Newgarden retains championship hopes with fifth IndyCar victory of 2022 at Gateway

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August 21, 2022

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

After finishing outside of the podium in the previous three NTT IndyCar Series scheduled events, Josef Newgarden drew himself back into championship contention after winning the rain-delayed Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, August 20.

The two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led twice for 78 of 260-scheduled laps and utilized an executed pit strategy along with an overtake on teammate Scott McLaughlin for the lead with 36 laps remaining to perfection as he muscled away from McLaughlin and David Malukas to capture his fifth checkered flag of the 2022 IndyCar season and draw within striking distance of teammate Will Power for the lead in the championship standings.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Will Power, who earned his 67th IndyCar career pole and tied Mario Andretti for the most pole in the series all-time, led the field to the green flag after posting a pole-winning, two-lap average speed of 182.727 mph. Joining him on the front row was his championship rival Marcus Ericsson, who posted a two-lap average speed of 182.070 mph.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Power rocketed with an early advantage ahead of Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin and the field as he went on to lead the first lap. Meanwhile, Alex Palou was being overtaken by Takuma Sato and Devlin DeFrancesco as he fell back to ninth while Pato O’Ward challenged Scott Dixon for fifth place.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Power was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Ericsson followed by McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward while Dixon, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Alexander Rossi were in the top 10. David Malukas was in 11th followed by Colton Herta, Felix Rosenqvist, Conor Daly and Jack Harvey while Simon Pagenuad, Callum Ilott, Romain Grosjean, Graham Rahal and Kyle Kirkwood were in the top 20. Helio Castroneves, rookie Christian Lundgaard, Rinus VeeKay, Dalton Kellet, Ed Carpenter and Jimmie Johnson completed the 26-car field.

Ten laps later, Power continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Ericsson while McLaughlin, Newgarden and O’Ward remained in the top five. Dixon, winner of the previous IndyCar event at Nashville Street Circuit, remained in sixth while Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Rossi retained their spots in the top 10.

Another 10 laps later, Power, who was catching Jimmie Johnson to lap him, remained as the leader by six-tenths of a second second over Ericsson and more than a second over teammate McLaughlin. Teammate Newgarden trailed by more than a second in fourth while O’Ward retained fifth while more than two seconds behind.

At the Lap 45 mark, Power, who lapped Johnson earlier, kept his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet out in front by half a second over Ericsson’s No. 8 Bryant Dallara-Honda and seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin’s No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet. The No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by Newgarden remained in fourth while the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by O’Ward retained fifth.

A few laps later, Jack Harvey was the first competitor to pit under green while back on the track, O’Ward overtook Newgarden for fourth place. Meanwhile, Power retained the lead ahead of Ericsson and McLaughlin.

Past the Lap 50 mark, Rinus VeeKay pitted along with his teammate/owner Ed Carpenter, who was a lap behind the leaders. Then near the Lap 60 mark, names like Dixon, Simon Pagenaud, Ilott and Castroneves pitted along with Sato, Lundgaard, Herta and Kirkwood. By then, VeeKay, who was serving a penalty on pit road for speeding during his initial stop, parked his No. 21 BitNile Dallara-Chevrolet in his pit stall due to an electrical issue, an issue that knocked him out of race-winning contention.

By Lap 65 and with the first cycle of green flag pit stops complete, Power cycled his way back to the lead followed by teammate McLaughlin, O’Ward, Ericsson and Newgarden. Dixon was in sixth while Sato, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10.

Through the first 75 scheduled laps, Power remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and nearly eight-tenths of a second over O’Ward while Ericsson and Newgarden remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Callum Ilott was serving a 30-second penalty on pit road for making contact with his crew member that stemmed from his previous pit stop while exiting his pit stall.

At the Lap 100 mark, Power was leading by approximately half a second over teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden while O’Ward and Ericsson were in the top five. Sato, Dixon, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10 while Rossi, Malukas, Herta, Daly, Rosenqvist, Rahal, Pagenaud, Grosjean, Kirkwood and Lundgaard occupied the top 20. By then, Castroneves and Ed Carpenter pitted under green as Jimmie Johnson was mired back in 22nd.

At the halfway mark on Lap 130 and with the second round of green flag pit stops occurring, Takuma Sato, who pitted earlier while on a differing strategy, was leading by more than two seconds over Power, the first competitor on fresh tires, followed by McLaughlin, OWard and Grosjean while Ericsson, Newgarden, Dixon, Palou and Harvey were in the top 10. By then, Rossi, who coasted his car to pit road after running out of fuel, remained stalled on pit road as he was unable to re-fire his car.

Then on Lap 144, the first caution flew when Jack Harvey shot up the racetrack and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including the race leader Sato along with McLaughlin and Newgarden pitted while the rest led by Power remained on the track.

When the event restarted on Lap 157, Power briefly led the field entering the first turn until O’Ward rocketed his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet into the lead through Turns 1 and 2.

With 100 laps remaining, O’Ward was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Power followed by Ericsson, McLaughlin and Newgarden while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Herta and Malukas were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Graham Rahal was in 11th followed by Felix Rosenqvist, DeFrancesco, Grosjean and Conor Daly while Kirkwood, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Lundgaard and Dalton Kellett were in the top 20 ahead of Johnson.

A few laps later, Newgarden, who pitted prior to the restart, used the fresh Firestone tires to his advantage as he rocketed from fifth to third while overtaking McLaughlin and Ericsson. He then blasted by teammate Power for the runner-up spot before overtaking O’Ward for the lead with 95 laps remaining.

With 85 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by nearly seven seconds over O’Ward while teammate McLaughlin trailed by more than seven seconds. Power and Ericsson were in the top five while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Malukas and Herta were in the top 10.

Fifteen laps later and with 70 laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by more than four seconds over teammate McLaughlin, who had overtaken O’Ward for position as Power and Ericsson were in the top five. By then, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Palou and Dixon pitted.

At the Lap 200 mark and with 60 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by three seconds over teammate McLaughlin followed by Malukas, Sato and Rahal. By then, Arrow McLaren SP teammates O’Ward and Rosenqvist pitted under green.

By Laps 206 and 207, teammates Newgarden and McLaughlin pitted under green as Malukas made his way into the lead followed by Sato, Rahal and Herta. Once Newgarden returned to the track, however, he was quickly overtaken by teammate McLaughlin for position.

On Lap 212, Malukas, who was the initial leader, pitted under green along with Herta and Rahal. Once Rahal pitted on Lap 213, McLaughlin emerged with the lead followed by teammate Newgarden. Meanwhile, O’Ward was in third followed by Power and Malukas.

Then with 47 laps remaining, the caution flew due to weather conditions and potential rain looming near the circuit. Four laps later, the field led by McLaughlin was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged as the rainy conditions continued and began to increase with lightning reported near the track.

Following an extensive rain delay, the red flag was withdrawn and the field returned under cautious pace under the lights. During the caution period, names like Palou, Dixon, Johnson, Conor Daly, Ericsson and Kirkwood pitted while the rest led by McLaughlin remained on the track.

With 36 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin retained the lead through the first two turns, but Newgarden executed his move entering Turn 3 as he reassumed the top spot.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Newgarden was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place O’Ward trailed by more than two seconds. Power was in fourth followed by Malukas while Sato, Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal were in the top 10.

Ten laps later, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to half a second over teammate McLaughlin while David Malukas started to close in and challenge third-place O’Ward for the final podium spot. Meanwhile, Sato completed the top five while Power fell back to sixth.

Another four laps later, Malukas capitalized on a strong run through Turns 1 and 2 to overtake O’Ward and move into third place while Newgarden continued to lead by half a second over teammate McLaughlin.

With 10 laps remaining, Newgarden slightly increased his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place Malukas trailed by more than a second as he started to track McLaughlin for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Sato started to close in and challenge O’Ward for fourth place while Power remained in sixth, one spot ahead of title rivals Ericsson and Dixon.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over McLaughlin while Malukas was only three-tenths of a second behind McLaughlin for the runner-up spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Newgarden remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and a hard-charging Malukas. In turn 1, Malukas executed a bold pass to the outside of McLaughlin to move into the runner-up spot. Despite his late charge, it was not enough to close in on Newgarden as Newgarden cycled back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his fifth checkered flag of the season.

In addition to claiming his fifth victory of the 2022 season, Newgarden recorded his fourth victory at Gateway, the eighth of the season for Team Penske, the 10th of the season for Chevrolet and his 25th career win in the NTT IndyCar Series. The victory also vaulted Newgarden from fourth to second in the standings as he now trails teammate Will Power by three points with two scheduled events remaining and in his quest to win his third IndyCar title.

“All I can say is that, I think, this No. 2 car crew has been very patient with me,” Newgarden said on USA Network. “I’ve lost my cool probably a couple of times closed doors out of frustration for us. We’ve had small miscues, timing-wise. That’s not really anybody’s fault. Just sometimes wrong time, wrong place. I feel like that’s been happening a lot this year. It kind of happened again tonight. We put ourselves in position. It’s time to close and there was just 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 wanted to win, too. I love that about him. We each want to win, but he drove me super fair at the end, and we had a good fight. It’s a big night for everyone at Team Penske.””

