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Ford Performance NASCAR: Ryan Blaney Ready For Indianapolis Road Course

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Indianapolis Advance | Saturday, July 30, 2022

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang, is still looking for his first victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. He stopped by the infield media center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this morning to talk about his hopes for tomorrow’s race.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang — YOUR FOUNDATION IS HOSTING A SECTION OF FANS IN HONOR OF ALZHEIMER’S AND BRAIN AWARENESS. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? “I’m really excited to be able to do that. We’ve worked with the Alzheimer’s Association in the past and they’ve been great to work with and that’s really what our charity was founded on years ago, so it’s great to have them out. It’s great that Indianapolis let us kind of set up a booth and fans could buy a package to come to the race. I get to meet a lot of them tomorrow, which I’m very excited about the fans who have supported our charity and supported our cause for a very long time really ever since it started, but it’s a neat event. My family has been a big part of it since the foundation got up and started. I’m excited to meet all those fans that bought that package and all going to support the Alzheimer’s Association. It’s gonna be a really fun day tomorrow.”

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF YOUR CONTRACT? AREN’T YOU UP PRETTY QUICK, TOO? “Really, at the end of the day I’m smiling about it, so stay tuned.”

IF ROGER GIVES YOU A CHOICE WOULD YOU RATHER RUN THE OVAL OR ROAD COURSE HERE IN A CUP CAR? “It’s special no matter what course we run, I think. I’ve enjoyed running on the oval. I enjoyed running on the road course last year. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing it maybe switch up every few years – a couple years. I don’t think running the road course makes this place any less special. I mean, you’re still racing at Indianapolis and you understand the history behind this place. I’m just really fortunate to be racing here and then to be racing for Roger here. That makes it even more special, so either one, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it switching up every two or three years and that might happen.”

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO DECREASE THE FORCE ON THE DRIVER IN CRASHES WITH THIS NEXT GEN CAR? “That’s been a topic of conversation and it’s definitely come up the past week with Kurt getting hurt and hopefully he’s on the right path to getting back. It’s something that was kind of brought up in our meetings between drivers and NASCAR in the offseason, understanding where they were when they designed this car for intrusion – safety upgrades for sure, but I think the car is so rigid and stiff in the front and back and even the sides that some of these hits are harder on the driver even though they might show that they’re better on paper. So, it’s something I’ve noticed. I think everyone will tell you that they’ve noticed that some of these hits that you really wouldn’t think twice about last year’s car, you definitely feel them a lot more in this car. I’m sure they’re working on it. That’s NASCAR’s area to try to improve and the teams all we can do is give them feedback and try to help that process along. I’m sure they’ve got a plan for the offseason and I think all the drivers really want to help out with giving our feedback and just trying to make it better all around.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES GOING TO BE AT MICHIGAN WITH THIS NEW CAR? “I think it’s gonna be a lot different than last year. It was almost like s speedway race last year, essentially, with the high downforce stuff. This year going back I feel like it’s gonna be more of a look of what we had a few years ago with the other car, kind of lower downforce. I’m not really sure what to expect. I’d love to tell you all what I expect going to these tracks for the first time with this new car, but I don’t know. Hopefully, the track we get up in the old PJ1 and keeps the track wide for this car. I think it’ll help, so it’s really hard to tell but I’m excited to get back there. It’s obviously a big weekend, just like this weekend for us with Ford being right in their backyard. I think it’ll be a good race, that’s for sure, with this car. We’ve seen it this year. This car puts on really good shows at mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks and I expect nothing less.”

GOING BACK TO RICHMOND FOR A SECOND TIME, WHAT DID YOU LEARN THE LAST TIME TO BE BETTER? “I thought we learned a lot at the spring Richmond. We sat on the pole and led some laps. That’s a big day for me at that place, just trying to continue to get better there. It figures, right when we start to figure out Richmond they take it out of the playoffs, which is pretty funny, but I think we learned a lot just kind of how that race developed. That place, I feel like I’ve got it half figured out now of kind of being good early in the race and good in qualifying and just need to figure out the second half of the race when that track kind of changes. You take all those notes and figure out, ‘OK, where did the track change?’ You can usually do a pretty good job of looking around this lap the track changed. Why did it change and what did we do? Maybe we missed making a change or wanted the wrong thing at that time, so all of that stuff you go back and look at. I’ll go back and look at it next week to kind of prepare for Richmond and hopefully do a little bit better job there.”

WHAT IS YOUR COMFORT LEVEL IN THE POINTS WITH MARTIN GETTING CLOSER TO YOU AND CHASE PULLING AWAY IN THE REGULAR SEASON POINTS RACE? “That one is probably definitely out the window. He’s put together a really good past month-and-a-half and we haven’t. He’s kind of pulled away significantly from the whole field and then our race with Martin, I mean he’s closed the gap up pretty good. He’s been running pretty well, so it’s two-fold. I mean, the easiest but hardest thing to do is win, and I could stop talking about it, but we’ve been trying all year. Hopefully, we can get it done and not have to worry about it, but you just have to be in the back of your head of realizing that you’re still points racing Martin – we are – for the final. You don’t want to be on the bubble if there’s no new winners, and obviously you want to try and win the race, so it’s a balancing act, especially the two road courses that we have. Do you pit? Do you take the stage points to try to keep a good gap to the 19, or if you think your car can win do you try to cycle to the lead? So, it’s kind of situational, I feel like. We talk about all these scenarios throughout the week and in our pre-race meetings, but at the end of the day the main focus is trying to win the race and just doing all you can to try and make that one happen.”

HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN DECIDING WHETHER TO GO OPPOSITE OF TRUEX OR FOLLOW HIM, OR IS THAT THE CREW CHIEF’S ROLE? “Jonathan and I talk a lot about that. You have all of these plans before the race, but a lot of it is kind of where you qualify. If you’re qualified towards the front and you think your car is really fast and you have a chance to win, you might stay on that strategy and try to stay up towards the front and just cycle back to the front all the time. We’ve done that strategy before at Sonoma, getting stage points, but you end up with a top five day because you stay out of the mess and you stay up front. So, at the end of the day it’s Jonathan’s call and what he thinks is best, but he trusts me enough to where I have input too. If I think, ‘Hey, I don’t know if we can win this race, let’s maybe try to get all the stage points we can.’ He trusts me and I trust him. A lot of those discussions are throughout the race of kind of what’s happening in the moment, but you do make all these plans throughout the week – he and I and our engineers — of what we’re thinking baseline and then you can modify plans off of that.”

SOME OF THE DRIVERS HAVE WORN MOUTHGUARD ACCELEROMETERS TO GIVE NASCAR FEEDBACK. HAVE YOU TRIED THAT OR DONE ANYTHING TO HELP THAT PROCESS? “I haven’t done the mouthguard. I know some guys have. I don’t know what they’ve said about it, but I think that’s just getting data. You’re getting data. The data on the car they have, but they’re trying to get data on what the driver hits are. I know Indy Car they use accelerometers in their earpieces, in their ear molds, and I’ve heard good and bad things about that talking to our Indy Car guys. It can be weird in your ear and if you hit your headrest a certain way one is gonna be a lot higher than the other, but the mouthguard thing, I don’t want to wear a mouthguard while I’m racing. That’s just plain and simple. I know it’s smaller, it’s a retainer, but I really don’t want to have that in my mouth while I’m out there racing. Hopefully, we can figure something out. I think the in-ear piece, they’re already in there. You could put something in your ear molds to at least get you some sort of an idea of what drivers are going through.”

