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Reddick survives three overtime attempts for wild Cup victory at COTA

By
Andrew Kim
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AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 26: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on March 26, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

In a highly anticipated event featuring a star-studded lineup of competitors and new names across the grid, Tyler Reddick captured the main spotlight by winning the third annual running of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 26, amid three overtime attempts and a dominant run since the start of the weekend.

The two-time Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led a race-high 41 of 75 over-scheduled laps in an event where he utilized pit strategy and a fast race car to keep himself in contention towards the front. Swapping the lead with William Byron on several occasions before overtaking him with four laps remaining, Reddick then had to navigate his way around Austin’s 20-turn circuit through three overtime attempts and a series of carnages erupting behind him to muscle away from Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and Byron to claim the first checkered flag for himself, 23XI Racing and Toyota of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Byron notched his first Cup pole of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 93.882 mph in 130.760 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 93.783 mph in 130.898 seconds.

Prior to the event, Michael McDowell dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports entry.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron jumped ahead with the lead as the field fanned out through the uphill climb to the first turn. With the field navigating its way into the first turn, Byron retained the lead through a series of right and left-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 before approaching a steep left-hand turn in Turn 11. As the field approached the long straightaway between Turns 11 and 12, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric battled for second with Daniel Suarez closing in after he overtook Jordan Taylor, a three-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar champion who was filling in the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the injured Chase Elliott. Following the final series of turns from Turns 12 to 20, the field returned to the frontstretch as Byron led the first lap ahead of Reddick, Cindric, Suarez and Alex Bowman while Jordan Taylor fell back to ninth.

Just then, the first caution of the event flew on the second lap when Brad Keselowski, who was running within the middle of the field, spun in between Turns 19 and 20. As a bevy of cars approaching Keselowski scattered to avoid him, Ty Dillon got pinched in between Todd Gilliland and Chris Buescher, which resulted in Buescher hitting Dillon as he veered sideways and slammed into the No. 84 Club Wyndham Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 piloted by seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson as Johnson spun with right-side damage while Dillon emerged with significant front nose damage to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The early incident was enough to knock both Dillon and Johnson out of contention while Keselowski continued.

During the following restart on the fifth lap, the field fanned out again entering the first turn as Cindric, who restarted third, managed to motor his way past Byron and Reddick, both of whom went wide in Turn 1, to assume the lead entering the series of turns from Turns 2 to 10. As the field jostled for positions past the turns and entering the frontstretch between Turns 11 and 12, Cindric maintained the lead over Reddick and Byron with Suarez in fourth and AJ Allmendinger in fifth. By then, Taylor locked up the front tires entering Turn 11 while battling within the top 10 and nearly clipped Erik Jones, which caused him to drop back to 13th.

A lap later, Chase Briscoe, who was running 17th, got hit by Justin Haley and spun in Turn 1, but the field remained under green flag conditions as Briscoe lost a bevy of spots on the track. By then, Joey Logano was assessed a pass-through penalty for shortcutting through the esses while running in 16th, all while Cindric retained the lead in front of Reddick and Byron. By the seventh lap, however, Reddick managed to cycle his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry around Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang entering Turn 19 to assume the lead on the eighth lap.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Cindric trailed by more than a second. Allmendinger and Suarez were running fourth and fifth while Bowman, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain were scored in the top 10. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Christopher Bell, Jordan Taylor and rookies Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Tod Gilliland, Harrison Burton and Martin Truex Jr. occupied the top 20. By then, Kevin Harvick was in 22nd ahead of Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon, former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen was in 25th, Keselowski was back in 27th, former Formula One champion Jenson Button was mired back in 31st in between Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe and IndyCar competitor Conor Daly was in 34th. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell were assessed penalties for cutting the course.

Then during the following lap, trouble erupted when Bubba Wallace locked up the front tires and slammed into Larson with Erik Jones also sustaining damage in Turn 12. While limping his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road, Larson endured more on-track issues when he got hit by Denny Hamlin and spun backward toward the pit wall in between Turns 19 and 20 at the same time when Wallace was pitting his wounded No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota TRD Camry as the caution returned. Despite the pair of incidents, Larson managed to continue while Wallace retired with a damaged oil line. By then, Cody Ware also endured on-track issues when he spun within the infield turns. In addition, names like Stenhouse, Harvick, Buescher, Keselowski, Almirola, Briscoe, Logano and LaJoie pitted.

The following restart on Lap 15 also marked the conclusion of the first stage as Byron managed to edge Cindric to capture his fourth stage victory of the 2023 Cup season followed by Allmendinger, Bowman, Chastain, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Taylor, Bell and Ryan Preece. Compared to the first five events on the schedule, the caution flag did not display and the competitors proceeded under green as part of NASCAR’s new rules for this season, which highlighted that no caution periods would be mandated at the conclusion of stage breaks on road course venues that hold Cup Series events.

With the second stage proceeding under green on Lap 15, the field fanned out and scrambled for positions through the first turn and the series of left and right-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 with Byron retaining the lead over Cindric, Allmendinger, Bowman and Chastain.

At the Lap 20 mark, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Cindric followed by Allmendinger, Suarez and Chastain while Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Bell, Taylor and Reddick were in the top 10. By then, 34 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap. Meanwhile, Blaney, who spun in Turn 15 a few laps earlier after getting hit by Larson, and Keselowski, who received an earlier tap from Blaney before spinning in Turn 12, plummeted down to 27th and 35th, respectively.

Shortly after, green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Kyle Busch pitted his No. 8 Netspend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 followed by Jenson Button, Almirola, Preece, Gilliland and Gibbs. Taylor would also pit a few laps later followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Bell. By Lap 23, Cindric pitted despite enduring issues with changing the right-rear tire along with Bowman and Chastain while Byron retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger.

Once Byron surrendered the lead to pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green prior to Lap 24, Reddick, who pitted prior to the conclusion of the first stage, cycled back into the lead. Behind, Allmendinger and Suarez also pitted while Austin Dillon, McDowell, Harvick and Larson emerged in the top five. By then, every competitor still running on the field made at least one pit stop with all on mixed pit strategies.