While Newgarden celebrated in Victory Lane, David Malukas celebrated in pit road with his crew as he achieved his maiden podium in the IndyCar circuit by settling in second place while McLaughlin, who was leading prior to the red flag period, ended up in third place.

“We ended getting around O’Ward and then, we ended up getting past the lapped car and [the crew] said, ‘You see [McLaughlin] in front and I just see two Penskes [cars] and I was like, ‘Oh my god! They’re Penskes!’” Malukas said. “They were tough to even get any sort of suck to get close to them. Unfortunately, two laps to go, that was the lap I decided to do the outside lane, and it worked so well. So if I’d done it a bit sooner, maybe we could have had done something for Newgarden. Overall that’s a win for me, a win for the team. They deserve that so much…It feels so good to finally get [a podium]. There’s still two more races to go. It’s only up from here.”

“That’s racing,” McLaughlin said. “That’s oval racing. We love it. Want more of it. Good points for us today. The car felt awesome. Glad we put on a show for the fans. A lot of people stayed out tonight, so it’s fantastic. We’re going to the moon. I’m feeling good. I’m loving IndyCar. Really proud of everything. I’m just really proud to be able to do it for the team. Pit stops have been unreal. I’m working with some really good people. Excited for what the future holds.”

Pato O’Ward fended off Takuma Sato to finish fourth while points leader Power settled in sixth ahead of Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal, all of whom finished in the top 10 on the track.

There were 13 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured two cautions for 22 laps.

With two races remaining in the 2022 schedule, Will Power continues to lead the standings by three points over teammate Josef Newgarden, 14 over Scott Dixon, 17 over Marcus Ericsson, 43 over Alex Palou, 54 over Scott McLaughlin and 58 over Pato O’Ward.

Results.

1. Josef Newgarden, 78 laps led

2. David Malukas, four laps led

3. Scott McLaughlin, 12 laps led

4. Pato O’Ward, 10 laps led

5. Takuma Sato, 22 laps led

6. Will Power, 128 laps led

7. Marcus Ericsson, one lap led

8. Scott Dixon

9. Alex Palou

10. Graham Rahal, two laps led

11. Colton Herta, one lap down

12. Devlin DeFrancesco, one lap down

13. Romain Grosjean, one lap down, two laps led

14. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down

15. Helio Castroneves, one lap down

16. Felix Rosenqvist, one lap down, one lap led

17. Kyle Kirkwood, two laps down

18. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

19. Christian Lundgaard, two laps down

20. Simon Pagenaud, three laps down

21. Callum Ilott, three laps down

22. Ed Carpenter, four laps down

23. Conor Daly, 16 laps down

24. Jack Harvey, 21 laps down

25. Alexander Rossi, 34 laps down

26. Rinus VeeKay – OUT, Mechanical

Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the penultimate event of the season at Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland. The event is scheduled to occur on September 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

Late Pass Pushes Brabham Past Lundqvist for WWTR Victory

By

Official Release

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August 20, 2022

MADISON, Ill. (Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022) – Matthew Brabham learned his lessons from gutting disappointment last month at Iowa Speedway, driving past series leader and pole sitter Linus Lundqvist to win the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Australian-American Brabham drove his No. 83 Andretti Autosport car to victory by .6770 of a second over the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne entry of Lundqvist. It was Brabham’s second victory of the season, with his first coming in late February at the season opener at St. Petersburg, Florida.

Benjamin Pedersen finished third in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports car. Teammate Danial Frost finished fourth in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing entry, followed by rookie Hunter McElrea in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car.

Brabham saved his best for last in the fast, caution-free race. Lundqvist led the first 71 laps of the 75-lap race, but Brabham used his preferred high line on ovals to gain momentum in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 72. Brabham then dove under Lundqvist in Turn 3 on that lap for the decisive pass, never trailing again.

“I could tell he was starting to get loose toward the end of the race,” Brabham said. “I think I showed too much of what I could do there in Iowa, in the top lane. I told the guys on my team I don’t want to show anyone anything because I think they’re learning too much from me, especially my teammates. I was saving that top line for the last couple of laps.”

The win provided sweet redemption for Brabham, the grandson of three-time Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham.

Brabham challenged Lundqvist for the lead in his favorite outside lane with five laps to go in the previous oval event, July 23 at Iowa Speedway. Lundqvist moved up the track and their cars touched, damaging Brabham’s front wing and dropping him to third at the finish. Lundqvist was assessed a three-spot penalty for avoidable contact and tumbled from first to fourth in the final running order. Brabham’s teammate McElrea inherited the victory.

“I just wanted to win so badly, especially after Iowa,” Brabham said. “I just had that grit.”

Lundqvist couldn’t shake Brabham for the first 71 laps of today’s race, but he controlled a gap of around six- to seven-tenths of a second for the first 60 laps. Then Brabham moved to the high line to gain momentum and sliced into the margin, trailing by .1936 of a second on Lap 71 before making the decisive pass on the next trip around the 1.25-mile, asymmetrical oval in the shadow of the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

While Lundqvist fell short of his sixth victory of the season, the big picture looks very clear: The Swedish driver is zeroing in on the series championship.

Lundqvist leads second-place Brabham by 108 points with just three races remaining. He needs to lead by 109 after the next event, Sunday, Sept. 4 at Portland International Raceway, to clinch the title. Live coverage from Portland is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET on Peacock Premium, INDYCAR Live! and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

A doubleheader Sept. 10-11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will conclude the season.

About Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Celebrating 35 years, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires develops drivers and teams to compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Past champions include INDYCAR SERIES champions Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Paul Tracy and Cristiano da Matta. In 2021, 20 drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES were Indy Lights graduates, including rising stars and race winners Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. The 2022 season consists of 14 races in the United States. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, please visit www.indylights.com. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com.

About Cooper Tire

Cooper Tire, a subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT), specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

Kyle Larson’s late-race luck earns him Xfinity Series win at Watkins Glen

By

Official Release

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August 20, 2022

WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - AUGUST 20: Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 20, 2022 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

August 20th, 2022
By HOLLY CAIN
NASCAR Wire Service

In the moments after claiming the checkered flag for the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at the Glen Saturday afternoon, Kyle Larson smiled and conceded he was a bit fortunate.

“I got lucky,’’ he told the USA Network television audience.

Or perhaps more accurately, he was in the right place at the right time. Running third on a restart with five laps remaining in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, he shot to the front when his Hendrick Motorsports teammate – and race polesitter – William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs spun out at the front of the field while dicing it up for the race lead.

Byron, who set a track record in qualifying earlier in the day and led a race best 36 of the 82 laps, and Gibbs, who led the second most laps (25) collided in a door-to-door battle in the famed “bus stop” portion of the 3.366-mile road course. And Larson bolted through to take the lead.

Still, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion had to hold off the sport’s all-time best on road courses, A.J. Allmendinger in the remaining laps to claim the day’s trophy – ultimately taking his 11th series win by a slight .273-seconds in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“I think my only shot was if the 17 and 54 – Willy and Ty got really racing,’’ conceded Larson, who spent much of the race just behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron and Gibbs.

“The seas parted and I was able to get through but then I had A.J. (Allmendinger) behind me so just trying to hit my marks best I could. He definitely made me nervous with me being out in front of him.

“So cool to get a win here and Rick Hendrick is here too. Wish William and I could have fought for the win there though.’’

Rookie Sammy Smith, an 18-year old from Iowa in only his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start finished a career best third place in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and led an impressive – also career high – seven laps midway through the race.

JR Motorsports’ driver Noah Gragson finished fourth, followed by Kaz Grala. Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creed, who was the highest finishing rookie, Josh Berry and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10.

Byron and Gibbs, who had contact again farther back in the field during the final laps, ultimately finished 25th and 27th, respectively.

On the cool down lap after the race Byron told his crew, “Sorry guys, I wish we could have won that one. We were in position and got wrecked.’’

Allmendinger’s runner-up showing, combined with Gibbs rough day and an early exit by Justin Allgaier – who wrecked only four laps into the race – really boosted Allmendinger’s lead atop the Xfinity Series standings. With four races remaining to set the 12-driver 2022 Playoff field, he now holds a 61-point advantage over five-race winner Gibbs and is 70-points up on fellow three-race winner Allgaier.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action next week at Daytona International Speedway with the WaWa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley is the defending race winner.

–30–

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Sunoco Go Rewards 200

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen, New York

Saturday, August 20, 2022

               1. (3)  Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               2. (4)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 82.

               3. (19)  Sammy Smith, Toyota, 82.

               4. (16)  Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 82.

               5. (14)  Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               6. (7)  Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 82.

               7. (6)  Riley Herbst, Ford, 82.

              8. (11)  Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 82.

               9. (17)  Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 82.

               10. (22)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 82.

               11. (5)  Cole Custer(i), Ford, 82.

               12. (23)  Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               13. (34)  Ryan Sieg, Ford, 82.

               14. (35)  Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               15. (13)  Connor Mosack(i), Toyota, 82.

               16. (20)  Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 82.

               17. (21)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               18. (26)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 82.

               19. (33)  Andy Lally, Ford, 82.