DID YOU IMAGINE THERE WOULD BE A YEAR OF POSSIBLY 17 WINNERS IN A SINGLE YEAR? “Yeah. Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet. You look at all the great teams and drivers who could win in this series and I’m surprised it has not happened yet, and it could happen this year. It’s just one of those things. That’s why you’ve seen people be so aggressive at the end of these races for wins. You have to do it, especially when you have so many winners. You cannot pass up your opportunity. I mean, I don’t like roughing people up or moving people out of the way, you have to get physical with it. You can’t afford to not be physical and give up a shot to win a race. It’s just one of those things where people are so aggressive nowadays, well, you have to be. It’s one of those situations to where if you don’t, you might not ever get that chance again and you might miss out on the playoffs. I’m shocked there hasn’t been 16 winners yet, but I’m sure it will happen. If not this year, at some point.”

DO YOU VIEW MICHIGAN AND DAYTONA AS YOUR BEST SHOTS FOR A WIN? “Not really. I look at any week and I feel like this group can go out and win any week. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together. I know we won at those two places last year, but completely different scenarios, different car at both of the tracks. At Daytona, these things draft way different. At Michigan, they’re gonna drive way different than what they did last year, so I don’t view those as two of the best weekends. I feel like this is a great weekend for us and the four other races after that. I don’t really look at favorite tracks I think we have a better shot to win at. I try to keep the mindset of we can go out and win any week.”

THROUGH 21 RACES WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL EVALUATION OF IT? “I feel like there are some things we can definitely improve on it. I mean, you know that’s gonna be a thing when you have anything new. There’s always things you can do better with it and kind of learning pains of this car, whether it’s team side to NASCAR side on what they can do better to make the racing even better, which I think it’s put on pretty good racing this year, but there are some situations to where I wish this car was a little bit better. I’ll give it a solid B-plus. I feel like they can get to an A, for sure. Just the racing side of it, I don’t care how these cars drive by themselves. I mean, any driver will tell you that they drive how they’re gonna drive and we’ll get around that, but it’s all about how they race in traffic. I think there are things that we’ve been talking about with NASCAR and they’ve been testing some stuff out, whether it’s taking the diffuser off of it at a short track and things like that, so hopefully we can get something figured out to keep improving it and I’m sure we’re gonna do it. We did it from the offseason. To be honest with you, when we were testing in the offseason I was pretty nervous about this year of being able to put on any good races because I thought they struggled in the offseason in all those tests in traffic and things like that, and we’ve made big improvements since then, so I think after you get a whole year under your belt you can really go in and dive in and figure out how to make it even better.”

ERIK JONES TO REMAIN IN THE NO. 43 CHEVY WITH PETTY GMS

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Official Release
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STATESVILLE, N.C. (July 30, 2022) – Petty GMS today announced the team and Erik Jones have agreed to a multi-year agreement for Jones to remain in the No. 43 Chevy Camaro starting with the 2023 season.

“I’m really excited to have this deal done and finally be able to talk about it,” said Jones. “I really like the group I have at Petty GMS and working with Dave (Elenz). Each week I feel like we get better and better and put ourselves in contention to win. Knowing where I’ll be driving allows us to really focus on building the team and making our cars better. I’m looking forward to finishing this season strong, hopefully with a win, and continuing to build on what we started this year with Petty GMS.”

Jones joined Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) in 2021 and continued in the No. 43 Chevy when GMS Racing and RPM merged at the start of the 2022 season.

“Erik (Jones) has been a great addition to Petty GMS this year and we’re thrilled to have him signed for the coming years,” said Petty GMS Owner Maury Gallagher. “We’re excited to continue building our Cup program with Erik, Dave (Elenz) and the No. 43 team. They’ve shown great growth and potential this season and we know it will only continue.”

Jones is currently in his seventh season in the Cup Series. With 204 starts in the series, Jones has two wins, 35 top-five finishes and 75 top-10 finishes. During the 2022 season, his first season with Petty GMS and crew chief Dave Elenz, Jones has 21 starts with two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes with 72 laps led.

“We’ve had a great relationship with Erik (Jones) since he joined RPM and now Petty GMS,” said Petty GMS Chairman Richard Petty. “Erik’s done an outstanding job representing the No. 43 and all of the fans who love to see that car on track. It’s nice to have Erik locked in for the years to come and continue building on the legacy of the No. 43 as he continues his Cup career.

Jones and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, July 31, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will carry live television coverage and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the live radio broadcast.

About Petty GMS

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

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Petty GMS Event Preview: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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Ty Dillon, No. 42 Ferris Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Dillon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: With the NASCAR Cup Series making its inaugural visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course last season while not competing full time in the series, Ty Dillon will embark on his first start at the 2.436-mile, 14-turn course.

Despite not competing at the track one year ago, Dillon has participated in four Cup Series races on the prestigious oval track, earning four top-21 finishes. The North Carolina native has also raced in six NASCAR Xfinity Series events, posting one win (2014), two top-five, and four top-10 results.

  • Mow Tyme: Ferris will serve as primary partner on Dillon’s Chevrolet Camaro for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ferris, a brand of Briggs & Stratton, is a leading commercial and industrial turf care equipment provider. The red and black colors will adorn the No. 42 for the second time during the 2022 season, previously partnering with Dillon for the All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway in May.

As an industry leader, Ferris has built a reputation for accomplishing more work with ease, through innovation, uncompromising performance, and quality features. Ferris makes extremely durable equipment with patented full suspension systems and ergonomic controls and backs them up through world-class dealers.

  • Double Duty: In order to gain additional reps on a new circuit, Dillon will pull double duty with participating in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. The 30-year-old will pilot the No. 6 Black Hole Ammo Camaro for JD Motorsports, marking his second start with the South Carolina-based team. - About Briggs & Stratton: Briggs & Stratton, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is focused on providing power to get work done and make people’s lives better. Briggs & Stratton is the world’s largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of commercial lithium-ion batteries, power generation, pressure washer, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products through its Briggs & Stratton®, Simplicity®, Snapper®, Ferris®, Vanguard®, Allmand®, Billy Goat®, Murray®, Branco® and Victa® brands. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed, and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents. For additional information, please visit www.basco.com and www.briggsandstratton.com.
  • From the Drivers Seat: You haven’t competed at the Indianapolis Road Course yet. What are your expectations heading into the weekend?

“Yeah, I wasn’t able to race at Indianapolis last season, so I have no real experience on the road course yet. I’ve put in a lot of hours on the simulator this week to try and prep as much as possible. I also hope racing in the Xfinity Series race will help our effort on Sunday. I really enjoy road course racing, so hopefully it’s a solid weekend for our No. 42 team. Ferris is back on board with our group and it’s always an honor to represent their brand.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Jones at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit: The NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend to race on the 2.439-mile road course. In the series first appearance on the road course last season, Erik Jones and the No. 43 team started the race from the 28th position and with a strong run, earned a solid seventh-place finish.

With three road course races complete this season, Jones’ best finish came earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas where the team earned a ninth-place finish.

Following 21 races this season, Jones and the No. 43 team have notched two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes with 72 laps led.

  • Media Availability: Jones will take part in the NASCAR Cup Series media bullpen on Saturday morning, July 30, 2022, at 9 a.m. ET.
  • Focused on Winning: FOCUSfactor will serve as the primary partner on Jones’s Chevrolet Camaro for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
  • About FOCUSfactor: FOCUSfactor is sold at America’s leading retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, The Vitamin Shoppe and Amazon.com. FOCUSfactor, America’s leading brain health supplement, is a nutritional supplement that includes a proprietary blend of brain supporting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients. In December 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued US Patent 8,329,227 covering FOCUSfactor’s proprietary formulation “for enhanced mental function”. The issuance of the patent marked one of the few times a patent has been issued for a nationally branded nutritional supplement. FOCUSfactor is clinically tested with results demonstrating improvements in focus, concentration and memory in healthy adults.
  • From the Driver’s Seat: What are your thoughts heading into Indianapolis?

