Home Blog Page 1520

Auto Locksmith Services Are More Diverse Than You Can Imagine!

By
SM
-
Photo by Steven Binotto on Unsplash

An auto locksmith is a professional specializing in providing automotive security and lock systems services. They are highly trained and skilled in working with various vehicle locks and keys, including those of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even boats.

The primary role of an auto locksmith is to help individuals who have lost or damaged their car keys or have locked themselves out of their vehicles. They use specialized tools and techniques to gain access to the car without causing any damage to the locks or other parts. Depending on the type of vehicle and its lock system, an Auto Locksmith Boca may use various methods to gain entry, including picking the lock, using a slim jim or wedge tool, or decoding the electronic key fob.

Replace lost or stolen keys 

In addition to helping people get back into their cars, auto locksmiths also provide a range of other services related to vehicle security. For instance, they can help you replace lost or stolen keys, reprogram your transponder key, repair or replace your ignition switch, and even install new lock systems to improve the security of your vehicle.

Auto locksmiths use specialized equipment to cut and program keys for various vehicle models, including those with electronic key fobs. One of the most common services provided by these professionals is key cutting. This involves creating a duplicate key for your car, either from an existing key or using the vehicle’s identification number (VIN).

Opting for locksmith car key replacement will ensure compatibility with your vehicle’s security system while avoiding unnecessary delays. This service is often preferred by drivers who need a practical solution that restores access without relying on dealership schedules.

Get your ignition repaired

Another important service these experts provide is ignition repair and replacement. If your vehicle’s ignition switch is damaged or malfunctioning, an auto locksmith can diagnose the issue and repair or replace it as needed. This process can be complicated, as modern vehicles often have sophisticated ignition systems that require specialized knowledge and tools.

Prevent vehicle theft

Auto locksmiths also play an essential role in helping to prevent vehicle theft. They can install new lock systems, alarms, and other security measures — services expertly provided by MJS Auto Locksmiths covering Durham — to make it more difficult for thieves to break or steal your car.

They can also advise how to keep your vehicle secure and recommend the best security measures based on your needs and budget.

One area where auto locksmiths are exceptionally skilled is in working with transponder keys. 

Transponder keys provide an added layer of security, as they are challenging to duplicate and require programming to work with your car. These electronic keys use a microchip to communicate with the vehicle’s onboard computer. Auto locksmiths have the tools and knowledge to replace or reprogram transponder keys and diagnose and repair problems with the vehicle’s onboard computer system.

Summing it up

An auto locksmith is a highly skilled professional who provides various automotive security and lock systems services. If you’re concerned about the security of your vehicle or if you’ve encountered a problem with your locks or keys, it’s a good idea to contact an auto locksmith to discuss your options and get professional advice.

Bell strikes late with first Cup victory of 2023 at Bristol Dirt Course

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

In a war of attrition match involving NASCAR’s elite around the Last Great Colosseum on dirt, Christopher Bell benefitted from a late strategic call to remain on the track. He then controlled the final stage to his advantage and motored his way to win the third annual running of the Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on Easter Sunday, April 9.

The 28-year-old Bell from Norman, Oklahoma, led the final 100 of 250-scheduled laps. Once he gained control of the lead for the start of the final stage spanning 100 laps, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry survived a flurry of on-track chaos, caution periods and challenges from former dirt veterans turned NASCAR premier series stars to claim the first checkered flag of the 2023 Cup Series season for himself and for the JGR organization.

The starting lineup for the main event was determined through four 15-lap qualifying events that occurred on Saturday, April 8, where the 37 competitors that entered the main event accumulated points for their finishing results and passes by improving from their original starting spots during their respective heat events.

With that, Kyle Larson, who won the third qualifying event after starting sixth and accumulating 15 points, claimed his second pole position of the 2023 Cup Series season. Joining him on the front row was Austin Dillon, who won the first qualifying event after starting fifth and earning 14 points.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson took off with the lead on the outside lane and pulled away as the field slipped and slid their way through the first two turns on the dirt. With the field returning to the frontstretch, Larson led the first lap ahead of Austin Dillon, who was being challenged early by Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick. As Larson continued to lead through the Lap 5 mark, he also extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while Ryan Preece moved up into the top five. By then, JJ Yeley, who qualified an impressive third place in his No. 15 Rick Ware Racing entry, had fallen back to eighth in front of Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano while Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric moved up to sixth and seventh.

On the 10th lap, the first caution of the event flew when Bubba Wallace, who was running near the top 10, got loose entering Turn 2 and collected Logano, who spun Wallace right at the same time he got turned by William Byron and hit the sand barrels near the backstretch’s pit road entrance. Todd Gilliland then made contact with the outside wall after making contact with Byron, who was trying to straighten his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Larson managed to fend off Austin Dillon for the lead while Bell, Reddick and Preece remained in the top five. During the event’s first caution period, names like Gilliland, BJ McLeod, Brad Keselowski and Logano pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 20, Larson fended off Bell and Austin Dillon to retain the lead while having the outside lane to his advantage as the field jostled and slid on the dirt between two lanes for positions. As Larson retained the lead over Austin Dillon and Bell, Reddick retained fourth while Kyle Busch started to challenge Preece for fifth.

At the Lap 35 mark, Larson was leading by more than eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon and more than three seconds over third-place Bell while Kyle Busch and Reddick were in the top five. Preece, Blaney, Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Byron were in the top 10 while Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, JJ Yeley, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, Justin Haley and Matt Crafton occupied the top 20.

Two laps later, the second caution of the event flew when Matt Crafton, who was filling in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing entry for Cody Ware, spun between Turns 3 and 4 and barely made contact with the outside wall. In the process, Logano made slight contact with Crafton while jamming on the brakes to avoid colliding with Crafton.

With the field restarting under green on Lap 45, Larson pulled away in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with the lead on the outside lane followed by Austin Dillon while Kyle Busch moved his No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to third in front of Bell. In addition, Blaney muscled his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang into the top five while Reddick fell back to sixth.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Larson was leading by more than eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while Dillon’s teammate Kyle Busch trailed in third by more than a second. As Bell and Blaney occupied the top five, Preece overtook Reddick for sixth while Briscoe, Byron and Cindric were in the top 10.

Seven laps later, the third caution of the event flew when Brad Keselowski spun by himself in Turn 4 and continued without sustaining any damage to his No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang. By then, Erik Jones and Corey LaJoie had made on-track contact and pitted while falling out of the lead lap category.

During the proceeding restart on Lap 64, Larson fended off Austin Dillon to retain the lead while Kyle Busch launched a challenge on teammate Dillon for second, which Dillon blocked Busch before the latter succeeded during the following lap. Meanwhile, Preece moved up to fourth followed by Blaney while Bell was back in sixth. As the field continued to jostle for positions, Larson retained a steady advantage over Richard Childress Racing’s Busch and Dillon, both of whom duked for second, as the event surpassed the Lap 70 mark.