By Lap 25, Reddick was leading by more than three seconds over Austin Dillon followed by McDowell, Harvick and Larson while Stenhouse, Buescher, Erik Jones, Briscoe and Logano were scored in the top 10. By then, Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Gragson, Kimi Räikkönen, Keselowski and Byron while Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Gibbs and Chastain were in the top 20. By then, Bowman was in 21st, Bell was back in 26th ahead of teammate Truex and Taylor had fallen back in 29th ahead of Cindric and Jenson Button. Meanwhile, Blaney was mired a lap down in 34th following his earlier on-track incident and spin.

When the second stage concluded under green on Lap 30, Reddick captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season while former teammate Austin Dillon trailed by more than seven seconds. McDowell, Harvick, Buescher, Stenhouse, Larson, Erik Jones, Briscoe and Gragson were scored in the top 10 while 33 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

With the final stage proceeding under green with 38 laps remaining, Hamlin and Keselowski pitted under green shortly after while Gibbs was penalized for cutting the course. Briscoe, Gragson, Larson and McDowell would eventually pit, with Larson being penalized for speeding on pit road. Then approaching Lap 32, Reddick surrendered the lead to pit along with Stenhouse while Buescher assumed the lead. Following Reddick’s pit stop, Byron managed to overtake Reddick on the track as he settled in third behind Buescher and Erik Jones while Reddick was back in 10th.

A lap later, Byron reassumed the lead once Buescher pitted along with Erik Jones. This enabled Allmendinger to move into second followed by Suarez, Chastain and Kyle Busch while Reddick moved up to sixth. Another lap later, the event reached its halfway mark. By then, Gibbs was assessed another pass-through penalty for cutting the course while Reddick set the fastest lap of the event while running towards the top five.

With 30 laps remaining, Byron was leading by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Reddick followed by Allmendinger, Suarez and Chastain while Bowman, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Cindric and McDowell were mired in the top 10. A lap later, Reddick made his move beneath Byron in Turn 1 and moved back into the lead. Meanwhile, Logano pitted his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang under green while Bell, who spun in Turn 8, was in 14th.

Three laps later, the caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 9. This occurred after Hamlin, who was running 17th, spun his No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry a turn prior and kicked up dirt on the course. During the caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Reddick pitted for service that included fresh tires and enough fuel for the finish while Logano, who pitted a few laps prior to the caution, remained on the track along with Harrison Burton and Cody Ware. Following the pit stops, Reddick was the first competitor to exit pit road followed by Byron, Suarez, Chastain, Austin Dillon and McDowell. During the pit stops, Gibbs was penalized for pitting outside his pit box.

With 25 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Logano and Harrison Burton occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out entering the first turn as Reddick launched his move beneath Logano for the lead. Despite grabbing it approaching the turn, Reddick wiggled and went wide, which allowed Byron to overtake him for the lead as Reddick was left to battle Chastain for second. Through the series of left and right-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 and with the field still fanning out and jostling for late positions, Byron maintained the lead while Reddick was trying to navigate his way back into second. As the field continued to navigate through the next round of turns entering Turn 12, Suarez overshot the turn and lost a spot to fifth place on the track while Byron retained the lead ahead of Reddick, Chastain and Bowman.

Two laps later, a side-by-side battle for the lead ignited between Reddick and Byron through the straightaway turn between Turns 11 and 12. Following a side-by-side, crossover and swapping duel fight between the top-two leaders through Turns 12 to Turn 20, Byron managed to retain the lead by a narrow hair over Reddick. During the following lap, Byron and Reddick continued to fight for the lead as Chastain started to close in on the two leaders. Through the infield turns, however, Reddick managed to pull ahead and remain ahead of Byron to retake the lead as Chastain started to challenge Byron for second. Meanwhile, fourth-place Bowman trailed by more than a second as he started to join the battle.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Reddick was leading by two-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Chastain trailed by nine-tenths of a second. Behind, Bowman was in fourth place while Austin Dillon occupied fifth place. With Suarez, Bell, Harvick, Logano and McDowell running in the top 10, Allmendinger, who endured a slow pit stop during the last caution period, was mired in 11th while Jordan Taylor navigated his way into 19th place, six spots over Räikkönen and eight over Jenson Button. Meanwhile, Larson limped back to pit road with a broken toe link to his No. 5 entry while Preece, who was assessed a pass-through penalty for short-cutting the esses, was assessed another pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road while serving his first penalty.

Five laps later, the Reddick and Byron, both of whom were instructed to save fuel, were separated by half a second, with Reddick leading while third-place Chastain trailed by more than a second. In the midst of the battles upfront, both Keselowski and Stenhouse spun through Turn 11, but the event proceeded under green. A few laps later, Hamlin and Kyle Busch pitted under green for enough fuel for the finish.

Then with 12 laps remaining, Byron slipped and went off the course in Turn 8, which allowed Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez to move up to second and third. Not long after, Suarez bumped and moved teammate Chastain out of his way in Turn 11 to claim second place while Reddick retained the lead by more than a second. Just then, the caution returned when Keselowski came to a stop in Turn 7. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Reddick pitted while names like Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Räikkönen and Preece remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Reddick was the first competitor to exit first followed by Byron, Suarez, Bowman, Austin Dillon and McDowell while Chastain lost a bevy of spots amid a slow pit service.

During the following restart with nine laps remaining, where Bell and Kyle Busch occupied the front row, Bell jumped ahead with a slight advantage as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Then as Reddick challenged Bell for the lead on fresh tires, carnage ensued behind as Allmendinger clipped and sent Austin Dillon around. At the same time, Chastain, who went wide to avoid Dillon, made contact with Erik Jones as he spun. With Chastain unable to pull away in Turn 1, the caution returned to being displayed. By then, Reddick reassumed the lead ahead of Bell while Byron was up in third followed by Kyle Bush and Truex.