“The Indy Road Course should be good. It’s always fun for me to go up to Indy. It’s not far from where I grew up and it feels closer to home than anything else we get to do other than Michigan, so it’s cool to go up there. Usually we have some friends and family that come down for that race, but it’s just cool to get to race at Indy. Obviously, the road course has been a new challenge for us going there instead of the oval. Last year we ended up running really well there and finished seventh. Hoping to have a similar run again, but the road courses for us have been kind of up and down this year. I think we’ve worked on a lot of stuff between Road America and now to try to get ourselves better and more prepared. I’m excited to get to Indy, be close to home and have a chance to go and run well.”

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

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

DGR NCWTS Recap: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

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Friday, July 29
Track: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, .686-mile oval
Race: 17 of 23
Event: TSport 200 (200 laps, 137 miles)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150
Start: 17th
Stage 1: 26th
Stage 2: 26th
Finish: 13th

Hailie Deegan qualified 17th for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The 21-year-old fought an uphill battle early, wrestling with an ill-handling Ford F-150 from the drop of the green. Tightness in the center and a lack of rear grip hindered her to back-to-back 26th place finishes in Stage 1 and 2. However, a plethora of yellows in the race’s closing stages opened the door for Deegan to climb back up the order. Escaping the carnage of volatile late-race restarts proved beneficial, as the Temecula, CA native guided the Wastequip Ford F-150 to a 13th-place finish, her third top-15 of 2022.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Lincoln Welders Ford F-150
Start: 14th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 23rd

Tanner Gray started 14th in the TSport 200 and struggled early with the handling on his F-150 battling loose into the corner and tight on exit. He finished 18th in Stage 1 and made wholesale adjustments at the break. After firing off 14th in Stage 2, a late yellow with 13 to go provided an opportunity to pit for further adjustments. The No. 15 would stack up 12th in the Stage 2 rundown. Gray battled inside the top-10 early in the final stage peaking as high as eighth before the handling began to go away. Caution flag waved with 10 laps remaining and he pitted from 16th for four fresh tires. Chaos on the final lap dealt the Lincoln Welders F-150 light damage and a 23rd-place finish.

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150
Start: 13th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 22nd

Taylor Gray qualified 13th for his first NCWTS appearance at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The younger Gray made it to 11th before fading back to 17th by the end of Stage 1. A caution at the end of the second stage gave the No. 17 team a chance to make adjustments and they settled for an 18th-place finish in Stage 2 to better line up for the start of the final stage. The 17-year-old driver fired off 14th and battled around there before electing to pit under yellow on lap 156 for fresh tires while the majority of the field stayed out. While marching through the field, the caution waved again with 10 laps remaining and Gray stayed out to restart on the front row for the green-white-checkered restart. The Ford driver sailed off into turn one as the leader, but second place running John Hunter Nemechek had other ideas and sent Gray spinning off his nose in turn three, ripping away a potential first career NCWTS victory.

Next event: Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia on August 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

GMS Racing NCWTS Race Recap: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

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

START: 5TH
FINISH: 1ST
POINTS: 1ST

Quote: How does this help the team continue to move forward?

“Well, we’re finally moving forward at all! This is my first win since [Martinsville]. [We had a] terrible [regular season], not because of these guys behind me, you know we’ve just been a little off as an organization. I can’t say thank you enough to Mike Beam, Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, everybody at GMS Fabrication, and everybody on this No. 23 team. We’ve been working so hard because, we’ve been sucking. It hurts to say it, but we have had a terrible season to this point, but we had a great No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet all day. It felt like every time we got to the lead, the caution came out. It put Hensley in a bad spot, but I knew from experience to just trust his gut. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut every time I kept trying to edge him on, but I had one of my Pop Pop’s Bible verses in there, so it’s a pretty special night and I’m definitely very, very thankful.

I did hear that a few times, you said ‘Just go with your gut’. Where does that trust come from between the two of you, you and Jeff Hensley?

For four years, we’ve rode the roller coaster together. We’ve been in the lows, we missed the playoffs in our first year together, but we haven’t missed it since. We’ve had some success together, he’s a racer and I’m a racer, and neither of us are very smart, but we put it together tonight.”

Jack Wood, No. 24 Chevrolet Military Appreciation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 20TH
FINISH: 25TH
POINTS: 25TH

Quote: “We fought a handling issue throughout the majority of the race tonight at IRP. Our No. 24 Chevy was really tight, and my guys made a bunch of adjustments to fix it, but unfortunately we just could never get it to turn as well as we hoped. While I’m disappointed in the finishing result, I’m glad that we were able to see the checkered flag after the brutal past few weeks we’ve had. I’m really happy for Grant and the No. 23 team, this is a big win for the entire GMS Racing organization as a whole and I’m happy to see them pull it off. Onto Richmond.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.

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

Taylor Gray ARCA Race Recap: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

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Official Release
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Friday, July 29
Track: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, .686-mile oval
Race: 11 of 20
Event: Reese’s 200 (200 laps, 137 miles)

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance Mustang

Start: 4th
Finish: 3rd

Taylor Gray qualified in the fourth position for the Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. The 17-year-old quickly jumped up the order, climbing to second place in the outside lane after the drop of the green. However, a lack of lateral grip and a tight condition hindered the Ford Mustang in the race’s early stages. Falling back to third by the first mandatory stage break, Crew Chief Chad Johnston called for track bar and spring rubber adjustments in the hopes of freeing up the No. 17. Nonetheless, the problems would persist throughout the duration of the race. The Artesia, NM native persevered, holding steady in third place and crossing the line with a podium finish.

Next event: General Tire Delivers 100 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on August 19 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

GMS Racing ARCA IRP Recap

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Daniel Dye, No. 43 KIX Country, Solar-Fit Chevrolet

START: 6TH

FINISH: 4TH

Quote: “It was great going back to a short track tonight. IRP is one of those famous places I’ve heard a lot about, so I’m glad we were able to get a top-5 finish and rebound the way we did. Cool to have KIX, Solar-Fit, and Daytona Beach International Airport on the car tonight.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

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

Toyota Racing – NCWTS IRP Post-Race Report – 07.29.22

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Official Release
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EIGHT TUNDRAS IN THE TOP-10 IN INDY
Majeski looks destined for first career win before late caution

INDIANAPOLIS (July 29, 2022) – Ben Rhodes (second) led eight Toyota Tundras in the top-10 at the return to Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday evening. Ty Majeski led a career-best 71 of the 200 laps, but a late caution ended the chances of his first career Truck Series win. Majeski came home in eighth.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Indianapolis Raceway Park
Race 17 of 23 – 200 Laps, 137 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Grant Enfinger*
2nd, BEN RHODES
3rd, Zane Smith*
4th, STEWART FRIESEN
5th, COREY HEIM
6th, TYLER ANKRUM
7th, LAYNE RIGGS
8th, TY MAJESKI
9th, MATT CRAFTON
10th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
12th, JOHNNY SAUTER
16th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
17th, TIMMY HILL
18th, CHANDLER SMITH
24th, CHRIS HACKER
27th, CHASE PURDY
33rd, JOSH REAUME
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Dan-O’s Seasoning Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

How did you get back up to second?
“I don’t really know. We drove through the whole field tonight multiple times. I really hate that we had that penalty. I still don’t know what happened. I felt like I was holding my speed correctly. There are some really big bumps at the start finish line, which is the section that we got the penalty in – so I ‘m thinking maybe the bumps got me going faster that I thought I did or that the light showed, but we came up through the field multiple times and circumstances kind of worked out in Grant’s (Enfinger) favor those last two restarts. He certainly had a truck to win, but I think our Dan-O’s Toyota Tundra was a lot faster than his truck. It’s a shame because I wanted to win the TSPORT 200 for my race team. This is their big event, and I just couldn’t get it done. I just need a few more laps and I know we could have got this Toyota Tundra into victory lane.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Ran up front all night and started the Playoffs with a good finish. How was your race?