Then on the final lap of the first stage, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck in Turn 4 that involved Denny Hamlin and Josh Berry. The incident in Turn 4 was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 75 to conclude under caution as Larson captured his second stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammates Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch were scored in second and third followed by Preece, Blaney, Bell, Briscoe, Reddick, Justin Haley and Byron. By then, 35 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Larson pitted under a six-minute, non-competitive break period while names that included Reddick, Wallace, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Dillon remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 76 as Reddick and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick maintained the lead through the first two turns while teammate Wallace muscled his way into second over Truex. Behind, Larson, the first competitor on four fresh tires, was back in fifth behind Ty Dillon while Preece joined the battle.

Four laps later and with the field jostling for positions while slipping and sliding in the dirt, the caution returned when Jonathan Davenport, a three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion who was making his NASCAR debut with Kaulig Racing, got loose and spun entering Turn 4 as the field scattered to avoid him. By then, Reddick retained the lead in front of teammate Wallace, Truex, Ty Dillon and Larson, who made contact with Preece and sent Preece into the wall a few laps earlier. The on-track contact prompted Preece to pull his No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang alongside Larson’s to express his displeasure.

With the event restarting under green on Lap 86, Reddick retained the lead as the field fanned out to three lanes through the turns and the straightaways. A lap later, however, the caution quickly returned when McDowell got loose and did a full 360 spin entering the backstretch, but he managed to drive away without being hit by the oncoming field.

During the proceeding restart on Lap 94, Reddick rocketed with the lead on the outside lane while teammate Wallace fended off Truex and Ty Dillon to move to second as the field fanned out. A few laps later, trouble ensued for Daniel Suarez as he spun on the backstretch while Logano had smoke billowing out of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Then shortly after, McDowell went for another 360 spin entering Turn 4, though he continued without sustaining any damage, while AJ Allmendinger made contact with the Turn 1 barriers. Amid all the issues, the event remained under green flag conditions as Reddick continued to lead. By then, Logano, who was aiming for a doubleheader sweep after winning Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event on the Bristol Dirt, pitted and fell out of the lead lap category. He would eventually nurse his damaged car to the garage and retire in last place.

Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Wallace followed by Truex, Ty Dillon and Kyle Busch while Preece, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Larson were scored in the top 10. Three laps later, however, the caution returned when Preece, who was running in the top 10, got loose and spun on the backstretch due to a broken right-rear toe link.

As the event restarted on Lap 111, Reddick received another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead followed by teammate Wallace, who restarted behind Reddick on the outside lane during the last several restarts to remain within striking distance of the lead. With both 23XI Racing competitors running towards the front, Kyle Busch was in third followed by Truex and Ty Dillon while Larson was back in sixth in front of Blaney and Austin Dillon. A few laps later, Ty Dillon made contact towards the Turn 2 outside wall and slipped out of the top 10, but the event remained under green flag conditions. Then towards the Lap 120 mark, Wallace lost a bevy of spots after making contact with the wall.

Then at the halfway mark on Lap 125, the caution flew when Keselowski spun for a second time of the night, this time in Turn 2. By then, Reddick had maintained the lead over Busch, Austin Dillon, Larson, Bell and Truex while Wallace had plummeted back to 16th. In addition, Larson, who was running towards the front, made contact with the wall while battling Dillon for third before running into Bell to defend his spot.

The following restart on Lap 131 saw Reddick retain the lead over Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon amid a stacked-up field while Larson tried to use the outside lane to slip and carve his way back to the front. Soon after, Erik Jones spun entering Turn 2, but the event remained under green as a tight battle for the lead between Reddick, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Larson ensued.

Then on Lap 135, Busch pulled a slide job beneath Reddick entering Turn 4 to assume the lead. As Busch maintained the lead by a narrow margin over Reddick, Austin Dillon fended off Larson to remain in third while Bell was in fifth in front of Briscoe and Truex. Reddick, however, would seize an opportunity and overtake both Dillon and Busch in Turn 4 to reassume the lead on Lap 141 as Dillon and Busch engaged in a fierce battle for second with Larson closing in.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 150, Reddick captured his second stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Dillon settled in second in front of Larson while Bell managed to overtake Kyle Busch to claim fourth while Briscoe, Truex, Blaney, Haley and Aric Almirola were scored in the top 10. By then, 32 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, names that included Bell, Briscoe, Almirola, Byron, McDowell, Gilliland, Hamlin, Josh Berry and Ross Chastain remained on the track while the rest led by Reddick pitted during a six-minute break period.

With 100 laps remaining, the final stage started as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Ty Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Bell retained the lead and checked out away from the field while Briscoe launched his way into second followed by Almirola, Gilliland and Berry as the field behind fanned out and jostled for late positions. Four laps later, however, the caution returned when Larson, who was trying to carve his way back to the front while on old tires after electing not to pit during the second stage’s break period, spun in Turn 4 as he plummeted below the leaderboard.

During the following restart with 89 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead in front of Briscoe, Almirola, Gilliland and Berry amid a packed field. As Hamlin spun with 82 laps remaining through Turn 2, he continued without drawing a caution as his teammate, Bell, maintained a steady advantage over Briscoe while Almirola, Gilliland and Berry remained in the top five. By then, Kyle Busch was trying to carve his way back to the front as he navigated his way up to seventh behind teammate Austin Dillon as Byron joined the battle. Amid all the battles, however, Bell continued to lead as the laps began to dwindle.

Then with 76 laps remaining, the caution flew when Larson, who got bumped and squeezed against the frontstretch’s wall with help from Preece, veered back left into Preece before spinning up against the track and wrecking against the Turn 1 outside wall. The damage to his No. 5 Chevrolet was enough to conclude Larson’s event in the garage while Preece continued. The incident, however, was not viewed kindly from Larson’s perspective and it hinted at retaliation from Preece, who made contact with the wall earlier with help from Larson.

“Yeah, I’m guessing [Preece] was paying me back for whatever I did earlier,” Larson, who emerged from the infield care center uninjured, said. “He ran me straight into the fence, and my car was broke and we crashed. It sucks, but I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. Just sucks.”

In the ensuing restart with 69 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead over Briscoe and Gilliland amid a flurry of jostles for positions within the field. A lap later, Austin Dillon worked his way back up to third as he went after Briscoe for second while Kyle Busch challenged Almirola for fifth. By then, Berry and McDowell, who endured two 360 spins, were running in the top 10 as Reddick tried to work his way back into the top 10.

With nearly 60 laps remaining, Chastain spun in Turn 2, but the event remained under green as Bell continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Briscoe while Austin Dillon trailed by seven-tenths of a second in third.

With 50 laps remaining, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over Briscoe followed by Austin Dillon, Gilliland and Reddick while Kyle Busch, Berry, Stenhouse, Blaney and McDowell were in the top 10. By then, the event’s 12th caution period flew when rookie Noah Gragson spun in Turn 1 due to a broken toe link.