As the field restarted under green with seven laps remaining, Reddick jumped ahead with the lead. Through Turn 1, however, Reddick overdrove the first turn, which allowed Byron to draw back even and clear him for the lead entering the series of turns. Then through Turn 9, Bell got turned as he spun while running towards the front, but the event remained under green. With the field scrambling entering Turns 11 and 12, Byron was out in front ahead of Reddick and Kyle Busch while Truex and Suarez rounded out the top five.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Byron maintained the lead by half a second over Reddick while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than two seconds. With Suarez and Bowman in the top five, Truex was in sixth while McDowell, Preece, Logano and Gragson were in the top 10. By then, 31 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Then entering Turn 11, Reddick, who kept Byron pressured for the lead, pounced on an opportunity to seize it back, which he did as he also fended off Byron through the straightaway from Turns 11 and 12 before maintaining the advantage through a series of turns from Turns 12 to 20. A lap later, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime due to debris reported on the course as a result of Austin Dillon, who was penalized for cutting the esses earlier, shredding a left-rear tire on his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

With the event restarting in overtime, Reddick dueled against Byron amid the field fanning out before being locked into another side-by-side battle with Kyle Busch after he nearly overshot the turn. Behind, however, more on-track issues ensued in Turn 1 when Blaney got turned and spun. In front of him, Preece also got turned after making contact with Gibbs, which he also clipped Gragson. With the carnage ensuing behind, the event remained under green as Reddick maintained the lead over Kyle Busch and Byron. Then as Reddick was trying to motor his car back to the start/finish line to start the final lap, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt due to debris coming off of Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang while fluid was also leaking out of Preece’s damaged No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, Bowman, who restarted within the top 10 and fanned out in his move to the front, made contact with Suarez and the contact carried forth into Truex getting hit and spun in Turn 1 while Suarez plummeted below the field after stopping in front of Truex’s car. As Reddick remained ahead of Kyle Busch, Bowman and Byron with the lead, Justin Haley spun in Turn 11 while running in the middle of the pack, but the event remained under green. Then through the infield carousel turns, McDowell, Räikkönen and Bell also spun, but the event remained under green again. The caution, however, flew and the event was sent into a third overtime attempt due to debris on the course after Suarez shredded the left-front tire of his No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. By then, Reddick was scored the leader ahead of Kyle Busch, Bowman and Byron while Chastain maneuvered his way back to fifth.

When the event proceeded under green for the third overtime attempt, Reddick managed to fend off Bowman through the first turn to maintain the lead as the field bumped and jostled through the first turn. With Almirola falling off the pace, Reddick continued to navigate at the front through the series of turns from Turns 2 to 10. With more names like Logano, Bell and Suarez wrecking through the turns, Reddick retained the lead in front of Bowman, who had Kyle Busch pressuring him for second while Chastain was in fourth ahead of Byron.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick, who was able to navigate his way back to the frontstretch without another caution to stall his progress, remained as the leader by a second over Bowman, who was drawn even and overtaken by Kyle Busch for second. Having a clear view in front of him for a final time through the 20-turn circuit while his challengers battled behind, Reddick was able to smoothly navigate his way back to the frontstretch and claim his first checkered flag of the 2023 campaign by more than a second over Busch.

With the victory, Reddick became the third different winner at Circuit of the Americas in the venue’s three-year history of hosting NASCAR Cup Series events. By becoming the fifth different winner of the 2023 season, he also notched his third victory on a road course venue and his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory was also the first of the season and fourth overall for 23XI Racing while the Toyota nameplate notched its first Cup victory of 2023.

“[The victory] means the world,” Reddick said on FOX. “This whole 23XI team has been working hard all winter long to make the road course program better and was extremely motivated to come in here and improve that performance. Just so proud of this Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. This whole team, Toyota, everybody. All the resources, everything they’ve been putting into this to help turn around the road course program means a lot. I’m out of gas, but I feel a little bit better with Monster Energy.”

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch navigated his way around Alex Bowman for second place for his second top-two finish of the season. Bowman settled in third place for his second consecutive top-three finish at Circuit of the Americas while Chastain and Byron finished in the top five.

“I don’t know if we could have [beaten Reddick],” Busch said. “Even if we were on equal tires, when we tested here, [Reddick’s team] were lights out and had us beat on the front side of the runs. We needed longer runs, but even today, for some reason, we just didn’t have the really great long-run speed. We had good middle run speed, but overall, for as much as effort and everything that we’ve put into coming here and focusing on this place and all the testing and everything that we’ve been able to do over the off-season, we come out of here with a really good finish.”

“[Today] was really fun,” Byron said. “[Reddick’s team] were great all weekend. Tyler’s been great at the road courses. We made it a battle, for sure. Every time, crossovers, out-braking each other. That was a lot of fun. I hate that it kind of got down to restarts at the end. I got shoved off one time in second. We needed a top five and probably could’ve done some things different, but overall, a good day for the Liberty University Chevrolet. Good speed. Just, Tyler was so fast all weekend. I felt like, when I got the lead, I was just slipping and sliding, so it was fun.”

With 30 of 39 starters finishing on the lead lap, Cindric, Stenhouse, Buescher, Gibbs and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10 on the track.

Notably, Harvick finished 13th in his third and final start at Circuit of the Americas, Larson rallied for 14th, Hamlin fell back to 16th in front of teammate Truex, Blaney ended up 21st and Suarez settled in 27th in front of Logano. In addition, Jenson Button emerged as the highest-finishing open-wheel star in 18th while IMSA’s Jordan Taylor finished 24th and Formula One’s Kimi Räikkönen ended up 29th.

There were 16 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 17 laps.

Following the sixth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Ross Chastain leads the regular-season standings by 19 over Kyle Busch, 25 over both Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, 27 over Christopher Bell and 34 over Ryan Blaney.

Results.