               20. (27)  Brad Perez(i), Toyota, 82.

               21. (31)  Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 82.

               22. (25)  Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 82.

               23. (32)  Scott Heckert, Chevrolet, 82.

               24. (12)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 82.

               25. (1)  William Byron(i), Chevrolet, 82.

               26. (37)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 82.

               27. (2)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 82.

               28. (15)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 81.

               29. (38)  Blaine Perkins(i), Chevrolet, 80.

               30. (8)  Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 73.

               31. (9)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 58.

               32. (30)  Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Axle, 51.

               33. (29)  Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, Accident, 50.

               34. (36)  Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, Driveshaft, 30.

               35. (18)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, Accident, 26.

               36. (24)  Patrick Gallagher, Ford, Rear Gear, 14.

               37. (28)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, Accident, 8.

               38. (10)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 4.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 77.651 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 35 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.273 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 23 laps.

Lead Changes: 15 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders: W. Byron(i) 1-7;T. Gibbs 8;W. Byron(i) 9-10;T. Gibbs 11-16;A. Allmendinger 17-18;S. Smith 19-23;K. Larson(i) 24;W. Byron(i) 25-32;K. Larson(i) 33;W. Byron(i) 34-51;A. Allmendinger 52;S. Smith 53;R. Herbst 54-57;J. Clements 58-59;T. Gibbs 60-77;K. Larson(i) 78-82.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): William Byron(i) 4 times for 35 laps; Ty Gibbs 3 times for 25 laps; Kyle Larson(i) 3 times for 7 laps; Sammy Smith 2 times for 6 laps; Riley Herbst 1 time for 4 laps; AJ Allmendinger 2 times for 3 laps; Jeremy Clements 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,16,48,51,34,45,17,2,88,08

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,54,16,9,88,2,8,48,92,26

Larson avoids late calamity for Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen

By

Andrew Kim

-

August 20, 2022

Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

With late misfortune in the form of an on-track collision and spin spoiling the hopes of William Byron and Ty Gibbs battling for the victory in the closing laps, good fortune fell in the favor of Kyle Larson as he went on to win the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 20.

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led three times for seven of 82-scheduled laps. Despite starting at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro while representing JR Motorsports, Larson spent the majority of the event running towards the front while watching his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs duke for the lead amid late carnages and late-race restarts. During the final restart with five laps remaining, however, Larson capitalized on a late on-track incident involving Byron and Gibbs, both of whom spun following contact in the bus stop. With the lead in his possession, Larson managed to fend off AJ Allmendinger and Sammy Smith to grab his first checkered flag in the Xfinity Series of this season and first since 2018.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Byron claimed his first pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 125.021 mph in 70.548 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, winner of the previous Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway after he posted his best lap at 124.506 mph in 70.840 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Andy Lady, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Patrick Gallagher, Timmy Hill and Scott Heckert dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Byron and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Byron managed to pull ahead with the lead while AJ Allmendinger overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot throughout the following three turns. Through the Back Straight, Inner Loop and Outer Loop, Byron continued to lead the field. Despite being pressured by Allmendinger through Turns 6 and 7, Byron went on to lead the first lap.

During the second lap, Byron stretched his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs battled and overtook Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was in fourth while Riley Herbst occupied the final spot in the top five in fifth.

Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Justin Allgaier, who was in 20th behind Jeremy Clements, slipped sideways in Turn 3 and through the esses as he spun and made hard contact against the Armco barrier. The front-end damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro was enough to terminate Allgaier’s run at The Glen early.

When the race restarted on the eighth lap, Gibbs dueled and managed to fend off Byron through the first four turns to assume the lead. Entering the Inner Loop and the bus stop, however, Byron reassumed the lead as Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider spun. With the event remaining under green flag conditions, Byron continued to fend off Gibbs with the top spot as Allmendinger trailed closely behind in third.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, rookie Sheldon Creed, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Connor Mosack occupied the top 10. Daniel Hemric was in 11th ahead of Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Kyle Larson and Josh Berry while Alex Labbe, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, Landon Cassill and Josh Bilicki were scored in the top 20.

During the following lap, Gibbs battled and overtook Byron to lead a lap for himself. In the midst of the battle, rookie Austin Hill made an unscheduled pit stop to address a broken axle to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro as he was lapped by the field.

Four laps later, the caution returned when Patrick Gallagher came to a stop at the bus stop due to a mechanical issue. By then, Hill was in the garage due to his drive line issue along with Jeb Burton, who retired due to a brake failure and suffered his seventh DNF of the season.

During the caution period, some led by Gibbs and Byron pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

With two laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Sammy Smith challenged and overtook Allmendinger for the lead entering the first three turns, which left Allmendinger to fend off Kaz Grala and Jeremy Clements for the runner-up spot as the field behind jostled for positions.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Sammy Smith, who was making his fourth career Xfinity start in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra, claimed his first Xfinity stage victory. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Grala, Clements, Kyle Weatherman, Josh Bilicki, Byron, Creed, Larson and Andy Lally. Meanwhile, Herbst, who spun in the bus stop during the previous lap, fell all the way back to 34th as he pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Myatt Snider was also involved in his second incident of the day after slapping the Armco barrier in Turn 7 and suffering significant rear-end damage to his No. 31 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet Camaro.

Under the stage break, some led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Sammy Smith and Byron remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 23 as Smith and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Smith and Byron dueled for the lead through the first turn until Smith managed to clear Byron and retain the lead. Behind, Byron’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro came under attack from Larson’s No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro as Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro joined the battle.

Then through Turn 6, Larson, who started the event at the rear of the field, rocketed his Camaro to the lead on fresh tires as he assumed full command of the field. With Larson out in front, teammate Byron moved into the runner-up spot while Creed and Gibbs quickly overtook Smith through the first three turns as Smith was back in fifth.

During the following lap, Byron duked and overtook teammate Larson through the frontstretch while entering the first turn to return to the lead. Behind, Gibbs was in third ahead of Creed, Smith settled in fifth and Allmendinger was mired back in 13th behind Sam Mayer.

Then on Lap 27, the caution flew when Alex Labbe stopped in the bus stop with damage to his car. At the moment of caution, Smith, who was set to pit under green, opted to keep his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra on the track to avoid a penalty of pitting when pit road was closed, though he was mired back in 15th.

During the caution period and when pit road was accessible for the field, Smith pitted while the rest of the front-runners led by Byron remained on the track.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 29, the field fanned out as Byron fended off teammate Larson and Gibbs to retain the lead through the first three turns. Byron remained out in front through the seven-turn circuit while Gibbs started to pressure Larson for the runner-up spot.

Then on Lap 31, the caution returned when Kris Wright, who was piloting the No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, came to a stop near the Armco barriers in Turn 1 due to a broken drive line. By then, Daniel Hemric fell out of the top 10 and towards the end of the field as he encountered a fuel pressure issue.

With seven laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hendrick teammates Larson and Byron dueled for the top spot until Byron benefitted on the outside lane to retain the lead through the first three turns. As Creed overtook Larson for the runner-up spot, Mayer spun in the bus stop while the race remained under green.

Three laps later, Byron extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Creed while Gibbs, Larson, Gragson, Allmendinger, Custer, Brandon Jones, Grala and Josh Berry were in the top 10. Ross Chastain was in 11th ahead of Anthony Alfredo, Connor Mosack, Landon Cassill, Herbst, Timmy Hill, Jeremy Clements, Sammy Smith, Stefan Parsons and Josh Bilicki. Meanwhile, Kyle Weatherman, who spun in Turn 1 two laps earlier, was mired back within the top 30.

During the following lap, Custer, who was in seventh, got hit and turned by Brandon Jones through the bust stop as he pounded the Armco barrier. Shortly after, Brandon Jones spun his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra in Turn 7 without sustaining any significant damage. In spite of both incidents, the race proceeded under green,

When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Byron captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the season. Gibbs settled in second followed by Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Creed, Berry, Grala, Chastain and Mosack.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Creed pitted while the rest including Byron, Gibbs, Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Berry, Mosack, Herbst and Smith remained on the track as differing strategies were occurring within the field.

With 38 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Byron outdueled Gibbs through the first three turns to retain the lead while Gragson trailed in third followed by Allmendinger and Berry.

Three laps later, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Gragson retained third ahead of Allmendinger and Berry. Meanwhile. Larson was in sixth ahead of Sammy Smith, Herbst, Creed and Chastain.

Then with 30 laps remaining, Byron pitted under green along with Gibbs, Gragson, Larson, Sam Mayer and Connor Mosack. In the midst of the pit stops, Allmendinger cycled to the lead while Gibbs managed to exit pit road ahead of Byron. By then, Creed pitted under green a lap earlier.

During the following lap, Allmendinger pitted under green along with Josh Berry as Sammy Smith assumed the lead. Once Smith pitted on Lap 53, it was Herbst’s turn to lead a lap for himself.

Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Herbst, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Clements, Chastain, Grala and Custer while Hemric, Cassill, Josh Bilicki, Andy Lally and Preston Padres were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Gibbs, the first competitor with the freshest tires and full fuel, remained ahead of Byron in 13th, Gragson was in 16th and Allmendinger was mired back in 19th behind Larson.

