NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

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August 21, 2022

Watkins Glen Cup race by Patrick Sue-Chan 0220821201520-d864c918-me — Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole at rainy Watkins Glen and was poised to take the win. But a late restart was his downfall, as Kyle Larson out-dragged him for the lead with five laps to go. Elliott finished fourth.

“You could tell in my post-race interview that I was holding back my anger,” Elliott said. “I know better than to criticize my teammate and create a distraction in this team. I’m just trying to be the better man, and doing that is easy, because I am.”

2. Joey Logano: Logano won Stage 2 at Watkins Glen and finished third.

“2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Räikkönen was in the field at Watkins Glen,” Logano said. “You could tell by his finish of 36th that Kimi is unfamiliar with NASCAR. You could tell that NASCAR fans aren’t familiar with a driver when they can’t say or spell his name.”

3. Kyle Larson: Larson stalked Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott over the final laps at Watkins Glen, and finally forced his way by on the final restart. Then Larson repelled the challenge of A.J. Allmendinger to win the Go Bowling At The Glen.

“I won the race by taking the inside line,” Larson said. “Chase Elliott says being shoved out of the way by a teammate is an inside job.”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 12th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

“Racing in the rain is not my cup of tea,” Harvick said. “In fact, I don’t even drink tea, unless it’s made by Busch.

“My in-car camera for the race was sponsored by Northern Tool. Many drivers refer to Connecticut-born Joey Logano as the ‘Northern Tool.'”

5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 20th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

“Sunday’s race started in the rain,” Hamlin said. “And I wasn’t much of a factor. I’m not much of a wet weather driver. There’s only one thing I like less than rain on the track, and that’s Ross Chastain.”

6. Christopher Bell: Bell challenged up front in the final stage at Watkins Glen and came home with an eighth, his 14th top 10 of the year.

“Sunday’s race featured quite the international flavor,” Bell said. “There were drivers representing six other countries besides the United States. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Ward Burton still has an accent harder to understand than all of theirs.”

7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 24th at Watkins Glen, and has a 26-point advantage over Martin Truex Jr. as the two battle for the final playoff spot.

“I still haven’t officially clinched a spot in the playoffs,” Blaney said. “So I’m going to Daytona with my fingers crossed, my stomach in a knot, my panties in a twist, and my sphincter in a clinch.”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 23rd in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

“The outcome of the race hinged on a team’s early ability to switch from wet tires to dry tires,” Truex said. “Substitute ‘pants’ for ‘tires’ in that sentence, and you’ve successfully described a fan’s experience in the Daytona 500 infield.”

9. Kyle Busch: Busch’s chances to win at Watkins Glen unraveled when he was penalized on a late pit stop for pitting outside his pit box. Then a spin and contact with the wall left him further down the order. Busch eventually finished 32nd, one lap down.

“I’m still entrenched in contract negotiations,” Busch said. “And it’s frustrating. I’m a two-time Cup series champion—–teams should be fighting over me. Even my mortal enemy Brad Keselowski agrees. He says I’d be an ‘ass-et’ to any team.”

10. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 21st at Watkins Glen.

“If famous statesman Ben Franklin were alive today,” Chastain said, “he would no doubt update one of his famous sayings to include me, because ‘Nothing is certain except for death, taxes, and Ross Chastain being involved in an accident.'”

Larson sweeps the weekend with second Cup victory of 2022 at Watkins Glen

By

Andrew Kim

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August 21, 2022

20220821195443-e561f37f-me — Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin for SpeedwayMedia.com.

A day after emerging late for an Xfinity Series victory at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Larson benefitted through another late-race restart and outlasted a challenge from AJ Allmendinger to win the rain-delayed Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 21.

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion led the final five of 90-scheduled laps and was running in second place behind teammate Chase Elliott with 12 laps remaining before a caution for an on-track incident involving Joey Hand stacked up the field. Two restarts later, Larson executed a strong launch on the inside lane to overtake Elliott for the lead on a restart with five laps remaining. From there, he kept Allmendinger at bay as he went on to claim his second victory of the 2022 Cup Series season and earn additional momentum with the Playoffs looming and in his quest to defend his series title.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Elliott pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 124.857 mph in 70.477 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Kyle Larson, winner of last year’s Cup event at The Glen, who posted his best qualifying lap at 123.939 mph in 70.516 seconds.

Prior to the event, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell dropped to the rear of the field for engine changes made to their respective cars. In addition, names like William Byron, Daniil Kyat, Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware and Kyle Tilley dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started amid a nearly two-hour delay due to lightning with the competitors starting on slick tires under a single-file restart formation amid wet conditions, the field quickly fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn as Elliott was out in front. Behind, Michael McDowell and Larson made contact, with the former assuming the runner-up spot. As the field made their way through the seven-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Elliott led the first lap followed by McDowell, Larson, Tyler Reddick and AJ Allmendinger.

Then in Turn 1, Allmendinger got bumped by rookie Austin Cindric as he spun off the circuit without sustaining any significant damage. Soon after, Harrison Burton also spun in the first turn, but the event proceeded under green as Elliott retained the lead ahead of McDowell.

During the second lap, Harrison Burton’s rough start went rougher as he spun for a second time in the first turn and plummeted below the leaderboard.

Then during the third lap, McDowell gained a strong run on Elliott through the first three turns as he moved his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang into the lead. Not long after, Tyler Reddick moved his No. 8 KC Motorgroup Ltd. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot while Elliott fell back to third ahead of teammate Larson.

Through the first five scheduled laps, McDowell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Elliott, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez. Larson was mired back in sixth after he missed the Inner Loop and had to come to a full stop before proceeding while Cindric, Chase Briscoe, rookie Todd Gilliland and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. Austin Dillon was back in 11th followed by Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Joey Hand, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Kimi Räikkönen and Erik Jones. Ryan Blaney was in 21st ahead of William Byron, Kyle Busch, Mike Rockenfeller and Martin Truex Jr. while Cole Custer, Loris Hezemans, Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie and Denny Hamlin, who was reporting engine issues, were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs was in 31st ahead of AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Daniil Kyat and Cody Ware while Aric Almirola, Kyle Tilley, Harrison Burton and Justin Haley, who pitted to have his window net reattached, rounded out the 39-car field.

Two laps later and with the track conditions drying, Buescher pitted his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang under green for slick tires while McDowell remained as the leader by seven-tenths of a second over Reddick. Another lap later, Briscoe pitted his No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang under green.

By the Lap 10 mark, McDowell continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Reddick while Elliott, Gilliland and Suarez were scored in the top five. In addition, names like Bubba Wallace, Blaney, Cindric, Kyle Busch, Truex, Ty Dillon and Cody Ware pitted under green.

Two laps later, McDowell surrendered the lead to pit for slick tires as Reddick assumed the lead. Another lap later, Reddick pitted for slick tires as Elliott, who has yet to pit for slicks, assumed the lead followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Larson. Meanwhile, Briscoe, the first competitor on slicks, was in fourth while McDowell was in fifth. Following his pit stop, however, Reddick was forced to serve a “stop-and-go” on-track penalty for missing the inner loop.

Then on Lap 15, Briscoe overtook Elliott, who remained on wet tires, through Turn 5 to assume the lead with McDowell quickly pursuing behind. Meanwhile, Larson, who also remained on wet tires, had fallen back to 11th while being overtaken by competitors on slicks.

With two laps remaining in the first stage, Elliott, who was struggling on the track on wet tires but opted for a two-pit strategy, pitted his No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green along with teammate Larson, Christopher Bell, Cindric, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Blaney, Truex, Buescher and McDowell while Briscoe continued to lead. Following the pit stops, Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Briscoe captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Reddick settled in second followed by Suarez, Gilliland, Chastain, Joey Logano, Ty Dillon, McDowell, Kyle Busch and Allmendinger. Despite settling in 23rd place in the first stage, Elliott clinched the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Under the stage break, some led by Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Gilliland and Logano remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 23 under green. By then, the field returned to double-file restart formation as Gilliland and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Gilliland briefly dueled with Logano before assuming full command of the field through the first four turns and approaching the Inner Loop. Behind, Logano was in second while Kyle Busch muscled his No. 18 Snickers Toyota TRD Camry into third place followed by McDowell and Ty Dillon.

At the Lap 25 mark, Gilliland was leading by half a second over Logano followed by Kyle Busch, McDowell and Ty Dillon while Joey Hand, Corey LaJoie, Custer, Räikkönen and Elliott were in the top 10.

Two laps later, Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead followed by Kyle Busch, McDowell, Ty Dillon and Joey Hand while Gilliland, who initially lost the lead in the first turn before regaining it through the esses but losing it again through the carousel, pitted under green to address a broken axle.