1. Tyler Reddick, 41 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Kyle Busch

3. Alex Bowman

4. Ross Chastain

5. William Byron, 28 laps led, Stage 1 winner

6. Austin Cindric, two laps led

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

8. Chris Buescher, one lap led

9. Ty Gibbs

10. Todd Gilliland

11. Corey LaJoie

12. Michael McDowell

13. Kevin Harvick

14. Kyle Larson

15. Chase Briscoe

16. Denny Hamlin

17. Martin Truex Jr.

18. Jenson Button

19. Justin Haley

20. Noah Gragson

21. Ryan Blaney

22. Harrison Burton

23. Erik Jones

24. Jordan Taylor

25. Cody Ware

26. Josh Bilicki

27. Daniel Suarez, one lap led

28. Joey Logano, one lap led

29. Kimi Räikkönen

30. Aric Almirola, one lap down

31. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, one lap led

32. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

34. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident

35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Driveshaft

36. Conor Daly – OUT, Transmission

37. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

38. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, DVP

39. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first of two scheduled events of this season at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

NCS AT COTA: Chevrolet Drivers Power Camaro ZL1 to Four Top-Five Finishes at COTA

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MARCH 26, 2023

Chevrolet Drivers Power Camaro ZL1 to Four Top-Five Finishes at COTA

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Kyle Busch, No. 8 Netspend Camaro ZL1
3rd Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
4th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
5th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
7th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Blue Buffalo Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
2nd Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
3rd Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
4th Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
5th William Byron (Chevrolet)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Richmond Raceway with the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

“For our Worldwide Express Chevy, heck of a recovery. I thought we were a top-five car. Nobody had anything for the No. 45. Tyler (Reddick) and those guys were on it all weekend. Congrats to Tyler and that whole group, but the rest of us, there was a group of Chevy’s there, and we were second through sixth all in a line and it was a lot of fun managing the racing. Getting spun, the engine went into low-wheel protection mode because it spun backwards. Finally got the ECU cycled and got it back going, and somehow rallied back for a top-five. I have no idea how we got through all of that.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1

Finished: 33rd

“We had a really solid run going in our Get Bioethanol Chevrolet today, so it’s disappointing that we ended up in the garage early. We didn’t qualify where we needed to, but we worked our way into the top-15 by the end of Stage 1, and earned Stage Points at the end of Stage 2. The end of the race became a typical NASCAR road course race. It was just a mess. We drove up into the hill on a restart and everyone just pile drove into each other. I had nowhere to go. I don’t know if it would have worked out better for us if we chose the bottom or not. I hate it for all of the guys on this RCR team. We had a lot of good things going today, but nothing to show for it. There’s still a lot of racing to go. We’ll regroup and head to Richmond Raceway.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Netspend Camaro ZL1

Finished: 2nd

“I don’t know if we could have (passed Tyler Reddick), even if we were on equal tires. When we tested here, they were lights out. We had speed on the front side of the runs. We needed longer runs. But even today for some reason we didn’t have really great long-run speed. We had good middle-run speed. Overall and for as much effort everything that we’ve put into coming here and focusing on this place with all the testing and everything we’ve been able to do over the offseason, we came out of here with a really good finish. Tyler obviously is a really good road racer. He proved it driving this car here last year. I was able to get in it and run right back to him. I’ve been trying to emulate the things that he did in order to make this car fast last year and just not quite all the way there. They had a whale of a car.

“It was a hard-fought battle, for sure. We had a lot of ups and downs there. I really wasn’t sure we were going to have a capable opportunity to be able to finish second today. We kind of got behind on strategy a couple of times but were able to persevere. We stayed out and were on older tires than the rest of those guys around us. I had a couple of shots on restarts, but those things will come back on you. You just try to race clean and do my best to be as clean as I could be. Getting a lot of help from behind didn’t help me getting into others. Our Netspend Camaro was pretty fast but not fast enough for Reddick. Obviously he’s really good on road courses. I’ve been trying to emulate the things he’s done in the 8 car last year and try to make me better and our program continuing to evolve. I just didn’t have enough. All in all, a great day and a good points day. I’m excited to finish second for Netspend, a local partner here in Austin.”

Jordan Taylor, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1

Finished: 24th

“Yeah, it was definitely wild. I wouldn’t say I survived; I feel like I’m beat up pretty much. Every restart, you just get smashed in the front, rear, side. So yeah, it was pretty much just survival. The guys knew I’d be a little bit more hesitant, so they would take advantage of it. At the end, I got more aggressive and made our way almost back to the top-10. On the last restart, I don’t know who went down on the inside, but they were never going to make the corner and used us to stop themselves.

“I’d say it was a disappointing day. I made a couple big mistakes early on that probably put us back there, but the No. 9 UniFirst Chevy was fast. I need to thank UniFirst and Hendrick Motorsports for giving me the opportunity. We had good pace, but we just got shuffled back every restart. Tough day.”

William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1

Finished: 5th

“It was alright. I probably could have done better on those restarts. I gotta look. I just kept getting pushed wide, and it seemed like the last one didn’t happen for some reason. I just gave up too much track position… it was really my only option. Good to get a top-five. We had a good racecar… I think a top-two racecar I think, really, with the 45. He was a lot better than everybody but I thought we were a close second. Good day for the Liberty University Chevrolet, and we’ll keep building on it.

“It was really fun. Tyler is great and they were great all weekend. Tyler’s been great on the road courses. We made it a battle for sure every time with crossovers, out-braking each other… that was a lot of fun. I hate that it kind of got down to restarts there at the end. I got shoved off one time in second. We needed a top-five and probably could have done some things different. But overall a good day for the Liberty University Chevrolet. We had good speed but Tyler was so fast all weekend. I felt like when I got the lead that I was slipping and sliding. That was fun.”

Noah Gragson, No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Camaro ZL1:

Finished 20th

“Had a solid day in our Black Rifle Coffee Camaro. We ran inside the top-10 and top-15 for a large part of the day with good speed. We kept working on the car. Luke Lambert and the rest of the guys called a great strategy. The pit crew did an awesome job. We put ourselves in position during the green-white-checkers to be in the top-10. I ended up getting spun and rallied back. We never quit. I’m very proud of our Black Rifle Coffee team and excited to get to Richmond and try it again.

Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

Finished 23rd

“Frustrating day here in Austin. I felt like we had a pretty fast Allegiant Chevy but it seemed like we kept getting hit. There were a couple times there on restarts that we just flat got ran over. Wrong place wrong time for sure, and it stinks that we weren’t really able to have anything to show for the speed we had. I’m thankful that we were able to show as much promise as we did early on with a good run in qualifying, and I can tell we are moving in the right direction at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Onto Richmond.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Finished: 3rd

“We didn’t have anything for the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick), but we had a good No. 48 Ally Camaro. Just need to be a little better. We have some malfunctions inside the race car that we have to work on to be better for the next hot day, but we’ll just keep digging. Proud of all my guys.”

Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Club Wyndham Camaro ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap one.

Finished: 38th

This weekend wasn’t the way it was supposed to go at all, was it?

“No, not at all. What a disappointing finish. Unfortunately we got off to a slow start yesterday and qualified poorly. We all know what happens when you start in the back and unfortunately we were caught up in that.

“Just a wild and crazy first lap that was taking place. I thought I had the wreck missed, but I just saw a flash of red out of nowhere. I guess there was more going on the outside of the No. 6 car (Brad Keselowski) as it was spinning, and I saw him and just got collected.

I’m most disappointed for Club Wyndham. They came on board for this race, and they’ll be with me at the Coca-Cola 600. Really disappointed we couldn’t give them a better show.”

Kimi Räikkönen, No. 91 Onx/iLOQ Camaro ZL1

Finished 29th

“I think it wasn’t too bad. We got unlucky with the incidents that happened. It was one of those things, unfortunately. Then there were no tires left. They kept coming, getting more restarts and more restarts, so I think after the spin I had, the tires were just done. It’s a shame because when we were there, but then we restart, and just wrong place, wrong time. It was a case of trying to stay out of the issues in the first corners and every time. It looked like you’d be very good, then three corners later, somebody’s going the wrong direction. There’s a bit of mess and lock involved.”

On doing more starts in NASCAR…

“I don’t know. I mean, nobody knows. It’s such a shame how it went in the end, but I think we did the right thing. We were there. But then on the restart it’s how it was. We’ll see what the future brings. Right now, I have no clue.

“It was a long race. Our cool suit didn’t work half of the race, it stopped working. So it was quite hot in the car. It was fun going through the field, but it was a bit intense on the restarts.” 

TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS:

Stage One

· William Byron led the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) to the green from the pole position at Circuit of The Americas. The starting lineup was stacked with Camaro ZL1s with eight Chevrolet drivers nabbing a top-10 starting spot for the series’ first road course race of the season.

· Chaos ensued following the drop of the green flag with an on-track accident collecting Team Chevy’s Jimmie Johnson and Ty Dillon. Both Camaro ZL1s sustained too much damage to repair, forcing Johnson and Dillon to retire from the race.

· On lap 11, Kyle Larson was running in the top-10 when the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 was collected in an on-track accident, bringing the event to its second caution of the day. The team assessed the damage and was able to continue after making a stop for repairs, four tires and fuel.

· The conclusion of Stage One took place after the field took the green for the race’s second restart of the day. Byron was sitting in the top position to give the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 team its series-leading fourth stage win of the season.

· Seven drivers from four different Chevrolet teams recorded stage points at the end of Stage One:

1st William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1

3rd AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Farmsmart Camaro ZL1

4th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

5th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

6th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1

7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Netspend Camaro ZL1

8th Jordan Taylor, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1

Stage Two

· The 15-lap Stage Two ran caution-free with pit strategy during a green-flag pit cycle playing a key role in track position.

· With 30 laps in the book at the end of Stage Two, Chevrolet’s William Byron had recorded a race-high 16 laps led.

· Austin Dillon led Chevrolet to the end of Stage Two, taking second-place stage points in his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1.

· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10

2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1

6th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Blue Buffalo Camaro ZL1

7th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

8th Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

10th Noah Gragson, No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Camaro ZL1

Final Stage

· The third caution of the day flew on Lap 42 for debris in Turn Nine, opening the door to varying strategies along pit road.

· With some teams electing not to pit, William Byron led Chevrolet to the restart from the fifth position. Byron made a power move on the Lap 43 restart, driving the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 back to the top position.

· With a handful of full-course cautions in the closing laps, the race was forced into three attempts at an overtime finish with Bowman taking the final restart from the front row.

· Kyle Busch led Chevrolet to four of the top-five in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, the series’ first road course race of the season.

· With six points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races in the books, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (four), top-fives (16), top-10s (29) and stage wins (eight).

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – COTA Post-Race Quotes

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix | Sunday, March 26, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:
6th – Austin Cindric
8th – Chris Buescher
10th – Todd Gilliland
12th – Michael McDowell
13th – Kevin Harvick
15th – Chase Briscoe
18th – Jenson Button
21st – Ryan Blaney
22nd – Harrison Burton
25th – Cody Ware
28th – Joey Logano
30th – Aric Almirola
32nd – Ryan Preece
35th – Brad Keselowski

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang (Finished 6th) – “Great to lay some laps. Good to be able to show some speed in our Discount Tire Ford Mustang. It’s one of those days where you win or lose as a team. There were quite a few miscues on pit road that probably kept us from having the track position. Then, it’s a fight. Fair recovery to finish sixth. A lot of things had to go our way for those restarts. But for a long, hot day, we never gave up.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang (Finished 8th) – “It was our first bumper car race of the year. Our Fifth Third Ford Mustang ended up pretty solid there towards the end. We got a solid top-10 out of it. That’s a big testament to this team and its ‘never give up’ attitude. I started into the 30’s for the day, 32nd. I had to really power through, and we had some issues there that probably came from getting run into… backwards a couple times. But, I’m proud of everybody. That was a good finish for a really hard-fought day.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Ruedebusch Ford Mustang (Finished 10th) – “The restarts were really good for us, even in the very beginning of the race. We were able to fire off and gain a lot of spots right off the bat. So, after that, we had fallen off a little worse than everyone else, but our fire-off speed was probably top-five to [top] 10 every time. It was really nice to have some speed there, and to be really aggressive on the restarts. Most of them worked out really well. I got spun once, but we were able to rebound up to 10th or so. That’s good – 15th and 10th the last two races. That’s something to build on.”