A lap later, the caution flew when Daniel Hemric lost a left-front tire and veered dead straight into the tire barrier in the carousel as his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro was left with significant front-nose damage and out of the event. By then, Herbst surrendered the lead to pit while Clements, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead. During the caution period, however, Clements led the competitors who had yet to pit while Gibbs remained on the track to cycle to the lead followed by Byron, Gragson, Larson and Allmendinger. Following the pit stops, Chastain was penalized for speeding on pit road.

Following an extensive caution period to have the carnage cleared, the race restarted under green with 15 laps remaining. At the start and with the field fanning out entering the first turn, Gibbs and Byron dueled for the lead until Gibbs managed to pull ahead with the lead through the first three turns. Behind, Larson moved into the runner-up spot while Byron fell back to third.

With 10 laps remaining, Gibbs continued to lead by more than eight-tenths of a second over Byron followed by Larson, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Gragson was back in sixth ahead of Berry, Creed, Mayer and Grala while Herbst, Mosack, Custer, Landon Cassill and Alfredo occupied the top 15. Stefan Parsons was in 16th while Clements, Brandon Jones, Lally and Chastain were scored in the top 20.

Two laps later, the caution returned when Chastain and Alfredo spun in Turn 6 as Chastain got his No. 92 Protect Your Melon Chevrolet Camaro stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, some led by Connor Mosack pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

Down to the final five laps of the event, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Gibbs and Byron again dueled for the top spot through the first three turns with Larson following in close pursuit. With both making contact and remaining side-by-side through Turn 4 and entering the Inner Loop, Gibbs then made contact against Byron’s car in the Inner Loop as both spun off the course and out of winning contention. In the midst of the spin, Larson emerged with the lead followed by Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, Grala and Gragson.

During the following lap, Byron, who was initially in position to claim the first Xfinity victory for Hendrick Motorsports, expressed his displeasure to Gibbs by sending Gibbs’ No. 54 Cub Cadet Toyota Supra around in retaliation in Turn 6. Back at the front, Allmendinger started to challenge Larson for the lead while Grala intimidated Smith for third place.

With two laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and eight-tenths of a second over third-place Smith. Behind, Grala retained fourth ahead of Gragson while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Cassill were in the top 10.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and seven-tenths over Smith. Through the first four turns and the Inner Loop, Larson stabilized his narrow advantage over Allmendinger. Then in turns 6 and 7, Allmendinger tried to draw his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro close to Larson’s rear bumper, but he did not have enough momentum to make his move as Larson managed to pull away from both Allmendinger and Smith to streak across the finish line with the win.

With the victory, Larson, who won the Cup event at The Glen a year ago, achieved his 13th career victory in the Xfinity Series, first driving for JR Motorsports, his first at The Glen and his first since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018. The victory was also the ninth of the season for JR Motorsports and the first for JRM’s No. 88 team led by crew chief Jason Stockert.

“I got lucky,” Larson told USA Network. “I think my only shot really was if [Gibbs and Byron] really got racing. I just wanted to help William down the front stretch as much as I could, then they got to battle up the esses. I tried to help William get clear to the bus stop. They raced side-by-side into there, got together and the seas parted and I was able to get through. Then I had AJ behind me, so I was just trying to hit my marks as best I could. He had me definitely nervous out in front of him, so cool to get a win here. Wished William and I could’ve fought out for the win there. Either way, happy to get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane. Cool to get a win with the No. 88.”

Following their late run-in, Byron, who led 35 laps from pole position, ended up 25th while Gibbs, who led 25 laps, fell back to 27th. Both met on pit road at the race’s conclusion to discuss the incident.

Allmendinger, who led three laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Sammy Smith earned his first top-five result in the Xfinity Series by finishing third. Gragson and Grala finished in the top five while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Clements completed the top 10 on the track.

There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured a record-tying eight cautions for 23 laps.

With four races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 61 points over Ty Gibbs, 70 over Justin Allgaier and 99 over Noah Gragson.

Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 39 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 80, Brandon Brown trails by 106, Jeremy Clements trails by 160, Myatt Snider trails by 176 and Jeb Burton trails by 178.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, seven laps led

2. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

3. Sammy Smith, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Noah Gragson

5. Kaz Grala

6. Sam Mayer

7. Riley Herbst, four laps led

8. Sheldon Creed

9. Josh Berry

10. Jeremy Clements, two laps led

11. Cole Custer

12. Stefan Parsons

13. Ryan Sieg

14. Timmy Hill

15. Connor Mosack

16. Landon Cassill

17. Josh Bilicki

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Andy Lally

20. Brad Perez

21. Preston Pardus

22. Kyle Weatherman

23. Scott Heckert

24. Brandon Jones

25. William Byron, 35 laps led, Stage 2 winner

26. Bayley Currey

27. Ty Gibbs, 25 laps led

28. Ross Chastain, one lap down

29. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

30. Austin Hill, nine laps down

31. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

32. Brandon Brown – OUT, Axle

33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

34. Kris Wright – OUT, Driveshaft

35. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

36. Patrick Gallagher – OUT, Rear gear

37. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

38. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip of the season to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, August 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Chase Elliott wins Pole at Watkins Glen; Larson second for Hendrick Motorsports front row

By

Angie Campbell

-

August 20, 2022

Chase Elliott wins pole at Watkins Glen August 2022 by Stephanie McLaughlin 20220820162539-d048d111-me — Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Chase Elliott earned his third pole of the season at Watkins Glen International with a lap of 125.147 mph in his No. 9 Chevrolet during the final round of qualifying. It’s his third pole this season and the 12th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

“Our No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet has been solid,” Elliott said after his qualifying effort. “I feel like we had some work to do there from where we were in practice. I felt like there were a couple parts of the track I want to put together better; it’s just really hard to hit it all. It’s just so fast, the pace is so high. And this car here, I feel like from what I remember and how much throttle you’re carrying, a little bit carries with you a long way.”

Teammate Kyle Larson qualified second fastest (125.078 mph) in the No. 5 Chevrolet to start second for a Hendrick Motorsports front row in Sunday’s Cup Series race.

Front Row Motorsports driver, Michael McDowell, was third quickest (124.685 mp) and the only Ford in a top five dominated by Chevrolet.

“You always feel like you could get a little bit more,” McDowell said. “Pushing really hard and you make mistakes here and there, kind of hanging it out. I got into the bus stop pretty good but didn’t get over that second curb real well and kind of got wide a little bit. I think we had a shot at the pole, just came up a little short.

“But I am really proud of everyone at Front Row. Road courses have been our strength this year and so we knew coming here this was a good chance for us to run up front and try to steal a win and get in the playoffs, success today, qualifying well, good starting spot for tomorrow and good pit selection. All those things are good but when you are that close you want to get a pole.”

William Bryon will start fourth in his HMS entry (124.685 mph) and Tyler Reddick (124.511) rounded out the top five in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

Former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen made his Cup Series debut and qualified 27th in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

“Obviously, I wish there would have been more laps. I felt like there was a lot of potential. I’m just not sure which lines to take and there weren’t enough laps to put everything together. But yeah, it was fun. It’s quite a lot like I expected after the simulator. There’s always a difference; the fine details aren’t shown in the simulator, but at least I knew the track. I needed to be a bit better in a few places, and in some places, I was pretty OK.”

Looking ahead to the race, Räikkönen said, “I think we just have to make sure that we know, more or less, the rules and not make any silly mistakes on that side. We’ll see what we can do with the car. We have a little bit of an idea from where we started, to where we went and maybe somewhere halfway. We’ll try to improve. We improved from the practice session to qualifying, and we’ll try to do the same in the race.”

You can tune into the Cup Series Sunoco Go Bowling at The Glen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Lineup:

Watkins-Glen-Cup-Series-Starting-Lineup-12225_STARTROW

CHEVROLET NCS: Chase Elliott Takes Pole Position at Watkins Glen

By

Official Release

-

August 20, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 20, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT TAKES THE POLE POSITION AT WATKINS GLEN
Chevrolet Sweeps Front Row; Takes Six of Top-10 Starting Spots

· Turning a lap of 70.477 seconds, at 125.147 mph, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 will lead the field to the green in tomorrow’s NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen.

· This marks Elliott’s third pole of 2022; second career pole at Watkins Glen International; and 12th all-time pole in 246 NASCAR Cup Series races.

· Elliott’s pole is the seventh NASCAR Cup Series pole of 2022 for Chevrolet; its manufacturer-leading 16th pole at Watkins Glen International; and its 730th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history.

· Dating back to Chase Elliott’s Watkins Glen win in August 2019, Chevrolet has recorded wins in 14 of the past 15 NCS road course races, including a streak of the past 10.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – Press Conference Transcript:

FOUR POINTS TO GET THE NUMBER ONE SEED IN THE PLAYOFFS AND THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP. WITH THAT POLE POSITION, HOW’S THE MINDSET LOOKING AT TOMORROW?

