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CHEVROLET NCS AT ROAD AMERICA: Kyle Larson Press Conference Transcript

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
KWIK TRIP 250
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 1, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader race weekend at Road America. Press Conference Transcript:

KYLE, WALK US THROUGH YOUR QUALIFYING LAP TODAY IN THE NO. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO SS THAT LANDED YOU THE POLE FOR TOMORROW’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE?

“It was good. The first run, my goal was to hit my marks and I didn’t do that. It was kind of good to do that because then I could back off of that a little bit and just know if I got through the corners OK, my car was going to be fast enough that I could have a shot at the pole. I didn’t expect to be that much faster than the field, but it felt really good.

I’m excited about tomorrow. My car felt amazing in race trim, as well. Hats off to the team for preparing a car for me to race this weekend and try to learn and better our efforts for Sunday. Definitely excited about it.”

YOU HAVEN’T COMPETED IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES IN FOUR YEARS. WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING BACK IN A XFINITY CAR?

“Yeah, it was honestly surprising when I had read that it had been since I think 2018. It doesn’t feel that long ago.

I don’t know – the driving stuff is whatever. It’s just like the visuals of the tach and the gauges. It’s a different style of dash than what I was even used to when I was racing Xfinity for Ganassi. Just the little things like that are hard to adjust to at first. But once you’re out there, it all kind of becomes natural and it’s just another stock car at that point.”

HOW MUCH ATTENTION HAVE YOU PAID TO THIS SERIES OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS WITH THE NEW TALENT?

“I honestly probably haven’t paid enough attention, so I don’t really know how to answer that question. But I’m looking forward to competing with a lot of the young up-and-comers, as I’m sure they’re looking forward to compete with me also. It should be a lot of fun this weekend and for the couple of others I get to run the rest of the year.”

YOU’VE LED AT LEAST 19 LAPS ON THE CUP SIDE IN SEVEN OF THE LAST NINE RACES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOME OF THOSE HAVE KIND OF SLIPPED AWAY FROM YOU, AS FAR AS WINS? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OFF? YOU FIND YOUR WAY UP FRONT AT SOME POINT DURING THE RACE.

“I don’t know. There were definitely a couple that we almost won that slipped away there late, like Kansas (Speedway) and Charlotte (Motor Speedway). But I feel like in both of those, we performed at a very great level and honestly a little bit better than what we should have; and that’s just a testament to our team and how strong we are.

As I’m sure everybody does, I feel like we’re really close to being good; leading even more laps and challenging for even more wins. The cars are developing each week. Everyone is refining their stuff, setups and getting better. We just have to keep working really hard.”

I ASSUME YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING A SEASON LIKE LAST YEAR BECAUSE THOSE JUST DON’T COME AROUND, BUT HAS IT BEEN FRUSTRATING AT ALL NOT TO BE AS DOMINATE? OR DOES THE FACT THAT NOBODY HAS BEEN REALLY DOMINATE THIS YEAR KIND OF MAKE UP FOR ANY POTENTIAL FRUSTRATION?

“I haven’t been frustrated yet. I think I understand that the season we had last year was hard to repeat, especially going into a season with a new car and all that. I’m sure if we were in last year’s car and I was sitting here with the same stats – yeah, I’d probably be frustrated. But I thinking having the understanding that we have a new car, pit stops and everything, that helps kind of forget about the success, I guess, of last year.

And two, I think nobody has been dominating. Pretty much everybody has been inconsistent at some point throughout a race every week. Just have to find some consistency and I feel like that’s where you’ll standout across the field.”

GIVEN HOW DIFFERENT THE CARS HAVE BECOME BETWEEN THESE TWO SERIES, WHAT DO YOU GAIN TOMORROW THAT’S GOING TO HELP?

“I don’t know yet until I get out there tomorrow. But I think for me, just getting more laps – figuring out your angles of what works and what doesn’t work; the shapes of the corners and stuff like that to try and go faster and be better. I imagine our braking points will be much deeper tomorrow. It seems like this year compared to last year’s car, the Cup cars can brake a lot deeper into the corners. That might take some getting used to at first.

I definitely think it doesn’t hurt to get more laps, especially on the same race track.”

WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF DOING DOUBLE DUTY A YEAR AGO?

“I don’t know – who’s to say. I pick them because it just works out for my schedule. But I picked this one because I’ve only raced here twice. I don’t remember at all the race I ran here in 2013 and I don’t remember being fast. And then the Cup race last year, this was probably our worst road course we had of the season. So that’s why it was important for me to run this race and just try and learn something every lap.”

AFTER LAST WEEKEND’S RACE, YOU MADE THE REFERENCE OF NEEDING TO CLEAN UP A FEW THINGS. YOU HAVE KEVIN (MEENDERING) HERE WORKING WITH YOU ON THE XFINITY CAR, SO YOU GET HIM DOUBLE DUTY LIKE YOU THIS WEEKEND. WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO CLEAN UP OR IF THERE’S ANYTHING IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH HIM AND HOW CAN THIS WEEKEND HELP TOWARDS THAT?

“I don’t know – I don’t remember those exact comments because I felt like everything went pretty smooth, as far as on my end on that. The radio stuff and all that was smooth. I don’t know – maybe I was talking about something else, I can’t remember (laughs).

But it is good. It was an unfortunate circumstance that Cliff (Daniels) is suspended for four weeks, but if it’s going to happen, it falls at a good time where I’m doing this race also with Kevin (Meendering). Just getting more familiar with him. I feel like I’m super easy to work with and I feel like I can work with anybody, so it’s not hard for me to adjust to different crew chiefs and stuff. I guess just being familiar with the tone of voice and stuff on the radio is important to me. I know the car is always going to be fast when we hit the track.

Cliff is Cliff and there’s nobody like him on a pit box, especially when he talks to you on the radio. I guess just getting familiar with that end of things.”

PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT THE LAST ROAD COURSE RACE AND SAY FOR AS STRONG AS YOU WERE AND SUCCESSFUL UNTIL THE WHEEL CAME OFF, THE EXPECTATION WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD CARRYOVER TO THIS PLACE. IS THERE MUCH FROM SONOMA (RACEWAY) THAT YOU CAN TAKE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND BASED ON HOW YOU DID AT SONOMA?

“It’s hard to say. Last year, we dominated Sonoma (Raceway) and we were extremely good, and we weren’t great here (Road America). I don’t know – I’m sure on the car side of things, there are things that they learned from it. I’ve raced a lot at Sonoma and I haven’t raced here much. And yes, the two don’t really compare, so it’s hard to judge off of Sonoma for this place.”

DOES IT SEEM PRETTY SEAMLESS BEING IN A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS’ XFINITY CAR? IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THEY’VE RACED IN THIS SERIES, SO I’M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THAT TRANSITION HAS BEEN LIKE?

“I don’t really know what all went into the logistics of fielding a Hendrick Motorsports car in the Xfinity Series. I know they probably had some help from JR Motorsports and stuff like that, but I don’t know the extent of it. I can only speak from my vantage point and everything has been smooth. I went and sat in the car once last week and it fit first try. I showed up today, sat in it again to make sure nothing changed, and it fit fine again. The radios worked fine. That’s the stuff that I worry about when I go to run a car that I haven’t ran before and everything has been smooth, so far.