By Lap 30, Logano was leading by half a second over Kyle Busch while McDowell, Ty Dillon and Joey Hand remained in the top five. Elliott was up in sixth followed by Custer, Räikkönen, Buescher and LaJoie while Larson, Bell, Loris Hezemans, Stenhouse, Blaney, Allmendinger, Truex, Chastain, Bowman and Mike Rockenfeller occupied the top 20.

A lap later, Reddick and Rockenfeller spun through the Inner Loop while battling for 20th place before both proceeded under green.

Through the first 35 scheduled laps, Logano retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by McDowell, Elliott and Ty Dillon. Meanwhile, Joey Hand retained sixth ahead of Custer, Buescher, Larson and Räikkönen.

Soon after, names like Räikkönen, Truex, Loris Hezemans and LaJoie pitted under green while Logano remained as the leader by less than a second over Kyle Busch.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Logano secured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season after fending off Kyle Busch by half a second. McDowell settled in third followed by Elliott, Ty Dillon, Joey Hand, Buescher, Larson, Custer and Christopher Bell.

Under the stage break, names like Logano, Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, Custer, Reddick, LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Briscoe, Mike Rockenfeller, Cody Ware and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by McDowell and Elliott remained on the track.

With 46 laps remaining, the final stage started as McDowell and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell, who nearly went off the course in the first turn, fended off Elliott and Joey Hand to retain the lead through the fourth turn and entering the esses. Then through the esses, a stack-up occurred towards the middle of the pack as Austin Dillon got turned and spun by Ross Chastain. At the same time, Hezemans made contact with Räikkönen, who got sent into the tire barriers as his strong debut in NASCAR’s premier series came to an end just shy of the halfway mark.

Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“It was good fun,” Räikkönen said at the infield care center on USA Network. “I felt more confidence all the time. I had some good battles. It’s a shame. I think the car felt like it had a lot of speed in there, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

With 43 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McDowell retained the lead ahead of Elliott, who had Bell challenging him for third place as Larson was up in fourth ahead of Joey Hand.

Two laps later, Elliott overtook McDowell on the outside lane approaching Turn 6 to assume the lead as Larson started to close in on the two leaders.

With less than 40 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by more than a second over McDowell, who had Larson challenging him for the runner-up spot. Bell was in fourth followed by Joey Hand, who remained uncertain about completing the remainder of the event on his current fuel tank, while Allmendinger was up in sixth following his opening lap spin. Buescher, Stenhouse, Erik Jones and Blaney were in the top 10 while Suarez, Byron, Harvick, Justin Haley, Bowman, Logano, Chastain, Burton, Wallace and Brad Keselowski were in the top 20.

Then with 34 laps remaining, McDowell and Larson, both of whom were in second and third, pitted under green along with Erik Jones, Logano, Harvick and Truex as Elliott continued to lead. By then, Stenhouse, Reddick, Buescher and Joey Hand had made pit stops. Allmendinger, Chastain, Kyle Busch, Bell, Byron, Haley, Wallace, Ty Dillon, Hamlin and Blaney would soon pit.

With 32 laps remaining, the leader Elliott pitted under green as Custer, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead. Following his service, Elliott was able to exit pit road and remain ahead of teammate Larson, who pitted earlier.

Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Custer remained as the leader by more than 10 seconds over LaJoie followed by Austin Dillon and Mike Rockenfeller, all of whom still needing to pit prior to the event’s conclusion. Elliott, the first competitor on fresh tires and fuel, was in fifth while teammate Larson, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Logano and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, Chastain and Briscoe were straightening their cars after both spun through the Inner Loop.

A lap later, Custer surrendered the lead to pit under green while Austin Dillon was out in front by a mere margin over LaJoie while third-place Rockenfeller trailed by three seconds. Meanwhile, Elliott trailed in fourth place by four-and-a-half seconds while teammate Larson was in fifth. In addition, Cody Ware spun through the Inner Loop, but the race proceeded under green.

With 20 laps remaining, Austin Dillon was leading by a second over Elliott, who overtook LaJoie earlier and was closing in on Dillon’s rear bumper. A lap later, however, Elliott gained a strong run and overtook Dillon for the lead in Turn 5. Behind, Larson overtook Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to move into the runner-up spot as he started his bid on teammate Elliott for the lead and win.

Two laps later, Kyle Busch, who was running in ninth after rallying from restarting towards the rear of the field at the start of the final stage, got loose and spun in Turn 1 after running over the curb before hitting the Armco wall driver’s side before proceeding, cycling his way around the circuit and pitting under green. Back at the front, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson while Austin Dillon retained third place ahead of McDowell and Allmendinger.

Then with 12 laps remaining, the caution flew when Joey Hand, who was having a stellar run within the top 10, got loose and spun entering Turn 1 before backing his No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang into the Armco barrier, though he continued with rear-end damage. By then, Austin Dillon pitted under green and Elliott was out in front by more than two seconds over teammate Larson.

During the caution period, names like while the rest led by teammates Elliott and Larson remained on the track.

Down to the final nine laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott dueled and fended off teammate Larson to retain the lead and Allmendinger muscled his way into third place as the field scrambled for late positions. By then, McDowell, who was in third, got shuffled back to sixth.

During the following lap, the caution returned when Loris Hezemans spun and got his car stuck on the gravel trap in Turn 6.

With five laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Elliott and Larson dueled for the lead until Larson, who locked up the front tires and went briefly wide, managed to emerge with the lead ahead of teammate Elliott. In addition, Allmendinger moved into the runner-up spot as Logano and Reddick overtook Elliott through the Inner Loop. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Larson was ahead by half a second over Allmendinger and Elliott was mired back in fifth as the field scrambled for late positions.

Three laps later, Larson continued to lead by less than half a second over Allmendinger, who found himself pursuing Larson for a win at The Glen for a second consecutive day, while Logano, Elliott and Suarez were in the top five. Behind, Reddick and McDowell fell back to sixth and seventh while Bell, Buescher and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Through the first four turns, Larson stabilized his steady advantage. While Allmendinger gained a small advantage through the Inner Loop, he could not close the gap through the final three turns as Larson managed to smoothly navigate his way back to the finish line and claim the checkered flag by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger.

With his second victory of the 2022 season, Larson joined Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose and teammate Chase Elliott as the only competitors to achieve back-to-back Cup victories at The Glen. He also became the eighth competitor to achieve multiple victories throughout this year’s regular-season stretch as he recorded his 18th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and first since winning at Auto Club Speedway in February.

“I knew that was my only opportunity [to beat Elliott in Turn 1],” Larson said on USA Network. “I’m not proud of it, but being in the inside lane or the right lane, being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets too late in the race, it’s definitely risky. I felt like our cars were pretty equal today. [I] Had a lot of fun after the green-flag [pit] cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burnt my stuff up a little bit, but the restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. Proud of our guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen. Get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs. We haven’t had many of those this year. Hopefully, this [win] will build on some momentum and we can rack up some more points.”

Allmendinger recovered from his opening lap spin to methodically work his way to a strong runner-up result a day after finishing in the runner-up spot behind Larson in the Xfinity event at The Glen. Logano came home in third followed by Elliott, who led a race-high 29 laps and remained humble over the defeat, though he clinched the 2022 Cup Series regular-season championship.

“Huge congratulations to Kyle [Larson] and everybody on the No. 5 team,” Elliott said. “Congratulations to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for getting another win. [I] Appreciate Kelley Blue Book for being on our car this weekend. Proud of that and looking forward to next week.“

Suarez rounded out the top five in fifth while McDowell, Reddick, Bell, Buescher and Erik Jones completed the top 10 on the track.

There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 11 laps.

With one regular-season race remaining to this season, Chase Elliott, who secured the 2022 Cup Series regular-season championship, leads the regular-season standings by 134 points over teammate Kyle Larson and 143 over Ryan Blaney.

Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Kurt Busch have clinched spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney occupies the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs based on points by 25 points over Martin Truex Jr. The following competitors that include Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon and Todd Gilliland control their fate in making the Playoffs by winning next weekend at Daytona.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, five laps led

2. AJ Allmendinger

3. Joey Logano, 15 laps led, Stage 2 winner

4. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led

5. Daniel Suarez

6. Michael McDowell, 14 laps led

7. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

8. Christopher Bell

9. Chris Buescher

10. Erik Jones

11. Cole Custer, seven laps led

12. Kevin Harvick

13. Austin Cindric

14. Alex Bowman

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Ty Dillon

17. Austin Dillon, six laps led

18. Justin Haley

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Ross Chastain

22. William Byron

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. Ryan Blaney

25. Chase Briscoe, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner

26. Ty Gibbs

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Harrison Burton

29. Aric Almirola

30. Mike Rockenfeller

31. Joey Hand

32. Kyle Busch, one lap down

33. Loris Hezemans, one lap down

34. Cody Ware, two laps down

35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Suspension

36. Daniil Kvyat, 32 laps down

37. Kimi Räikkönen – OUT, Accident

38. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Rear end

39. Kyle Tilley – OUT, Steering

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch is set to cap off next weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, August 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

RCR NCS Post Race Report: Watkins Glen

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team Lead Laps, Rally All Day Long at Watkins Glen

Finish: 17th
Start: 12th
Points: 19th

“We started our day maintaining speed and position in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevy and then we had to make a decision with pit strategy. We went with the strategy of keeping strong track position because it was really difficult to pass. During the final stage, we got spun and ended up having to go to pit road earlier than planned and it put us way back on the restart. We fought back all day long and after our final pit stop, a few cautions came out so we were able to gain some spots. Pretty up and down day for our team but I’m proud of how hard we worked all day. We’re looking forward to Daytona.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet Team Grab Solid Eighth-Place Finish at Watkins Glen

Finish: 7th
Start: 5th
Points: 13th

“Everyone on the KCMG team did a good job today. We lost a lot of track positions when I spun in the bus stop but we fought our way back and we were in contention for a top five at the end of the race. We started off the day in wet conditions and once the track dried our KCMG Chevrolet got really tight. We made the car better by the end of the race. We finished seventh but I was hoping for a top five.” -Tyler Reddick

Stewart-Haas Racing: Go Bowling! At The Glen from Watkins Glen

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Go Bowling! At The Glen
Date: Aug. 21, 2022
Event: Go Bowling! At The Glen (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45-mile, seven-turn road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 29th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)

● Kevin Harvick (Started 24th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)

● Chase Briscoe (Started 14th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)

● Aric Almirola (Started 35th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)

SHR Points:

● Kevin Harvick (8th with 690 points, 232 out of first)

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 571 points, 351 out of first)

● Aric Almirola (18th with 560 points, 362 out of first)

● Cole Custer (26th with 431 points, 491 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his seventh top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen.

● Custer’s 11th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Watkins Glen – 18th, earned in his first start at the track last August.

● Custer finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points.

● Custer led once for seven laps – his first laps led at Watkins Glen.

● This was Harvick’s fourth straight finish of 12th or better at Watkins Glen. He finished eighth in this race last year, seventh in 2019 and 10th in 2018. (The NASCAR Cup Series did not race at Watkins Glen in 2020 due to restrictions related to COVID-19.)

● Briscoe finished first in Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one valuable playoff point.

● Briscoe led once for seven laps – his first laps led at Watkins Glen.

Race Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Go Bowling! At The Glen to score his 18th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Watkins Glen. His margin over second-place AJ Allmendinger was .882 of a second.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 11 laps.

● All but eight of the 39 drivers in the Go Bowling! At The Glen finished on the lead lap.

● Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Watkins Glen with a 134-point advantage over second-place Larson.

● A record seven countries were represented in the Go Bowling! At The Glen – Daniel Suárez (Mexico), Mike Rockenfeller (Germany), Kyle Tilley (England), Loris Hezemans (Netherlands), Kimi Räikkönen (Finland), Daniil Kvyat (Russia) and the remainder of the field (United States).

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The regular-season finale begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHEVROLET NCS AT WATKINS GLEN: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 21, 2022

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
2nd AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1
4th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
5th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 PRINCESS CRUISES CAMARO ZL1
7th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1
10th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
2nd AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)
3rd Joey Logano (Ford)
4th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
5th Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next Saturday, August 27, at Daytona International Speedway with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner

Tell me about the move to pass your teammate, Chase Elliott. We did see the right front locked up going into turn one.

“Yeah, I knew that was kind of my only opportunity. I’m not proud of it. But being in the inside lane or the right lane.. being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets too late in the race, it’s definitely risky.

Like I said, I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I felt like our cars were pretty equal today. Had a lot of fun after the green flag cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burnt my stuff up a little bit.

The restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. Proud of our guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen and get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs, which we haven’t had many of those this year. Hopefully this will build on some momentum and we can keep racking up some more points.”

If the shoe was on the other foot, would you want to have a conversation with your teammate?

“I’m sure, yeah, we would ultimately have a conversation. We have a competition meeting tomorrow.

Yeah, I think if I was in his shoes; I would understand the risk that I’m taking choosing left lane also. Again, like I said, I’m not proud of it, but it’s what I felt like I had to do to get the win.”

Did you learn something on the restart before that you said you’re going to try to take advantage of it on the final one?

“Yeah, all the restarts I was in the right lane yesterday with William (Byron). I always got myself in a bad spot where my angle was pinched off. We’d always make contact and I’d end up sideways and get passed by people.

I knew everybody’s aggression was going to be higher as each restart went on. I didn’t want to put myself in that position again to get passed by AJ (Allmendinger) or Joey (Logano), who were really aggressive behind me.

Yeah, it’s just part of racing at road courses, especially this year it seems like. Again, not proud of it, but we did what we had to do.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd

You had a chance there on those last couple of restarts. Would you have done anything differently?

“I don’t think so. Obviously, Kyle (Larson) drove it in quite deep to get the lead there on Chase (Elliott) and I was getting shoved in the corner. Maybe if I could have gotten the car squared off a little bit earlier in the corner.. but obviously I was getting run into so hard that I was happy just to keep it on the race track and not have anybody next to me off the corner.

Just proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing. This is absolutely one of the most fun cars I have ever driven in my life. I was hustling it and it was fast. The Action Industries Chevy, can’t thank them enough. To finish second in a Cup race in your first year as a team isn’t bad. But god, when you are that close, it’s disappointing.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th

Kyle says he’s not happy about the way the pass happened. He also said if he was in your shoes, he would have understood the risk of restarting on the outside. Did you consider that risk on the final restart?

“Just a huge congratulations to Kyle (Larson) and everybody on the No. 5 team. Congratulations to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for getting another win. Appreciate Kelley Blue Book for being on our car this weekend.”

He says this would be discussed between the two of you. What would you like to say to him?

“Congratulations. He did a great job. Seriously, they deserve it. Looking forward to going to Daytona next week and trying to get one for our team.”

Your first conversation was with Mr. Hendrick; was he able to console you at all on the loss today?

“Just congratulated him. Like I said, always good to see HMS win. The boss deserves all the wins, all the great things that go on with this company. Proud of that. Looking forward to next week.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 PRINCESS CRUISES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th

“Our No. 99 Princess Cruises Chevy was good. It was a little bit tight, a little bit loose. I felt like we had to play with the balance of the car quite a bit. But overall, I felt like our car was good. Probably not a winning car, but a solid top-five car. With the right circumstances, we probably could have won the race, but we just spent too much time trying to gain track position.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th

“Best road course car we’ve had all year. Thanks to the 43 guys, the hard work is paying off. We need to qualify a little better, but a good day and finish for our FOCUSfactor Chevy. Honestly, I was kind of hoping for more rain. I was having fun when the track was wet. Watkins Glen is one of my favorite road courses, so I’m glad to leave with a top 10 and head to Daytona next weekend.”

TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 16th

“I’m really proud of our result today with our Allegiant Camaro ZL1. We’re just building momentum, man, and it takes time in this sport to build relationships with a lot of new people, but it feels like Jerame (crew chief) and I are starting to click. The last three weeks, we’ve been running really strong and doing what we want to do. We cashed in a lot of stage points today, but were also able to turn it around and finish 16th. That’s really hard to do on these road courses, and we did it. Really proud of our effort, we’re building momentum at a good time.”

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN, NO. 91 RECOGNI CAMARO ZL1, sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 46; Finished 37th

KIMI, YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THAT INCIDENT OUT OF THE BUS STOP. WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU FELT YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT THERE TO AVOID IT?

“I wasn’t really involved with it. I had a good line there, but everybody seemed to be coming on the left of me, and unfortunately I had no time to react. The first impact, somebody hit the tires or the wheels directly, the wheels spun and something was wrong with the race car, but that how it goes.”

I KNOW IT WAS SHORTER THAN YOU WANTED, BUT DID YOU ENJOY YOURSELF HERE IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES?

“Yeah, it was good fun. I felt more confidence all of the time. We had some good laps. It’s a shame. The car felt like it had a lot of speed, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES

Stage One:

· After waiting out a lengthy rain delay, an all-Chevy front row led the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green in today’s Go Bowling at The Glen with two-time Watkins Glen winner Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 from the pole position.

· Pit strategy from atop pit boxes all throughout pit road became vital early in the race.. with teams looking to make the race either a two- or three-stop race.

· Five Chevrolet drivers made up the Top-10 of Stage One:

2nd Tyler Reddick, No. 8 KCMG Camaro ZL1

3rd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Princess Cruises Camaro ZL1

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

7th Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

10th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

Stage Two:

· Three Chevrolet drivers placed in the Top-10 of Stage Two:

4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1

5th Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

Post-Race Notes:

· Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team goes back-to-back in wins at Watkins Glen International.

· The win is Larson’s second NCS victory of 2022; his second at Watkins Glen International; and his 18th career victory in 284 NASCAR Cup Series starts.