“We made some big gains. We weren’t very good in practice. We put our heads together the 52 and 62 (Layne Riggs) teams and took some swings at it for time trials and were really good. I felt like we were almost good enough to win. We didn’t have a very good long run, but proud of our Halmar team. Proud of everybody at TRD. It’s great to start the Playoffs with a top-five. With that green-white-checkered deal and we pitted, I was like oh, man, this stinks, but we got back to where we were running pretty much, maybe plus one. It worked out for us. Proud of all of our guys. This is the best short track truck that we’ve ever had. I’m proud of these guys.”

LAYNE RIGGS, No. 62 Puryear Tank Lines Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Top-10 finish in your Truck Series debut. Congrats! How was your first Truck race?

“I’m just so thankful for Puryear Tank Lines, Infinity Communications, Halmar Racing. They gave me this opportunity to run this one-off race and I couldn’t be prouder. Today in qualifying, I hung it out trying to be a dirt racer. It bit me and I was down in the dumps about it. I was upset. I felt like I was out of the race. I got there on the start and then got messed up on pit road and lost a lap. I thought we were really over but did everything perfect after that. I made all of the track position that I could. I did all I could on pit road and made smart moves and got all of the way back up to seventh. It feels like a win to me in my first ever race. If you would have told me three hours ago, I would have finished seventh, I would have given you a hug.”

TY MAJESKI, No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

Stellar race, but not the result that you wanted. Can you talk about the finish from your perspective?

“Fired off struggling. Joe (Shear, Jr., crew chief) made a great change on that first stop. We gave up some track position on the pit stop to do it, and the thing just came alive. Really good truck, really good pit stop, that second stop. Won that stage. I was really just riding. I had a really, really good truck. I must have run something over. We had a right rear going down on that long run when Grant (Enfinger) got by me. Overall, really good Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Had a chance to win, leading with 10 to go. That’s really all you can ask for. Obviously the yellow, well it probably saved us because we had a flat tire, but it mixes up the strategy and it just didn’t go our way.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Yahoo Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 10th

What were those conversations you were having with the 17 (Taylor Gray) team?

“Those were private, but it is what it is. I had a really fast Yahoo Toyota Tundra TRD Pro tonight. Sometimes you are the bug and sometimes you are the windshield. We were the bug tonight. I made a mistake early on and spun myself. Then, we had a restart there at the end on older tires -everyone had fresher tires – I tried driving down the bottom of (turn) three underneath the 17 (Taylor Gray) and it just kept sliding. I accidently got into his left rear – tried to stay off of him. That team has their opinion, I have my opinion. I’m sure we will talk at some point. The final restart I had a really good jump. I thought we were going to have a shot there and then we got run in the fence by the 38 (Zane Smith). That’s a couple of times that he has ran me in the fence. I’m taking notes. Solid points day for us. I don’t know where that puts us above the cut line, but we’ve got some really good tracks coming up for us. Proud of everyone at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports). Thank you to Yahoo, Toyota, TRD, everyone that gives me this opportunity. Let’s go win a championship.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Grant Enfinger wins 2022 Truck Series Playoff opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

By
Andrew Kim
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JULY 29: Grant Enfinger, driver of the #23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series TSport 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 29, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images).

A gusty call to pit for four fresh tires under caution with less than 10 laps remaining before bolting his way to the front through two late-race restarts netted Grant Enfinger a big victory in the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 29.

The 37-year-old Enfinger from Fairhope, Alabama, led four times for 13 of 207 over-scheduled laps and utilized four fresh tires to overtake Zane Smith during an overtime attempt to capture his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season and to become the first Playoff contender to transfer from the Round of 10 to 8.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Friday, Playoff contender John Hunter Nemechek started on pole position for the fifth time in 2022 after posting a pole-winning lap at 111.188 mph in 22.211 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Nemechek’s teammate and Playoff contender Chandler Smith, who won last weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway and won Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event earlier at IRP before he clocked in his best lap at 110.998 mph in 22.249 seconds.

Prior to the event, Chris Hacker and Josh Reaume dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Nemechek launched his No. 4 Yahoo! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the lead while Chandler Smith and Christian Eckes battled for the runner-up spot before the former retained the spot in front of the field.

As the field returned to the start/finish line to complete the first lap, Nemechek retained the top spot ahead of teammate Chandler Smith and Eckes while Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim battled for spots within the top six.

By the fifth lap, Enfinger moved his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST up to third followed by Hocevar while Eckes fell back to fifth in front of Stewart Friesen and Heim. Meanwhile, Nemechek remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

Nearing the Lap 10 mark, the first caution of the event flew when Josh Reaume and Spencer Boyd wrecked in Turn 1, resulting in Reaume’s truck sustaining significant rear-end damage and Body’s truck bursting into flames. By then, Nemechek, who nearly lost the lead to teammate Chandler Smith, was back out in front followed by Enfinger, Hocevar and Friesen while Heim, Eckes, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and Derek Kraus were in the top 10. In addition, Zane Smith, the 2022 Truck Series regular-season champion, was mired in 17th behind Austin Wayne Self while Matt Crafton was back in 22nd behind Chase Purdy.

Following an extensive caution period, the event restarted under green on Lap 20. At the start, Nemechek retained the top spot while Carson Hocevar made a bold move on the inside lane in an attempt to take the lead before he settled in third behind Chandler Smith. Behind, Enfinger and Stewart Friesen battled for fourth in front of Corey Heim and the field that fanned out to multiple lanes. 

Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Nemechek was leading by two-tenths of a second over teammate Chandler Smith followed by Hocevar, Friesen and Enfinger while Heim, Ben Rhodes, Eckes, Kraus and Majeski were in the top 10. 

Four laps later, the caution returned when Reaume, who was involved in the first caution with Spencer Boyd, spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, Matt Crafton pitted for adjustments to his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro along with Jesse Little and Blake Lothian while the rest of the field led by Nemechek remained on the track.

When the event proceeded under green on Lap 37, Nemechek retained the lead while Chandler Smith fended off Hocevar and Friesen to remain in second. As the field fanned out, Enfinger was in fifth followed by Heim, Rhodes, Majeski and Eckes while Zane Smith cracked the top 10.

At the Lap 50 mark, Nemechek continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Chandler Smith as the top-10 spots were occupied by Playoff contenders. The only Playoff competitor who was not in the top 10 was Crafton, who was mired in 24th.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Nemechek captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammate Chandler Smith trailed in the runner-up spot while Hocevar, Friesen, Enfinger, Rhodes, Heim, Majeski, Zane Smith and Eckes were scored in the top 10. Crafton, meanwhile, was still mired in 24th.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Nemechek pitted and teammate Chandler Smith emerged with the lead followed by Hocevar, Nemechek, Rhodes, Heim and Enfinger. Following the pit stops, Rhodes and Kris Wright were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 70 as Chandler Smith and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar rocketed his No. 42 Premier Security Chevrolet Silverado RST to the lead on the inside lane in front of Chandler Smith as the field fanned out to multiple lanes around the circuit.

Three laps later, the caution returned when Blake Lothian came to a stop in Turn 1 as his night came to an end.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 80, Hocevar managed to retain the lead while on the inside lane as Enfinger challenged Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot in front of Nemechek. Behind, Tyler Ankrum was in fifth ahead of Heim, Kraus, Friesen, Eckes and Zane Smith.

By Lap 90, a heated side-by-side battle for the lead was occurring between Hocevar and Enfinger. While Enfinger gained a run and was strong through the turns, Hocevar managed to fend off Enfinger and retain the lead entering the straightaways. Meanwhile, third-place Nemechek trailed by less than a second while Chandler Smith and Ankrum were in the top five.

At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Hocevar was leading by a narrow margin over Enfinger while Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Ankrum, Friesen, Heim, Zane Smith, Majeski and Kraus were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Christian Eckes was in 11th, Rhodes was in 14th and Crafton was back in 17th behind Taylor Gray.