I have no doubt that with the depth of talent that Hendrick Motorsports has, that it’s going to be performing at a high-level. It should be easy-going.”

I KNOW THAT WITH THE CAR NUMBER AND THE PAINT SCHEME, IT’S A TRIBUTE TO RICKY HENDRICK. YOU NEVER GOT TO MEET RICKY. WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING A CAR THAT CERTAINLY HAS SIGNIFICANCE TO THE TEAM AND THE OWNER, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH OF THAT RELATIONSHIP. HOW DO YOU FEEL? IS THERE ANY EXTRA WEIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDERS AND HOW DO YOU TRY TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT RICKY SINCE YOU NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO MEET HIM?

“Yeah, that’s a good question. I never got the chance to meet Ricky (Hendrick), but I’ve heard a lot of stories. When we were on vacation last year, we watched that documentary that they came out with years back. So I could kind of learn a little bit about him, his family and Rick and Linda (Hendrick) even more watching that. That was good.

And then I think for me, having children myself makes me running this car much more important. I can’t imagine losing one of my children and what that would do to me. Talking to Rick on the phone a few different times, he’s so excited about seeing this paint scheme and number on the race track. I hope to see him here this weekend. I know he’s trying hard to get here and we have a good shot to win. I did tell him that it does add some more pressure to you driving this car because you know how special it is to their family and to Hendrick Motorsports as a whole.”

I WAS TALKING TO ONE OF YOUR CREW MEMBERS AND TEHRE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORKING ON THE CAR THIS WEEKEND THAT DID WORK WITH RICKY (HENDRICK). I WAS CURIOUS IF ANY OF THEM HAD MENTIONED THAT TO YOU YET.

“I hadn’t heard of that, but that’s really neat and I think that just adds to these races that we’re running with this car. It’s special for everybody at the race shop and anybody who’s ever had a relationship with Ricky (Hendrick) or worked at Hendrick Motorsports in the past.

I knew we were going to have this paint scheme because it’s Rick (Hendrick) and he’s flipping the bill for it. But when I heard that it was going to be that number and paying tribute to Ricky, I think it just made everybody really excited and it was just the perfect thing to do.”

THIS WEEK, IT CAME OUT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN ESPYS FOR DRIVER OF THE YEAR AGAINST MAX VERSTAPPEN, ALEX PALOU AND STEVE TORRENCE. HOW COOL WAS THAT TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT GROUP AND BE UP FOR THAT HONOR?

“It’s a great honor. I know there has been a lot of NASCAR drivers to win the award, so my fingers are crossed that I can win that. That would definitely be one of the coolest awards. Just being nominated alone is a great honor. But if I was to win it and beat a F1 World Champion, as well as the other champions, that would be a great honor.

We’ll see. I hope. Max (Verstappen) had a great year, as well as everybody else. Hopefully they consider my dirt wins, as well; because if you factor in my dirt wins, then that would give me a better shot.”

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.

Newgarden Picks Up Where He Left Off, Tops Opening Practice at Mid-Ohio

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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Friday, July 1, 2022) – Josef Newgarden’s summer hot streak continued Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The two-time winner at this permanent road course picked up where he left off in the most-recent NTT INDYCAR SERIES race – at Road America – by topping the practice charts here Friday in the only session of the day in preparation for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by The All-New 2023 Civic Type R (12:30 p.m. ET, live on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network).

Newgarden drove the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet to a best lap time of 1 minute, 7.0549 seconds on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course.

Newgarden’s series-leading three race wins have come at Texas Motor Speedway (March 20), on the streets of Long Beach (April 10) and at Road America (June 12). The weekend before Road America he scored the NTT P1 Award for pole at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

Newgarden is also the defending winner at Mid-Ohio.

“The car feels really good,” he said. “I think the (temperatures) definitely made the trap speed low, and it felt very difficult to drive the car today to bring it up to temperature.

“I’m relatively happy. I think our car was good off the truck.”

Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou ended the 75-minute session second on the practice sheet with a best lap time of 1:07.2610 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top three with a best lap time of 1:07.3171 in the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

The session featured 673 laps turned compared to last year’s first practice (461).

Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, who finished second in this race in 2021, ended the day fourth in the No. 8 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda at 1:07.3720, and Colton Herta rounded out the top five in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian at 1:07.4998.

David Malukas was the fastest rookie of the session, clocking in eighth with a best lap of 1:07.5361 in the No. 18 HMD Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports. He completed 26 laps in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES session at Mid-Ohio.

“Everything from our end, I think it was very good,” Malukas said. “From start to end of that session it was good. Mid-Ohio is so special, because every time you go out on track, it feels completely different, and track conditions to start the session were very tough to say the least.”

All 27 drivers in the field fought through the summer heat, with several drivers noting how challenging the mid 90-degree day was. Following practice, Newgarden said he has “rarely been this warm in the car.”

While Newgarden, a two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, bested Palou, the reigning series champion, by more than two tenths of a second, the rest of the field was much more compact, with first and 20th separated by just 1 second.

The only incident of the session came with about 40 minutes to go. Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato lost control of the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda in Turn 1 and spun off course and into the gravel trap.

Sato’s Dale Coyne Racing with RWR machine sustained no significant damage, and he continued on to pit lane as the track went under red flag conditions.

The only other off-course excursion came with roughly 25 minutes to go in the practice. Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean spun in Turn 12 in the No. 28 ForeverLawn/DHL Honda. He kept the car under power, and no red flag was thrown.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back on track at Mid-Ohio Saturday with Practice 2 at 9:30 a.m. (ET), followed by qualifying for the NTT P1 Award for pole at 2:45 p.m. Both sessions will be live on Peacock Premium and INDYCAR Radio Network.

Petty GMS Event Preview: Road America

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Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Dillon at Road America: Ty Dillon has competed in one NASCAR Cup Series event at Road America, posting a 26th-place result while driving a limited schedule for Gaunt Brothers Racing one season ago. The 30-year-old has also participated in three NASCAR Xfinity Series races (2014-2016), completing 100% of the laps and earning two top-12 finishes.
  • Allegiant – Together We Fly™: Allegiant will serve as primary partner on Dillon’s Chevrolet Camaro for Sunday’s race at Road America. From America’s favorite small cities to world-class destinations, Allegiant makes leisure travel affordable and convenient. With low-low fares, nonstop, all-jet service and premier travel partners, Allegiant provides a complete travel experience with great value and without all the hassle.
  • Double Duty: To gain additional seat time for the Cup Series race, Dillon will drive the No. 6 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports during Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at the Elkhart Lake road course. This will mark Dillon’s first Xfinity Series start of 2022.
  • Meet Dillon: On Sunday, July 3 at 11:15 a.m. local time, Dillon will be at the Chevrolet display in the Road America Fan Zone. Stop by to meet the No. 42 driver, ask questions, and receive an autograph. - About Allegiant: Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant’s fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com.
  • From the Drivers Seat: What are your thoughts heading into Road America? Will pulling double duty help you on the Cup side?