· Chevrolet has now recorded wins in 15 of the past 16 NASCAR Cup Series road course races, including a streak of the past 11.

· The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history; Chevrolet now has 828 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Brainerd Post-Race Report – 08.21.22

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Official Release

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August 21, 2022

TORRENCE CLAIMS FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON

Capps earns a final round appearance at Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (August 21, 2022) – Steve Torrence drove to his first victory of the season at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday evening, besting Tony Schumacher in the final round. It was Torrence’s second consecutive win at Brainerd. In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced to the final, where he came up just short to Bob Tasca.

It was a strong day for Team Toyota as eight of the nine Toyota-supported teams won their first round matchups.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Brainerd International Raceway
Race 15 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W. 3.755 v. 5.286(M. Salinas) W. 4.945 v. 5.335(A. Brown) W. 5.400 v. 10.392(B. Force) W. 3.866 v. 3.942(T. Schumacher)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Finals	W. 3.720 v. 3.817(K. Baldwin) W. 3.726 v. 3.807(S. Langdon) L. 4.936 v. 4.336(T. Schumacher)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.688 v. 3.721(C. Millican) L. 5.335 v. 4.945(S. Torrence
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 4.050 v. 4.480(A. Prock) L. 4.586 v. 4.394(B. Force)
Shawn Langdon	CMR Roofing & Construction Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.760 v. 3.822(L. Pruett) L. 3.807 v. 3.726(J. Ashley)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 5.349 v. 3.940(T. Schumacher)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Finalist	W. 3.931 v. 4.022(J. Force) W. 8.539 to No Run(B. Bode) W. 3.955 v. Foul(A. DeJoria) L. 4.007 v. 3.945(B. Tasca)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 3.967 v. 4.241(B. Alexander) W. 5.712 v. 6.187(M. Hagan) L. Foul v. 3.955(R. Capps)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.898 v. 4.637(J. Campbell) L. 4.451 v. 4.356(R. Hight)

TOYOTA QUOTES

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

Final Result: Winner

What does a race like today mean to you?

“A day like today is one that you are most proud of as a driver because when everything goes good, you just need to do your job and drive straight, leave on time and not make mistakes. It’s days like today when the car doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do – and that is where we need to earn our keep. Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana (crew chiefs), they didn’t go up any lap trying to smoke the tires and that is just the cards that we were dealt. I did an okay job of getting it down through there – better than the opponent in the other lane and was able to come out victorious today. Those are days that you cherish. You remember those days more than those when you drove it to the end, and everything went great. I will remember this race for a long time. It takes a lot of experience at doing that to become good at it, and I don’t have a lot of experience. I’ve had a pretty good, solid race car that just goes a-to-b, so today, I learned some lessons. I did a good job by accident in the second round, and then made a mistake in the third round, but was able to recover and get the car back going. Final round against Tony (Schumacher), but typically Tony goes in fast, so I went in fast and then he kind of made me sit there for a minute. I was a little behind. I was .080 on the tree. That is my worst light of the day, but we left together. I could tell that we were going okay and then I saw his car kind of marching around half track. I saw him wheel out, and I’m thinking, not again. Then it slid back, and I thought okay, it might have turned our way. Definitely a totally different race track than the past two days. People were coming in here running .66 or .64 and a handful of .60s everywhere, and it just totally turns around and becomes hot and greasy and just whoever could get it down through there from a-to-b with making the least mistakes. Good day. It will be one that I remember for a while.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

Final Result: Finalist

How was your race?

“This whole weekend here at Brainerd was a lot of adversity. We always talk about Brainerd being intricate in a championship run because we’re into the playoff and the Countdown (to the Championship) in just a couple of races. The thing about Brainerd is that it has such a great track surface and when conditions are great, you can throw anything at it as we saw in qualifying, and when it’s hot out like race day today, you have to be savvy and that’s what Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen and our entire NAPA AutoCare group did all day long. We almost won and that would have been fantastic. This was a great, feel-good weekend for our team. You have to be Countdown ready at Brainerd and I don’t care where you are in the points, you need to be ready for the playoffs. We needed this. We’re going to Indy, and I’ve never won that race. We have a great Toyota race car and a lot of confidence. For me as a driver, to get to drive this NAPA GR Supra, I can’t wait to get there to I.R.P.”

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.

Watkins Glen International Posts Seventh Consecutive Grandstand Sellout for Go Bowling at The Glen Race

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

Historic New York road course also announces second straight camping sellout

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 21, 2022) – Watkins Glen International today announced the seventh consecutive grandstand sellout and the second straight camping sellout for the Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at the historic Central New York road course.

“Weekends like this show why Watkins Glen International fans are the best in motorsports,” said WGI President Michael Printup. “After last year’s first-ever camping sellout, we added even more spaces – and the fans responded by filling those. I’m so proud of our team at The Glen who has worked hard to ensure all our fans have plenty of entertainment and excitement to accompany the great racing all weekend.”

The Glen’s announcement comes on the heels of such news as the first sellout of infield campsites at Michigan International Speedway since 2012 and their largest attendance total since 2016, as well as the largest crowd at Pocono since 2010. This weekend’s sellout underscores the attendance success NASCAR is experiencing across the board in 2022.

Today’s race will help the NASCAR Cup Series set the field for the Playoffs, as only one race will remain in the regular season following the road course battle in New York. Kyle Larson, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, won last year’s Go Bowling at The Glen race.

Fans can purchase tickets for the remaining events on the 2022 Watkins Glen International season schedule by calling 1-866-461-RACE or visiting TheGlen.com.

About Watkins Glen International

Located within five hours and 300 miles of 25 percent of the U.S. population, Watkins Glen International is the premier road racing facility in North America, four-times voted “Best NASCAR Track” by readers of USA Today. Keep up with The Glen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For tickets, camping, and additional information, call 1-866-461-RACE or visit www.TheGlen.com and get all of the latest information by downloading the NASCAR tracks app at www.theglen.com/nascar-tracks-app.

2022 Watkins Glen International Schedule

April 9-10 – Opening Weekend

May 20-22 – Ferrari Challenge North America

June 3-5 – SCCA Majors Super Tour

June 23-26 – IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

July 7-10 – Finger Lakes Wine Festival; Masters Historic Racing Weekend

July 21-24 – GT World Challenge America

August 17-21 – NASCAR Go Bowling at The Glen

September 8-11 – Hilliard U.S. Vintage Grand Prix

October 28-29 – Finger Lakes Beer Festival Presented by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

2022 Watkins Glen International NASCAR Weekend Schedule

August 19 – ARCA Menards Series Race

August 20 – Sunoco Go Rewards 200 – NASCAR Xfinity Series Race

August 21 – Go Bowling at The Glen – NASCAR Cup Series Race

DREAM SEASON CONTINUES FOR VON DOHREN, SCORES SEVENTH POINT RACE WIN, ELEVENTH OVERALL SATURDAY NIGHT AT GRANDVIEW, MARK KEMMERER TAKES FIRST SPORTSMAN WIN SINCE 2018

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – The victories continue to add up for Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., as he secured the lead on lap thirteen from Kevin Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa., and raced home with his seventh point race win of the season in the 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified feature race Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.

Mark Kemmerer of Green Lane, Pa. took the lead from Wayne Rotenberger of Ringing Hill, Pa. on lap two, then led the remainder of the non-stop 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman feature race, scoring his first win of the season and the fourth of his Grandview Speedway career. It was Kemmerer’s first win since July 28, 2018, and he now becomes the eleventh different driver to win in the division this season.

The feature race winners each received bonus money from T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment, who every week provide both winners (Modified $300, Sportsman $200) with the bonus money, in the race program that was part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series.

The T.P. Trailer Modified feature saw Mark Kratz of Pennsburg Pa. take the early lead, and was quickly challenged by Steve Swinehart of Boyertown, Pa. for the top spot. The action was slowed on lap five, as last week’s Forrest Rogers Memorial winner Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. slowed with a flat tire to draw a caution and reset the field.

Swinehart was able to grab the lead on the restart, but it only lasted a lap, as Kevin Hirthler swept around the outside of Swinehart in turn one on the following lap, taking over the top spot.

Von Dohren was already up to ninth for the lap five restart, after starting in fourteenth position, and was continuing to quickly climb toward the front. By lap seven Von Dohren had reached the fifth spot, and a great battle began for the top five spots between himself, Steve Swinehart, Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa, and Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa.

After they all changed spots a few times, Von Dohren made an exciting and daring move through turns one and two, going around Strunk and under Steve Swinehart almost at the same time to arrive in second position by lap eleven just before a lap twelve caution.

The caution was for a three car tangle on the front stretch involving Brad Arnold of Bethel, Pa., Cory Merkel of Bally, Pa., and Nate Brinker of Macungie, Pa. who ended up being locked together, causing a delay until the track crew was able to pull them apart.

This caution period ended up wiping out the comfortable lead that Kevin HIrthler had built up, putting Von Dohren alongside for the restart. Following the restart, the two drivers ran side by side for a lap, until Von Dohren took the lead off turn four scoring lap thirteen.