Five laps later, Enfinger persevered through his tight, endless battle against Hocevar by taking the lead through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. Another two laps later, the caution returned when Nemechek, who was closing in on Hocevar and teammate Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot, spun in Turn 2 after making contact with the lapped truck of Kris Wright. Despite spinning and coming to a stop in the middle of the track and in a cloud of smoke in Turn 2, Nemechek was dodged by the oncoming competitors led by Ankrum as he managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage.

During the caution period, most of the field led by Enfinger pitted while names that included Chandler Smith, Rhodes, Kaz Grala, Lawless Alan and Timmy Hill remained on the track as Smith reassumed the lead.

With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chandler Smith retained the lead on the inside lane ahead of Rhodes as the field fanned out entering the backstretch. Two laps later, however, Ty Majeski muscled his No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the lead on fresh tires followed by Enfinger, who quickly dispatched Chandler Smith on fresh tires. Another two laps later, Zane Smith and Chandler Smith made contact as Zane rubbed against Chandler’s No. 18 Toyota in Turn 1 with both making contact with the outside wall. Despite the contact, the race proceeded under green as Majeski remained as the leader. 

When the second stage concluded on Lap 120 under caution after Dean Thompson spun in Turn 2, Majeski held off Enfinger to claim his second stage victory of the season. Enfinger settled in second followed by Rhodes, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Ankrum and Colby Howard.

Under the stage break, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Lawless Alan, Kaz Grala, Austin Wayne Self, Johnny Sauter, Hailie Deegan, Timmy Hill and Jake Garcia pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track.

With 72 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Majeski fended off Enfinger to remain as the leader while Hocevar was in third ahead of Friesen, Ankrum, Nemechek and Heim while the field fanned out.

Following a debris caution reported in Turn 4 10 laps later, the race proceeded under green with 55 laps remaining. At the start, Majeski retained the lead by a narrow margin over Enfinger while Nemechek, Friesen and Ben Rhodes duked for fifth in front of Hocevar, Heim and Tyler Ankrum. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Lawless Alan, who was locked in a tight four-wide battle through the backstretch, got turned by Chase Purdy as he spun and made hard contact against the inside wall. In the midst of the carnage, Zane Smith sustained minimal damage to his No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 after hitting Alan.

During the caution period, names like Zane Smith, Taylor Gray, Austin Wayne Self and Dean Thompson pitted while the rest led by Ty Majeski remained on the track.

With 42 laps remaining, the event restarted under green. At the start, Majeski and Enfinger dueled for the lead through Turn 1 as Nemechek also attempted to squeeze his way to the top spot. Despite the tight racing for the lead entering the backstretch, Majeski managed to clear Enfinger to remain as the leader while Nemechek settled back in third. Behind, Friesen was in fourth while Rhodes was in fifth in front of Hocevar.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Majeski was leading by more than one-and-a-half seconds over Enfinger followed by Nemechek, Friesen and Rhodes while Hocevar, Heim, Colby Howard, Ankrum and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10. By then, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Eckes were in 14th, 15th, 17th and 21st, respectively.

Ten laps later, Majeski, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Enfinger while Nemechek, Rhodes and Friesen remained in the top five.

Then with 12 laps remaining, Majeski, who was getting stalled by the lapped truck of Hailie Deegan and Blaine Perkins, was caught by Enfinger as Enfinger dueled and overtook Majeski for the lead a lap after as Nemechek started to close in while running in third place. 

With 10 laps remaining, however, the caution flew when Colby Howard, who was having a strong run in eighth place, made contact with Hocevar entering Turn 4, which Hocevar repaid the favor by veering dead left and sending Howard’s No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST backward into the outside wall. The incident prompted Howard to express his displeasure towards Hocevar after he exited his damaged truck.

During the caution period, the majority of the field led by Enfinger and Majeski pitted while names like Nemechek, Taylor Gray, Ankrum, Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, newcomer Layne Riggs, Johnny Sauter, Austin Wayne Self, Jesse Little and Chris Hacker remained on the track as Nemechek inherited the lead.

Down to a two-lap shootout to the finish, the race restarted under green. At the start, Taylor Gray managed to pull ahead of Nemechek and the field to take the lead entering the backstretch. Then entering Turn 4, Gray was hit by Nemechek as he spun his No. 17 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 across the outside wall, which prompted NASCAR to display the caution and send the event into overtime. At the moment of caution, Nemechek managed to retain the top spot followed by Zane Smith while Ankrum was in third ahead of Enfinger, Layne Riggs and DiBenedetto. 

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Nemechek launched ahead on the outside lane entering the first two turns before he got forced into the outside wall by Zane Smith. With Nemechek falling below the leaderboard following his late scrape, Zane Smith assumed the top spot followed by a hard-charging Enfinger, who was on four fresh tires, as the field fanned out and jostled for late positions. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Enfinger was ahead by a nose over Zane Smith as Rhodes carved his way into third. Enfinger then managed to clear Zane Smith and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch to assume full authority. With no late challenges instigating behind and having four fresh tires to his advantage, Enfinger cycled his way back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by four-tenths of a second over Rhodes.

With the victory, Enfinger, who competed between ThorSport Racing and CR7 Motorsports a year ago before reuniting with GMS Racing as a full-time competitor this season, claimed his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win since winning at Martinsville Speedway in October and his seventh career win in the series. He also became the 13th overall competitor to win a Truck event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as he recorded the first victory of the season for GMS Racing and the third for the Chevrolet nameplate. 

By winning the first event of the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Enfinger, who managed to secure a Playoff spot based on points a week ago at Pocono Raceway, also earned an automatic transfer spot to the Round of 8 as he continues his pursuit to win his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

“We’re finally moving forward at all,” Enfinger said on FS1. “This is the first laps we’ve led since Atlanta or something. Terrible off-season. Not because of these [pit] guys behind me, but we’ve just been off a little bit as an organization. [I] Can’t say thank you enough to [GMS Racing president] Mike Beam, [owner] Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, everybody at GMS Fabrication and everybody on this No. 23 team. We’ve been working so hard because we’ve been sucking. It hurts to say it, but we’ve had a terrible season to this point. We had a great No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet all day. [I] Felt like every time I got the lead, the caution come out. It put [crew chief Jeff] Hensley in a bad spot. I knew from experience, just trust his gut. It’s a pretty special night. Definitely very, very thankful.”

During his victory celebration, Enfinger credited the late gusty pit call made by his veteran crew chief Jeff Hensley, who reunited with Enfinger at GMS Racing in late June. Both Enfinger and Hensley worked together at ThorSport Racing from 2017 to 2020.

“Four years and we’ve ridden the roller coaster together,” Enfinger added. “We’ve been in the lows. We missed the Playoffs our first year together and we haven’t missed it since then. We’ve had some success together. He’s a racer. I’m a racer. Neither one of us are very smart, but we put it together tonight.”

Rhodes came home in second place in front of Zane Smith while Friesen and Heim finished in the top five. Ankrum finished in sixth in front of newcomer Layne Riggs while Majeski, who was initially in a position to win his first NASCAR race, settled in eighth. Crafton rallied to finish ninth while Nemechek, who led a race-high 75 laps and ended up in the wall while leading, fell back to 10th place.

Notably, Playoff contenders Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith and Carson Hocevar finished 16th, 18th and 21st, respectively.

The Truck Series’ return to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park since 2011 featured 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race also featured 10 cautions for 78 laps.

Results.