“At road courses, and especially this track that is over four miles, the more laps you can get to put yourself in a rhythm and get to know the track surface as much as possible is only going to help. And you give yourself the chance to run another race and have a shot at a win. I’m looking forward to the entire weekend. There is something about road course racing and NASCAR that makes me really happy and is a lot of fun for me personally.”

What makes Road America a challenge? You ran the Cup Series race last season, so this will be your second year in a row at the track.

“Last year, I was able to run the race with Gaunt Brothers Racing and we didn’t even have a crew chief for that race. It was just me and the car chief and we really just put enough together to give ourselves an opportunity. It wasn’t a bad finish when you look at some of the cars that we beat. Road America is a challenge. It’s a narrow track with a lot of different types of corners. There are three or four heavy braking corners, and then you have three or four flowy corners where you need to be able to use your momentum and be on the right line. It’s very important to know where to place your car in the middle of these corners more than it is to being aggressive to getting out of the corners. It’s a technique style track even though it’s so big, which typically lends itself to being very fast.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Jones at Road America: Teams will head to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin this weekend for the Kwik Trip 250 on Sunday, July 3, where Erik Jones will make his second-career Cup Series start at the 4.048-mile road course. Last season for the Cup Series debut at Road America, Jones scored a 19th-place finish. In his lone Xfinity Series race at the track, Jones has a 21st-place finish with five laps led.
  • Aim High: The U.S. Air Force will serve as the primary partner for Jones and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro team for Sunday’s race at Road America. The brand-new dark green paint scheme, designed by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Brockman, was inspired by the famous B-29 Superfortress with glass up front and riveted panel design.
  • Welcome General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.: This weekend the No. 43 team and Petty GMS will host Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Staff of the Air Force, for Sunday’s race at Road America. As Chief, Gen. Brown serves as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of 689,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the general and other service chiefs function as military advisors to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President. Gen. Brown was first commissioned in 1984 and has served a variety of positions and tours throughout his career.

In addition to attending Sunday’s race at Road America, Gen. Brown will take a lap around the track with Jones and take part in a DEP Enlistment Ceremony at the Pre-Race Stage prior to the start of Sunday’s event.

  • USAF Sighting: Jones will be at the U.S. Air Force display on Sunday, July 2, 11:20 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. CT. Stop by to get an autograph and meet Jones before the start of Sunday’s race.
  • Points Racing: With nine races left before the 2022 Cup Series playoffs start, Jones remains 16th in the point standings with one top-five, five top-10 and nine top-15 finishes.
  • About Air Force Recruiting Service: The mission of Air Force Recruiting Service is to inspire, engage and recruit the next generation of Airmen and Space professionals. We are looking for America’s best and brightest to fill approximately 30,000 opportunities in more than 200 Air Force specialties, as well as more than 300 space professionals in approximately 27 specific career fields in fiscal 2021. Additionally, our total force partners, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard are collectively hiring more than 19,000 part-time Airmen. Our military recruits to retain, providing tough, highly technical training that gives our future servicemembers the right skills to sustain the combat capability of America’s Air Force and protect our nation’s interests in space. For more information about Air Force and U.S. Space Force benefits and opportunities, go to www.airforce.com.
  • From the Driver’s Seat: Talk about Road America and the challenges of the track.

“Road America is a tough track. The ‘kinks’ are the most high speed, on edge part of the race track that we go through, so you can gain and lose a lot of time there which makes it tougher than most. It’s a place where you feel like you are in a good place and then all of sudden you are sliding through the grass. I’ve done it before, I think we all have, but I don’t want to do it again.”

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.

Justin Marks to Drive Niece Motorsports No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet at Mid-Ohio

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 1, 2022) – Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks makes his return to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) competition on Saturday, July 9 behind the wheel of the No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio.

“I’m glad I can help support Niece Motorsports and thrilled to be in the Worldwide Express colors. Their Silverados have been fast this year so we are going to Mid-Ohio this weekend with the mindset of not only having fun, but believing we will run well,” said Marks, who led a race-high 43 laps en route to his first career NASCAR victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 2.4-mile road course on Aug. 13, 2016. “I know how fast Carson Hocevar was at the road course in Sonoma before he had to turn over the truck to Daniel [Suárez]. I expect he’ll be just as good on the road course at Mid-Ohio.”

“We continue to look for ways to support and deepen our relationships with Niece Motorsports in the NCWTS and Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS),” said Worldwide Express President Rob Rose. “Both are highly focused on excellence and winning, as we are in our business. This race highlights our ability to work collaboratively to advance the sport together as teams, drivers and major sponsors. Having Justin behind the wheel will be a great event for all of us.”

Making his first national series start since September 2018, Marks has 35 NXS, six NASCAR Cup Series and 38 NCWTS starts, the latter of which includes four top-10 finishes and a pair of pole awards (Texas Motor Speedway, 2008; Dover, 2011).

“The partnerships Niece Motorsports has formed with Worldwide Express and Trackhouse Racing have allowed us to explore new opportunities this year and we are excited to have Justin in our Worldwide Express Chevrolet at Mid-Ohio,” Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw remarked. “Worldwide Express’ commitment to our race teams and NASCAR as a whole makes this all possible and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship.”

“Worldwide Express’ investment in our company is not taken lightly and we are fortunate to have a partner who is always looking to expand its presence,” said Niece Motorsports owner Al Niece. “The expansion to a fifth truck this season has brought our company a great deal of success and I am excited to have a fellow team owner in Justin get behind the wheel of one of our Chevrolets.”

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be broadcast live on FS1 and the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 9.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2022, Niece Motorsports enters its seventh season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

Media Inquiries: media@niecemotorsports.com www.niecemotorsports.com

About Trackhouse Racing:

After retiring from a driving career in NASCAR and sports cars, Justin Marks created Trackhouse Entertainment Group in 2020 with the goal of creating a racing brand that transcends the sport. The Nashville, Tennessee company formed Trackhouse Racing that took to the track in 2021 with Daniel Suárez behind the wheel. In January 2021, the team announced a partnership with international superstar entertainer Pitbull who has been a frequent guest at NASCAR races and elevated Trackhouse’s presence through inclusion in several of his songs and music videos over the last two years. Midway through the 2021 season, Trackhouse Racing purchased the NASCAR assets of Chip Ganassi Racing and began the 2022 season as its own two-car team with Suárez and Ross Chastain as drivers. Chastain gave the organization its first victory at Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas on March 27 and won again at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24. Suárez earned the organization’s third win at Sonoma Raceway on June 5.

About Worldwide Express:

Worldwide Express, LLC, is a full-service, non-asset-based logistics provider offering access to industry-leading small package, truckload and less-than-truckload shipping solutions and managed transportation services. The family of brands, comprised of Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz and Unishippers, serve more than 115,000 customers spanning from small and mid-size businesses to larger enterprises, with unmatched carrier options and strategic guidance for their supply chains.

