This weekend’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is a milestone event for Harrison Burton, the Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew. For Sunday’s race, the No. 21 Mustang will carry a “Tried and True Since ‘72” logo on the hood, paying tribute to Motorcraft’s 50th anniversary. Motorcraft supplies parts that are designed, engineered, and recommended by Ford Motor Company for installation on Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Sunday’s race also marks the 100th Darlington start for the Wood Brothers team, and the No. 21 Mustang will honor a long-time Ford employee as part of the Labor Day Weekend celebration.

The Woods made their Darlington debut in the 1961 Rebel 300 with Curtis Turner wheeling the No. 21 Ford that was running as a Convertible, which was allowed by the rules of that era.

Greg Fielden’s Forty Years of Stock Car Racing, the go-to series of books on NASCAR’s early races, described the late-race battle for the win between the veteran Turner and the newcomer Fred Lorenzen in dramatic terms.

Fielden’s account of the finish described the race for the lead: “Fair-haired Fred Lorenzen and old pro Curtis Turner fought each other with fists of steel in Darlington Raceway’s fifth annual Rebel 300 in a death-defying slugfest which decided perhaps the most exciting stock car race of all time.”

Turner wound up an unhappy runner-up, according to Fielden. “If I could have caught him before the checkered flag, I guarantee you he never would have finished the race,” Turner was quoted as saying.

Leonard Wood, co-founder of the Wood Brothers team, said that while some assumed that Lorenzen simply outdueled Turner, that wasn’t the whole story.

“We had some valve springs that were giving up, so Curtis didn’t have as much power as Lorenzen,” Wood, now age 87, said this week. “But the biggest reason was Curtis’ left-rear tire was into the fabric at the end of the race.”

The Woods have gone on to score eight Darlington wins, 12 poles, 22 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes entering Sunday’s race.

To top off this Darlington weekend, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang will get into the Labor Day spirit by honoring Terri Barricello, a Service Advisor at Hilbish Ford in Kannapolis, N.C., who has been with Ford Motor Co. for 43 years.

As part of NASCAR’s Labor Day Weekend Workforce Appreciation Initiative, Barricello’s name will replace Burton’s on the No. 21 Mustang.

Kim Wood Hall, co-owner of the Wood Brothers team, said Barricello is well known for taking care of the dealership’s customers.

“Terri always goes the extra mile to make sure that when service work is done to any of our vehicles it is done at our convenience to get us back to work as soon as possible,” Hall wrote in nominating Barricello for the honor.

Practice for the 73rd annual Cook Out Southern 500 is set for Saturday at 12:05 p.m. to be followed by qualifying at 12:50.

The Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled to start just after 6 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on USA Network.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 115 and 230.

About Motorcraft
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change & maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator & electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension & steering, wheel alignment, belts & hoses, lamps & bulbs, wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification; mobility solutions, including self-driving services; and connected services. Ford employs approximately 187,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.

*See seller for limited-warranty details.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

Noah Gragson to Pilot the No. 16 Ed Morse Automotive Group Camaro ZL1 at Texas and Homestead Speedways

 LEXINGTON, N.C. (August 31, 2022) – Kaulig Racing and Ed Morse Automotive Group will team up for two NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races, as Noah Gragson will pilot the No. 16 Ed Morse Automotive Group Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. The kick-off to the partnership will be at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 25 for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500.

“This is the next evolution of our growing brand in the automotive world. As we enter the NASCAR universe, it is an absolute honor to partner with such a devoted and hungry racing team like Kaulig Racing,” said Teddy Morse, Chairman and CEO of Ed Morse Automotive Group.

Amid its first, full season in the NCS, Kaulig Racing continues to develop new partnerships and welcome them to the highest level of motorsports. The Ed Morse Automotive Group is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, and has been family-owned for over 75 years. It proudly operates 35 dealerships, 75 franchises, 39 locations, and 25 automotive and motorcycle brands.