“Yeah, honestly my mindset and my focus right now is really just about trying to give ourselves a shot to win tomorrow. The the best way to achieve the most points is to go out there and be the first one to cross the line there at the end of the day. That’s really where our heads are at and where our goals lie; trying to execute a perfect race tomorrow. Obviously that’s a really hard thing to do. We would love to keep our track position all day. I understand that’s a difficult thing to achieve, but it’s not impossible. We’ve seen it done before. We’ll try to put together a good day, try to stay mistake-free and make the most of a good qualifying effort.”

LAST YEAR, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE FLAT-SPOTTING PART, WHICH WAS THE REASON FOR THE LOSS. WITH THE NEW CAR AND THE BIGGER BRAKES, IS IT EASIER OR TOUGHER TO FLAT SPOT THE TIRES?

“I would imagine it will be easier to do. Lock-up has been a bit more widespread this year, I feel like, at some of the other road courses than what we’ve seen here in the past. Last year, for me, was just a stupid mistake in the scenario that I did that. Nonetheless, I think you’ve seen more lock-up generally this year than what we have here in the past just overall at other tracks.”

AS SOMEONE THAT HOLDS THEMSELVES TO A VERY HIGH STANDARD; YOU HAD THE SUCCESS ON THE ROAD COURSES THIS SEASON, BUT NO WIN. HOW MUCH DOES THAT WEIGH ON YOU, IF AT ALL?

“It honestly doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to win in general anywhere, whether it’s a road course, an oval or wherever it may be. I’m not sure that it’s been any added stress. We just want to get better. Like I tell you guys all the time, we just want to improve. Especially when you go somewhere, you think you’re off a little bit in a certain area and you want to move forward. You never want to go backwards; so as long as we’re moving forward, I think we’ll get to where we want to be.”

YOU MENTIONED THE PACE OUT THERE WITH THESE CARS. DID THAT COME AS A SURPRISE TO YOU GUYS AND DO YOU THINK IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SORT OF ALTER THE COMPLEXION OF THE RACE A LITTLE BIT FROM PREVIOUS YEARS HERE?

“Potentially, but it’s always been a pretty track position-oriented event anyway. It’ll probably just be a bit more so in that direction. I don’t know, lap time-wise, what we ran last year. I don’t remember, but I know we were just carrying a lot of throttle. It seems like more than I remember carrying here in the past. Typically with that is it’s going to be difficult to setup passes and get yourself in position.

We had a good lap there and you want to try and make the most of a good opportunity there starting out front. I know it’s a hard thing to do to keep that track position all day, but it’s not impossible. If we can achieve that, great.. and if not, we’ll stay in the fight and try and give ourselves a shot there when it matters.”

ALL FOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS QUALIFIED IN THE TOP-11. DID ALL FOUR OF YOU EXPECT TO HAVE THE SPEED THAT YOU HAD TODAY OR IS THAT A SURPRISE AT ALL?

“Not necessarily a surprise. I feel like everybody at Hendrick Motorsports is committed to being good in all categories and road racing is one of them. So, I’m not surprised to see that. Our organization is super driven. The boss is here today and he continues to come and support us; be here and show his enthusiasm and drive to want to succeed. I think that rubs off on the rest of us. I think we all have our own wills and wants to do good, but it’s always nice to see him here and nice to grab the pole with him in town. And obviously William (Byron) got the pole for the Xfinity Series race in a special car, too. Happy to see that.”

SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS IN THE FIELD. AS SOMEONE LIKE YOURSELF THAT’S GOOD ON ROAD COURSES AND TAKES A LOT OF PRIDE IN ROAD COURSE RACING; HOW COOL IS IT TO SEE THE DIFFERENT ROAD COURSE RACERS AND INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS THAT ARE IN THIS RACE?

“Yeah, like I’ve referenced a bunch; I think whoever’s idea that was over at Trackhouse I think deserves a lot of credit. And even beyond that, whoever put it together in the manner that they did in making it just very well done.. it looks professional, it is professional. He’s coming over, he’s in a good car. I just think it’s exciting that these guys are coming over and showing interest in what we have going on here. I think that’s the best way to gain respect around the world.. to have these drivers that do other things come and get involved. Just immerse themselves in what we do here, understand the challenges, and what it takes to be good. I think that’s always going to be a good thing.

I hope it continues and I hope they keep doing it. I hope everybody that is here from other disciplines has a good time this weekend; enjoys themselves, is challenged by it and is excited to do it again.”

I WOULD HAVE TO IMAGINE THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOU.. BEING THAT YOU SCORED YOUR FIRST CAREER WIN HERE. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO LOCK-UP THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP HERE, AS WELL?

“This is always going to be a special place to me because achieving that first win was such a big deal for myself, our team and I think to our entire group. It’s always going to be a special spot whether we do well or not. It will always feel different.

And two, it’s a beautiful part of the country. It’s a very underrated part of the country, I think. It’s very nice up here and I enjoy visiting even beyond the on-track stuff.”

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.

CHEVROLET RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Chase Elliott Pole Win Quote and Notes

By

Official Release

-

August 20, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING
AUGUST 20, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT TAKES THE POLE POSITION AT WATKINS GLEN

· Turning a lap of 70.477 seconds, at 125.147 mph, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 will lead the field to the green in tomorrow’s NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen.

· This marks Elliott’s third pole of 2022; second career pole at Watkins Glen International; and 12th all-time pole in 246 NASCAR Cup Series races.

· Elliott’s pole is the seventh NASCAR Cup Series pole of 2022 for Chevrolet; its manufacturer-leading 16th pole at Watkins Glen International; and its 730th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
2nd KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
4th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
5th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1
6th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1
9th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 PRINCESS CRUISES CAMARO ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
3rd Michael McDowell (Ford)
4th William Byron (Chevrolet)
5th Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)

USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 21. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1, Pole Winner Quick Quote:

THAT WAS A PRETTY IMPRESSIVE LAP, CHASE.

“Thank you. Our No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet has been solid. I feel like we had some work to do there from where we were in practice. I felt like there were a couple parts of the track I want to put together better, it’s just really hard to hit it all. It’s just so fast, the pace is so high. And this car here, I feel like from what I remember and how much throttle you’re carrying, a little bit carries with you a long way.

I’m really proud of our team. Appreciate Kelley Blue Book and Chevrolet. We have a great looking paint scheme this week and we always enjoy having them on the car. We’ll try to give them a good run tomorrow.”

Toyota NCS Watkins Glen Quotes — Kyle Busch 8.20.22

By

Official Release

-

August 20, 2022

Toyota Racing – Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

WATKINS GLEN, NY (August 20, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Watkins Glen International race this Saturday:

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Snickers Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Where do things stand with a new contract for you?

“No new update. Is that fair. There isn’t, sorry.”

Have you been told yet that you may or may not return to the No. 18 in 2023?

“I feel like that would be an update. That has not been told to me, not yet.”

Have you made any arrangements to speak with Kimi Raikkonen while he’s in Watkins Glen this weekend?

“Unfortunately I guess we never really did a phone number swap and I never really talked to him when he was here. Honestly, it was always through the agency and stuff like that. I’ve been paying attention to him and all the stuff he’s done and all that with the F1 stuff over the last few years. It would be kind of nice to see him, say hey, what’s up and welcome back. This is his first taste in the Cup Series stuff and real proud of the efforts of Justin (Marks) and those guys over there on the Project 91 thing. I think it’s really a unique deal to allow others from other disciplines to come in here and give it a shot. That’s what it’s all about and I hope it all works out for every party and that it’s a successful piece.”

Will you look at Kimi’s data at all or is there anything you might be able to learn from how he might drive a road course?

“I don’t think so. I guarantee you that if you take the whole 40-car field and dissect all the data, I think you’ll find about 10 percent discrepancy between everybody, there’s not much. I don’t think he’s going to be a vast amount different. There’s only so many things you can do with these cars. He’s not going to be able to brake at 200 versus the rest of us at 400, that’s just car capable. Not driver capable. I don’t think there’s going to be much difference there, but I’ll look. If (Kyle) Larson’s going to look, I might as well look.”

Has there been more work done at Joe Gibbs Racing to try to improve at road courses specific for this weekend?

“For sure. I know there’s a lot of work going on and a lot of work behind the scenes to help with what we’ve got going on. It’s a lot of aero talk, a lot of mechanical talk and a lot of brake talk. Essentially, the better off you are slowing down and turning and accelerating, the better you’re going to be and we don’t have any of those so if we can at least help one of those areas then I would think that we’ll have a better program this weekend. I wouldn’t say we’ll jump to the front coming here to Watkins Glen, but I bet we’re better.”

Do you feel the team has made any more progress since the tire test with Martin Truex Jr. at Watkins Glen?

“I would like to think so, just exact same answer as I gave before. I know that we had those struggles and when Martin was here, it looked better and the sim stuff looked better. I don’t know if the sim stuff is 100 percent real to what you can really do on the race track. Seeing Martin’s data here when he tested here, which was before some of the last road courses. We have definitely improved so I feel like Martin’s test isn’t necessarily indicative of what we’ll see here this weekend.”

How much do you talk to your drivers at Kyle Busch Motorsports about your contract negotiations and how that team could be impacted?