With the field restarting with 43 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead on the outside lane while Briscoe, who restarted on the front row and the inside lane, maintained second over Austin Dillon as Reddick and Gilliland battled in the top five. As Austin Dillon and Reddick battled for third, the battle at the front began to slowly brew between Bell and Briscoe, with the former holding the top spot.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, the battle for the lead continued to intensify as Briscoe tried to navigate his way around Bell for the lead through the turns and the straightaways while third-place Reddick tried to close in on the two leaders. Despite having an opportunity to assume the lead through the backstretch, Bell managed to rocket away from Briscoe, who briefly stumbled through the frontstretch, as Reddick launched his challenge on Briscoe for second. He would succeed with 28 laps remaining as Briscoe fell back to third. Soon after, Briscoe made contact with the wall as Dillon and Blaney overtook him for top-five spots.

With 20 laps remaining, Bell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Blaney emerged in third place as he trailed the leaders by more than two seconds. Dillon, who scrubbed the wall, dropped to fourth in front of Briscoe while Gilliland, Stenhouse, Bowman, Truex and Haley were in the top 10.

Nearly five laps later, the event’s 13th caution flew when Kyle Busch, who was being told to pick up his pace, spun entering Turn 4 while nearly collecting ex-teammate Hamlin as he quickly nursed his No. 8 Chevrolet onto pit road with suspension damage. By then, LaJoie had spun in Turn 4 without drawing a caution.

Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race restarted as Bell rocketed away from Reddick and Blaney to retain the lead through the first two turns. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Briscoe made contact with Blaney and sent him spinning in the midst of oncoming competitors, but the event remained under green as Blaney continued without getting hit. By then, however, Bell had pulled away with the lead and Reddick was in second followed by Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Gilliand.

With five laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by more than half a second over Reddick while third-place Stenhouse trailed by more than a second.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Reddick, who tried to close in on Bell for the lead and the win. Behind the leaders, a multi-car wreck erupted when Suarez got loose off the front nose of Buescher and collected Berry, where both spun across the backstretch as Preece and Chastain collided into Berry with significant damage. Amid the carnage, the event concluded under caution on the final lap. This enabled Bell to cycle his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry back to the frontstretch under a cautious pace and claim the checkered flag over Reddick.

With the victory, Bell, a dirt racing specialist with three consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals sprint car victories and a former Truck Series winner at Eldora Speedway, became the seventh different winner through the first eight events on the 2023 Cup Series schedule. He recorded his fifth career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first at Bristol, the first of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the second for the Toyota nameplate.

“Man, let me tell you, those were some of the longest laps of my entire life,” Bell said on FOX. “This place is so much fun, whether it’s dirt or concrete. Whenever the cushion got up there on the top [lane], it was very tough because you couldn’t drive it super hard. Otherwise, you get sucked in. If you got your right front into it, you push a little bit. If you got your right rear into it, you’d slide. It was a lot of fun. Man, I’m just so grateful to be here, driving this No. 20 [car] for DeWalt, Joe Gibbs Racing. That was a lot of fun. Man, I just can’t get over how long those laps feel. It’s a 20-second lap and you’re moving the wheel 18 times a corner. It feels like a long time to get around there.”

Reddick settled in second place on the Bristol Dirt Course for a second consecutive season while Austin Dillon, Stenhouse and Briscoe completed the top five.

“It was a lot of fun, honestly,” Reddick said. “Really intense. Towards the end there, [I] definitely feel like I found a little bit more. I thought I had the edge, but I wasn’t quite there in the last couple laps. Definitely found it. Just hate it for everybody on this SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD. Just needed to be a little bit closer than I was. I think with two [laps] to go, it would have been really bold to try to make that move work. Obviously, on the white flag coming into [Turns] 3 and 4, I was going to see. We’ll never know if it [would have] worked. Still a good rebound for us.”

“I had a blast out there,” Dillon added. “I don’t care what anybody says about the dirt, the concrete. That was cool. That was one of the coolest races I’ve ever been in. [Speedway Motorsports] did a great job of making a track where you can just slide around, top to bottom, and it constantly was changing. It was a blast out there, really was. Just wished we could’ve brought home the win. We’ll keep working. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum. We got a lot of points tonight.”

Haley emerged with a strong sixth-place result while Truex, Gilliland, Kevin Harvick and rookie Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 on the track.

There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 73 laps. In addition, 27 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the eighth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Christopher Bell leads the regular-season standings by 13 points over Ross Chastain, 26 over Kevin Harvick, 39 over Kyle Larson, 46 over Tyler Reddick, 47 over Kyle Busch and 49 over Martin Truex Jr.

Results.

1. Christopher Bell, 100 laps led

2. Tyler Reddick, 69 laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Austin Dillon

4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

5. Chase Briscoe

6. Justin Haley

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Todd Gilliland

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Ty Gibbs

11. Michael McDowell

12. Bubba Wallace

13. William Byron

14. Erik Jones

15. Harrison Burton

16. AJ Allmendinger

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Chris Buescher

19. Austin Cindric

20. JJ Yeley

21. Ty Dillon

22. Denny Hamlin

23. Ryan Blaney

24. Ryan Preece

25. Daniel Suarez

26. BJ McLeod

27. Josh Berry

28. Ross Chastain, one lap down

29. Alex Bowman, two laps down

30. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

31. Aric Almirola, 10 laps down

32. Kyle Busch – OUT, Suspension, six laps led

33. Noah Gragson, 45 laps down

34. Matt Crafton – OUT, Engine

35. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner

36. Jonathan Davenport – OUT, Accident

37. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first of two scheduled visits this season to Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. The event is scheduled for next Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS Bristol Dirt Post-Race Quotes

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Bristol Dirt Race | Sunday, April 9, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:

5th – Chase Briscoe

8th – Todd Gilliland

9th – Kevin Harvick

11th – Michael McDowell

15th – Harrison Burton

17th – Brad Keselowski

18th – Chris Buescher

19th – Austin Cindric

20th – JJ Yeley

23rd – Ryan Blaney

24th – Ryan Preece

31st – Aric Almirola

34th – Matt Crafton

37th – Joey Logano

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang – “I thought the track was awesome. I thought that was the most realistic dirt race you’re gonna get with real dirt cars. I felt like we finally saw the dirt guys shine for that same reason, so I had a lot of fun running the top like that. It actually built a little bit of a cushion. It’s still not much, but it was just a lot of fun. I hope the fans enjoyed it. Hopefully, we can do it again in the future. I’m not really sure what the future of this race is, but I thought it was an awesome race from my vantage point and hopefully it was for everybody else, too.”

FOR AS GOOD AS TONIGHT WAS WOULD IT BE OK IF THIS RACE WENT BACK TO CONCRETE? “I would love to see this race on a non-Easter weekend just to see the turnout. I feel like we don’t get a true read about what the fan base thinks about it. We have to have a dirt race, I think, at least one. Now, if it’s here or not, it really doesn’t make a difference to me, but I do think after tonight, even last year, but especially after tonight, I think it’s shown that it can put on really good racing. It’s just a matter of the track prep and all those things that go along with it. I would be fine if we move it, we just have to be smart about it and where you run it because it’s gonna be hard to just go and replicate something like this or replicate and Eldora.”