“We are super thrilled to welcome Ed Morse Automotive Group into our Kaulig Racing family,” said Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing. “Just as Teddy maintains such high standards in a family run business, Kaulig Racing has always possessed a family atmosphere, something that is rare in NASCAR teams today. Ed Morse Automotive Group does more than just sell cars, it gives back to the community as well, and we share many of those same values at Kaulig Racing.”

So far in the 2022 NCS season, Noah Gragson has earned a top five and three top-20 finishes. He continues to help grow Kaulig Racing in its first, full season in NASCAR’s top series, as he carries the bulk of the remaining races in the No. 16 Camaro ZL1 that he shares with teammates AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have Ed Morse Automotive Group onboard the No. 16 Camaro,” said Gragson. “Teddy Morse and everyone at Ed Morse Automotive Group truly loves cars and cares about their customers, employees and community. At the end of the day, we both want to do what we love, so I’m looking forward to sharing our passions with each other and growing a partnership.”

About Ed Morse Automotive Group

The Morse family has been in the automotive business since 1946 when Ed Morse founded Morse Motors. Over 75 years later, Ed’s grandson, Chairman/CEO Teddy Morse continues to build on the legacy and family tradition. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida and with recent acquisitions into Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma, Ed Morse Automotive Group is considered to be one of the nation’s fastest growing and most respected automotive dealer groups. www.edmorse.com

 

 
About Kaulig Racing™

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and made the Championship 4 round in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They will continue fielding three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger. With multiple wins, Kaulig Racing has come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. The team made multiple starts in the NCS in 2021 and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young team has acquired two charters for the 2022 NCS season, with Justin Haley competing as its first, full-time driver in the series. The team’s second entry will be shared by part-time teammates AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

KEVIN HARVICK
Darlington Advance
No. 4 Busch Light Retro Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out Southern 500 (Round 27 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 4
● Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
● Layout: 1.366-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 367 laps/501.32 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 115 laps / Stage 2: 115 laps / Final Stage: 137 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The NASCAR Playoffs begin Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and for the 16th time since the advent of the playoffs in 2004, Harvick is a part of it. Harvick qualified for this year’s playoffs by scoring two wins – Aug. 7 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and Aug. 14 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. This is Harvick’s 13th consecutive playoff appearance. He won the championship in 2014.

● Darlington is one of the 10 tracks that make up the NASCAR Playoffs, and of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series victories, 26 have come at playoff tracks. Three of those wins have been at Darlington, while Harvick also has three wins apiece at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway in Ford Worth. He has two wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and one win each at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The remaining nine wins were earned at the most valuable playoff venue – Phoenix Raceway, home to the championship-deciding race. The only track where Harvick doesn’t have a win is the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.

● Darlington is known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame” but Harvick has tamed the venerable 1.366-mile oval three times, the second-most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver. The 46-year-old racer from Bakersfield, California, owns two Southern 500 victories (2014 and 2020) and one win in the track’s 400-mile race. In fact, Harvick enters Darlington with an impressive record – he hasn’t finished outside the top-10 since 2012. How long ago was that? “Gangnam Style” and its music video by South Korean singer Psy went viral in 2012, four years before the social media app TikTok became reality.

● That’s a long time, but not nearly as long as Darlington has been around. The 2022 season marks the track’s 72nd anniversary, with the egg-shaped oval having hosted 122 NASCAR Cup Series races. The first came on Sept. 4, 1950 and it was the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt. Johnny Mantz drove his Plymouth to the win with an average speed of 75.250 mph and the race took 6 hours, 38 minutes and 40 seconds to complete. Juxtapose that with Harvick’s win in the 2020 Southern 500. His Ford Mustang had an average speed of 132.256 mph and the race finished in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 26 seconds.