JENSON BUTTON, No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang (Finished 18th) – “It was an emotional rollercoaster. First, it was terrible. I mean, I must’ve been last by the end of it. And I was just like, ‘Everyone: Go. I just need to drive and find a rhythm.’ I’ve never gone through a corner too wide, so often. And trying to place my car in the right place – I just got it wrong every time. Normally, if you’re a little bit slow through a corner, nobody tries to overtake you from the outside. Because they’re not going to make it all the way on the next one. But here they do, because they get a wheel inside for the next one, and if you turn in, you turn around. The first stint was really bad – it was embarrassing for me. I was like, ‘All right guys, we need to pit, freshen the tires and I need some air – I need some fresh air.’ I got that. The pace was good, consistency was good. I was really happy… and passed a few cars which was nice. We got a little bit unlucky with the safety car because it was just two laps before our window. Pitted, then the next stint was mayhem. We also made a couple of changes that just didn’t work. Big oversteer – went from the car feeling great to really difficult to drive. I also had a massive whack from Kimi [Räikkönen], and it fell off after that. The car wasn’t quite right. Everytime I turned in, the rear tires would chatter, then immediately to oversteer. It was really difficult, but towards the end, we made some good calls stopping and putting on fresh tires. I enjoyed the last three restarts – got good placement and good overtaking moves from the outside. Finished 18th after almost stopping because I had heat exhaustion. It was so hot, I don’t have a fan in my seat which really didn’t help me too much. It was so hot, I thought I was going to faint in the car. So, I stopped twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me loads of water, and I went back out. I was so close to getting out of the car because I thought I was going to faint. I must’ve drank eight… nine bottles of water during the race. The team kept me calm, and it’s the reason why we got a good result in the end. So, I was happy.”

Toyota Racing – NCS COTA Post-Race Report – 03.26.23

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Official Release
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REDDICK EARNS FIRST VICTORY FOR TOYOTA
Tyler Reddick battles through multiple late restarts to score the road course win

AUSTIN (March 26, 2023) – Tyler Reddick earned his first win for 23XI Racing and Toyota with a strong performance at Circuit of the Americas. Reddick had to battle through multiple overtime restarts to score the win – the fourth of his career. The California-native led 41 of 75 laps and also won the second stage to earn six Playoff points. In ninth, Ty Gibbs earned his second consecutive top-10 finish.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Circuit of the Americas
Race 6 of 36 – 231.88 miles, 68 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TYLER REDDICK
2nd, Kyle Busch*
3rd, Alex Bowman*
4th, Ross Chastain*
5th, William Bryon*
9th, TY GIBBS
16th, DENNY HAMLIN
17th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
31st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
37th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What does this mean?

“It means the world. This whole 23XI team has been working so hard all winter long to make the road course program better. Was extremely motivated to come in here and prove that performance, too. Just so proud of this Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. Toyota, everybody, all the resources they’ve been putting into this to help turn around the road course program means a lot. I’m out of gas. But I feel a little bit better with Monster Energy.”

How does it feel to win here today?

“It feels good. Unfortunately, we had some problems with the cool shirt – it didn’t work from lap one, and I felt that today.”

Can you talk about those late restarts?

“I really had to dial it up there at the end to get an advantage. I was making mistakes on every single restart. I was able to make it a little better there in the end.”

How satisfying is it to win this early with a new team?

“It means a lot. It does – I’m just gassed.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race?

“I’m sure it was entertaining. I just want to say thank you to He Gets Us, Monster Energy, Toyota. We had a really great first half of the race and then we had an issue with our lugnut – lost a lot of time and I got two penalties. I just have to minimize mistakes. We will take it.”

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.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Phoenix Post-Race Report — 3.26.23

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Official Release
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JUSTIN ASHLEY TAKES TOYOTA TO TOP FUEL VICTORY IN ARIZONA
Final Round Appearances for Three Toyotas

CHANDLER, Ariz. (March 26, 2023) – The Top Fuel final at Wildhorse Pass Motorsports Park consisted of two Toyota teammates making an appearance – Shawn Langdon for Team Kalitta and Justin Ashley for Davis Motorsports. Ashley edged out Langdon by only three one-hundredths of a second at the line to claim his first win of the 2023 season.

The GR Supra of Ron Capps represented for Toyota in the final for Funny Cars on Sunday afternoon, but had to settle for a runner-up result to race-winner Robert Hight.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Wildhorse Pass Motorsports Park
Race 2 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterWinnerW. 3.741 vs. 4.879 (Schumacher)W. 3.743 vs. 3.750 (Salinas)W. 3.740 vs. 3.743 (Torrence)W. 3.705 vs. 3.732 (Langdon)
Shawn LangdonDHL Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalsW. 3.716 vs. 3.702 (Brown)W. 4.007 vs. 6.511 (Kalitta)W. 3.719 vs. 3.761 (Pruett)L. 3.732 vs. 3.705 (Ashley)
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-FinalsW. 3.735 vs. 3.846 (Baldwin)W. 3.737 vs. 3.768 (Prock)L. 3.743 vs. 3.740 (Ashley)
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 2W. 3.760 vs. 11.283 (Passey)L. 6.511 vs. 4.007 (Langdon)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L. 3.702 vs. 3.716 (Langdon)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny CarFinalsW. 3.912 vs. 7.591 (Laughlin)W. 3.982 vs. 8.830 (Alexander)W. 3.930 vs. 3.935 (DeJoria)L. 5.534 vs. 3.930 (Hight)
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSemi-FinalsW. 3.906 vs. 3.923 (Todd)W. 3.949 vs. 4.678 (Wilkerson)L. 3.935 vs. 3.930 (Capps)
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarRound 1L. 3.923 vs. 3.906 (DeJoria)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How do you keep it together on the starting line?

“You know you’re only as good as the team that you surround yourself with and we’re a resilient group. We didn’t have the weekend that we wanted in Gainesville. We just regrouped – Mike Green, Tommy DeLago did a great job and we learned from last weekend and applied it. It was just a great, great day. There’s only one last race in Arizona and the fans were fantastic all weekend long. We are so happy for everyone at Phillips Connect, Toyota, National Debt Relief – the list goes on and on. This is because of them, our partners and we love, love, love to win.”

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.