YOU MAY NOT NEED SURGERY NOW ON YOUR HAND? “Yeah, they said today that I’ll do my x-ray first thing in the morning and depending on what it looks like I may not have to have surgery, so I don’t know what to think. As of now, I have absolutely zero pain. There were times I got a little behind, but it was literally the bulkiness of how big this thing is compared to what my normal hand would be that it kind of messed me up, but, from a pain standpoint, I feel 100 percent fine. I never had pain once in the race, so we’ll see how the x-ray goes tomorrow and go from there.”

DID IT IMPACT ANY OF YOUR MOVES? “I maybe got me a touch behind sometimes, like when I would get really far out of shape and turning it back quick the other direction, just due to the sheer fact of how bulky it is, but you’re not gonna have that anywhere else. When we’re at Martinsville, I’m never gonna go full lock left, full lock right, back and forth, so I think I’ll be fine going forward.”

YOU LOST SOME SPOT THAT ONE TIME LATE. “The 45 kept trying to slide me and I probably should have lifted and I tried stay in wide-open and trying to drive back around him and I got it in the fence. Then I started overdriving. I was in such a rhythm behind the 20 and when I got out of that rhythm I just started running a foot off the top and started making mistakes and got in the wall a second time and that was just me not doing a very good job.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FINAL RESTART? “That last restart, especially being on the inside, you just try to shove the guy in front of you as hard as you can. I didn’t get a great launch and shove down the front straightaway to him and then going into one I just tried to run as low as I possibly could and when I went in there I hit those big dirt turtle things after my spotter had warned me about it five times. As soon as I hit it, it just bottomed the nose out super hard and my car just shot right and hit Blaney in the left rear. I absolutely ruined his day. He’d done a really good job and was running third and honestly thought he had a shot to win it if I could give him the right push, and I just completely ruined it for him. It wasn’t a very good decision on my part. I just got in there and hit the turtle and it bottomed me out.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – “I don’t know how you could do that. I literally had two 360’s without hitting anything. The first one was on my own. I just went full lock and ran out of steering to the right and I just stayed in it and it was straight and I’m like, ‘Oh, man. I only lost two spots.’ And then on the last one I’m not sure. I think there was probably some contact below me. I think it was maybe the 16 and the 38 and I saw one just turn right like he got knocked off into me and spun around and didn’t hit anything again. That is a very fortunate night when you can do two 360s and not get clobbered by the field. But we lost track position with that, so we had to stay out there on tires after that and not quite good enough at the end. We just lacked drive, but coming away with a top 10 after two 360s is OK.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang – “I think our car was good when it was really tacky. I got in that very first wreck and when I was a lap down it was so fun. I passed like 10 to 15 cars, so I think we were more just set up for when it was tackier. We didn’t really have the entry grip or the exit grip we needed when it got really slick. That’s how this place goes, though. It goes through such a big swing. I feel like for a majority of the race we were OK. Frustrating because I thought we could have got a better finish, but that’s racing sometimes.”

WERE YOU JUST HOLDING ON AT THE END? “Yeah. I was absolutely hanging on. I thought I was gonna spin out on entry and exit. It was pretty bad at the end, but I’m happy we came away with a decent finish.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang – WAS IT HARD TO FIND A RHYTHM TONIGHT? “I think if we could have kept track position, we had I feel like 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 to hold on. Those last 75 laps or so, I mean, once you lose track position after Stage 1, man, you guys saw it, guys stayed out and they maintained it. What are you gonna do at that point? I don’t care if Chad had a magic wand and I had a special set of tires that were staggered special, it wouldn’t have mattered. You just can’t do anything. There’s no grip anywhere.”

ARE YOU UP AGAINST A PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE OR JUST BETTER LUCK THIS YEAR? “That’s the third week in a row we’ve run top 10. It starts with, I’ve always said this, it starts with running there to winning races and we’ve showed speed, so that’s something. You’ve got speed, but ultimately it’s certainly frustrating when you’re not getting the results of where you’re running and not really due to something that you can really control. But at the end of the day the clock resets at midnight. We’re moving forward and we’re gonna go to Martinsville with every bullet loaded, so we’ll be good.”

ON THE RADIO YOU SAID GAME OVER. WHAT DID THAT MEAN? “I think you just get mad getting run in the fence. There was no meaning, it’s just from inside that race car you’re like, ‘I’m not gonna lift.’ When it comes to being run into the fence, every time you lift, if guys see you lifting when you’re at the right-rear corner, they’re just gonna keep running you up in the fence. I think when I meant game over, I meant just not gonna keep lifting and giving that respect of, ‘hey, I’ll give you this room.’ It comes down to that.”

THE LARSON CONTACT, WE VIEWED IT AS ONE WHERE YOU WEREN’T GOING TO GIVE HIM ANY ROOM. “No, I was just trying to run the top. You guys saw it. He was running the top and making ground and I tried to move up and it’s really slick if you’re not in the right spot, not racing dirt, I guess you figure that out.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang – “It just takes me too long to get going. It’s not that we don’t have a good car or can’t do it, it just takes me forever to figure out where I need to be. The more worn out and nasty the racetrack gets, the better I am, but it just took me too long to figure it out.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “I tried. I was out of my comfort zone already running up there and I was doing way better than I thought I was capable, and I started really getting a feel for it and a rhythm and started to get comfortable. Then I went down into turn one and tried a little bit harder and slid through the cushion and got in the fence and broke the right rear toe link and then we lost 10 laps changing the right-rear toe link. I’m just disappointed in myself and mad at myself for throwing away a good finish, but I was trying and just made a mistake.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang – WHAT HAPPENED ON THE LAST RESTART? “I was excited to start on the front row. I thought that we were kind of making the middle work and I was really pumped to start on the front row and see what we had, but we never got a shot. The 14 hit us from behind and that was it.”

YOU CAME ON STRONG THE LATE. DID THAT CAUTION PLAY INTO YOUR HANDS? “Yeah, I think the caution came at a good time because it gave us a shot to win the race. I kind of got the middle going there pretty good and I was able to drive to third and not a lot of guys could really run the middle, so that’s why I was really excited to get a restart at it because I thought the middle could have been pretty good for a handful of laps and I could get to the lead, but I just never could get that shot.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHAT HAPPENED THERE? “Someone wrecked in front of me and I can’t say I really saw it and they came down the racetrack and hit it with the right-front and it broke the steering and then I hit the wall really hard after that. That just kind of killed our car. It’s a bummer. We got caught up in pretty much everything from the beginning of the race. I was in the first couple of cautions right off the bat. We had a really good Mustang that could run its way back through the field and we got our way back to 14th by the end of the first stage and I was like, ‘Alright, I think we’re pretty good.’ And then just got caught up in more of them.”

WHAT ABOUT TRACK CONDITIONS? “It’s pretty racy right now. You look at it right now and it’s top to bottom. It’s pretty good.”

