sixth-place result during the season opener at Texas and a 29th-place run during the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 following a late wreck before finishing in a career-best 17th-place in the final standings with 237 points and an average-finishing result of 14.5. The following season, he led for the first time at his home track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, as he led a total of 37 laps before finishing in 13th place while competing for Ed Carpenter Racing. The 13th-place run at Indy would also mark his highest-finishing result in 2021 as he averaged a 16.6 running spot throughout the 16-race schedule before settling in 18th place in the final standings with 235 points. Nonetheless, he accumulated 40 laps led, which marks his second-highest laps led in a season.

This past season, Daly inked a full-time deal to pilot the No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet for ECR. After finishing no higher than 12th during the first four scheduled events, he notched his first top-five result of the season in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Two weeks later, he led seven laps during the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 before settling in sixth place in the final running order, which marks his best result during the Indy 500. Daly, however, would proceed to finish no higher than 12th for the remaining 11 events on the schedule before tying his best result in the standings of 17th place and with 267 points.

Through 99 previous IndyCar starts, Daly has achieved one pole, one podium result, 136 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.5. He is currently ranked in 14th place in the championship standings after finishing no lower than 20th during the first two events on the schedule, with his best result being 14th during the 2023 season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Daly is scheduled to make his 100th career start in the NTT IndyCar Series at the Streets of Long Beach for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

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