1. Grant Enfinger, 13 laps led

2. Ben Rhodes

3. Zane Smith

4. Stewart Friesen

5. Corey Heim

6. Tyler Ankrum

7. Layne Riggs

8. Ty Majeski, 71 laps led, Stage 2 winner

9. Matt Crafton 

10. John Hunter Nemechek, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner

11. Matt DiBenedetto

12. Johnny Sauter

13. Hailie Deegan

14. Derek Kraus

15. Jesse Little

16. Christian Eckes

17. Timmy Hill

18. Chandler Smith, 13 laps led

19. Austin Wayne Self

20. Kaz Grala

21. Carson Hocevar, 34 laps led

22. Taylor Gray, one lap led

23. Tanner Gray

24. Chris Hacker

25. Jack Wood

26. Blaine Perkins

27. Chase Purdy, one lap down

28. Jake Garcia, one lap down

29. Dean Thompson, three laps down

30. Chad Chastain, three laps down

31. Kris Wright, three laps down

32. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

33. Josh Reaume – OUT, Too slow

34. Lawless Alan –  OUT, Accident

35. Blake Lothian – OUT, Driveshaft

36. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

Playoff standings

1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

2. Zane Smith +50

3. Ben Rhodes +36

4. Stewart Friesen +28

5. John Hunter Nemechek +24

6. Chandler Smith +24

7. Ty Majeski +19

8. Carson Hocevar +7

9. Matt Crafton -7

10. Christian Eckes -7

With the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs underway, the second Round of 10 events is scheduled to occur at Richmond Raceway on August 13. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES AT INDIANAPOLIS: TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

FELIX ROSENQVIST PUTS CHEVROLET ON POLE FOR INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE RACE

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (July 29, 2022) – It was a good day for Chevrolet powered drivers in NTT INDYCAR Series Firestone Fast Six qualifying for the Gallagher Grand Prix. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, won the NTT P1 pole award for Saturday afternoon’s race on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It is the second pole of the season for Rosenqvist and third of his NTT INDYCAR career.

Four of the six drivers in the final round of qualifying were Team Chevy drivers. Rosenqvist’s teammate and winner of race number two at Iowa Speedway, Pato O’Ward, captured the third starting position in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

Will Power, No.12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, will roll-off in fourth with teammate Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.

The remainder of the Firestone Fast Six were Alexander Rossi and Christian Lundgaard.

The 85-lap Gallagher Insurance Grand Prix is set to start 12:30 p.m. with broadcast on NBC beginning at noon, and INDYCAR Radio.

CONNOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH:

“Being fastest in the first round against (Will) Power and (Josef) Newgarden is something we can really be happy about. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, we are in a decent spot. When you start in the Top 10, you can move your way forward and hopefully end up with a podium.”

YOU HAD A GREAT RUN IN MAY, QUALIFIED WELL IN THE DRY AND RACED WELL IN THE WET. YOUR BEST QUALIFYING OF THE SEASON, WHAT CAN YOU DO TOMORROW?

“We just need to put in a solid race. Its been a real challenge for us this year, but a lot of those times we have had great race pace. We will see what we can do when it comes to tomorrow. We like the red tires and its obviously a bit of a red race, so we will see what happens. Just thankful to be back in Indianapolis and have a great day.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS USA CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 24TH:

“Overall tough qualifying for us. Just didn’t feel like we’ve quite got the most out of the reds. Still struggling with the same thing since the start of the first practice: understeer in high and low speed corners. So, trying to dial some of that out. We thought we made a good decent swing at it for qualifying but still kind of missed on the balance a little bit with the reds. We opted to go to reds early and were one of the first ones on reds, so that never really helps. We’re still looking for a chunk of time so we’re gonna figure out just how we can get a little more front grip dialed into this No. 4 K-Line car and see what we’ve got for tomorrow.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD:

“It was a great day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the team. Felix is on pole, that was a great lap, and the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet is P3. I’m super pumped for that, because of where we were in Practice 1 and at the start of the qualifying.

Great job to everyone and tomorrow is all about keeping our nose clean in Turn 1 and in the rest of race. We have some great race cars underneath us and hopefully we end up with a great team result.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GALLAGHER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH:

“Disappointed we didn’t transfer to round two, so starting further back than is ideal. I know my guys will give me a great Gallagher Chevy for the race tomorrow. With good strategy and our usual great pit stops, we will be able to move our way forward on Saturday.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 21ST:

WHAT WAS YOUR FEEDBACK TO THE TEAM ABOUT THE RACE CAR?

“Yeah, I think it was just very similar to what we had in practice where we are fighting a little bit of a balance issue. For some reason we are not as good as we were at the test a month ago, so we are trying to figure it out. We have a lot of time between qualifying and practice to really figure it out and nail it down. We are working on it and now that we have some time to sit down and focus on what we have, where we are at, and what the differences are because there has been a clear difference in the data compared to the test and now. Hopefully we can figure it out overnight and we can go into warm up with a good car.”

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU HAVE RACED HERE BEFORE IN YOUR INDYCAR CAREER. CAN YOU RACE YOUR WAY FORWARD TOMORROW?

“I think so. That all depends on what happens in the warm up tomorrow. We have been solid here late on runs and we were really good late on the primary tires at the last race. So, that could potentially be very good for us.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:

HOW WAS YOUR CAR AND WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR TOMORROW?

“The car was really good. I think a few more adjustments would have helped us in the Fast Six, but I am happy to be in the top four. We will see in the warm up how it is and make some changes tonight and hopefully put us in a good position.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH:

“I am just happy to be back and I was really motivated to be here this weekend. If we weren’t in this race, it was going to be very difficult to stay in this championship fight. That was kind of the end for me. I know that we had to be in the race and whatever I have to do to be fit and prepared is number one on my plate. We are here and I have had a tremendous amount of support. I can’t thank the INDYCAR staff enough for all their help after the event, and then obviously everybody at Team Penske has just been unwavering with their support for me. Yeah, we are ready to go and we will be able to race tomorrow now.”

WHAT WERE YOUR SYMPTOMS AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING TO BE READY TO GET BACK?

“I don’t want to get into too much of the medical side, but I certainly hit my head pretty hard on Sunday afternoon. Obviously the main concern at that point is a concussion and just trying to make sure there is no lingering long term effects from that. Thankfully I am in really great shape and you know, I have felt good the rest of the week. So, I think we are in a pretty good spot for tomorrow.”

DID YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION WHEN YOU HIT YOUR HEAD?

“You know, I can’t confirm that and I don’t know that I did. I think if you were a doctor you probably would have said I was concussed after Sunday night so it’s probably fair to say that. Then it turns into a question of how severe was it and how long was it going to linger.”

DOES THIS PUT THE TEAM TO A TEST SINCE YOU WERE KNOCKED OFF KILTER AND THAT YOU COULDN’T REALLY DO WHAT YOU PLANNED TO?

“Yeah, its not ideal. Coming into this weekend, I had planned on being on the simulator Monday before coming here. That would have been nice to have that prep. We could have been in a better position coming into this weekend, but we are not in a bad spot this weekend. Luckily we have great cars here at Team Penske and I have great teammates to lean on. We qualified in the top five and I think that puts us in a great spot for PPG and Team Chevy tomorrow.”

(JAMES) HINCHCLIFF SAID HE WAS TALKING TO YOU TO GIVE YOU INSIGHT ABOUT WHEN HE WENT THROUGH THIS. DID THAT HELP AT ALL OR DID IT JUST MAKE YOU LAUGH?

“No, my lovely and amazing wife did most of the communication for me. She was communicating with anyone that had any sort of advice. Whether it was good or bad, we would filter it out but we had a lot of….yeah, Hinch was one of them. People like Hinch have been through incidents like this and they are not all like for like. His is not necessarily what I was going through, but any information on what people do in these kind of moments is helpful. So, there were a lot of people who reached out and we definitely took use of it.”

HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING THIS WEEKEND TO POTENTIALLY TAKE THE POINT LEAD?

“I am just ready to be in the fight. We are well in the thick of the championship and we have a great opportunity here to stay in the fight. I think it will go all the way down to the final event and possibly win the championship, that is my focus. I would have loved a little more today. I felt like on new tires we had pole pace, but on used tires we lacked some of that pole pace that we needed. We are going to try and clean that up for tomorrow. I think looking after the tires is always critical. If we can do that job, and have a good race here, then it should set us up nicely for the last four events of the year.”