Victory for Silver Hare Racing at Road Atlanta

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Official Release
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Late Pass Gives Connor Zilisch First Career Trans Am TA2 Win;
Rookie Ben Maier Rebounds from Early Pit Stop To Finish 19th

Overview:
Date: March 26, 2023
Event: Bennett/BridgeHaul 100 (Round 3 of 12)
Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
Division: Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series
Location: Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia
Layout: 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course
Format: 40 laps or 75 minutes
Weather: Cloudy, late rain shower, low 60s
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch of Silver Hare Racing

Silver Hare Racing:

● Connor Zilisch – Started 8th, Finished 1st (Running, completed 34/34 laps)
● Ben Maier – Started 20th, Finished 19th (Running, completed 34/34 laps)

Noteworthy:

● Sunday’s victory was Silver Hare Racing’s second in the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series. Its first win came on Nov. 8, 2020 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, with driver Rafa Matos.

● In addition to Sunday’s race win, Silver Hare Racing’s Connor Zilisch earned a pair of contingency awards: the COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race for his late pass of leader Thomas Merrill, and the Omagato Watch Fastest Lap of the Race for his lap of 1:24.634 on lap 32 of the 34-lap race.

Connor Zilisch, Driver, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“What an awesome race. We’ve been working at this for over a year, now, trying to get our first win, and finally being able to do that is really special. All these guys work their tails off and they care about me, and I’m so thankful for them and everything that they’ve done for me. Maurice and Laura (Hull), they’ve taken a chance on me and given me the opportunity to come out here and prove my talent, and we’ve been working hard and finally got our car to the point where we’re really competitive. In the first three races, we’ve been really fast, and to finally put it all together and get on top of the podium, it’s really special to me and for all the guys, as well. Just thankful and ready for the rest of the season. We’ve got ourselves in a good spot here in the championship, just going to keep working hard and getting better. There on that last restart, I knew we didn’t have a lot of time to make a move (on leader Thomas Merrill). I was going to have to do something pretty quick and find a way by him. I knew he had a lot more straight-line speed than me, but every time we’d go into (turn) 10A, I’d always be able to outbrake him. I knew if I could get within a few car lengths, I could get down inside of him and get by him. I did that on that lap and ended up getting by him. Just a wild race – the weather, started further back, had to pass guys, miss corners, rain every now and then. I was honestly a little worried when that big rain shower came at the end because I knew I still had to drive that last lap, and with how competitive these guys are, they’re going to take chances to try and get to my back bumper and I knew I wasn’t going to take a chance to go off the track while I was leading on the last lap. We kept it in one piece after I got by Merrill and came across the line first and got ourselves our first win, finally.”

Ben Maier, Driver, No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“We went out on rain tires, so we had to pit early for slicks, which wasn’t the most ideal thing. It obviously would’ve been better to stay out there and keep racing. But the track started to dry out pretty early, and then at the end of the race it started pouring. I just tried to stay alive at the beginning, especially since it was half wet and half dry. In the chicanes, it was wet all through there, and the rest of the track it was dry, which made it pretty gnarly. Learned the track pretty well, which is a good thing. It’s just unfortunate that we had to pit like so many other people had to for slicks in the early part of the race there. Otherwise, it was a good learning experience.”

Maurice Hull, Co-Owner, Silver Hare Racing:

“We finally did it. We’ve been knocking on the door for a long time and have had to overcome a whole ton of obstacles to get here. I’m just so proud of the hard work that this team has put in. It’s truly a team effort to pull off anything like this, and it’s just amazing. I’m really excited. We have great talent behind the wheel, and really great talent in the crew. Best group of guys that I’ve ever worked with, just extraordinary, never quit, made adjustments the whole time to get speed out of the car by changing the way the car drove. It’s just wonderful, and Laura and I are truly excited and pleased. Connor finally got rewarded for all the hard work he’s put in during the last year. Ben had never driven in the rain, he’d never made a pit stop, and it’s the first time he’d ever been to Road Atlanta, so it was a miraculous job for him. He really did a great job, brought it home clean and ran some fast laps, passed some very able drivers. I’m very proud of him. I’m very proud of this whole operation.”

Next Up:

Round four of the 2023 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series takes Silver Hare Racing and its fellow competitors to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, for the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic May 26 and 27. The event on the 1.478-mile, seven-turn road course begins with an open test session the morning of Friday, May 26, followed by practice and qualifying that afternoon. The 68-lap, 75-minute feature race will run Saturday, May 27, at 1:20 p.m. EDT. Coverage will be live streamed via the Trans Am Series and SpeedTourTV channels on YouTube, with a delayed broadcast on MAVTV set for 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 1.

About Silver Hare Racing:

Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series. The multicar team has won the TA2 Masters class championship three times (2018, 2019 and 2020) with driver and team co-owner Maurice Hull. Under the leadership of Hull’s wife, co-owner and team manager Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing provides a variety of services that includes private testing and arrive-and-drive programs. The team offers six professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing and operates from a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. For more information, visit SilverHareRacing.com.

Lawless Alan – XPEL 225 Race Recap

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Official Release
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Lawless Alan – XPEL 225 Race Recap
Team: No. 45 PlainsCapital Bank / MG Machinery LLC Chevrolet Silverado
Driver: Lawless Alan (Las Angeles, California)
Follow the Team: Twitter: @NieceMotorsports | Instagram: @NieceMotorsport | Facebook: /NieceMotorsports | Web: www.niecemotorsports.com
Follow Driver: Twitter: @lawlessalan25 | Instagram: @lawless_alan | Facebook: /LawlessAlanRacing | Web: www.lawlessalanracing.com
Start: 18th | Finish: 17th | Points Standings: 22nd

On Saturday’s Race at COTA: “A run like this gives me a lot of confidence just in general. We were fast and they knew we were here. A controversial penalty during the final stage put us in the rear; but, we salvaged a top-20 finish and picked up stage points. Overall, it is what it is and we’ll be back next week,” Alan said.

Lawless Alan had a career-run Saturday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas. The Los Angeles driver would pick up stage points in the second stage and run inside the top-ten for most of the race.

Alan would have a very smooth day for the first half of the XPEL 225, finishing in 18th and 3rd in the first two stages, respectively. But, as the race neared the end, a pass-through penalty was dealt to the No. 45 team for corner-cutting in the esses. This penalty would take Alan and team out of contention for the win, leaving him with a 17th-place finish at the road course.