From this point on Von Dohren controlled the race, building up a comfortable lead, which would disappear in the final seven laps when he reached lapped traffic following an extended period of green flag racing. Hirthler and Strunk would close to within striking distance, but could not find a way by, as Von Dohren would work through the traffic and motor on to score his seventh point race win of the season and 121st of his NASCAR Modified career at Grandview. (Counting Thunder on the Hill Series wins and Big Block Modified victories, his career total at Grandview is 133 wins).

In the later stages of the feature, Tim Buckwalter of Douglassville, Pa, Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa., Kyle Lilick of Collegeville, Pa., John Willman of Birdsboro, Pa. and Ryan Grim of Laurys Station, Pa., all moved up to battle each other and Steve Swinehart contending for top ten spots, putting on a crowd pleasing duel for positions.

Following Von Dohren across the finish line were Hirthler, Strunk, Buckwalter, Manmiller, Steve Swinehart, Willman, Ryan Grim, Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa. up from 21st starting spot, and Kyle LIlick.

Qualifying heat race victories for the 34 car field went to Kratz, Joe Funk of Coopersburg, Pa., and Steve Swinehart, with Umbenhauer winning the consolation.

For the second consecutive week, the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman ran the 25-lap feature race straight through without a caution flag, covering the distance in 6:54.68.

For Mark Kemmerer it was a total turnaround from the previous week, when he was the first car to drop out of the feature race, this week racing home to the win, ending a four year win drought.

Wayne Rotenberger took the early lead on lap one, only to see Kemmerer motor by coming out of turn four to score lap two.

The field quickly settled into race mode, and battles developed all through the field. Kenny Bock of Oley, Pa. moved by Rotenberger into second on lap four and began the chase of Kemmerer. Behind the lead trio, a multi-car race for positions was on between Nate Mohr of Reading, Pa., Zane Roth of Slatington, Pa., Jesse Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa., Dakota Kohler of Kutztown, Pa., and Brian Hirthler of Green Lane, Pa.

By the half-way signal the leaders were Kemmerer, Bock, Rotenberger, Mohr and Jesse Hirthler. By lap 17 leader Kemmerer reached lapped traffic, giving hope to the others that they might catch him, but Kemmerer was able to steadily work through the lapped cars without skipping a beat and maintain his lead to the finish.

At the wave of Starter Ray Kemp’s checkered flag the winner was Kemmerer, ending his personal dry spell, Jesse Hirthler, who just nipped Bock at the finish line for second spot, Brian Hirthler, Mohr, Dylan Hoch of Mertztown, Pa., Kohler, Ryan Graver of Lehighton, Pa., Decker Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. and Roth.

Qualifying heat race winners for the 34 cars on hand were Logan Bauman of Boyertown, Pa., Kemmerer and Rotenberger, while Jimmy Leiby of West Milford, NJ won the consolation.

The next event on the Grandview Speedway schedule is next Saturday, August 27, featuring the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman in another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series program, that will see the Outlaw Racing Series Vintage Racers joining the show starting at 7:30 pm.

Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. warm-ups will be starting at 6:15 pm. Adult grandstand admission is $18, while children ages 11 and under are admitted free of charge.

The 52nd annual Freedom 76 Modified Championship is the next big event on the schedule, coming up on Saturday, September 17. Lap sponsorships at $20 per lap are now available by contacting Tina Rogers, Tommy Kramer or announcer Jeff Ahlum at the track on race night.

The T. P. Trailer Modified and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman drivers will be using the final point race events of the summer season to prepare for the big Freedom weekend of racing in September. The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman will compete in the Freedom 38 on Friday, September 16, and the T.P. Trailer Modifieds will compete in the 52nd annual Freedom 76 Championship on Saturday, September 17. Race info is available on the track website under the Freedom 76 tab at www.grandviewspeedway.com.

Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through September, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.

Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.

T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): CRAIG VON DOHREN, Kevin Hirthler, Jeff Strunk, Tim Buckwalter, Doug Manmiller, Steve Swinehart, John Willman, Ryan Grim, Jared Umbenhauer, Kyle Lilick, Brett Kressley, Mike Lisowski, Duane Howard, Justin Grim, Brad Arnold, Joe Funk, Cory Merkel, Dan Waisempacher, Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Mark Kratz, Craig Whitmoyer, Ray Swinehart, Brad Grim, Dylan Swinehart, Brett Gilmore, Nate Brinker, Eric Biehn, DNS – Ron Haring Jr.

DID NOT QUALIFY: Carroll Hine III, Kevin Graver Jr., Ron Kline, Steve Young, Chris Gambler, Jesse Leiby

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): MARK KEMMERER, Jesse Hirthler, Kenny Bock, Brian Hirthler, Nathan Mohr, Dylan Hoch, Dakota Kohler, Ryan Graver, Decker Swinehart, Zane Roth, Logan Bauman, Wayne Rotenberger, Mike Schneck Jr., Jimmy Leiby, Kyle Smith, Hunter Iatalese, Nathan Horn, Cody Manmiller, Josh Adams, Chris Esposito, Parker Guldin, Mark Mohr, Kyle Hartzell, Joey Vaccaro

DID NOT QUALIFY: Matt Clay, Adrianna Delliponti, Mark Gaugler, Keith Haring, Zach Steffy, Kaitlyn Bailey, Lex Shive, BJ Joly, Jesse Landis, Mike Myers

UPCOMING EVENTS –

Saturday, August 27 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7:30 pm.

Friday, September 2 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7 pm.

Saturday, September 3 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Wingless Super Sportsman – 7:30 pm.

Saturday, September 10 – CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm.

Friday, September 16 – 9th annual FREEDOM 38 CHAMPIONSHIP for T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman $2000 to win, plus Modified practice – 7:30 pm.

Saturday, September 17 – 52nd annual FREEDOM 76 MODIFIED CHAMPIONSHIP for T.P. Trailer Modifieds – 7 pm.

Castroneves Takes 15th-place finish in Bommarito 500

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

#60: Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing Honda, pit stop

Late race puncture spoils potential for Pagenaud result

MADISON, IL (20 August 2022) – Helio Castroneves finished 15th to lead Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) in Saturday’s Bommarito Auto Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway, in an event marked by long green-flag stretches and a red flag lasting over two hours due to a late downpour.

Castroneves, driving the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda, crossed the line five spots ahead of MSR teammate Simon Pagenaud, who came home 20th in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda after he was forced to pit lane with a puncture late in the race.

The starting time for the event at the circuit originally known as Gateway International Raceway was moved up nearly 30 minutes due to predicted rain. Action was fast and furious once the green flag waved, with the opening 145 laps run without a caution. The long green flag sprint saw both MSR cars racing in the pack, with Castroneves 15th and Pagenaud 16th at the first caution.

After a brief caution, racing resumed with another long green flag run, with weather continuing to close in. The two MSR cars did the overcut for their final stops, which unfortunately came only a few laps before the anticipated rain finally began to bring out the second – and final – caution. A short downpour – coupled with lightning in the area – quickly brought out the red flag. When the rain quickly let off, the long process to dry the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval began.

Pagenaud and Castroneves were running eighth and 10th when they made their final scheduled pit stops with the laps winding down. Less than five minutes later, the long-awaited rain struck the speedway, bringing out a red flag with 43 laps remaining.

When the track finally dried, Pagenaud was running 14th for the final restart, with Castroneves just behind. Pagenaud had to pit three laps later due to a cut tire following contact in the tight pack. Castroneves took his position but battled a balky gearbox down the stretch, coming home 15th in the final oval outing of the season.

Next up will be the Grand Prix of Portland (Oregon) on Sept. 4, followed by the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 11.

Helio Castroneves:

“Well let me tell you after the red flag, when we came back for the restart, we had an issue with the gear pod unfortunately. That controls the downshifts, so for the first five or six laps, I couldn’t downshift correctly. My dash was frozen and everything was a bit crazy. So you can imagine— for the restart when everyone was angry, ready to go but I didn’t have any downshifts so it was quite a challenge. But honestly it was good that we were even able to finish and bring the AutoNation/SiriusXM car home after that issue today. So it was a top 15, which we keep chipping away at it, and working on the curve. When we come back here next year, we will do much better!”

Simon Pagenaud:

“We had a really fast car today, but it ended up being a pretty terrible night after the puncture. We were on track to finish just outside of the top ten I think but it’s just unfortunate. It’s just the worst luck I’ve had in a single season– I don’t even know what to say! I’m so frustrated for the entire team, who are doing a fantastic job. There is just so much potential here, I am just can’t wait for the luck to turn for us to be able to really show it.”