“All of them are kind of shopping themselves anyways to higher series to get other opportunities anyway. I feel like the Truck Series is always the last to be put together. You can go into December and figure out your truck line-up versus being a free agent, top star in the Cup Series, you would think that you could have things figured out by you know, August, July, somewhere in there. Obviously, we’re getting late in the timeframe for me, but getting into the nitty gritty of what needs to happen.”

Have you ever looked back at the finish in Watkins Glen 10 years ago and thought it was cool to be part of that moment?

“No. No it wasn’t. Got kicked to the curb pretty early and then it was a show after that and I wasn’t really part of the show. It just looked like I didn’t know what the hell I was doing because I was running off course and running off line, slipping all over the place. Nobody know until after the fact, well after the fact that there was oil on the track and we were all trying to dodge it. I don’t know if I was seeing it first and just trying to miss it and those other guys just didn’t care and were running normal lines and was just slipping around, but I think they finally figured it out going up through the back stretch that you know, other areas than the asphalt were going to be just fine grip-wise because there was oil down. I wish I was certainly on the winning end of that. Then I would have said, ‘Yes, I’ve watched it over and over again and it’s amazing.’ But no, trust me, I’ve seen the highlight reels.”

Could this race be a sneak preview of the Chicago street race?

“No way. No way. I say that because those corners are going to be 20 or 30 mph corners. These corners here, at least down into turn one is a 45 or 50 mph corner. Even turn six is a 60 mph corner. Not even close, it’s going to be slow.”

Are you participating in the organizational test at Martinsville and what do you hope they accomplish at the test session?

“I did the test a little while back and I think it was a tire test. We didn’t really get anywhere with tires that made a difference and then we tried the Bristol dirt pan and that was a plus. I have no idea what the objective is for next week. I’m not participating and no idea what’s happening.”

What do you lean on to get you through the challenges this season? Can you give us a sense of what this spring and summer have been like?

“It’s easy to summarize, but probably tough for some to understand. Let’s be frank about it, I’m an athlete. I make a lot of money, people aren’t going to feel or shouldn’t feel sorry for me. I’ve made a good living. And so that’s not the premise of this answer, but it’s been hard as hell. It’s been a lot of sleepless nights figuring out what your future is, and all that sort of stuff. And, you know, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well, you’ve made plenty of money. You’re fine. You don’t have anything to worry about.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ But you still want to do what you love to do, right? Like it’s no different than Jeff (Gluck, The Athletic), you went through it, right? Having questions about what you’re doing with your job and your lifestyle and what you can do to move forward. So I’m in the same boat. I’m a racer and only ever known how to race, nothing else, trying to do other business projects and things like that, but none of them have really blown up and taken off. So it has been hard and figuring out all of that is certainly tough. And the first time I went through this was 15 years ago and it was a learning experience. It was hard then too, but it was nothing like now. Then it was just me, myself and I. I didn’t have Samantha, I didn’t have a son. I didn’t have a daughter. All I had was an agent that was helping me and now I’m kind of all on my own doing it along with Samantha and family, but, you know, going through many of the same things, but it’s way, way harder because now you have Kyle Busch Motorsports that you’ve got to think about, you’ve got a building that you’ve got to pay on, you know, you’ve got a building note and all that sort of stuff. So there’s a lot a lot a lot of pieces and that’s why it’s not so simple. If you look at each aspect of everything of my life, which some of you may not know or may not fully know, is there’s just a lot. So trying to take care of all those pieces and make sure everything goes as it was or as it has been the last few years would certainly be nice.”

Are the sleepless nights due to wanting to be competitive or the other balls in the air with your life that you have to juggle?

“That’s certainly top of the list. You want to be able to go somewhere that you feel like you have a legit shot to race to win. You know, trust me, I don’t feel like it’s fair to me or my family or anything else if we’re going to have to spend less time together moving forward because we are going to have to change our lifestyle, no questions. There’s a big change coming. And so, is it worth it to go run around and not have an opportunity to win right away versus building something versus jumping in something that can win. All those questions are certainly being weighed out. And so, again, that’s also why it’s not so simple and so easy. So, thankfully there are opportunities out there. There are Cup jobs available. But again, it will not look the same as what it has for the last 15 years.”

Are you focused on being able to win where you go moving forward?

“I think that kind of is the same question just a little different, but the answer is the same. Where can you go somewhere else and get into stuff that can win right away? And if you can go somewhere else and get in stuff that wins right away. I feel like if you’re winning, your’re a championship contender, you’re capable because again, win and you’re in right. So if you can win races and get yourself into the Playoffs, then the Playoffs are a completely different game. So for as bad as our year’s seemed and for the last eight weeks or as bad as it’s looked for the 18 car, we still have a legitimate shot to go out here and race for a championship. We need to just find the luck truck and go buy some and then we’ll be fine. You know, everybody’s going to be pretty close on points. And a couple guys obviously have a head start which there’s always a couple guys that have a head start and those guys have a better shot at making it to the to the Final Four, but there’s going to be a team or to that point their way into that as well. So I’ve done that every single time. I think I’ve only won my way into the final for one year. Otherwise, I’ve always pointed my way and so it’s nothing that scares me.”

Is there any scenario where Rowdy Energy could sponsor you?

“No, no, it makes decent money, but the problem is that the expenses that you have in which to build this business to build this company and all that sort of stuff. We’re not black yet. We’re still in the red. So that, no, you can’t default on a loan in order to pay yourself sponsorship. That’s not going to happen. So you know, the idea behind this, the premise behind this was I had another 10 year runway to go and keep going and with M&M’s and Mars and everything else. We never thought this position would be here. And so I was going to have that chance to build that and get it going and get it off its feet and we would find out in seven or eight years whether or not it would be something that would be sustainable for this opportunity that’s here now early to then have that supportive, right or support Brexton or whatever going forward, but it’s way too early for that. So unfortunately, that doesn’t exist.”

About Toyota

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Ford Performance NASCAR: NCS Watkins Glen (Ryan Blaney Media Availability)

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Official Release

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August 20, 2022

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Watkins Glen Media Availability | Saturday, August 20, 2022

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang, met with media members at Watkins Glen International Speedway Saturday morning ahead of the Cup Series on-track activity. Blaney discussed a myriad of topics, including his contract extension announced earlier in the week, his playoff aspirations, and more.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang

YOU SIGNED AN EXTENSION THIS WEEK WITH TEAM PENSKE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU AND YOUR CAREER? “It is great to announce that and awesome to continue with Penske. They have been amazing to me over the last 10 years. I got talking to RP (Roger Penske) about how it has been 10 years since I first walked in the door in the early fall of 2012. Time flies, that is for sure. It has been a really cool 10 years and I am looking forward to continue that on for a long time. It is great to get that out there, obviously the silly season side of it, it is nice to not be in those talks and have a home because they have been like family to me and I look forward to carrying on with them.”

HOW DO THE ECONOMICS OF THE NEW TV DEAL AFFECT YOUR CONTRACT EXTENSION? “I mean, those were small discussions when we started talking about the extension and stuff like that. I don’t know many details about the TV deal. You hear things here and there but nothing is really set in stone yet and I don’t think they start to open the bidding wars for those for a little bit. That was a little part of our conversations but I think it is still early enough before that deal gets signed or whatever, the TV stuff, that it wasn’t a huge factor in my decision making with the team. We just came to terms and we were both very happy with them and that didn’t play a huge deal. I am excited to see where the TV stuff ends up though. I think that is something everyone is looking forward to.”

FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS YOU ARE TRYING TO LOCK YOURSELF IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH TWO KIND OF WILD CARD RACES. WHAT IS THE APPROACH HERE WITH JUST TWO RACES LEFT? “Honestly it is the same mindset as the second or third race of the year. It is just the time of year as to why it gets talked about more, obviously. You always want to win races and do well in stages and beat everybody else. There is really no way to approach it any differently. You just try to do the best you can and maximize your day. That is all we can do. We can’t control anyone else’s day. I can’t control Martin’s (Truex Jr.) day, he can’t control mine or anyone else in the field. You just focus on yourself the best you can and go out and try to do what you normally would do and try to figure out a way to win the race and do well. At the end of the day, if we do our job to the best of our abilities, if it works out great and if it doesn’t then that is just the way it falls. The biggest thing we can do is just worry about our group.”

WHAT KIND OF RYAN BLANEY ARE WE GOING TO SEE ON TRACK THE NEXT TWO WEEKS AND HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE SEASON? “I don’t know. I don’t plan on changing my name any time soon. The same name will be on the door. I think you might get in spots where you will be a little more aggressive at times but that is just a given. It just depends on the situation you are in. Like last week at Richmond, I spent no time passing Martin. I immediately put the bumper to him because I am not spending any time. You aren’t wrecking people but you are more aggressive in wanting to get ahead of him to try to set yourself up. It is just situational. I don’t think you will see a huge change. But I will talk to you all if there is a big change, I am sure I will.”

FOR A LOT OF GUYS THIS IS A LAST-DITCH EFFORT WITH DAYTONA LOOMING. HOW DO YOU FEEL LOOKING AT DAYTONA NEXT WEEK WITH ALL THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD THERE? “I feel good about both of these weekends. As good as you can feel. I enjoy coming here and look forward to it. I am excited to see what we’ve got here in a little bit. Our speed at Indy was really good. This place is different than Indy but there are things you can take away from it and apply that make you excited. Daytona, you never know what can happen. We have had success there in years past. The 500 this year our cars were fast but you never know what is going to happen. You can get wiped out in someone else’s mess and there is nothing you can do about it. You have to accept going into that place that it might happen. We will see. We just need to stay in both of these races. Stay in the game. That is all you can plan on doing.”