● COVID-19 stopped racing in its tracks in 2020. After the checkered flag dropped March 8 at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR went on a 10-week hiatus as the world grappled with the scale of a pandemic not seen since the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919. NASCAR had to navigate a brave new world, and the sport was one of the first to return to action when racing resumed May 17 at Darlington. It was a welcome surprise, as one version of NASCAR’s hypothetical return featured a start date of Oct. 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a stretch of 30 races in 64 days that would wrap with three straight races at Phoenix… on Jan. 1-3 of 2021. In a time of great uncertainty, seeing sports’ return with NASCAR pacing the field proved both prideful and poignant. Harvick never let off the gas even as the season ground to a halt. He focused on all the little details that go into wheeling a 3,400-pound racecar around tracks faster than 39 of his competitors. The result? After finishing second March 8 at Phoenix, Harvick one-upped that result by winning in NASCAR’s return to racing May 17 at Darlington.

● That win on May 17, 2020 at Darlington was Harvick’s milestone 50th career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Harvick led 159 of the race’s 293 laps to secure his 11th straight season as a Cup Series winner. His career win total now stands at 60, which puts him in a tie for ninth on the all-time Cup Series win list with Kyle Busch.

● Among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Harvick leads the following categories at Darlington:

●  Most starts: 29 (tied with Kurt Busch)

●  Most top-fives: 13 (next best is Denny Hamlin with 11)

●  Most top-10s: 18 (next best is Hamlin with 15)

●  Most laps led: 813 (next best is Hamlin with 786)

●  Most laps completed: 9,663 (next best is Kurt Busch with 9,571)

●  Note: Hamlin leads the series in wins at Darlington with four, while Harvick stands alone with three wins.

● Who are the all-time leaders at Darlington? Check out these eye-popping statistics:

●  Most starts: 65 by Richard Petty

●  Most wins: 10 by David Pearson  

●  Most top-fives: 25 by Petty

●  Most top-10s: 34 by Petty

●  Most laps led: 2,391 by Petty

●  Most laps completed: 17,120 by Petty

●  Note: The 17,120 laps completed by Petty translates to 23,434.11 miles, almost equal to the equatorial circumference of the Earth (24,901 miles).

● Harvick has proven immensely consistent at Darlington outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. He has made 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, finishing among the top-10 nine times, with a best result of third in September 2017. Harvick has also made two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Darlington, with a best result of fourth in March 2002.

● Darlington is filled with time-honored traditions, so it’s only appropriate that the historic track is part of a new NASCAR tradition – Workforce Appreciation Weekend. This initiative showcases the NASCAR industry’s appreciation to the American workforce. As part of this endeavor, race teams are recognizing individuals who go above and beyond with a Workforce Appreciation Honorary Crew Member position. For the No. 4 team of Stewart-Haas Racing, that person is Darlington-native Jackie Tyner, a key accounts manager who works for Anheuser Busch’s local wholesaler, Southern Crown Partners. For 41 years, Tyner has managed all wholesaler activities at Darlington Raceway. Born and raised in Darlington, he believes the community and the racetrack are a huge part of his identity. Tyner counts late NASCAR executive Jim Hunter as an early mentor in his career, as one of the many roles Hunter served in during his distinguished career was Darlington track president. A true South Carolinian, Tyner raises pecans with his wife, Michelle, within earshot of the rumbling of racecars at Darlington. He is a proud father of three who loves spending time with his eight grandchildren. As part of his honorary crew member position, Tyner’s name appears above the passenger-side door of Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Retro Ford Mustang in the Cook Out Southern 500.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Retro Ford Mustang

You’re in the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season and your 16th overall. How does making the playoffs this year compare to any of those previous playoff seasons?

“I would say it’s been a very different route to get to this point. As we started the year with the new car, we were on the wrong side of the fence and trying to figure everything out. And as we’ve gone through the year we’ve become progressively better, and we figured some things out and got back to victory lane and really have some momentum as we start the process of these last 10 weeks and racing for a championship. The biggest thing is, we’re giving ourselves a chance to race for the championship – that’s the first goal. That looked bleak for a little while, but now we’re in a good position to get started.”