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Newgarden, Chevy Win Again at WWTR

By

Official Release

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August 21, 2022

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
MADISON, ILLINOIS
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT AND QUOTES
AUGUST 20, 2022

MADISON, Ill. (August 20, 2022) – Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won again at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday as he drove his Chevrolet-powered No. 2 PPG entry to victory in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 for his fifth win of this season’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Team Chevy won at WWTR for the fifth time since 2017 – four of those coming in tandem with Newgarden. He won Saturday night with a pass on teammate Scott McLaughlin on a restart 36 laps from the end and following a nearly two-hour, 10-minute delay for weather.

Team Chevy drivers took three of the first four spots in the race as the Bowtie Brand won for the 10th time in 2022.

“Congratulations to Josef and everyone on the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet and Team Penske for another win at World Wide Technology Raceway,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “The race went in a lot of different directions with strategies, the weather delay, and how close it was at the end. We’re proud of the performance, reliability and efficiency of the Chevrolet 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine that has now won 10 times this season on a variety of tracks. We’re hoping for similar strong finishes to close out the season on the West Coast.”

Newgarden is a now a four-time winner at the track. More importantly, he moved to second place and within four points of Penske teammate Will Power, who finished sixth Saturday, in the INDYCAR Drivers Championship.

McLaughlin placed third in Penske’s No. 3 Odyssey Battery Chevrolet, one spot ahead of Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.

Chevrolet’s leading quartet combined to lead 228 of the 260 laps. Power led the most of any driver – 128 after starting from pole position.

Team Chevy and the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES next head to Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, Sept. 4.

TEAM CHEVY QUOTES

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – RACE WINNER

RANGE OF EMOTIONS AND WINNING AGAIN AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY? “All I can say is that this 2 car crew has been very patient with me. I’ve lost my cool probably a couple of time in closed doors just out of frustration for us. I feel like we’ve had small miscues timing-wise. That’s not really anybody’s fault. Sometimes you’re wrong time, wrong place. I feel like it’s been happening a lot this year. It kind of happened again tonight. I felt like we were in position and it was time to close. There was a barrier that got in front of us again, but fortunately we were able to get back out. I was so happy we could finish this race. Scott McLaughlin, he wanted to win too and I love that about us. We have a good relationship obviously. Each of us want to win but we he drove me super-fair there at the end, and we had a good fight.

“I can’t thank PPG and Team Chevy enough. Team Chevy absolutely crushed it with fuel mileage, reliability, power… everything you want from an engine. It’s a big night for everyone at Team Penske.”

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO GET BY ON THE RESTART? “We just had to have a good start. I knew Scott was going to be good at the end there, and he had a good restart. I just tried to work the high lane. The high lane worked earlier for me and I tried to do it again at the finish there. We just had enough to get by him. He was no slouch this weekend. He was very, very good. Scott has done an amazing job. He could have easily won this race himself, so you have to give him credit. But I’m glad we were able to come back out on top. We’re going to have a lot more races together, that guy and I.”

THAT WAS NOT EASY. “It was tough at the end. I felt like it was getting ripped away again. We hung in there and had a good restart. Scott (McLaughlin) wasn’t easy to beat tonight. He was super-fast so you have to give it him. But I felt like we were in position with the final stop. This PPG car was on rails tonight for sure. We just needed to get into position, and we did that. Team Chevy, I can’t forget them… it was a big fuel mileage race in the first half of this thing, and I feel that Team Chevy absolutely crushed it as far as reliability, fuel mileage and the whole deal. They are a big part of why we were able to win.”

AFTER 25 INDYCAR WINS, DOES WINNING STILL HIT YOU THE SAME? “It’s pretty cool. It’s almost gotten harder. For sure, the competition has gotten more difficult. But internally and mentally, it’s gotten harder for me because I’ve come into this without ever believing I’d had have a career in motorsports. To have a career with a top-line team in a top-line series like INDYCAR with Team Penske… the more success you find, the more you want it. The more disappointing it is when it slips away. There is a mental shift that has to happen there. I’ve been so lucky to be here. I love working hard, love working with the people I do, and I want to do it for as long as I can.”

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 ODYSSEY BATTERY TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED THIRD:“That’s oval racing, and we love it. I want more of it. David’s (Malukas, runner-up) move on the last lap… credit to him. He’s a phenomenal young kid and I hope he goes far. The way he’s been coming up through the ranks and getting into the Fast Sixes, he’s been great all year. Full credit to him.”

DID YOU EXPECT HIM TO MAKE THAT MOVE? DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE SAFE? “He was coming, and I was a little loose. I got a bad run off turns Three and Four. I took the inside line and he went on the outside. The grip was still there and it was a hell of a move. He’s a good kid. Good points for us today. The Odyssey Battery Chevy felt awesome. I glad we put on a good show for the fans today. A lot of people stayed out tonight, so that’s fantastic.”

WHERE ARE YOU IN YEAR NUMBER TWO LOOKING AHEAD TO WHERE YOU’RE HEADED IN YEAR NUMBER THREE? “I’m feeling good. I’m loving INDYCAR. I’m really proud of everything. Last year was hard. There were times last year where I wondered what I’m doing here – running around at the back hanging out. I’m just really proud to do it for the team. The pit stops have been unreal. I’m working with some really good people, I have great teammates and the people in America have been really nice to me. I’m excited for what the future holds.”

MORE ON THE FINISH. “Credit to David. He did a great job. His tires were really good. I just lacked a little bit balance there in that last stint. It started oversteering and getting loose. It’s very hard to commit to that. But good points for us and another podium. So all good.”

ONCE JOSEF WENT BY, WAS IT SETTLING IN FOR SECOND OR DID YOU THINK YOU HAD SOMETHING FOR HIM? “The main aim for the team was a team win today. The Odyssey Battery Chevy was good. We all did our parts.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW McLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED FOURTH:

“We had a good race up until the red flag. That bunched us all up. Will (Power) and I were on quite older tires than the guys we were fighting against. It seemed to be a very significant difference this year. It usually is not as big of a difference with tire deg from the past couple of years, but this year was different. We didn’t have enough. I was hanging on there in the end and having a lot of moments. I’m glad we brought it home and didn’t end up in the wall.”

DID THE TRACK CHANGE THAT MUCH AFTER THE RAIN? “Yeah. A lot of rubber went away so that obviously over-tipped the car. Our car was working really, really well in the conditions that we had in 85 percent of the race. At the end, we were extremely loose and it was extremely tough to handle.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED SIXTH: “Once again, it was a good day with P6. Obviously we wanted more. We made a mistake and didn’t take that yellow. That’s INDYCAR. It’s never straight-forward. You expect that in the championship. It might come back to us in the next two in a different way. That’s how it is. We’ve got some good tracks coming up. Like I predicted, it will be a tough battle all the way to the end. I’ve been around a long time and know how these things go. The best thing about today is that we finished in the top-six, so that’s still pretty good.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE RESTART? “(Simon) Pagenaud’s guys, I don’t know what they were doing, but they sent him out in that battle a lap down. He came out and was just in the way. He was on the line I was, and I lost the (clean) air and lost a couple of positions. I don’t know what they were doing there, but that’s how I lost those. Otherwise we were going to be looking pretty good.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW McLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED 16TH: ”That was a tough evening. Actually, it started really good, up to P13 on the first lap from P26 so it was pretty mega at the start of the race. Then, I couldn’t really do much more. I just kind of sat there and couldn’t really pass. After the red flag, we went in to put on new tires – which lost us a couple of spots – but we hoped to get them back which we did. Then I got trapped on the inside in Turn Two, and I just got swallowed by like literally every car back to P16. We have to risk it in that position. It was not our weekend; it was a tough one. We’ll recharge for Portland.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 BOMMARITO AUTO GROUP AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 17TH: “We gained some positions and overall had an OK race. We would have liked to have been further up on the field, of course. We made a couple of calls that probably didn’t play in our favor and ultimately we gained positions. We could have had the pace especially in the middle of the race when it was light out to do something a lot better with our car. Once it got dark, those were conditions we had never driven in before. We were more off the pace than we had been the entire day. That was unfortunate that we couldn’t capitalize on having new tires, maybe passing some cars and getting ahead of some people that we needed to. Nonetheless we’ll go into Portland with a clean car and a clean mindset.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 18TH: “We started 24th and finished 18th, so I’m happy we were able to make up some spots in the race. That’s always the goal when you don’t have a good qualifying session. The situation was looking really good for us before the rain came. We wouldn’t have had to pit before the end, there were probably four or five cars that we might have jumped if it had gone green to the finish. So Mother Nature doesn’t always play in your favor, but we got the race back under way for the fans under the lights, which is what matters. I’m happy we moved up but we would have liked to have been a little further up the grid when all was said and done.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 21ST: “We had a lot of pace. I think we overtook maybe 30 people throughout the race, so that was really strong. I made a small mistake on the pit stop… locked up and hit the tire and my outside front mechanic. I’m sorry to him but he’s OK. I’m sorry to the team because that cost us with the penalty and then from there we were hanging in. It was annoying because we found quite a bit of pace compared to yesterday, and I was quite confident and making moves on the outside. That’s the way it goes. We’ll take it and move on to Portland and Laguna.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ALZAMEND NEURO CHEVROLET – FINISHED 22ND: “Tonight was a really disappointing way to end my season. I really appreciate the support from Todd Ault for the No. 33 this year and I was proud to represent Alzamend Neuro and carry their colors. I’ll be back to try again next year.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 23RD: “To look at the positives tonight, I think we had a great racecar. I felt well capable of racing into the top-10. I had a great start. I made a bit of a mistake myself trying to pass Simon (Pagenaud) on the high line in Turns 3-4 and lost some time. We had an issue tonight that was out of our control and that was really tough. I love racing here so much, I thought we had a great chance at a great result for the team today. It is definitely a tough one to take.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN RACING WITH BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 26TH: “The whole dash froze electronically. I couldn’t see the shifts and couldn’t hear the tones, so I was doing it on feeling. I couldn’t see the adjustments on the weight jacker, and the pit limiter didn’t work. I came into pitlane and had no clue how fast I was going. We tried to do a power cycle but the car wouldn’t go into neutral either. We’re trying some stuff to hopefully finish the race, get some laps in and hopefully get a few points. This is a bummer. With electronics, nobody can do anything about it. The reliability of this team has been amazing but there’s nothing they can do about it.”