RINUS VEEKAY, BITCOIN RACING TEAM WITH BITNILE, QUALIFIED 8TH:

“We didn’t make the Fast Six, but I think we have a solid car. Like race day wise we are pretty consistent on both tires, which is important. I am pretty happy with that and I think we couldn’t really nail the last bit of balance in the final part of group two qualifying. Bummer, but I won a race here from seventh, so I will have better tires for the race.”

PRESS CONFERENCE INTERVIEW WITH POLE WINNER FELIX ROSENQVIST AND PATO O’WARD:

THE MODERATOR: Pato O’Ward, he’ll start third tomorrow inside of row No. 2. Your thoughts on the team going 1-3 in qualifying today?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, it’s a great team result. Extremely happy with, first of all, making it to the Fast Six because when we started qualifying we were in trouble, just as we were in FP1. We turned — I don’t know how we did that, but we turned it around, and we got the car into a window where I could work with it, and yeah, like Alex said, I think Felix — I don’t think anybody had anything for Felix’s lap. Great job to him. Super happy to see that for him. He deserves it. He’s been working really hard, and it’s a great result for the team.

Q. We heard you on the radio I think it was in that first segment, you hopped on the radio and said, We are blanked, because it wasn’t going to go well. Was there a turning point or something you changed that maybe you can talk about, or how did you get to this point?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to judge. The problem is for us at least in the past it’s always been your balance on blacks has to be pretty tough to drive in order for it to be decent on reds. It was extremely difficult to drive, like even worse than FP1 in the morning, so I was like, oh, we’re in trouble. But they were like, man, we can’t change anything.

I was like, you know what, I’m just going to try and pull something out of my hat to see if we can transfer, and when they told us we transferred, I was like, whew. Then we were able to make a longer change, which then put me in a way happier window for the second shot of qualifying and then that transferred us into the Fast Six.

Q. Pato, at Iowa Felix told us whatever happens is sort of out of his hands; no matter how well he does, he can’t really influence the team’s decision if they bring him back. When you look at how well he’s been driving lately, is he going to make this really difficult for the team if he keeps excelling like this through the rest of the year? Is it going to be really hard to say goodbye to him?

PATO O’WARD: I mean, I love the guy, and I think what makes the atmosphere in the team so good to work around him is that he’s a genuine good guy, and it’s very easy to work with him. It’s in his best interest for the whole team to do well. He won’t section himself off and kind of — in the back of his head kind of wish bad upon the other car just to do better. No, I think that’s what makes our team very special is we’re all obviously pushing each other, but we’re both working together to create a package that’s going to be easier for both of us to drive and just to get better.

The point is to have a team that is P1 and P2, right? That’s always going to be the goal.

I just think he fits exactly what the team of McLaren Racing and all that stands for. In order to create a team or to make a team better and drive it forward, you need complete trust and transparency when working with each other. If you don’t have that, you’ve got nothing.

Q. Pato, obviously you talked about the struggles in practice and then early in qualifying. When you found out you transferred and you’re waiting there and the team is making some changes on the car, mentally what’s your thought process? Do you want to improve that? What are your overall thoughts and what thoughts are you changing to try and improve for the next round?

PATO O’WARD: Well, sometimes you just don’t know what to expect so you kind of just take it as it comes to you. At that point the feeling that I had before we went on the reds, it was like, well, this is going to be a handful. But then on the prep lap, I guess, before you do your flier, you get a little bit of a feel for what it’s going to be like when the tire is coming up to temp, and it was a significant step into, okay, I can work with this.

But that’s it, man. Sometimes it works out that way and sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it feels great in the first run and then you put the other set of tires, and it’s like, what the heck happened.

It’s tough. It’s extremely tough to nail both types of tire compounds in terms of balance. You’ve got to be a little unhappy with one of them to excel in the other one. You always kind of want to excel on the red one because the black ain’t going to transfer you anywhere unless you’re a second and a half faster than anybody, which doesn’t happen in the series.

Yeah, it’s tough, and it speaks to how hard it is to qualify in INDYCAR and how competitive it is.

I know in the Fast Six it didn’t really seem like it was that tight based on Felix’s lap. I know it was a great lap. But before that, I think transferring was a tenth or less than a tenth, or from like fourth to 12th or something. You’ve got to nail it.

PATO O’WARD: We’ll have fun.

Q. It seems like a big swing. Do you have to re-platform it almost to try to get a little bit better?

PATO O’WARD: What’s confusing sometimes is we were here in May, and we had a very solid qualifying. We had a very good race until it started raining. Anyway, we had pace.

We obviously come here with pretty much the same, and we’re six-tenths off. But only one car is six-tenths off and the other one is okay.

I’m still in the process of — and I think I’m probably never going to find it, but I don’t know why it happens. It’s very, very sensitive, and it’s extremely sensitive in how you, one, push the tire, and two, how hard you’re attacking the corners, because it’s just so flat, so there’s no cambers or off cambers that you can kind of take into your advantage.

But yeah, it’s just every time we come here, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same track, it’s always different, at least that’s my experience, and I think a lot of people would agree. Maybe others don’t. But yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously joined by the pole winner now for tomorrow’s Gallagher Grand Prix, second pole of the season, third of his career, which goes back to the IMS road course here in 2019. Congratulations, Felix Rosenqvist. Your thoughts about the day and starting P1 tomorrow?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Thanks. It’s been a pretty smooth day, surprisingly smooth, and I think those guys are kind of rare in INDYCAR. I think the whole team has just done a really good prep work for this race. We tested here like a month ago, which I think really helped. We kind of got here with a good starting package, so we knew that this was going to be one that we had to really extract everything in qualifying.

But yeah, it was really cool. We did only one lap in Q1, saved those tires for the Fast Six, and everything just worked out to plan. Man, it’s rare to have those days, but I think today was just a day about execution, and now eyes forward to tomorrow.

Q. Pato, any thoughts about the tire inconsistencies and stuff like that. Is that something you felt within the team or experienced at some point during the last two seasons?

PATO O’WARD: I have, yes. I’ve had this year and last year. You just never know when it’s going to happen, and it’s just obviously unfortunate. When we get it, other guys might not, but then maybe they can get it another time, but you just never really know when it’s going to happen to you, so you have to obviously analyze and see if it’s not an issue that wasn’t that.

Yeah, I think everybody is on the same boat. Everybody has had it at least once sometime.

Q. Felix, to use your nickname, Tall Swede is starting last, so I guess that makes you Short Swede starting up front. Does it surprise you Marcus is starting last in tomorrow’s race, and how do you think he’s going to get through the field like that, because it can be difficult to pass sometimes.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Man, I feel with Marcus the further back he starts, the better he finishes. He has like a magic way of just always being there in the end.

That’s probably why he’s leading the championship, man. He’s probably the best racer in the field right now. I don’t really think he’s worried about it, either.

Every time I talk to him and he’s had a bad qualifying, it’s just like, oh, I’m just going to drive up the field. Yeah, good for him. He’s really figured out how to go forward in this series, and I think that’s — I love being here on pole, but that’s only like 10 percent of the job done, and the rest you have to do what Marcus is doing right now.

I’m not too worried for him. I’m sure I’m going to see him around somewhere tomorrow in the race.

Q. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think this is where you got your first pole in 2019. What is it about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course that you’ve gelled with and gotten accustomed to quicker than almost anywhere else?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I wouldn’t say it’s my best track. I mean, I have two poles here, but I wouldn’t say result-wise it’s my best track. I’ve been struggling a little bit here in the races historically.

I just feel like we’ve worked very hard as a team to improve this track as we go here twice a year, and at some point last year we were like, guys, we need to improve at the Indy GP because we’re struggling.

Since then every time we come back here I feel like we’re just getting better and better. We had a test here a couple of weeks ago where I think we found some really good things, and we were pretty sure where we wanted to start today in terms of setup, and yeah, it’s just been a smooth day.