With an annual systemwide revenue approaching $5 billion, the company is the second-largest privately held freight brokerage and largest non-retail UPS® Authorized Reseller in the country. Through a selective portfolio of 65+ LTL and tens of thousands of truckload carriers, and powered by proprietary technology, clients benefit from an award-winning, relationship-backed approach to solving their shipping needs. To learn more about the brands, visit wwexracing.com.

Six Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Teams in Three Classes Across Two Racing Series Set for First Top-Tier IMSA Races in Canada Since 2019 this Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

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BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada – Six Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams competing in three different classes across a pair of IMSA racing series make their first visit to Canada since 2019 this weekend at Canadian Motorsport Park (CTMP), July 1 – 3. Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams WeatherTech Racing Proton USA and Winward Racing compete in the GTD Pro and GTD classes, respectively, in Sunday’s featured two-hour and 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. On Saturday, four Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries from two different teams – Murillo Racing and Capstone Motorsports – compete in that day’s featured two-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams in both series made the trek to Canada just days after last weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech and Pilot Challenge races at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. The full weekend event marks the first top-tier IMSA races in Canada since 2019 after the CTMP events scheduled the last two years were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunday’s WeatherTech Championship race is scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m. EDT with live coverage in the U.S. on the flagship NBC Network beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. International viewers can watch a free livestream of the race at www.IMSA.tv.

The No. 79 Weather Tech Racing Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be shared by full-season driver Cooper MacNeil and Daniel Juncadella at CTMP in the GTD Pro division. Russell Ward and Philip Ellis in turn co-drive the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Both teams ran competitively in last Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen only to see a race win for Winward and a possible podium finish by WeatherTech thwarted by the implications of a red-flag stoppage due to a thunderstorm late in the race.

When the race resumed with 35 minutes to go – with an adjusted “drive time” and nearly 10 minutes of cars on track during a clock hold – both Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams saw their chances of making it to victory lane evaporate.

Ellis drove the Winward No. 57 across the finish line in first place after joining Ward and the team’s third driver, Marvin Dienst, in leading a class-high 52 laps and pacing the GTD field for the majority of the last half of the race.

Unfortunately, Ellis and Winward had no way of meeting the adjusted drive time requirement, and the No. 57 was one of nine finishers – including seven in the GTD class – moved to the back of the race’s finishing order for drive time violations. Ellis’ total time at the wheel was less than a minute shy of the adjusted drive time and the No. 57 was relegated to an 11th-place finish.

The WeatherTech No. 79 was one of several entries forced to the pits for a splash of fuel in the final minutes but recovered to secure a top-five GTD Pro finish.

Both teams have left the disappointment of last Sunday’s race back in the United States, and instead head to CTMP encouraged by the overall performance of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at The Glen. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 has also been successful at CTMP, winning in the GTD class in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech race in addition to securing victories in other sports car racing series events on the 2.459-mile Canadian circuit.

Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams competing in the top-level Grand Sport (GS) class at The Glen last Saturday were as competitive as their GT3 counterparts and were able to leave with the results to show it.

The top overall finisher was the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and team drivers Christian Szymczak and Kenny Murillo who garnered their first podium finish in their inaugural season of GS competition together. Both starting driver Murillo and closer Szymczak led the race, and their combined seven laps up front was the same number of laps led as the race winner.

Szymczak led a tight field of other GS top contenders to the green flag for the final restart of the race with just under 15 minutes to go. The ensuing battle was one of the highlights of the overall weekend, and Szymczak stayed in the thick of it to the checkered flag and a season-best third-place finish.

Eric Foss and Kenton Koch overcame mechanical issues through the weekend to join Murillo teammates Szymczak and Murillo as the only driving duos to lead laps in the Watkins Glen race. Foss and Koch combined to lead nine laps and secured a sixth-place finish in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Foss and the No. 56 team remain second in the GS class driver and team championships, just 140 points out of first place heading into Saturday’s race at CTMP.

Another Mercedes-AMG GT4 entry has led its Pilot Challenge championship since the first race of the season at Daytona in January. Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson won their fourth Bronze Cup class race in the year’s first five races at Watkins Glen in the No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4.

The only race the Capstone teammates didn’t win was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May where Brent Mosing and Tim Probert took the win in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Saturday’s two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race, which is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. EDT, promises to be another bronze battle between the Capstone No. 11 and the Murillo No. 65.

Szymczak and Murillo will be looking to improve two podium positions over last Saturday’s race at The Glen while Foss will be looking to close the gap on the GS championship lead with debuting co-driver Marc Miller.

Cooper MacNeil, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It will be good to get right back at it just five days after The Glen. We thought we deserved more at the last race. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a tough and fast track. From the exit of Turn 10 all the way to the exit onto the Mario Andretti straight, you are up on the wheel running the car on the absolute edge. We will have to unload with a setup in the handling window to have a good weekend. It’s good to have Daniel back, I think he is really going to like the CTMP circuit. We haven’t really had a good result together yet this year, so hopefully we can get on the podium come Sunday.”

Daniel Juncadella, Driver – No. 79 Proton WeatherTech Racing USA Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I have never raced at CTMP. However, I think it is going to be my new favorite circuit. I have practiced on the SIM a lot. I know the layout very well and I love the way it flows. There are a lot of high-speed corners. I think my favorite part is sector one, where there are three high-speed corners. I think it really suits my driving style, and I think the layout of the track will also suit our WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 as well. It is a good car in the high-speed sections where downforce helps. I am looking forward to driving again with Cooper and the WeatherTech Racing Proton team this weekend.”

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I am super proud of the team. We have had a rough year so far. We have always had the pace but haven’t quite been able to put it all together, but last weekend we did. I love Watkins Glen International. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the calendar, and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a sweet car to drive around there. We even overcame a couple of issues during the race, a radio failure and the failure of an air gun on the first pit stop. So, just really proud of the guys overall. We jumped a lot of guys in pit lane, passed a few on the race track and brought it home for what we know was a victory. There are some definite similarities between The Glen and CTMP, so we think the setup we had at Watkins is going to work equally well at Canada. We are in high spirits, we know the pace is there, the crew is ready to go, and we are looking forward to it.”

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think we will take the momentum we had at Watkins Glen up to CTMP. For me personally, it is another new track to learn, as it was for Watkins Glen last weekend. It will be a cool experience, and it’s great to not have a big break between races. It’s nice to go there directly after the run we had, which was a great team performance and a great Mercedes-AMG GT3. Honestly, to me the tracks in North America are a lot more fun and much more old school to drive than a lot of the tracks we have in Europe, except for maybe the Nordschleife. It’s more fun to drive over here because you don’t have the runoffs that allow you to make a mistake. That makes it much more risk-reward, so it’s a lot more driver related than in Europe.”

Kenny Murillo – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We are feeling very good heading to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after our first podium finish of the season at Watkins Glen. Honestly, I am more relieved we didn’t get hit and taken out again at The Glen. It’s great to be able to finish a race and have it be a third-place result. I am incredibly grateful to be driving a Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Christian Szymczak under the Murillo Racing tent. I couldn’t ask for more. I am so excited for the team. We finally caught a break, and we will be on the top step this weekend in Canada. It was a good team effort, and we are coming off a really good overall team result.”