You were on a 65-race winless streak and, coming into August, your playoff chances looked bleak. Then you won back-to-back races to secure your spot in the playoffs as the ninth seed. Is there any rhyme or reason to peaking at the right time?

“There’s zero. I wish I could find the keys to that equation. As you look at the things we’ve done this year, as far as our routine and the things that we do and how we communicate, all of that is the same. It’s just the progression of learning about the car, and putting ourselves in a position to have cars that are fast enough to compete at the front. They’ve done a good job of making some adjustments on pit road – the pit crew has been on fire, and they’re making good adjustments on the car. That’s just the learning process that’s come with this particular season. There have been a few races this season where we’ve been in position to win, but haven’t had things work out. I think as you go back to Michigan and Richmond and look at those races, you’re in position to win and have a fast car and everything goes your way and no mistakes. So you just never know when that streak of momentum is going to go your way, and you never know when that streak of momentum is going to go against you. You never know how long it’s going to last in either direction, and you just have to ride that wave as long as you can by just trying to do the right things day after day, week after week, to create the best situation possible to capitalize when it does swing your way.”

Do you like Darlington serving as the opening race of the 10-race playoffs?

“Well, Darlington just screams NASCAR. From a competitor’s standpoint, when you drive through the tunnel and you look at that racetrack, it looks the same as it did in 1960. From my standpoint, being able to race at a racetrack like that, whatever generation car I’m in, you can relate back to how it started. Darlington is narrow, it’s unique, and it’s just Darlington. You pull in the tunnel and you see the blue tarps and the tents and the people just hanging out in the infield – it’s just a great place to race and forever a part of NASCAR history that I will always enjoy.”

What stands out for you the most at Darlington?

“I know the characteristics of the racetrack, as far as having to respect it and racing the track. I know what that means, and I’ve definitely been in the wrong position and got carried away and had it bite me before. But it’s a place that I look forward to going to. It’s a place where I enjoy racing and love the challenges that go with it. I think over the last several years we’ve been fortunate to have some success there, and the expectation is to go there and have a chance to race up front and put yourself in contention. So that’ll be the expectation as we go back this time and, hopefully, we can do that and have some fun.”

Five hundred miles at Darlington, during the heat and humidity of Labor Day weekend, makes for a very demanding race. How do you approach it?

“No matter how hot it is, it’s just a mentally taxing race. It’s just you against the track and being able to have that mindset and know that every lap you have to be up on top of the wheel in order to keep yourself from rubbing up against the wall or doing something that’s detrimental to your car, but also pushing the car hard enough and keeping up with the tire fall-off and understanding all the things that are going on. There are just a lot of moving pieces at Darlington, but it’s really taxing, mentally.”

What skillsets are rewarded at Darlington?

“Darlington favors the guy who can be very disciplined and is able to push the car right to 99.9 percent of where that tire run is, and be able to put the car up against the wall and not overstep those boundaries. You have to be very disciplined there to get everything out of the car and keep up with the tire fall-off and not tear anything up – on your own, let alone being around everybody else.”

Is competing at Darlington about racing the track and your competitors, or is it more about managing your tires?

“You’ve got to know when to let somebody go, because you can make it a lot harder on somebody to pass than what it used to be with the things that go on aerodynamically with this particular car. The biggest thing that you have to do is get the restarts right and get yourself really singled out, and once you get singled out, then you can start making some different decisions on when to let somebody go, when to not let somebody go, how hard to fight somebody, and things like that. It just takes one moment there to slip up and the right-rear toe link will be knocked off the car. You can rub the car up against the wall, but if you clip that right-rear tire wrong, it’s going to be the end of your night.”

Running that line up against the wall is not the line you typically run. The “Kevin Harvick Line” is along the bottom. Which line is most advantageous, and when?