SO ARE YOU MORE NERVOUS? DO YOU LOSE A LITTLE MORE SLEEP THIS WEEK? “I have slept great this week. No different than any other time. You can’t stress yourself out about it. It is either going to happen or it isn’t, whether you make the playoffs or not. There are only two choices, two options. You can’t stress out about the negatives if you don’t make it. If you stress yourself out about that then your mind is set on that you aren’t going to make it. You just have to have an open mind about anything can happen and you just have to do your best. I haven’t lost any sleep and haven’t really worried about it and I think the same goes for all the guys on our team. They have been really even-keeled about it and they understand that we just have to do our best and this team is fast enough to go do it and make it. We just have to control what we can control which is good. I enjoy how everyone’s mindset is the same. I think that is how it should be.”

HOW DO YOU FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO WHEN AT SOME POINT YOU CAN BE OUT OR AT ANOTHER POINT YOU CAN BE IN. HOW DO YOU HANDLE THAT ON SUNDAY? “Jonathan and I talked all week about what we are thinking strategy-wise and when we want to stop, what we want to do in the stages, but at the same time you have to be willing to switch that up depending on how cautions fall and things like that. I think Jonathan for sure, and we have talked, you are going to be aware of what the 19 is doing. If they are going for stage points or setting themselves up to win the race. It is kind of how fast your car is. If you feel you have a car fast enough to win, you are going to set yourself up for the end of the race and try to win the race. If you don’t think you can win then maybe you go for the stage point route and see where you can claw your way back to in the last stage. Some of that is situational. He and I have talked about some plans and strategies and whatever spot we are in. Hopefully, we get the right one. That is all you can hope for.”

TO BE ON THE SAME TRACK AS KIMI RAIKKONEN, A DRIVER OF HIS CALIBER WITH HIS HISTORY. YOU JOKED ABOUT SITTING IN THE SAME SEAT AS HIM IN HERE, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ON THE SAME TRACK WITH HIM? “Yeah, it is a special seat. I might take it with me. It is cool. When they announced that I was looking forward to it because I think it is really healthy for us as a sport to have all these different drivers from other motorsports that want to come in and try it. Kimi and all these different guys who want to try their hand at it. I look forward to racing with him. I was a big fan of his as a kid and enjoyed watching him race. His demeanor is very awesome and hilarious. I love watching his interviews and things like that. I think it is really cool and I think it grows our sport and is great what TrackHouse is doing with that program of their is. I think it is really smart and a great program. I think it is a healthy thing for our sport. I hope he has fun tomorrow.”

SO MIGHT YOU PUT “ICEMAN 2” ON YOUR DOOR? “I can’t steal his thing. No.”

THROUGHOUT THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATION PROCESS, WAS THERE EVERY THE THOUGHT TO EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS? “No. Not really. There was really never thought of talking to anybody else. At this stage, I have been there so long and they have been so great to me and a family to me. RP has done a lot for me. Not only RP but Walt Czarnecki, Tim Cindric and Mike Nelson have all done so much for me and have opened up a lot of doors. I really didn’t want to go anywhere. I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. I am really happy where I am at, surrounded by great men and women and I am really happy that they feel the same and want me around.”

SO MUCH TALK ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS BUT ASSUMING YOU DO GET THERE, WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE CEILING OF THIS TEAM IS RIGHT NOW? “I think our ceiling is pretty high. I look back on our year so far and it has been a really good year. Just the wins haven’t come. We have been really consistent, sitting second in points and it has been a good year just minus the wins which is unfortunate. You would rather have the wins and be inconsistent. You have seen a couple of guys be that way this year. It eases your mind when you are locked in. I feel like if we can get there in a couple of weeks we will have a great shot to make a long run in it because this team is really consistent and found really good speed. It is just a matter of being able to get into the playoffs and see what we’ve got. I have been proud of the year, to make it a great year would be to win a race or two already. Hopefully, we can get that done and not have to worry about if we are going to be in or not come next week.”

DOES IT CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOUR REGULAR SEASON IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? “Yeah, obviously you will be very disappointed if you don’t make it but I haven’t really thought about that honestly. You don’t want to think about not making it when you are focused on that goal. It would be unfortunate but hopefully, that doesn’t happen. We will cross that bridge if it does come.”

AT YOU LOOKING AT STAGE POINTS THIS WEEKEND MORE SO THAN IN THE PAST? “The road courses are a big opportunity to get stage points. I thought we played it really well at Indy of kind of maximizing that day of being able to get a lot of stage points and find ourselves up toward the front of the field towards the end of the race. You never know how it is going to play out here compared to Indy. You never know what people will do with strategy and pitting. You never know what other teams are thinking. This is a great place to do it. I look back at Road America and we were really bad, really far off. But we decided during that race that since we were far off and not going anywhere from where we qualified that we would stay out in stages and ended up winning a stage and clawed our way back to finish 11th by the end of the race. We made a decent day out of it. We didn’t have a car that could win, we didn’t think. At Indy, I think we had a car that could win the race and we played it really well. A lot of that, like I said, is how you get going and what speed is in your car and making those decisions on the fly. But yeah, stage points are obviously really important and we have done a good job at getting those throughout the year to keep us in a decent position but a lot of it is making a decision in the moment. You have a plan but sometimes that plan doesn’t really work out and you have to improvise.”

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING ABOUT DAYTONA SINCE THAT IS THE LAST TRACK YOU WON AT AND YOU CAME SO CLOSE TO WINNING THE 500 LAST YEAR? “I have thought about it a little bit. You go back and you watch the 500 and kind of see how that race plays out, watching film from previous races to figure out what you can do better. But I haven’t put a ton of thought in it yet. Just kind of minor stuff of just writing down some things that Josh and I talk about to do things better or watching out for this or that. Sunday night or Monday morning you shift 100 percent focus. Not too much right now.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT PENSKE THAT ALLOWS FOR SO MANY LONG TERM PARTNERSHIPS? “I think it is really neat. When you said that it takes me back to a wall in Penske of people who have worked there for 10 years and 20-plus years and there are hundreds of people on that list. I think the culture there and how they treat everybody over there. Whether you are a driver, truck driver, or mechanic working the fab shop, they are all the same. They treat everybody with the utmost respect. That initially starts with RP and works its way down to everybody who works for him who have had the privilege and honor of being associated with him. It becomes a culture over there that you just enjoy working there because they treat you so well and with a lot of respect like I said. It is wild. It is really cool to see the commitment of not only people who have worked there but sponsors and partners who have been there for over 20 years. It is amazing. It just shows the kind of precedent that RP puts on all his people who have worked for him of how to treat everybody else. It is the right way to do it, that is for sure. I don’t think it is a coincidence that you have so many people that have been there for 10, 15 and 20 years. That is no coincidence. Roger has made them definitely feel welcome and wants them to work there and they want to do the same.”

DO YOU THINK TOMORROW’S RACE WILL BE AS AGGRESSIVE AS EVER? “Yeah, I think so, to an extent. It is hard to tell but I don’t foresee it being like as aggressive as Indy coming down the end of those races. Even if we get a couple of late-race restarts. The front stretch isn’t the same. At Indy, the front stretch is so wide and you have such a long front straightaway to pile it off into Turn 1. Here it is tougher to get into Turn 1 than Indy. It is not flat. You are downhill and already trying not to wreck. I don’t think you will see that amount of aggression. I don’t know. It is hard to tell. Going into Indy I probably would have thought the same and I was wrong. But I think so, to some extent. I feel like if you have guys up towards the front at the end of the race who haven’t won yet and are on the way outside on points then maybe they will be really aggressive because they have to take every chance they can get. Me and Martin have to do the same. If you are up at the front toward the end of that race with a shot to win, you have to take your chance. You aren’t going to go bowling through three or four guys, at least I am not, but you have to be on the aggressive side and not be the one getting pushed over. Sometimes that is hard to defend. I just don’t know. It just depends on where the cautions fall towards the end. I think you will see the most aggressiveness at Daytona next week for sure.”

CHEVROLET RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Justin Marks and Kimi Räikkönen Press Conference Transcript

By

Official Release

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August 20, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 20, 2022

JUSTIN MARKS, FOUNDER AND OWNER, TRACKHOUSE RACING; AND KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN, NO. 91 RECOGNI CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of Trackhouse Racing’s debut of PROJECT91 this weekend at Watkins Glen International. Press Conference Transcript:

KIMI, COMING BACK TO NASCAR AFTER 11 YEARS, WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST FACTOR THAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A NASCAR CUP SERIES START?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “Justin (Marks) contacted me last year at some point and then we kind of left it alone for a while. Then we had another discussion and then met with us in Switzerland. I think everything worked out well. It made to sense. The timing was right.. the kids are still on holiday from school, so we could come as a family for the trip. I think all of the small things here and there worked out; and obviously, seeing that Trackhouse Racing has been good this year and winning races, we should have a chance to do OK. If we do or not, I don’t know, but at least we’ll try and give it our best.”