IS THAT WHY WE’RE SEEING GUYS LOSE IT AND SPIN? “There’s a lot of lanes. It’s really slick and as the cars get more and more sideways they don’t really like it too much. They really want to come around easy and you just see cars spin out, which is just a product of not being dirt cars. I think that’s part of it, but when we do get to race it’s pretty entertaining.”

HOW ARE CONDITIONS COMPARED TO LAST NIGHT? “Comparable. About the same. If anything, it’s probably rubbered in a little bit more, which we would expect, Obviously, it dried out pretty quick as we’d expect, but I think it’s pretty good right now. The lesson I learned tonight is after they watered the track up top is not more grip. That’s mud. Not good.”

HOW HARD WAS IT TO GET INTO A RHYTHM? “There is no rhythm right now. They run 10 laps at a time, if that. It’ll probably look like that for a while.”

HOW HARD IS IT TO GET THROUGH THE FIELD? “Honestly, our car was so good that we drove from the back a few times and it wasn’t that bad. There are a lot of lanes. If you’re faster, you can move around and do different things. You can pass and make big moves and do things, but there’s always carnage around you and at some point you get caught up in it.”

Toyota Racing NCS Post-Rce Recap — Bristol 4.9.23

By
Official Release
-

BELL PUTS DIRT BACKGROUND TO WORK WITH BRISTOL VICTORY
Toyota Claims One-Two Finish on Bristol Dirt

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 9, 2023) – Christopher Bell showcased his origins of dirt track racing in Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway to claim his first win of the 2023 season. Bell, who has been on a streak coming into the race weekend with a series-leading four top-five finishes extends the streak to five and sets himself up for another shot at the Cup Series title with a slot in this year’s Playoffs. Toyota teammate and COTA (Circuit of the Americas) race-winner, Tyler Reddick finished second in Sunday’s race and claimed the stage two victory after leading a total of 69 laps (of 250). Camry drivers Martin Truex Jr. (seventh) and Ty Gibbs (10th) also earned top-10 finishes in the 250-lap race.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 8 of 36 – 125 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL

2nd, TYLER REDDICK

3rd, Austin Dillon*

4th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*

5th, Chase Briscoe*

7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

11th, TY GIBBS

12th, BUBBA WALLACE

22nd, DENNY HAMLIN

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Powerstack Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How does this win feel on the Bristol dirt on Easter Sunday?

“Man, those were some of the longest laps of my life. This place is so much fun whether it’s dirt or concrete and whenever the cushion got up there on the top, it was very, very tough because you couldn’t drive it super hard otherwise you would get sucked in. If you got your right-front into it, you would push a little and if you got your right-rear into it, you would slide. It was just a lot of fun, but just so grateful to be here driving this No. 20 DeWalt Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. That was a lot of fun.”

Was there ever a moment where you were worried about getting the right-rear into the wall too hard?

“Three and four, that was the scary corner for me because if you got into it too hard you lost all your momentum. In one and two, I think I got into the wall a couple times, but there seemed to be a little more moisture up there and it would hold me better so I could really attack one and two, but three and four I had to be careful. I just can’t get over how long those laps feel. They’re 20-second laps, but when you’re moving the wheel 18 times a corner, it feels like it takes a long time to get around there.”

Was staying out on the last stage break the move that got you the win tonight?

“For me it was. We clearly were not the best car, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept asking me what I needed and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if you’re going to be able to help me enough on a pit stop adjustment to get me where I need to be.’ I just said, let’s stay out and he believed in me and we were able to make it work.”

What was the entire last stage like and were you looking in the rearview mirror?

“No, I just try not looking in the rearview mirror and hit my marks and not make a mistake.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 SiriusXM Radio Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What was the battle like in the closing laps with Christopher Bell?

“It was a lot of fun honestly and really intense. Towards the end there, definitely felt like I had a little bit more on the edge and there in the closing laps I thought I found it. Just hate it for everybody on this SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD. Just needed to be a little bit closer than I was. Maybe with two to go I could have made that move work. Obviously, coming into three and four on the white flag lap we were going to see, but we’ll never know if it would have worked. Still a good rebound for us. We thought the track was going to take a different direction than it did as the race unfolded. As it worked out, our strategy wasn’t the best, but that was on me.”

What could you have done differently to have had a chance at Christopher Bell in the closing laps?

“We definitely had a really strong SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD and Billy Scott (crew chief) and the guys really left it in my hands from my background to make the decision on what to do there strategy-wise. I kind of missed it honestly. I really thought the track was going to go away a lot faster than that so we made the decision to stay out and pit later on. It almost worked out and we restarted eighth or ninth, but I didn’t do a good job on the restart at the beginning of stage three and got behind Kyle (Busch) and Austin (Dillon) and those guys. I think it was the difference of being able to get the Christopher (Bell) and be able to do something. Just wish I would have had that last 20 laps back, but this is the second year in a row I’ve said that.”

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.

CHEVROLET NCS AT BRISTOL DIRT: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FOOD CITY DIRT RACE
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
APRIL 9, 2023

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
3rd AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL1
4th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / IRISH SPRING CAMARO ZL1
6th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 TIDE CAMARO ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Christopher Bell (Toyota)
2nd Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
3rd Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
4th Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
5th Chase Briscoe (Ford)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Martinsville Speedway with the NOCO 400 on Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1

Finished: 3rd

A third place finish after starting on the outside pole. Austin, you had one heck of a racecar tonight, even after having to come through mid-pack and back up to the front. It seemed like your car was one of the few that was driving right at certain points of the night. Tell us about your race.

“I just have to thank SMI for all of the hard work they’ve done with this dirt racing. I don’t care what anybody says, that was an amazing show throughout the field. I felt like it was some great racing.

Have to thank the good Lord above. It’s Easter and that’s what we’re really here to celebrate. But man, that was a fun time. I really wish we could have brought home the No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy into victory lane. We were second in both stages and getting a third-place finish was big for us. Getting the momentum rolling. I had a lot of fun out there. Just wasn’t good enough against the fence when it mattered. We needed the track to kind of go back to our run. Right there at the end, we were kind of circling the middle and the car was really good. The No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy was fast, just not enough at the end.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

Finished: 35th

We saw contact earlier in the race between you and Ryan Preece. We saw it again off turn two and continue down the straightway. What caused it to continue?

“Yeah, I’m guessing he was paying me back for whatever I did earlier. He ran me straight into the fence and my car was broke and we crashed. It sucks, but I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. Just sucks.”

You were looking for a long run; you said you had a better car when you could go out there for a while.

“Yeah, just the tires seemed to operate better when they were hotter. Just didn’t get to run very long there at the end.”

Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Camaro ZL1

Finished: 33rd

“I felt like we had a much better No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevy from the heat races to the race. Luke Lambert (crew chief) and the rest of the Sunseeker team really did a great job of making adjustments to the car and improving it; going from dead last in the heat race and starting 36th in the race, and then getting up into the top-10. The team did a great job, a great effort in making adjustments. I caught the wall in the second stage and then with probably about 40 or 50-laps to go, just broke a toe link so that took us out of contention. But I felt like we had a really good Chevy. Just proud of everyone’s efforts from where we started the weekend to where we ended. I felt like we got way better. Just appreciate everyone’s hard work.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Club Wyndham Camaro ZL1

Finished: 14th

“Yeah, I’d say that was pretty good. We kind of just survived the chaos and obviously had an up and down day going three laps down early on. To come back and finish in the top-15 is pretty solid. We just need to find a little more in the car and get a little bit better for next year, but I’m definitely happy to get out of here with a decent finish after a night like that. Proud of everyone’s efforts on our Club Wyndham Chevy, looking forward to Martinsville next week.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / Irish Spring Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

I heard you on the radio today say that you felt like you were pulling a trailer behind this No. 47 Chevy. Kind of describe what you were dealing with out there.

“It honestly felt like I hadn’t run dirt cars much. We just struggled a little bit yesterday. The guys worked really hard all night coming up with something different. We changed our No. 47 Irish Spring Camaro around and we were better. We still didn’t have enough to run up front there, but we methodically kind of picked and chose lanes. We got to running the bottom really well and made up a lot of time on restarts. They all just kind of fell our way there.

Really good to get a top-five and a bounce-back after last weekend. I hope that was a good show. I thought the race track was as good as it could be. You could run kind of all over the place, so hats off to the track.”

TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS:

Stage One

· With the starting lineup set by qualifying heat races, Chevrolet’s Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon accumulated the most passing and finishing points to take front-row starting spots in tonight’s NASCAR Cup Series’ (NCS) Food City Dirt Race.

· Polesitter Larson led all 75-laps in Stage One marking his second stage win of the 2023 season.

· Larson led Chevrolet to a one-two-three finish in the opening stage with Richard Childress Racing teammates Dillon and Kyle Busch finishing in the second and third-positions, respectively.

· While William Byron was caught-up in the race’s first caution on lap 10, he was able to drive his No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 back through the field to salvage a top-10 finish in Stage One.

· Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10

1st Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1

3rd Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1

9th Justin Haley, No. 31 Tide Camaro ZL1

10th William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1

Stage Two

· At the conclusion of Stage One, the field came down pit road for the race’s first round of stops.

· Stage One winner Kyle Larson chose the outside lane of the front-row to lead the field to the green for Stage Two.

· The 75-lap Stage Two saw three lead changes with Kyle Busch pacing the field for six laps, ultimately ending the stage in the fifth position.

· Showcasing the speed of the No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1, Austin Dillon drove to back-to-back runner-up finishes in both stages. Dillon led Chevrolet to four top-10 finishes in Stage Two.

· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10

2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1

3rd Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

5th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1

9th Justin Haley, No. 31 Tide Camaro ZL1

Final Stage / Post-Race Notes

· The Stage Two break saw pit strategy come into play with a handful of teams choosing to stay out for track position. Of those cars includes Team Chevy drivers William Byron, Josh Berry and Ross Chastain.

· While Kyle Larson brought his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team to pit road, the team opted to not change tires and do a fuel-only stop.

· A caution flew with 75 laps to go involving Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team. Suffering too much damage to repair, Larson was forced to retire early from the race.

· Austin Dillon led Chevrolet to the checkered flag, driving his No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1 home with a third-place finish.

· 2023 Daytona 500 Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took a fourth-place finish to give Chevrolet two top-five finishes in the series’ only appearance on dirt this season.

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.

Christopher Bell Scores One for the ‘Dirt Guys’ at Bristol Motor Speedway in Winning the Food City Dirt Race

By
Official Release
-
Christopher Bell scored a victory for all of the drivers with dirt racing backgrounds in the Cup Series garage, powering his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine to the victory at dirt-transformed Bristol Motor Speedway. Here, Bell celebrates along the frontstretch after taking the checkered flag.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 9, 2023) – Before Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell lamented that a “dirt guy” hadn’t won the NASCAR Cup Series’ only race on the red clay in Thunder Valley.

Bell fixed the problem—in a race that also saw hard feelings between pole winner Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece boil over.

Holding off charging Tyler Reddick in the final stage of the 250-lap race, Bell held a slim lead over Reddick when NASCAR called the 14th caution with 200 yards left in the final circuit.

A dirt-track aficionado who won three straight Chili Bowl Midget Nationals from 2017-2019, Bell collected his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

“Man, let me tell you, these are some of the longest laps of my entire life,” Bell said of the lates stages of the race. “This place is so much fun, whether it’s dirt or concrete. Whenever the cushion got up there on the top, it was very tough, because you couldn’t drive it super hard. Otherwise, you’d get sucked in.

“If you got your right front into it, you’d push a little bit. If you got your right rear into it, you’d slide. It was a lot of fun.”

Bell used his experience on dirt to negotiate the two ends of the half-mile track, which featured markedly different racing characteristics.

“(Turns) 3 and 4, that was the scary corner for me, because if you got into it too far, you lost all your momentum,” the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota explained. (Turns) 1 and 2, I think I kept hitting the wall a couple times.

“Seems like there was a little bit more moisture up there—it would hold me better. I’m like, ‘OK, I can really attack 1 and 2.’ But 3 and 4, I had to be careful… Definitely the track tonight favored experience.”

Staying out on old tires after the end of Stage 2, Bell led the last 100 laps. Reddick, on the other hand, forewent a pit stop after Stage 1 and won Stage 2, but paid the price with a pit stop at the second break and rested 12th on Lap 151.

It wasn’t until Lap 223 that Reddick passed eventual fifth-place finisher Chase Briscoe for the second position, as Briscoe scraped the outside wall in Turn 4. Reddick began his pursuit of Bell, but the final caution foiled any opportunity he might have had.

“Yeah, towards the end there definitely feel like I had a little bit more,” Reddick said. “I thought I had the edge, but I wasn’t quite there in the last couple laps. Definitely found it.

“Just hate it for everybody on this (No. 45 23XI Racing) Toyota. Just needed to be a little bit closer than I was. I think with two (laps) to go, it would have been really bold to try to make that move work. Obviously, on the white flag coming into (Turns) 3 and 4, I was going to see. We’ll never know if it (would have) worked.”

Larson won 75-lap Stage 1 wire-to-wire, but he angered Preece with a move that forced the Stewart-Haas Racing driver into the outside wall. On Lap 175, 20 circuits after Larson spun and fell to the rear of the field, Preece returned the favor in Turn 4. Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet then shot to the inside into the door of Preece’s No. 41 Ford before spinning into the outside wall.

“Yeah, I’m guessing he was paying me back for whatever I did earlier,” said Larson, who exited the race with suspension damage to his car. “He ran me straight into the fence, and my car was broke and we crashed.

“It sucks, but I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. Just sucks.”

Austin Dillon ran third, followed by Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Briscoe and Justin Haley, as drivers with dirt-track backgrounds claimed the top six finishing positions. Martin Truex Jr., Todd Gilliland, Kevin Harvick and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10.