Gary Ferrera – No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “The Capstone team has been flawless this season. It’s all about the team. The car setup, we’re having struggles with, but the team did their pit stops perfectly last weekend at Watkins Glen and we had no baubles with the seat belts as we have in the past. In a series as competitive as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, it is more about not making mistakes, not getting flat tires and things like that, and that’s really helping us out this season. For me, that’s the key.”

VELVEETA® IS BOLDY BACK WITH STENHOUSE JR. AND THE NO. 47 CAMARO TEAM AT ROAD AMERICA

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Harrisburg, NC (July 1, 2022) – – JTG Daugherty Racing is pleased to have VELVEETA® return to the No. 47 Camaro ZL1 with Pick ‘n Save on the hood for the Kwik Trip 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America at Road America this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to having a bold presence on the No. 47 Kroger Racing Camaro with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Road America,” said Matthew Reusing, Senior Manager. Omni Shopper Marketing (Kroger) for The Kraft Heinz Company. “Velveeta is all about living ‘La Dolce Velveeta, and living your biggest, boldest most unrestrained life, always putting pleasure first.’ We are excited to bring back our bold VELVEETA® vibes to racing for friends and family to enjoy.”

VELVEETA® is known for its rich, creamy texture and is bringing the cheesy, melty goodness to the NASCAR Cup Series who has a vast number of racetracks on the schedule. The premier series transitions from the 1.33-concrete oval of Nashville Superspeedway to the four-mile (4.048), 14-turn road circuit of Road America located midway between Milwaukee and Green Bay in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

“We’re proud to have VELVEETA® on our No. 47 Camaro again,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “VELVEETA® is a household name that we’ve all grown up with that satisfies cravings. We’re fresh off of racing at Nashville Speedway (16th) and are looking for even better results at Road America with VELVEETA®.”

Stenhouse Jr. finished 12th at Road America during the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season and knows there is still a lot to learn with the new car.

“We had a good finish there last year, but with the new car we’re still learning like everybody else is this year,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We know we still have a lot of work to do on our cars for road courses, but we’re hoping we can strike a good balance for this weekend with our No. 47 Pick ‘n Save / VELVEETA® Camaro.”

Live coverage from Road America of the 62-lap event on Sunday, July 3rd starts at 3 PM ET and is live on USA, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY

We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2020 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

RCR Event Preview – Road America

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Richard Childress Racing at Road America … Although Road America has been in operation since the 1950’s and has challenged some of the world’s best racers for over 60 years, the first modern day-era NASCAR Cup Series race at the 4-mile, 14-turn road course was in 2021. Tyler Reddick led the way for RCR with an eighth-place finish in the 62-lap event, with Austin Dillon earning a respectable 11th-place finish.

Xfinity Series at Road America … Richard Childress Racing has a successful history in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at the 4.048-mile Wisconsin road course. The Welcome, N.C.-based team scored three consecutive victories with three different drivers – Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015) and Michael McDowell (2016). Matt Tifft gave RCR its first pole at Road America when he grabbed the top starting spot in 2018. The team has 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 31 starts at Road America.

Introducing the Carolina Cowboys … Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the PBR Team Series, an elite new league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing in games beginning in July 2022. The team is operated by Richard Childress Racing with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon serving as General Manager. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys inaugural “Cowboy Days” Home Stand September 9-11 at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.

Catch the Action … The Henry 180 at Road America will be televised live on Saturday, July 2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Follow Sunday’s Action at Nashville … The Kwik Trip 250 at Road America will be televised live on Sunday, July 3 beginning at 3 p.m. ET on USA and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Road America … Austin Dillon raced in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event at Road America in 2021, finishing 11th. He has made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, earning one top-10 finish, and has also competed at Road America in the ARCA Menards Series and in the Trans Am Series.

Dow brings a science and engineering crew who is driven by limitless curiosity to the RCR Team … Austin Dillon and the RCR team are again supported by Dow’s materials science expertise and technologies this season. Backed by the power of data analysis and virtual modeling, Dow develops and manufactures high-performance components and materials custom-made for the No. 3 car. Dow and RCR’s partnership has expedited innovation and shortened testing time in the automotive industry by recreating in the lab one of the most extreme environments – the racetrack. After nine years of collaboration, Dow scientists and RCR engineers are continuing to work together to make the No. 3 car faster, safer and more precise. Stay up to date with Dow’s exciting developments at www.dow.com/sports and follow us on Twitter @DowSports & @DowNewsroom.

By Seeking Together, We Can Solve Anything – Dow Salutes Veterans … Dow’s solutions are reshaping our world. And at the heart of Dow’s solutions are their people. Their diversity is our strength. They reflect the world in which we do business and the communities in which we live. As a diverse community of approximately 37,000 employees worldwide, together we can solve anything. Nearly 1,900 U.S. Military Veterans will “ride” with Dillon this weekend thanks to a patriotic No. 3 Chevrolet featuring the names of U.S. Military Veterans and active-duty military members. This year’s No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet features Dow’s commitment to the service and skills that veterans bring to the workforce with a special nod to Dow’s Veterans Resource Group (VETNET) and Military Degree Equivalency (MDE) program, which provides an opportunity for individuals with extensive military background to bring their broad scope of training and education, experience in leadership, and understanding of performing in high pressure situations into a successful career at Dow. 2022 marks the eighth consecutive year that Dow has partnered with RCR to honor U.S. Military veterans. The program began with just over 350 veterans in 2015 to nearly 1900 this year. This year’s program also highlights Dow’s relationship with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization, and celebrates Dow’s 125th anniversary.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What do you think the key to performing well at Road America will be?

“It’s one of those places where you have to have an average lap in order to have a good lap because there are so many chances to overdrive certain turns. You can lose a lot in one corner and gain a lot in another. You just have to put it all together. A little bit of racing the track goes on in these kinds of races. The restarts are going to be aggressive and wild. People will be going everywhere. I do expect some attrition in the race because there are some areas where you can wreck some stuff. Runoffs, grassy areas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I’m just looking forward to the challenge. It’s a challenging place.”

Do you think of yourself as a good road course racer?

“I’m getting there. I’m better than where I started, for sure. I’ve had some consistent finishes this year and last. I’m more comfortable, and that’s because we’ve been putting the work in by testing, racing in other series and using the simulator. We’ve been solid at road courses but there’s always room for improvement and I’m pumped for the challenge.”

You have a very special paint scheme this weekend. Can you tell me about it …

“The Dow Salutes Veterans car has been going on for eight years now. It started out with 350 names on the car, and I think we broke our record. We’re at nearly 1,900. It’s pretty awesome to see all of the veterans on the car from RCR, Dow and Team Rubicon. My buddy Tyler Rader, who used to be the gas man on my team, is on my car now. It’s cool just to see all of the connections to the military that we have across the board. Everyone is getting involved and it’s cool to see the spider web effect of names growing every year.”

This Week’s 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Road America … Tyler Reddick has one NASCAR Cup Series start at Road America, scoring an eighth-place finish in the 2021 event. He has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 4.048-mile track, highlighted by a third-place finish in 2019. This weekend, Reddick is also scheduled to compete in the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

Impressive Road Course Stats … The driver of the 3CHI Chevrolet has made 11 starts on road courses in his Cup Series career and owns five top-10 finishes, highlighted by a second-place effort in 2021 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Reddick won his first Cup Series pole position in 2021 at Circuit of the Americas.