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 AUTOChargit:

AUTOChargit designs, manufactures and installs EV charging systems for automated and conventional parking applications. AUTOChargit can decrease capital expenditures by up to 75 percent by providing automated coupling and decoupling of EV charging stalls from the power source. For conventional parking applications, a single 40-AMP circuit coupled with a single AUTOChargit System can be multiplexed to four, eight, or 12 stalls. Each charging stall is individually metered for the exact tracking of electricity usage. The AUTOParkit Mobile APP provides a touchless experience for the user.

About AUTOParkit:

-AUTOParkit™ designs, manufactures, and constructs fully automated parking systems for new and existing buildings. AUTOParkit system structural steel and modular design can provide double the capacity of a traditional parking garage, providing up to 17 LEED points and drastically reducing construction time.

-AUTOParkit automated systems are 40 percent less expensive to operate, safer for the user and reduces carbon emissions associated with parking by more than 80 percent. AUTOParkit’s charging pallets provided by AUTOChargit, are a fast and convenient way of charging EVs and Hybrids. AUTOChargit’s patented technology allows for shuffling charged vehicles cutting infrastructure costs by up to 80 percent.

-For more information on AUTOParkit, visit www.autoparkit.com

Carson Hocevar – XPEL 225 Race Recap

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Official Release
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Carson Hocevar – XPEL 225 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: 6th | Finish: 34th | Points Standings: 14th

On Saturday’s Race at COTA: “It was a tough day for our Worldwide Express team. We were able to start up front and stay there for a while until our brake problem put us in the sandpit. But, we’ve been strong at the intermediate tracks in the past and I’m hoping for the same in Texas,” Hoccevar said.

After qualifying inside the top-ten on Friday afternoon, Carson Hocevar would find himself within the top-five for a majority of his race. Unfortunately for Hocevar, a brake problem on with less than five laps to go in Stage One would force the No. 42 to retire from the event.

Ultimately, the Portage, Michigan driver would finish 34th — pushing him to 14th in the driver’s 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.

Ross Chastain – XPEL 225 Race Recap

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Official Release
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Ross Chastain – XPEL 225 Race Recap
Team: No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado
Driver: Ross Chastain (Alva, Florida) | Crew Chief: Mike Hillman Jr.
Follow the Team: Twitter: @NieceMotorsport | Instagram: @NieceMotorsports | Facebook: /NieceMotorsports | Web: www.niecemotorsports.com
Follow Ross Chastain: Twitter: @RossChastain | Instagram: @rosschastain | Facebook: /RossChastainRacing | Web: www.rosschastain.com/

Start: 1st | Finish: 5th | Owner’s Points Standings: 9th

Chastain on Saturday’s Race at COTA: “It means a lot to run for Al [Niece] at his home track. Our team is known to bring really fast race trucks and we sure had one today. So, I’m proud to do that here in Austin with our Worldwide Express team even though we’re a little disappointed, but we have to be proud of how fast we were,” Chastain said.

A quick-time for Ross Chastain on Friday would put the Florida driver on pole for the XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas. From his front-row starting position, Chastain would lead a majority of the first stage after battling with Christian Eckes in the early laps.

A caution late in the first stage would bring the No. 41 Silverado down pit road for the first time for a routine pit stop. Although a handful of the leaders remained on the track under this caution, Chastain would make easy work of them to finish 6th in Stage One.

As the race progressed, a fuel cell issue would be the cause of a lengthy pit stop which would restart Chastain in 28th for the final stage. But, the NASCAR Cup Series driver would use his experience at COTA to weave through the field to salvage a fifth place finish, the second in as many weeks for the No. 41 team.

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.

William Byron scores Busch Light Pole at Circuit of The Americas

By
Angie Campbell
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William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on March 25, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

William Byron had the car to beat Saturday at Circuit of The Americas. He topped the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a lap of 130.76 seconds at 93.882 mph to earn the Busch Light Pole Award at the 20-turn, 3.41-mile track.

It was his ninth career pole in the Cup Series and Byron also set a record as the first driver to win a poll at four different road course venues – Charlotte Roval (2019), Road America (2021), Indianapolis Road Course (2021) and COTA (2022). 

Byron spoke about the significance of earning the pole but is focused on Sunday’s race.

“It’s good,” he said. “I think it’s been an up-and-down weekend. The Cup car, we definitely had a little bit of work to do yesterday just on overall balance and grip in some areas, and areas in me as a driver.

Byron added, “Good to get the pole, but really tomorrow is what matters and there’s a lot of work to do.”

Tyler Reddick will join Byron on the front row in the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing, his first top-five start this season. He ran a record qualifying lap record during the opening round (94.210 mph) but fell short during the final round.

Team Penske driver Austin Cindric will start third in his No. 2 Ford and is optimistic about the upcoming race.

“Good execution,” he said, “by everyone in our Discount Ford Mustang in qualifying. I feel like this weekend, more than others, qualifying will certainly have an impact on your ability to have a good finish – without the stage cautions. So, solid place to start, it gives us great pit selection.”

 Taylor, a four-time IMSA champion, filling in for the injured Chase Elliott, was fourth fastest in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“It was honestly a full new experience, and yesterday [in practice], I felt like I was out of control 90 percent of the time,” Taylor said. “Today, I felt like I knew what the car was doing. We made good set-up changes to help with that and give me a better sense of where the grip was. Today felt super smooth, and it felt like I was driving my [sports] car, something super familiar for me.”

He gave much of the credit to HMS, saying, “the Hendrick guys have done an amazing job.”

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez rounds out the top-five qualifiers. Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson was the fastest rookie in qualifying.

Former Formula One drivers Kimi Räikkönen who has one prior Cup Series start, qualified 22nd in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and Jenson Button, in his first start in the series, (No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford) qualified 24th.

Jimmie Johnson qualified 31st in his second race this year as a team owner and part-time driver for Legacy Motor Club in the No. 84 Chevrolet.

IndyCar driver Conor Daly, with two previous starts in the Cup Series, including the 2023 Daytona 500, qualified 35th.

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Lineup:

COTA-starting-lineup-12306_STARTROW

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