“I just have to thank (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) for all of the hard work they’ve done with this dirt racing,” Dillon said. “I don’t care what anybody says, that was an amazing show throughout the field. I felt like it was some great racing.”

Story by NASCAR Newswire

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Food City Dirt Race
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
Bristol, Tennessee
Sunday, April 9, 2023

(4) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 250.
(6) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 250.
(2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 250.
(22) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 250.
(14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 250.
(25) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 250.
(27) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 250.
(15) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 250.
(26) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 250.
(23) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 250.
(13) Michael McDowell, Ford, 250.
(11) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 250.
(10) William Byron, Chevrolet, 250.
(18) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 250.
(20) Harrison Burton, Ford, 250.
(29) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 250.
(33) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 250.
(28) Chris Buescher, Ford, 250.
(7) Austin Cindric, Ford, 250.
(3) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 250.
(32) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 250.
(30) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 250.
(9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 250.
(8) Ryan Preece, Ford, 250.
(34) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 250.
(37) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 250.
(31) Josh Berry(i), Chevrolet, 250.
(16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 249.
(17) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 248.
(35) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 247.
(19) Aric Almirola, Ford, 240.
(5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Suspension, 236.
(36) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 205.
(24) Matt Crafton(i), Ford, Engine, 185.
(1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 177.
(21) Jonathan Davenport, Chevrolet, Accident, 176.
(12) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 96.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 46.68 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 40 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags: 14 for 71 laps.

Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Larson 1-75;T. Reddick 76-134;K. Busch 135-140;T. Reddick 141-150;C. Bell 151-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Christopher Bell 1 time for 100 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 75 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 69 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 6 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,3,8,41,12,20,14,45,31,24

Stage #2 Top Ten: 45,3,5,20,8,14,19,12,31,10

Carson Hocevar – Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt Race Recap

By
Official Release
-

Carson Hocevar – Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt Race Recap
Team: No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado
Driver: Carson Hocevar (Portage, Michigan) | Crew Chief: Phil Gould
Follow the Team: Twitter: @NieceMotorsport | Instagram: @NieceMotorsports | Facebook: /NieceMotorsports | Web: www.niecemotorsports.com
Follow Carson Hocevar: Twitter: @CarsonHocevar | Instagram: @CarsonHocevar | Facebook: /carsonhocevarracing | Web: www.CarsonHocevar.com
Start: 27th | Finish: 17th | Points Standings: 12th

On Saturday’s Race at Bristol Motor Speedway: “We battled a tight-handling Worldwide Express Silverado all-day. We made some big gains in the final stage to get it handling to my liking but, we needed a long-run to get where we wanted to be. We’re done with the only dirt race of the season and I look forward to Martinsville next week.”

The wet-weather decided to clear on Saturday, allowing the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series to run the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt. With both practice sessions being cancelled on Friday due to rain, heat races on Saturday afternoon was the first time the driver were able to hit the track. Hocevar started sixth in his heat and finished 7th. This would result in a 27th-place starting position for the driver of the No. 42.

Hocevar, who continued to struggle with the handling of his truck, fought a power steering issue at the conclusion of the first stage where he finished 23rd. Under the stage break, the team would repair the power steering system, add fuel, and replace all four tires.

From there, Hocevar was able to advance through the field, working the high-line to ultimately finish 12th in the second stage. The No. 42 team elected to stay on track under this caution period to capitalize on track position.

The final stage saw Hocevar battle inside the top-ten for a majority of the laps. But, an incident with less than 20 laps left included Hocevar, making him lose the track position he worked all-race to get. In the end, Hocevar would finish in 17th-place and fall to 12th-place in the championship standings.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2023, Niece Motorsports enters its eighth season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

Media Inquiries: media@niecemotorsports.com

About Worldwide Express:

The WWEX group of brands, which comprises Worldwide Express, Unishippers and GlobalTranz, offers full-service logistics expertise to more than 115,000 customers across the country. With access to industry-leading small package, truckload, less-than-truckload and managed transportation solutions, its customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value for their supply chains. The company is the second-largest privately held freight brokerage and largest non-retail UPS Authorized Reseller® in the U.S. , with an annual systemwide revenue nearing $5 billion through a network of company-owned, franchise and agent locations. A highly selective carrier portfolio, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities provide clients with unmatched options and flexibility to meet their shipping needs. The WWEX Racing initiative was borne of a desire to address the complex but underserved logistic needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of insight. To learn more about the WWEX Racing program, visit www.wwexracing.com. For media inquiries, contact racing@wwex.com.

Tyler Carpenter – Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt Race Recap

By
Official Release
-

Tyler Carpenter – Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt Race Recap
Team: No. 41 Precision Vehicle Logistics / AutoVentive Chevrolet Silverado
Driver: Tyler Carpenter (Parkersburg, WV) | Crew Chief: Mike Hillman Jr.
Follow the Team: Twitter: @NieceMotorsport | Instagram: @NieceMotorsports | Facebook: /NieceMotorsports | Web: www.niecemotorsports.com
Follow Tyler Carpenter: Facebook: /TylerCarpenterRacing28
Start: 33rd | Finish: 29th | Owner’s Points Standings: 18th

Carpenter on Saturday’s Race at Bristol Motor Speedway: “I’m super appreciative to get this opportunity with Niece Motorsports again; it was so cool having Precision Vehicle Logistics and AutoVentive on the truck. Tonight was tough from the start after getting involved in the opening wreck. We pretty much had to battle back all-race but we were stuck multiple laps down throughout the race.”

Saturday was just the second time that Tyler Carpenter was behind the wheel of a NASCAR truck. A year after his debut at Knoxville Raceway, Carpenter would get another shot with Niece Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway. Unfortunately for the West Virginia driver, both of Friday’s practice session were cancelled due to rain; meaning Carpenter’s first lap at Bristol would be in his heat race on Saturday.

Carpenter impressed in his heat race, running in third for a majority of the running until a spin on the final lap resulted in a ninth-place finish. But, his ninth-place effort was good enough to earn himself a spot in the feature, though he would start in 33rd.

Unfortunately, Carpenter was collected in a lap 8 pileup, resulting in heavy left-front damage. The damage in this wreck would hinder the rest of the race after being trapped multiple laps down after repairs.

From there, the driver of the No. 41 would bring out several yellows throughout the race, including the caution on lap 124 which would end his day. Ultimately, Carpenter would pilot his Silverado to a 29th-place finish in his second-career Truck Series start.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2023, Niece Motorsports enters its eighth season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

Media Inquiries: media@niecemotorsports.com

About Precision Vehicle Logistics:

Precision Vehicle Logistics is a customer-focused group of professionals committed to service excellence in finished vehicle logistics. Precision Vehicle Logistics has a unique combination of talented experience, industry-leading software and systems, and a network of partners and resources to deliver customized solutions to the world’s leading automakers.