Happy Fourth of July! … The No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet will carry a special paint scheme this weekend at Road America to honor America’s birthday. Check out the unveil video by clicking here.

3CHI Blazed the Trail for Another Industry First … 3CHI and Richard Childress Racing created another first with their partnership for the 2022 NASCAR season. 3CHI began with roots as a CBD producer and quickly became a pioneer in science-based hemp and cannabis innovation. The company was the first to commercially develop and market Delta 8 THC, and today, 3CHI is an industry leader with unsurpassed product quality and purity as verified by top independent labs and benchmark organizations. 3CHI products are sold in a majority of the United States, and the company produces and markets a variety of gummies, tinctures, lotions, edibles and vape products. All 3CHI products meet federal requirements for full legal compliance, with a commitment to promoting responsible adult use. See 3CHI.com for more information.

TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:

Are you excited for this weekend’s road course race?

“I’ve grown very fond of road course racing which was something I didn’t do a lot growing up. The time that I’ve put into getting better at it, I found rather quickly that it has become one of my favorite types of racetracks that we have on the schedule. It’s never a problem to memorize all those corners. Road America is one of my favorite tracks and I’m looking forward to it.”

If you make a mistake in one corner, does that ruin the lap or can you make it up?

“If you miss one you mess up the whole lap. The mentality of trying to make it up is how you get into trouble. If you miss Turn 1 and try to make it up in Turn 3, you make it even worse and then you might even crash in Turn 5 or Canada Corner if you use that oval mentality of trying to make it up in the next corner. A place like Road America is a narrow, unforgiving racetrack so it doesn’t work there.”

This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Nashville Superspeedway … Sheldon Creed will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career start at Road America this weekend. In total, Creed has made four road course starts in the Xfinity Series. Creed finished 10th at Circuit of the Americas earlier in the year.

About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

Manufactured in America for 70 Years – We Never Left, and We’re Here to Stay … Whelen designs and manufactures reliable and powerful warning lights, white illumination lighting, sirens, controllers, and high-powered warning systems for Automotive and Mass Notification industries worldwide. Whelen products have been proudly designed and manufactured in America since 1952. With quality as the foundation, Whelen celebrates innovative engineering with every product made.

SHELDON CREED QUOTES:

You’re making your first Xfinity Series start at Road America this weekend, what are you looking forward to?

“I’m looking forward to Saturday’s race at Road America. I think it’s a really cool track and my team is due for a solid finish after the last few weeks. I was having a really strong run at Portland until an on-track incident took us out of the race so I’m ready to redeem myself on a road course. We’ve been working on the simulator a lot and I’ve been taking a lot of notes to help prepare for this weekend. If you have one bad lap, it can take you out of contention so it’s going to be really important to stay out of trouble, complete your laps and not miss a beat. Practice is pretty quick this weekend for the Xfinity Series so I’m hoping we can get some notes out of that to take to qualifying and the race.”

This Week’s Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Road America … Austin Hill will be making his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Road America on Saturday. In total, Hill has made five road-course starts in his Xfinity Series career with two top-five finishes. His two top-five finishes came earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas (second) and Portland International Raceway (third).

Patriotism is One of Bennett Transportation and Logistics Core Values … “We love and support our country, pledge our allegiance, and honor the service and sacrifice or our military service members who defend our country and protect our freedom.” The patriotic scheme on display this weekend is a hat tip to that core value. During this Independence Day weekend, Bennett is proud to display the tagline “Driven by Freedom” on the No. 21 Chevrolet. It describes the reasons that truck drivers enjoy becoming a part of the company. With an extensive load board full of freight for drivers to choose from, hundreds of agents and dispatchers who they can choose to work with, “No Forced Dispatch” and “Fast Pay,” our drivers say that Bennett gives them the freedom to be as successful as they want to be. Bennett has “Hiring Veterans” as a part of the paint scheme this 4th of July to recognize the many Vets they already employ at Bennett and their desire to bring more Vets into their workforce. The work ethic, training and values of our nation’s military Vets make them ideal truck drivers, office personnel and logistics professionals.

About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough, Ga.-based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 12 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:

Are you looking forward to this weekend’s race at Road America?

“I’m pretty excited about road course racing now. It’s got a lot of lefts and a lot of rights and it’s a really long track – four miles. Practice is really short. It feels like we’re going to get about five laps in before we have to qualify. One way I’ve been preparing for since I realized how short practice will be is spending time on the simulator and iRacing. We’ve been so close at road courses this season. We’ve finished second at COTA and then we ran third at Portland. So, we finished on the podium the last two road courses. We’ve got to go get a win. I’m excited and I think we’re going to put on a really good show. We’re bringing a really good and new racecar to the track this weekend and we’re ready to get it done.”

Extreme E returns for summer showdown in Sardinia

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  • Extreme E returns to Sardinia for the series’ first-ever double-header event, co-organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia and Regione Sardegna (6-7 and 9-10 July).
  • The event is to be known as the NEOM Island X Prix, as a celebration of the Championship’s new green hydrogen partnership with ENOWA, the energy, water and hydrogren subsidiary of NEOM.
  • All 10 teams return to the grid in Sardinia – with debut drivers including Timo Scheider and Hedda Hosås.
  • New to the series, the team’s Continental Traction Challenge time will now be the combination of both the male and female drivers’ fastest time through the allocated sector over the course of each X Prix.
  • Another new racing innovation is the ENOWA Hyperdrive which gives drivers extra power for a certain period of time during their laps
  • The Sardinian course proved to be the most brutal test for the ODYSSEY 21 in Season 1. New upgrades, including bespoke developments from new Suspension Partner, FOX, will be put to the test.

July 1, 2022: London: The countdown is on to the first-ever double header Extreme E event, as the Championship returns to the Italian island of Sardinia for a summer showdown of back-to-back racing next week (6-7 and 9-10 July).

The newly-titled NEOM Island X Prix, co-organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia and Regione Sardegna, is just days away, the scene is set for double the on-track action and double the impact in the fight to tackle climate change. NEOM’s title sponsorship of the Island X Prix follows this week’s announcement that Extreme E has entered a multi-year relationship with ENOWA, NEOM’s energy, water and hydrogen subsidiary, to introduce green hydrogen power to their global sustainable racing series.

Extreme E continues to showcase innovative sustainable solutions whether it be demonstrating the full potential of e-SUVs or delivering legacy programmes at race locations.

The event will be returning to the Season 1 location of the Army Training area at Capo Teulada in Sulcis-Iglesiente. The Teulada route is ideal, providing a challenging backdrop for the course which will measure around seven kilometres.

Due to the hot summer conditions in July, the terrain will be much drier than last year’s Enel X Island X Prix with the drivers having to navigate a harder, more compact surface riddled with rocks, bushes, and dry riverbeds cracked from the heat.