WHAT WERE YOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM GETTING TO DO THE DRIVER ORIENTATION TEST LAST WEEK?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “I’ve been to the track once when I was here last time. I think it was good to get some laps to have some idea of how the cars are. Obviously, the Cup cars are quite a bit different than it used to be at that time. It wasn’t the same car that I’m going to race here, but for sure it’s helpful to get some kind of an idea of how things work.”

WHY DO THIS? IS IT TO JUST SAY YOU’VE RACED A CUP CAR? IS IT JUST PURE FUN? ARE YOU LOOKING TO DO MORE AFTER THIS?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “There’s no plans for anything after this. Obviously, I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can. As I said, I think we’ve prepared as well as we could with how the rules are.. not just here in NASCAR, but where I come from. The testing is obviously a tricky part and if you haven’t done it, you don’t get many laps. But at least we did some and NASCAR gave us a little chance to try the car. We’ll see what comes out of it.

But there’s no plans for the future. I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can”

THE RESTARTS IN NASCAR TEND TO HAVE A LOT OF CONTACT.. I’M SURE THEY’VE TOLD YOU THERE WILL BE A LOT OF CONTACT. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT OR ARE YOU APPREHENSIVE ON JUST HOW MUCH CONTACT YOU SHOULD HAVE AND HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD ACCEPT?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “I think any form of motorsports has contact. Obviously when you have single-seater cars, you try to avoid it more because if you damage the wing, your race is compromised. In stock car racing, it’s a bit more forgiving because it doesn’t effect it much. We’ll try to stay out of any issues.. that’s the big key in any racing. There might be some or there might not, but it’s a part of racing.”

WHAT ARE YOU MOST INTRIGUED ABOUT WITH THIS WEEKEND?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “It’s a new experience. I don’t know how it’s going to go, but I think it’s just a nice challenge. Like we said already, we’ve had limited running of the car and we’ll have a very short practice here, so that will be tricky. It’ll be quite a challenge, but it’s also exciting. We’ll see where we stack up. There are very fast guys here that have been doing this for years, so it will be very hard. But we’ll see what we can do.”

AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHY DOES A WORLD CHAMPION DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.. WHERE EVEN WITH THE TESTING, YOU’VE HAD LIMITED TIME IN THE CAR AND YOU’LL HAVE LIMITED TIME ON THE TRACK, SO IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU AS GOOD OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO. WHY TAKE THAT RISK, IN ONE SENSE, FAILURE?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “I don’t see any risk.. why not? What do I have to lose? If I do bad in a NASCAR race or bad in any race, I don’t care.. I do it for myself. A good or bad end result, it could happen even if I did 20 races. They all could be bad for many different reasons.

I don’t see any negative. I think it’s great what Justin (Marks) and the team is doing giving a chance for all of us from Europe. It’s not as known.. obviously over the years, NASCAR is more known there, but I’m sure there are a lot of drivers that would like to have a chance to try it. It’s not very easy, so maybe it will open some doors in the future for more chances to try and get more Europeans into the sport.”

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE STAYING IN THE MOTORHOME LOT WITH YOUR FAMILY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE NASCAR CULTURE AND THE VIBE IN THAT SENSE COMPARED TO F1?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “It’s a lot different than when I was here the last time. I like it.. it’s very relaxed and completely different. I think the schedule is a lot different than it was last time. What happened to many sports after COVID was that they figured out that we really don’t need to spend as many days over the weekend at the track. Obviously, in hindsight, it would be better for me if we had more practice, but that’s how it is.

I really like it. It’s very relaxed.. a nice, family atmosphere. It’s a lot more of a family atmosphere here than in F1, so I like it. So far, it’s been great.”

JUSTIN, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE OVERALL PATH AND THE FUTURE OF PROJECT91 AND WHAT WE CAN SEE WITH THE PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD? ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR?

JUSTIN MARKS: “This is the only event for PROJECT91 this year. This is really our opportunity to sort of build this program; see how it impacts the operations of the company to field a part-time third car. I’ve been telling people; we haven’t hired one person for this project. There’s just been a lot of people at Trackhouse that have been doing time-and-a-half to get this to go. This is really just about what it looks like to field a part-time third car, as far as on the operations of the company, moving forward. This will be on the only event this year.

The road courses are kind of the ideal places to bring guys like Kimi in.. just because of the experience on the road courses. I think it’s a quicker learning curve and they can get up to speed a lot more quickly than to go to ovals.

So with that being said; ultimately PROJECT91 is a program that operates at all of the road courses during the season and then potentially some of the major events, like the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, or something like that. I think at some point, you get so many races that you have to look at just actually fielding a third full-time car. But I think for PROJECT 91, it’s a six to eight race program potentially next year and beyond. It’s a brand extension of Trackhouse. I think we can get really unique on the content side, on the merchandise side and just create great stories. That’s sort of where I’d like to see it go.”

WATKINS GLEN WAS THE SITE OF THE US GRAND PRIX FOR FORMULA 1 FROM 1961 TO 1980. IF YOU GO DOWN TO SENECA LODGE, YOU CAN STILL SEE THE VICTORY WREATHS FROM THAT F1 ERA. KIMI, SINCE YOU HAVE YOUR FAMILY WITH YOU, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT ANY OF THAT HISTORY THAT EXISTED HERE WITH FORMULA 1? JUSTIN, BECAUSE OF THAT HISTORY HERE, DID THAT ENTER INTO YOUR DECISION OF HAVING KIMI HERE TO MAKE HIS CUP DEBUT WITH PROJECT91?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “We came here yesterday. Obviously I know a little bit of the history of F1 being here and have seen some old videos from it. But from that, I haven’t really seen much yet. The kids are interested in doing other things.. they’re a bit too young for that. But I certainly know the history. It’s a great place and a nice area. It sort of feels like the middle of nowhere, but I enjoy that. It’s good to be here.”

JUSTIN MARKS: “As far as Watkins Glen, there were a couple of factors that went into this one. We needed time to be able to get this team ready and it needed to match up with Kimi’s schedule. I think, more than anything, it was convenient for him and his family to be able to make this trip and Watkins Glen fell in a good time for them. I didn’t want to debut PROJECT91 in the playoffs. That was not interesting to me.

And then as far as Watkins Glen; this is a track where obviously there’s a lot of history. The fan base is huge. It’s a great event for the sport, so there’s already typically a spotlight on it just because of the history and the quality of the races. It’s a track where I think if he starts to learn the race car in the race and we have a good race going, that you can make passes and you can create a good event. This event typically doesn’t get “mickey, mousey” like Indy did and some of these other events.

I think there were a lot of factors that went into it that just made this the ideal place.”

KIMI, WHEN YOU TESTED LAST WEEK AT VIR, DANIEL (SUAREZ) WAS THERE WITH YOU. WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE TO HAVE THAT SUPPORT SYSTEM BETWEEN DANIEL AND ROSS (CHASTAIN) TO LEARN AND ADAPT TO THE NEXT GEN CAR?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “Obviously, it’s useful. Any help is good with limited time in the car. They have a lot more experience. When we ran the simulator, they were both there, so it was good to see what they do and how it goes.

Yeah, it’s been nice. Daniel (Suarez) has spent his free time to help, so I really appreciate that. I’m happy that they’ve been very open to go to if I have questions and try to help.”

JUSTIN, WHAT ARE YOUR REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS OF THIS RACE? DO YOU THINK PROJECT91 WOULD HAVE EVER BEEN POSSIBLE WITH THE OLD CAR VERSUS NOW DOING IT DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE NEXT GEN CAR?

JUSTIN MARKS: “I definitely think it was possible. But I think what this car represents is a lower barrier of entry for drivers from other disciplines because this car is much more consistent with other road racing cars globally. So the transition to learn the car for someone like Kimi is just a lot more simple.

And for expectations; the speed is going to be there, the preparation is going to be there, the fitness is going to be there, all of that. I think where the heavy lift is just understanding procedurally how the race goes; making sure there’s no drama in the pits, on the restarts and things like that. I think anything is possible.. I really do believe anything is possible. We have to run a good strategy and get a little bit lucky. But what he has shown at the test, what he has shown in the simulator and some of the other things that we’ve done; I don’t have any issues with the pace, preparation or anything like that. I think it’s going to be right on par. So if we do a good job for him as a team, I think that we can have a very good day.”

KIMI, A LOT OF THE DRIVERS RECENTLY HAVE VOICED THEIR EXCITEMENT OF RACING AND MEETING YOU. ARE THERE ANY DRIVERS IN NASCAR THAT YOU FEEL THE SAME ABOUT, EITHER MEETING OR RACING?

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN: “I think, generally, it’s just nice to race whoever it’s going to be. It’s always exciting when you race against people that you haven’t raced against before. They’re very professional. The rules are slightly different than what I’m used to, but I’m happy to be here and meet the guys. I remember from the last time; they’re very relaxed, easy-going and it’s easy to talk to other drivers. It’s a bit different than what I’m used to from where I come from.”

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