Visit on the Web: http://www.precisionvehiclelogistics.com

About AutoVentive:

AutoVentive is an industry-leading Software as a Service (SaaS) applications developer providing customized solutions to the automotive logistics industry. The company is part of Liberty Hill Equity Partners, LLC, a Cincinnati-based private equity firm, and Apex Holdings, LLC, a privately held holding company that operates across a breadth of industries and features an expanding portfolio of companies in the automotive logistics and transportation sectors.

Apex Holdings is an active partner, providing critical strategic, financial, and administrative support to the AutoVentive team.

As a company, AutoVentive has a singular mindset: To be the best, positively different, and relentlessly improving. AutoVentive provides its customers with a sustainable competitive advantage in yard management operations and logistics through cost-effective and highly reliable solutions.

Visit on the Web: https://autoventive.com/

About Worldwide Express:

The WWEX group of brands, which comprises Worldwide Express, Unishippers and GlobalTranz, offers full-service logistics expertise to more than 115,000 customers across the country. With access to industry-leading small package, truckload, less-than-truckload and managed transportation solutions, its customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value for their supply chains. The company is the second-largest privately held freight brokerage and largest non-retail UPS Authorized Reseller® in the U.S. , with an annual systemwide revenue nearing $5 billion through a network of company-owned, franchise and agent locations. A highly selective carrier portfolio, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities provide clients with unmatched options and flexibility to meet their shipping needs. The WWEX Racing initiative was borne of a desire to address the complex but underserved logistic needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of insight. To learn more about the WWEX Racing program, visit www.wwexracing.com. For media inquiries, contact racing@wwex.com.

GMS Racing NCTS Race Recap: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt

By
Official Release
-

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 11TH
FINISH: 5TH
POINTS: 6TH

Post-Race Quote: “Solid day, honestly, I just want to thank everybody on this No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevy, GMS Racing, and GMS Fabrication. We needed this. We just haven’t had a clean couple weeks. We didn’t have a winning truck tonight, but I feel like we executed well. I felt like we got all we could out of it. I think we were three wide about ten percent of the race. They did a great job prepping the track. Fortunately, we got to race and hopefully we can use this to build some momentum up.”

With all the unpredictability that is dirt racing with the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks, how adaptive do you have to be?

“I think you always have to be adaptive. The track changes a lot here and it did seem like the bottom prevailed for the most part. Most of the time here it will go bottom, top, then middle but the bottom prevailed. You could make the bottom and the top work if you had to. Shoutout to everyone who prepped the track. I think they did a great job.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 15TH
FINISH: 11TH
POINTS: 17TH

Post-Race Quote: “Pretty eventful night for our Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet, from working inside the top-10 early to overheating and getting spun out. We just never gave up and we were there at the end. It was great to salvage some points. Definitely feel like I could have gotten a few more spots at the end. Nonetheless, it was great to finish one of these for the men and women on my No. 24 team but also everybody at GMS Racing and Fabrication, and Chevrolet Racing.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Race To Stop Suicide / Solar-Fit Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 32ND
FINISH: 22ND
POINTS: 20TH

Post-Race Quote: “I was just trying to clip my way through the field. Just tried to grab one spot here, grab one there. This dirt stuff is so new to me, and I was learning the whole time. I think there at the end, I got pretty okay, then I started trying stuff and pushed it too much. I got into the wall and I think we bent some stuff which resulted in us loosing rear grip. All in all, I missed all the wrecks and finished on the lead lap. I’m thankful to all of my No. 43 guys for sticking with it. A 22nd place result isn’t wonderful, but it’s better than most of the races we have had this year. Just trying to claw away at it, and we will see what happens at Martinsville.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series operating the No. 23, No. 24, and No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs for drivers Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, a team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

KYLE LARSON EARNS POLE FOR FOOD CITY DIRT RACE IN BUSH’S BEANS QUALIFYING SATURDAY AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

By
Official Release
-
Kyle Larson will start Sunday's Food City Dirt Race from the pole alongside Austin Dillon on the front row after claiming the pole during Bush's Beans Qualifying on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — It didn’t take long for Kyle Larson to assert his superiority on the dirt track at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Starting sixth in the third of four 15-lap qualifying Bush’s Beans Qualifying heat races, Larson had stormed into the lead before the end of the first lap and held off charging Ryan Preece for a wire-to-wire victory.

The combination of finishing position and passing points gave Larson 15 total points, good for the pole position for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Thunder Valley (7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Larson will start beside Austin Dillon, who drove from fifth to first in the opening heat race, scoring 14 points. Dirt specialist J.J. Yeley earned the third spot on the grid, driving from ninth to third behind Larson and Preece to earn 14 points in the third heat.

From the start of the third heat race, the top lane opened up for Larson, who passed fourth-place starter Matt Crafton and took full advantage when second-place Corey LaJoie dropped to the bottom lane.

That left only Erik Jones to overtake, and Larson did so expeditiously.

“The outside lane launched really well, and my car turned well enough to stay rotated and get by him,” Larson explained.

Christopher Bell, who ran third from eighth in the first heat, will start on the outside of the second row. Defending race winner Kyle Busch will take the green flag from the fifth position, with Tyler Reddick to his outside.

Austin Cindric, Preece, Heat 2 winner Ryan Blaney and William Byron earned positions seven through 10, respectively. Heat 4 winner Bubba Wallace is 11th on the grid, having won the qualifier from the pole.

Dirt late model superstar Jonathan Davenport will make his Cup Series debut from the 21st position after starting second and finishing fourth in the final heat.

  • Story by NASCAR Newswire

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying
Food City Dirt Race Starting Lineup
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
Bristol, Tennessee
Saturday, April 8, 2023

(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(15) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 0.000 mph.
(20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(13) Jonathan Davenport, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(51) Matt Crafton(i), Ford, 0.000 mph.
(31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
(9) Josh Berry(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 0.000 mph.
(99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.

Bush’s Beans Qualifying Heat Race 1 Results

  1. Austin Dillon
  2. Tyler Reddick
  3. Christopher Bell
  4. Alex Bowman
  5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  6. Justin Haley
  7. Ross Chastain
  8. Josh Berry
  9. Brad Keselowski
  10. BJ McLeod

Bush’s Beans Qualifying Heat Race 2 Results

  1. Ryan Blaney
  2. Chase Briscoe
  3. William Byron
  4. Harrison Burton
  5. Aric Almirola
  6. Todd Gilliland
  7. AJ Allmendinger
  8. Denny Hamlin
  9. Noah Gragson

Bush’s Beans Qualifying Heat Race 3 Results

  1. Kyle Larson
  2. Ryan Preece
  3. JJ Yeley
  4. Erick Jones
  5. Michael McDowell
  6. Matt Crafton
  7. Chris Buescher
  8. Ty Dillon
  9. Corey LaJoie

Bush’s Beans Qualifying Heat Race 4 Results

  1. Bubba Wallace
  2. Kyle Busch
  3. Austin Cindric
  4. Jonathan Davenport
  5. Joey Logano
  6. Ty Gibbs
  7. Martin Truex Jr.
  8. Kevin Harvick
  9. Daniel Suarez
1...1,5191,5201,521...6,649Page 1,520 of 6,649