On the start: “I heard the green and I wanted to pass guys in front of me because I had a bit of a run. I had to get out there and got a big wheel spin. I touched the wall but there wasn’t anything damaged. I tried to get a few positions there and had to get out of it. I guess it didn’t matter in the end.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Josef Newgarden

Scott McLaughlin

Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: Joined now by the four-time champion here at World Wide Technology Raceway, Josef Newgarden. First time in your career five wins in a season. 25th career win, which ties you with Gordon Johncock. More to come. Your thoughts on a big night tonight.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a great night. Very big night. You got to win these races when you’re in position to do it. I wanted to close that one out really badly, really badly.

I was elated. Elated that we were able to get back going and I had the opportunity on the restart. I’m thankful to my teammate. I thought Scott drove me with a tremendous amount of respect. He raced me hard, he wasn’t giving me anything, but just gave me a lot of respect like you would expect from a teammate. I think he goes above and beyond sometimes.

Big night for us, PPG, Team Chevy. Can’t talk enough about Team Chevy. Had the engine to beat tonight, no doubt. We had great fuel mileage, reliability, power, all the things we always want. A big night for everybody on Team Penske. Very good for us in the championship fight.

THE MODERATOR: Seemed like your car came alive after the red flag.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I was pleasantly surprised and very, very satisfied with my car tonight. I thought it was hooked up tremendously once we got about midway through the race. It was a bit processional in the first half. Literally every car just went to fuel save. Everyone wanted to try to make the three-stop work. I was surprised at how many people committed. Seemed like the whole field flipped to it. Wasn’t a lot happening then.

As soon as that caution 150, 155, something like that, when it provided that opportunity to pit again, it changed things up, put people on different strategies. That made it really exciting.

I thought that our car was able to maximize that strategy opportunity. So I’m real thankful to my team for picking that out. You can’t win this race without nailing calls like that, being good in the pits. There was a moment I thought it was slipping away from us, too. Ultimately they made the right calls and did it right and we were able to close it out.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Josef Newgarden.

Q. What was the conversation with you and McLaughlin during the red flag? Before the red flag, kind of got spread out, wasn’t a lot of passing. How do you stay patient throughout that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, first with Scott, it’s a little bittersweet because we have a great friendship. He’s a tremendous competitor. I rank Scott as one of the most elite drivers in the world, not just here but in the world. He’s top class. Very difficult to beat.

We get along really great. He’s a tremendous teammate, hard worker. It’s not the easiest friendship to have because we’re competing.

At the end of the day he wanted to win the race and I wanted to win the race. I was frustrated that we slipped behind him on the pit cycle. I felt like we had the position on him, and that frustrated me.

I think ultimately we have a tremendous working relationship. Nights like this are good. At the end of the day if we’re battling together, things are going well. We want to see that pretty often. I think we will see that often. Scott is not going to go anywhere. He’s only going to get better. I hope we have more battles. They will be tough because I respect him a lot, consider him a friend, but he’s also a competitor.

We just talked about Bus Bros, how he was pissed, how we were going to race each other hard. Normal stuff.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just wish we could get a second lane going. Man, this race would be awesome, like gnarly, if you could get a second lane. It would be really, really cool.

I think we made some progress this weekend. I really do. The extra session was positive. I they we worked that lane in a bit more. We used it. I used it. I never thought I’d get up there. It definitely was usable. I think we made progress.

We need to continue to examine this track and how we can make it even better for racing. I don’t think it was a dud by any means, got exciting in the middle. But what can we do in the future to make it better? I think we got some ideas.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: These decisions aren’t up to me, but I would always race in the lights here. It looks cool, feels cool. I think the grip is better. We could look at our downforce package for this track specifically and see how we could improve it. I think if we changed it a bit we could make it a lot better. There’s a lot to digest and a lot of good things to come out of here.

Q. I don’t know how much of a student of racing you are, but 25 victories already, Gordon Johncock was a real stud as a race driver. To tie a guy as legendary as that, how cool is that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I forget about my job sometimes. I get so focused on the day-to-day, just the process of I want to be the best in any facet, whether it’s the way I examine data, the way I work with the team, my fitness regimen. I get lost in that perfection. I forget how cool this has been.

I’ve been doing this for over 11 years now. I never as a kid thought I’d be doing this. I didn’t. I really didn’t. I loved racing carts. I met a lot of friends in motorsports. Now to reflect at times, to see the opportunity I’ve had, it’s been a real privilege and pleasure.

I get to work with the best, I really do. I believe that. Team Penske is absolutely the pinnacle. We’ve got a lot of people there. I’ve worked with a lot of them different years, different people. They’re all tremendous.

Yeah, to be here 11 years on still has been a real honor for me.

Q. You got your first victory seven years ago. Now you’re at 25. Whip off a few more five-win seasons, do you think you could get to 50? That would be a huge number for a career mark.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Hey, I’m not stopping. Let’s see what happens. We need to get more 10 wins a year, that’s where my mind is at (smiling).

This year, honestly, just this year, I think we had the potential for maybe seven. Then you got two more to go. So we’re getting better for sure. I think if we can figure out how we can rip off a season with 10 or 12 wins, that would be impressive.

That’s where my mind is at. I don’t know if that’s possible. It’s getting more difficult to do that. People in here may think I’m joking by saying that, but I really am thinking that way.

It’s more than just the wins, it is the consistency. How often can you be on the podium? That’s become more and more important these days, top fives, podiums, being there every single weekend, not having any hiccups. Blending that with great races where you’re winning is ultimately the package you have to have. If we can just keep accelerating the wins, I think that’s good for all of us.

Q. I’ll agree with you underneath the nights here is really cool. When you say you don’t get to make that decision, how often do they take the drivers’ input on situations like this or other things to make a track better?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t say that lightly, that it’s not in my decision power. The series, the ownership, the promoters, they absolutely weight, everybody weights our decision plenty. I think we get to lot of say in what happens. Our opinion absolutely matters. I don’t feel like we are unheard. There’s a lot more going on that factors into when we run a race.

I love night races. To me they’re just better. It’s fun. It’s fun to race these cars at night. They’re exciting, they look good, they feel good. The atmosphere is there. My vote would be to be at night.

But there’s a lot more that goes into it than just saying, Hey, we’re going to run at night. Maybe we can work more in. I would be all for that if you had my vote.

Q. How do you go about explaining so much success at one place in such a short period of time? When you first got here, was there something about the track that you found to your liking or style?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it starts with having the best cars. You can’t do this unless you have a dominant car. I’ve had that. Team Penske has more than delivered the best cars for me. It’s more than just, Hey, do you like the track? Why do you have success here?

Look at the team I have. I have all the resources possible. I have the best of the best on pit lane, the best strategist, most of the time the fastest car in the field. It’s a pretty good recipe for putting wins together. We’ve been fortunate to do that at multiple tracks, we can say that about multiple areas.

I do love this style of racing. If we could get more short ovals, my hand goes up every time we ask.

Q. How much were you planning the move between the rain delay?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That wasn’t really planned. I was just going. I don’t know where I’m going, I’m just going. He’s going to go as hard as he can to the corner, I’m going to go harder. It may work out, it may not. That’s sometimes my mentality. It seemed to work tonight.

But it wasn’t super premeditated, the actual maneuver. It can good so many ways. If I get a big run on Scott, go inside of him, that’s one thing. If I go outside of him, that’s another thing. I didn’t have a big run on him.

I’m just reacting. I’m going to bullet this first lap quicker than him and I was ready to do that. Fortunately we were prepped and ready and it worked out.