The purpose-driven message of the series will focus on blue and green carbon restoration in Sardinia. Continuing to work alongside the MEDSEA Foundation (Mediterranean Sea and Coast Foundation) to support two significant projects.

For Round Two, the first project explores Green Carbon. The sport for purpose Championship will be returning to Sennariolo to visit the communities impacted by the devastating wildfires in 2021.

As for Round Three, the second project supports the conservation of Posidonia oceanica (seagrass), mitigating the detrimental effects of Blue Carbon in Mediterranean waters.

Extreme E has been working closely with Automobile Club d’Italia – the national sports federation co-organising and coordinating the event – the Region of Sardinia, and its Tourism Department plus the Ministry of Defense and the Italian Army to deliver what promises to be a week of double the racing and double the excitement.

Sporting Format

Extreme E retains its sporting format as seen in NEOM, Saudi Arabia:

Qualifying
Following on from the Desert X Prix, Qualifying 1 will be conducted in a single-car format over two laps, with each driver completing a lap of the course. Intermediate Classification points will be awarded to determine positioning in Qualifying 2, ranging from 10 points for first place to one point for last.

The second round of Qualifying will consist of two heats, each of five cars. Teams finishing Qualifying 1 in 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th places will go into Heat 1 and Teams finishing 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th will go into Heat 2. Intermediate Classification points for the second round of Qualifying will be awarded as follows:

1st in Heat 10 points

2nd in Heat 8 points

3rd in Heat 6 points

4th in Heat 4 points

5th in Heat 2 points

A team’s overall classification points will decide the order for which cars progress to Semi Final 1, Semi Final 2, and the Crazy Race on Day Two, but the points do not contribute towards the Championship standings.

1st – Semi-Final 1

2nd – Semi-Final 2

3rd – Semi-Final 2

4th – Semi-Final 1

5th – Semi-Final 1

6th – Semi-Final 2

7th – Crazy Race

8th – Crazy Race

9th – Crazy Race

10th – Crazy Race

Race-day
Semi-Final 1 – Three-car race with top two cars going through to the Final
Semi-Final 2 – Three-car race with top two cars going through to the Final
Crazy Race – Four-car race with first place going through to the Final
Final – Five-car Final with the top three going to the podium

Championship points

1st: 25 points (winner of the Final)

2nd: 18 points (2nd place in the Final)

3rd: 15 points (3rd place in the Final)

4th: 12 points (4th place in the Final)

5th: 10 points (5th place in the Final)

6th: 8 points (3rd place from Semi-Final 1 or Semi-Final 2)*

7th: 6 points (3rd place from Semi-Final 1 or Semi-Final 2)*

8th: 4 points (2nd place in the Crazy Race)

9th: 2 points (3rd place in the Crazy Race)

10th: 1 point (4th place in the Crazy Race)

Continental Traction Challenge
The team that sets the fastest time through the allocated sector will win the Continental Traction Challenge and earn five Championship points. New to the NEOM Island X Prix, from now on the team’s Traction Challenge time will be the combination of both the male and female drivers’ fastest time through the allocated sector over the course of the event.

If any teams are tied in the Qualifying standings their positioning will be determined by their time in the Continental Traction Challenge – the team with the quicker run through the allocated sector receiving the higher overall position in Qualifying.

The team finishing third in Semi-Final 1 or Semi-Final 2 that sets the faster Continental Traction Challenge time shall be deemed to be the 6th place finisher.

ENOWA Hyperdrive
The newly-titled ‘ENOWA Hyperdrive’ boost launches in Sardinia. The ENOWA Hyperdrive boost will be available to each driver on each lap of the race. Activated when the driver presses a button on their steering wheel, they will enjoy an increase in power for a fixed amount of time.

Enno Straten, Head of Strategy & Marketing, Continental Tires EMEA, said: “We are really excited for the upcoming Island X Prix double-header and are looking forward to once again proving the outstanding performance of our tires under the toughest and most challenging conditions.

“Although we have already raced in Sardinia, this time around it will be in a different season and will offer different challenges. We look forward to demonstrating that Continental is up to the test, as well as the thrilling racing throughout the week as Extreme E returns to action.”

Teams and Drivers
The same ten teams return to the grid to battle it out for NEOM Island X Prix victory and there are going to be some familiar faces in unfamiliar seats.

Championship drivers Timo Scheider and Tamara Molinaro will represent XITE Energy Racing in Sardinia. Scheider replaces Oliver Bennett, who is unable to race due to his commitments to Nitro Rallycross, while Molinaro retains her seat after an impressive performance for the team at the season opener.

Another driver who made their debut in NEOM was Hedda Hosås. Hosås, Veloce Racing’s reserve driver, will contest the NEOM Island X Prix double-header for Jenson Button’s JBXE alongside Kevin Hansen who has recovered from injury.

The Norwegian has close links to Extreme E, having recently been the reserve driver for Veloce Racing. Hosås was nominated by the team to take part in last season’s Rookie Test which followed the Enel X Island X Prix and raced in this year’s Desert X Prix following Christine GZ’s injury in Qualifying.

Replacing Scheider and Molinaro as Championship drivers will be Fraser McConnell and Klara Andersson. Andersson returns to Extreme E after Covid-19 cruelly denied her a drive for XITE Energy Racing in NEOM, while McConnell makes his debut having already become the most successful Jamaican driver in Rallycross history.

The 10 teams and 20 drivers for the NEOM Island X Prix are as follows:

  • ABT CUPRA XE – Nasser Al-Attiyah / Jutta Kleinschmidt
  • ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team – Carlos Sainz Snr. / Laia Sanz
  • Genesys Andretti United Extreme E – Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings
  • No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing– Kyle LeDuc / Sara Price
  • NEOM McLaren Extreme E – Tanner Foust / Emma Gilmour
  • JBXE – Kevin Hansen / Hedda Hosås
  • Rosberg X Racing – Johan Kristoffersson / Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
  • Veloce Racing – Lance Woolridge / Christine GZ
  • X44 – Sébastien Loeb / Cristina Gutiérrez
  • XITE Energy Racing – Timo Scheider / Tamara Molinaro

The maiden Island X Prix last October proved to be a thriller. Season 1 Extreme E champions, RXR, executed a measured drive to claim the win after Chip Ganassi Racing and X44 were denied victory after suffering technical issues which ruled them out of contention, in what proved to be one of the most gruelling tests for the teams across Extreme E’s inaugural campaign.

The upgrades made to the ODYSSEY 21s during the break between X Prix, including a new race-ready suspension package courtesy of FOX, Extreme E’s new Official Suspension Partner, will undoubtedly be put to the test in Sardinia.

After four long months, Extreme E is set for on-track action once more with back-to-back X Prix in Sardinia.

The race is on again.

To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com

Aidan Fassnacht and Sword Performance Back In Action At Road America As MX-5 Race Winner

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Official Release
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Fassnacht, Who Won Last Weekend at Watkins Glen in the No. 15 Sword Performance Mazda MX-5, Has an Immediate Turnaround to This Week in Front of the NASCAR Crowd

ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (June 30, 2022) – Aidan Fassnacht earned his first career Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup win last weekend at Watkins Glen, but has limited time to celebrate as he and the No. 15 Sword Performance Mazda MX-5 are back in action this week at Road America, July 1-3.