Lucky to have one of those days. I’m sure the next weekend will not look the same.

Q. Felix, your race engineer just told me he thinks he’s been 15 years since his last road course pole, so he’s really happy with you right now. Can you talk about the evolution within the team this season with some engineering additions? Obviously Gavin Ward just came on. It seems like we should expect you and Pato to be in the Fast Six or up front in the ovals almost wherever we go. Is this a real revolution we’re watching?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think so. I think we as a team have, from an engineering standpoint, we’ve been pretty — I wouldn’t say wildly all over the place, but we’ve been very experimental the last two years, especially on my car. Pretty much every weekend where we go somewhere, Craig is calling me on Monday, like hey, are you open to try something different, and I’m like, yeah, like we’re two cars, and I think Pato in general is more inclined to run kind of what we ran last year with a little evolution, and I’ve been trying more like new philosophies of setup.

Surprisingly it’s not often you do like a big change and it works, but almost everywhere we’ve gone, like me and Craig and the guys at the 7 car have kind of been able to develop something new that works, and I think suits me better, as well.

But it’s almost been that way everywhere. Sometimes Pato’s package works better, like at Iowa, for example. Like day one his car was probably a little bit better than mine, and then day two I went to his car, and it’s been good like that. You kind of have to do that as a two-car team.

But at this point I feel like we gather so much info that we can be a bit more sure where we want to start, and also with Gavin coming along, I think that’s kind of his role, as well, to kind of have a little overview of the whole situation with both cars and just lead us in the best direction for me and Pato.

Yeah, we have a really good engineering crew. Like they’re really clever people. We have a lot of fun in that truck. There’s a lot of laughing and jokes and stuff going around, but then when it’s time to switch on, I feel like everyone is like laser sharp.

I’m really enjoying the working environment right now.

Q. Who won at miniature golf between you and Pato earlier this week?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: He beat me in pickleball before Iowa, so it seems like whoever wins in sports before the weekend is kind of like coming out ahead.

Q. From what I’ve read and heard you say, next year you want to be back here. How is this series compared to where you’ve run before? How is INDYCAR competition-wise, and I understand you hope to be back here again next year because you like it that much.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, naturally because we’re doing well and I really enjoy my place in the team and just happy in general, it would be weird to not want to go back, I think. Obviously it’s not that straightforward, so we’re going to have to see what’s going to happen.

I think I’m in a good place no matter what happens. I’m going to have a good job somewhere.

Yeah, INDYCAR, I think it’s kind of addicting in a way. Like it’s very tough. It’s probably — I wouldn’t say like — the driver level is high everywhere in professional championships, but it’s just such a team effort to get everything right on the day in terms of setup, pit stop strategy. The driver has to be fit, he has to be focused. There’s just so many variables, and if you lose one second in a pit sequence, you’re gone. That’s your day gone.

I think that whole thing becomes — like when you succeed and when you win a race or get a podium or whatever, it’s just something you want to do again because it’s very rewarding when you do well, but it can also be brutal when you’re struggling, as I did last year. It was a super tough season for sure.

But yeah, I’m doing well, and I want to continue that, so yeah, hopefully I’ll stay.

Q. Do you work out every day?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I wish I could say —

Q. I don’t mean with peewee golf. Do you physically work out?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I mean, in some kind of shape or form.

Q. I guess with your future undecided, things are difficult, but I know you’ve come to really love this place and everything that it means to the championship and the history of the series and everything. If this is your kind of last time here for a little while, does this pole make that — is the pole more special basically because of that?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, I don’t really think about that, to be honest. But I felt like when I drove here this morning, just I love this place. I had like a love-hate relationship. Coming here the first time I had a pole, and then I crashed in the 500 practice, and Chip was angry at me, and it was like such a roller coaster of emotions that are tied to this place.

But this year, man, like finished fourth in the 500, leading for a while towards the end, this pole, it’s just becoming a place that I really love and becoming kind of acquainted to the Indiana in general.

Yeah, it means a lot for sure to do well here.

Q. You spoke about the team effort; you’ve finally found this path or midpoint between the Pato drive mode and your drive mode for this first and third place on this qualification.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I guess you mean that we’ve found something that works for both drivers? Yeah, man, I think we had pretty different days. Pato had a tough day in practice, and I think he did a really good job bouncing back. He kind of turned around his car a lot, and we kind of stayed the same and just stuck to what we had in practice.

But it’s good to see. I think this is probably like the fourth time we’re both in the Fast Six this year, so I feel like we both figured something out in qualifying together with the team.

As I said before, I think the car is just suited more towards me this year, so I feel like I can maximize it pretty much everywhere we go now, so yeah, that’s a good thing.

Q. The boys were talking about it before you arrived and how sensitive the IMS road course is. Tomorrow before the race obviously between the warm-up and the actual race you’ve got the Cup cars out on the track, as well. Is that going to impact the difference between what the car is like during the warm-up to the race?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Good question. I don’t really think so. I have to say that this track is probably one of the few that doesn’t — it doesn’t really pick up a lot of rubber. When you look at practice, the lap times we do early on, like even when it’s only three, four cars on track, like that lap time normally stays to the end of the session. There’s not a lot of track evolution. So I think it would kind of be the reverse with NASCAR being out. I think the bigger worry there is if they’re like tearing up the grass or the curbs or something.

No, I’m not too worried about that. I think it’s going to be a pretty straightforward weekend in terms of track grip.

Q. I don’t know if Pato is your agent but he’s working hard to keep you in that INDYCAR seat. What does that mean to you, for him to feel so strongly each week to plug away for you?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: It means a lot to hear that. I would obviously say the same for him. I think we have a very strong working relationship right now on and off the track. I think it’s kind of rare that you have a teammate that you don’t really try to hide anything, and I think that’s the best possible situation for the team because the more competition there is, like the more negative competition it is between the teammates, the worse for the team, because it’s like you’re hiding stuff from each other; you maybe don’t tell how your car is; you kind of build up a little fence to your car.

But I feel like we have just full transparency between the two cars, between me and Pato. Today when he was struggling we’ll talk about it, like hey, maybe try this, try that. It’s just great, and we have a good time out of the track, as well, when we’re here in Indy. We always play mini golf or pickleball or just go for dinner.

Yeah, I think even for other drivers and team owners reaching out and showing support and kind of saying that they want me to stay in the series, I think it means a lot. I’m really thankful for all those comments, and hopefully that’ll be the case.

Q. (No microphone.)

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Well, I consider myself pretty easy to get along with, but for sure I had bad teammates that you don’t trust and you don’t like, and you just have to get on with it. I think when you spend so much time together over a season, like it’s just so helpful if you can actually enjoy hanging out.

But I think with Pato it’s very special for sure. It’s something I hope that will last longer.

Q. Your contract situation notwithstanding, just as a driver, do you have interest at all in driving a stock car at some point in your career?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think I would love to try it, especially on a road course. I feel like I’m a few laps behind when it comes to the ovals to beat those guys. It feels like they’re very experienced. But yeah, if an opportunity comes, I would definitely be open. I saw Daniil Kvyat; is he here this weekend? That’s super cool. Maybe one day — I’m always open to try anything, so just give me a call.

Q. What is the most interesting car you’ve raced would you say?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: The most interesting? I think I did a couple of races in Carrera Cup. I did one race in the Super Cup. That was a very tricky car to drive, like very soft and no ABS, and it was very difficult to get a lap right. But very good for driving. If you can be quick in that, I think you can probably be quick in anything.

Man, I have to say the INDYCAR is just so tricky. Like to get it right in these cars is like — yeah, it’s like one out of 10 laps you get it right. All the other laps you feel like you left something on the table.

It’s probably one of the hardest cars I’ve driven, as well.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again, second pole of 2022, third of his career, Felix Rosenqvist will start from pole tomorrow for the Gallagher Grand Prix.

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