“With this particular car, you’ve just got to be careful with how much you abuse the tires because it drives off the right-rear tire so much that you have to think about that a little bit differently. It didn’t seem like that was 100 percent the preferred way to do it through (turns) three and four the last time. You’ve just got to be as easy as possible on the right-rear tire.”

No. 4 Busch Light Retro Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey
Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Brandon Banks
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio
Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

This Week in Motorsports: August 29-September 5, 2022

· NCS/NXS: Darlington Raceway – September 3-4
· ARCA: DuQuoin State Fairgrounds – September 4
· NHRA: Indianapolis Raceway Park – September 5

PLANO, Texas (August 31, 2022) – It’s Playoff time for the NASCAR Cup Series as they take on the Labor Day Classic at Darlington Raceway along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The ARCA Menards Series has its last race of the season on dirt, while the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series runs its biggest event of the season – the U.S. Nationals – in Indianapolis

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS

Toyota Playoff drivers… Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch have qualified for the Cup Series Playoffs as they look to extend Toyota’s record as the only OEM to have earned at least one spot in the Championship 4 since this points format begin in 2014. Hamlin has earned a Championship 4 berth each of the last three seasons, while Busch was Toyota’s last NCS champion in 2019. Bell is looking for his first Championship 4 berth in just his third full-time season in the Cup Series.

Hamlin lone double… Hamlin will compete in his only NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend at Darlington, at what has become an annual affair for the Virginia-native. Hamlin has earned five of his 17 Xfinity Series victories at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame.’ He also has four Cup Series victories at the track, with two in the last two seasons (May 2020, September 2021)

Bell closing in on 100… Bell is closing on his 100th career start as the Oklahoma-native will run his 99th Cup Series event this weekend. The second-time Playoff driver earned his best Darlington finish in the spring race as he led Toyota with a sixth-place finish.

Gibbs running two… Ty Gibbs will continue to substitute for Kurt Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series as the 19-year-old will run his seventh Cup Series event. Gibbs is running his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway on Saturday after starting first and leading 18 laps there in the spring.

Nemechek returns… Before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns at Kansas, John Hunter Nemechek will return to the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek had the team’s best result of the season in the spring race as he was running second in the closing laps before a late-race caution resulted in a fourth-place finish. Nemechek has Xfinity Series starts scheduled for both Toyota organizations still this season. He will be back to defend his win at Texas Motor Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing in September, before returning to Sam Hunt Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Love wants the dirt bonus… Jesse Love earned his first win of the season on the Springfield dirt two weeks ago and is now looking for a big money pay out. If he can sweep the dirt events in ARCA competition this season, Love and his team will earn a $50,000 bonus.

Smith closes in on two titles… After another victory in Milwaukee on Sunday, Sammy Smith is closing in on two ARCA titles. With one race remaining on the ARCA East schedule, Smith holds a 33-point advantage over second, while on the Sioux Chief Showdown championship battle, the 18-year-old is 23 points up with two races to go. Both championships will be decided at Bristol Motor Speedway in September.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

Countdown Fields set… The NHRA will set their Countdown playoff fields this weekend, and all of Toyota’s full-time drivers are currently set to earn automatic berths by being in the top-10 in points. In Funny Car, all three – Ron Capps, Alexis DeJoria and J.R. Todd – have already clinched their spots, with Justin Ashley and Steve Torrence locked in the Top Fuel field. Shawn Langdon, sixth in points, should clinch by qualifying for the U.S. Nationals, while eighth-place Doug Kalitta and ninth-place Antron Brown are looking to solidify their spots in the field by going rounds on Monday.

Callout returns… The U.S. Nationals will also feature the all-star Pep Boys Callout. In Top Fuel, Ashley and Torrence are part of the final four, while Capps and DeJoria are in the final eight. The Top Fuel Callout is part of Saturday’s on-track action, while the Funny Car portion will run on Sunday.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 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 43 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 the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

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.