Fassnacht and his McCumbee McAleer Racing (MMR) prepared Mazda will race in front of a large crowd on the four-mile circuit as part of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend. Both 45-minute races will begin at 9:05 a.m. CT on Saturday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 3rd and can be seen live on IMSA.com.

“Prior to Watkins Glen last weekend, Road America was the only track I have won at in the country,” Fassnacht said. “So, my confidence is at an all-time high with two podiums at Watkins Glen and a win from the back. I am now going to a track that I know how to win on. I just can’t wait to get to Road America and get started.”

Fassnacht is coming off of his best weekend in his young professional career. Despite getting behind the wheel for the first time just three years ago, the 19-year-old Boston College student drove from last on the grid to a podium position on Friday at Watkins Glen – the first time this season he’d finished inside the top 10.

For an encore, Fassnacht upped the performance on Saturday, going from worst to first in the 45-minute race. The second run was made even more impressive due to the fact that the race ran green for the full distance, unable to use a full course caution to close the gap to the front runners.

Now Fassnacht returns to the only track that he’d previously won a race at, when he claimed an amateur racing victory at Road America in Spec MX-5 for previous-generation Mazdas.

That performance likely opens doors for Fassnacht, who struggled early in the season with qualifying positions often because of a lack of a drafting partner. Now a race winner, friendly rivals are more likely to run with him on the track.

“Relative to prior weekends, I felt like I had more respect on the track at The Glen,” Fassnacht said. “People were not immediately trying to pass me, they were like ‘let’s go, I am going to push you’ because I think they know that I was quick. It definitely feels good to get respect around the paddock because that is something you need in this series. It’s such a team sport. Obviously, you are trying to win, but you have to work together to win. To have the respect of everyone else in the paddock is huge and I am really glad I was able to achieve that last weekend.”

To celebrate the Watkins Glen win and to launch his push to Road America, Sword Performance, The Leader In Healthy Hydration, is offering a 20 percent discount on products ordered through www.DrinkSword.com with the code RACE20 at checkout. This includes SHIELD Zero, a revolutionary all-natural zero sugar, zero artificial sweetener electrolyte hydration drink, that tastes light and refreshing without the junk. Packed with the same balanced electrolyte profile and natural ingredients found in SHIELD, the real fruit flavors of SHIELD Zero satisfy and help prevent hydration all day long without creating digestive issues.

“I’m so happy to have Sword Performance along for the ride,” Fassnacht said. “We started this journey with the goal of getting them into victory lane. We’ve done that, so now we’ll reset that goal to get to victory lane a second, and then a third time.”

Fassnacht, MMR, Sword Performance and the Mazda MX-5 Cup field are on track for the first time at Road America on Friday, July 1 at 9 a.m. CT, and again at 11:40 CT, for practice. Qualifying is Friday at 3:00 p.m. CT, before Saturday and Sunday’s 9:05 a.m. green flags. All of the action can be seen at IMSA.com or on RACER.com.

About Sword Performance: Sword Performance, Inc. is an American manufacturer of performance hydration beverages, built around a system of proprietary electrolyte replacement products and heat stress subject expertise. Sword Performance Inc. was founded with a purpose: to provide great-tasting, effective hydration to hard-working men and women everywhere. From stadium lights to job sites, Sword Performance hydration products are designed to work with the body to battle dehydration and fatigue. More information can be found at www.DrinkSword.com.

About Aidan Fassnacht: A second-generation professional racecar driver, 19-year-old Aidan Fassnacht is conducting the 2022 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup for McCumbee McAleer Racing (MMR) in the No. 15 Sword Performance Mazda MX-5 Cup. Fassnacht, a student at Boston College, raced a Spec Miata in Regional and National Sports Car Club of America events for two seasons before taking on the Spec MX-5 Challenge in 2021, earning a slot in the prestigious Mazda Shootout before signing with MMR for his 2022 rookie campaign.

Paul Menard Back with Showtime Motorsports as Trans Am Summer Heats Up

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Official Release
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Elkhart Lake, WISCONSIN – June 30, 2022 – The Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports team will head for the second stint of the midsummer doubleheader this weekend coming from Mid Ohio to Road America, July 1-3. Team principal Ken Thwaits is sitting in a fine second place in the Driver Championship and NASCAR ace Paul Menard will be looking to continue from where he left off at Charlotte and win again. In TA2, former Champion Cameron Lawrence is in P5 in the standings just seven points off Conor Mosack in P3 and will be looking for better luck out in Elkhart Lake.

Menard will be piloting the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro, a fantastic black and yellow Chevrolet Camaro TA1 expertly prepared by the Showtime Motorsports team and benefitting from the new braking system debuted by teammate Ken Thwaits at Ohio. We spoke to Ken ahead of the weekend’s action on what is another huge Trans Am outing for the Tennessee based outfit.

“We’re really looking forward to Road America big time. It’s great to have Paul back,” mentioned Ken Thwaits. “You never quite know how a new car will perform in competition but in testing at VIR Paul broke the track record so it can’t be too bad. It’s a real bumper weekend for the fans with all the NASCAR racing as well. Last year this event sold out and the atmosphere was amazing. This place is something special.”

Referencing Cameron Lawrence in the TA2 Class he added, “Our TA2 car is a fast car. We didn’t get a chance to show people what it can do at Ohio but hopefully we’ll get a clear track here and then we’ll see. We just don’t want a repeat of last weekend with a spoiled race.”

Located in Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine, Elkhart Lake’s Road America is one of the world’s fastest permanent road racing tracks. The 640-acre, park-like grounds offer amazing viewing opportunities, fantastic concessions, and high-speed excitement to thousands of spectators each year. Road America is also one of a handful of road circuits in the world maintaining its original configuration being 4.048 miles in length with 14 turns, hence Saturday’s race is over just 25 laps. The track features many elevation changes, along with a long front stretch where speeds near 200mph can be achieved. One of the best-known features of this course is a turn on the backside known as “the kink.”

Billed as the Ryan Companies presents the Trans Am 100s at Road America, the schedule for the weekend features the NASCAR Cup Series KWIK TRIP 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America on July 3 joined by the NASCAR XFINITY Series Henry 180 on July 2. Together with the Trans Am presented by Pirelli series and the Mazda MX-5 Cup means multiple races during the weekend.

A busy schedule that includes TA qualifications at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, July 1 with the TA race going green at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 2. The TA2 Drivers practice at 2:00 p.m. on Friday with qualifying in two groups from 8:10 a.m. on Saturday. The TA2 race goes green at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 3.

Kids 16 and under get free general admission to all Road America season racing events with a paying adult at the gate even for the NASCAR Cup Series!

Highlights of the action will again be presented on the CBS Sports Network. Check your local listing for details.

Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/

The YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcjbSevxbVsrrUYz77QzNuA

Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports, www.showtimemotorsports.net
and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at www.gotransam.com.

Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Franklin Road Apparel, at www.franklinroad.com

The Trans Am App which can be downloaded for Android here:

And for Apple here:

About Showtime Motorsports:
The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits’ racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.

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