Q. Your relationship with Tim, it feels like it couldn’t get any better, then here comes another one. How much has that evolved over the years?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s absolutely no slouch. I would consider him one of the best if not the best strategists on pit lane. Sometimes he doesn’t look like the best strategist because things that we can’t predict happen. I don’t put that on him. I don’t put it on the team. It’s INDYCAR racing. There’s sometimes unknowns. The yellows are so difficult to predict these days.

I think he’s a tremendous competitor, very good. He’s obviously been a student of this sport for many years. If you know Tim, he’s very passionate about INDYCAR. He wants to win more than anybody on the team. He doesn’t always show that, but it’s in there and it’s very alive.

I feel confident that I got the boss on the stand with me and we’ve had a tremendous relationship. There’s been no cracks in it up to this point. I don’t know that we’re getting better. I feel like we’ve been good for five-plus years. Definitely have no issues in that department.

Q. Cindric is a real kneeslapper.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Doesn’t like to show a lot of emotion, that man.

Q. You and Will are now three points apart. I assume Roger’s rules are similar to his NASCAR rules: you can race each other, just not wreck each other. How does it work out the next two weeks?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Hard to say. I think we’re just going to race like we always do. It’s kind of as simple as that. We race all year, we race hard. It’s not going to be the first time Will and I have raced together. We’ve had many, many races that have been in lockstep, 1-2, pit strategy, the whole thing. We’ll just fight it out as normal.

Clearly we don’t want to do something that jeopardizes the whole group because it is bigger than us. At the end of the day we’ve got three cars in the fight still. There’s nothing that matters more than putting a Team Penske car in Victory Lane.

As much as I want that to be, believe me I do, I will work to be that person, we also have to just make sure we remember that it’s about all of us and it’s about all the effort we put in. We have to make sure one car secures the championship.

It’s just a balance. We’re just going to race like we always do. Hopefully it doesn’t turn ugly at some point.

Q. What did you think when you saw Malukas coming?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I thought wow, that kid is hungry probably. Probably send it around the outside if he had an opportunity.

Q. And he did on McLaughlin.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I bet he did. I didn’t quite see that, but I assumed it was what happened.

I was real happy it was the last lap (smiling).

Q. Do you think he would have had anything for you with one more lap?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Hard to say. I think he would have had a shot. There is no doubt. He was a little better on tires it sounds like. I think McLaughlin went loose. I was not. I was sort of managing the gap. I was actually trying to help Scott. I didn’t want to stay too far away to bunch Scott up to David, so I was trying to push the pace a bit. But I still had some on hand.

I think if David mounted like a real effort on me, I would have had more to push on him. But I don’t know. 10 more laps, maybe he gets me. It’s impossible to say. I think time worked out for us.

Q. This is a hypothetical. If he does get to you, you’re in this championship battle, are you at all nervous with a rookie, what’s he going to do to get his first win?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, sometimes. Yeah, for sure, when you see rookies, I think you definitely are a bit more cautious or reserved or at least you’re second-guessing what you think you should be doing.

I would give Malukas a lot of respect. He’s probably been one of the cleanest rookies I’ve ever seen. He’s been almost too respectful. They talk about that on the broadcast. It’s funny to watch back. Malukas, he puts his elbows out, Townsend keeps saying that. Poor David. He’s been doing a great job.

It is true that if you’re too respectful you can get run over in this series. I said that in Nashville. I didn’t say it in joking fashion. That’s how people race these days. You have to put your elbows out, you got to fight people now. If you don’t, they’re going to fight you back and you’re going to end up passed or in the wall.

He’s just been like the most respectful driver I’ve seen out of a rookie in a long time. I think he’s starting to, How much can I push on people? He probably would have done that tonight. But I would have felt comfortable racing with him. I think he’s the best rookie I’ve seen in a long time to be racing respectfully.

Q. What changed from last year to this year with yellows? How much more does that impress you it was just the one yellow for the one bit of contact?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: For sure the track improved. Like I said earlier, I think the second lane session was helpful. There was not as much marbles. Normally what you would see from the wrecks in the previous years if you touched the second lane, touched it with your outside tire, let alone getting a whole car out there, you’re skating off and getting sent into the wall. That didn’t happen tonight.

You could get up there and you could make a mistake, end up in the second lane, recover the car. A lot of what you saw I think was better track conditions. For whatever reason, I think some of it is that second session that we ran, the second lane was more forgiving tonight. People didn’t get bit as often.

Q. The rain earlier today, wash off all the rubber from yesterday’s sessions?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not much. Maybe a little bit. It’s funny, when the whole track is clean, the second lane is actually better in some respects because it’s not as polished. You haven’t had people run up there a lot so the aggregate is a bit more rough. When you have a rough surface, it can sometimes be conducive to grip. When you polish a surface, it can be less conducive to grip.

Yeah, the rain wasn’t a big deal I guess is what I would say.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Scott McLaughlin, third place finisher, is joining us, sixth podium of the season, seventh podium of his career. Four of those seven coming on ovals.

Congratulations, Scott. Disappointed or what? What are the emotions?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think our car was very good in the afternoon, late evening when the sun was still out. After the sun went away, lost my balance in that last stint. Didn’t have what Josef and David had. David (Malukas, Honda) was strong, coming at us really hard. Obviously me and Josef pulled away. I sort of knew I didn’t have much.

Midway through the stint, started loose. Hard to get runs similar what I had in the daylight. Yeah, that second-to-last lap, I got a little bit loose off of three and four. Dave got a good run. I could see what he was doing. I couldn’t get out wide because of the confidence I had in the rear of the car.

But he did a phenomenal job. He’s been doing an amazing job all year. First podium in INDYCAR is pretty hard to come by, especially on a short oval.

THE MODERATOR: You expected him to come around the outside?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. I mean, I did what I thought. I went the high line against Josef, that didn’t work. I went low line against Dave thinking, He’s a rookie, he might not, he might not. Then he did. Oh, well, I was wrong. Went around the outside.

It was a solid move. Credit to you. It was awesome. That’s what oval racing is all about. I left him enough room, he left me enough room, we got through there two-by-two. It was a stellar pass. What we’re doing with building the lanes, making them really nice for oval racing is really cool.

I’m absolutely disappointed. I felt like we were really solid there today in the daylight. Yeah, sort of lost it there at the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Scott, two more races left, how much are you thinking points right now?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, a win would have been really nice tonight. Ultimately top five would be fantastic right now. But we’re still in the fight, which is the main thing. Two races to go, who knows what will happen.

Yeah, still feeling like we’re just going to attack these next two races with nothing to lose, have a bit of fun.

Q. Scott, you had a nice jump on the restart. Were you surprised Josef got you so quickly?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. I think the slipstream effect here, when you can get a run, it works pretty good. Not surprised. I did all I could to try and break away as much as I could. I went into one pretty hard. I think if we had got through the turn three, maybe I could have held him off. He was quick.

Like I said, I think my car, it just wasn’t quick enough once the sun went down. That’s part of it. Unfortunately I think if we just keep going green, it would have been different things if it hadn’t have rained.

Q. How does that happen that all of a sudden his car looks like a rocket ship and you look like you’re standing still?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Q. They giving him something special?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, no. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know.

No, look, the main thing was that Penske won. For our team and Roger, it was a big deal. He just wanted us to get home. That was a big sort of talking point for us before the restart as well.

Look, like I said, I’m disappointed with third, which is a great thing. I’m feeling like we’re really building for the end of the year but also start of next year.

THE MODERATOR: A year ago you would have taken third in a heartbeat.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. Starting to learn who I am now (smiling).

Q. Scottie, I heard something you said recently, that you feel more at home now, at home in the U.S. and the INDYCAR SERIES itself. A place you feel you belong. 18 months ago the oval racing was very limited for you. Now looking at the performance this year, looks like you’ve been on ovals for years. You seem to be enjoying the ovals as much as the road courses.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think oval racing for me, it’s just special to be able to race in INDYCAR on an oval. It’s part of the DNA of INDYCAR racing. Certainly hope there’s more ovals in the future. I think many others would agree with me.

I’ve just had good teammates, got a good team, good cars, for me to be able to extract the speed and be really comfortable with it and learn quickly. I’m very thankful for that.

Yeah, I think off-track life is a lot easier. I feel a lot more at home in the INDYCAR SERIES. Know a lot more faces. It doesn’t feel as unknown, even in the media, sponsorship land, even the Penske organization. It was a lot to take on last year. I’m very happy with where we’re at right now.

Q. Because of the size of the delay, something you haven’t come across, does that play into the mind?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s not that hard. Kind of like a practice in some ways. You have a couple of hours off, then you get ready to get back into it again. It’s just a bit more high intensity once everything gets going.

Like I said before, I don’t think my car was as good once the lights came on. We were really hooked up with the sun. It got a little loose, a lot more looser than it did in the daylight. That’s what it’s all about. Unfortunately we can’t run in the rain. It’s just how it is.

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