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Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Sonoma

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Official Release
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Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, June 12, 2022
1.99-Mile Road Course
4:00 PM ET
Location: Sonoma, California
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (16 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 7th

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available in the Sonoma Raceway media center on Saturday, June 11, at 11 a.m. local time.

WINE COUNTRY WINNER: Last year at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson won both stages en route to victory in the 92-lap race. The Elk Grove, California, native led 57 laps from the pole position to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series road course victory.

KING OF THE ROAD: Larson won three road course events in 2021, the most ever during a Cup Series season. Victories at Sonoma in June, Watkins Glen International in August and the Charlotte ROVAL in October were integral during his 10-win Cup Series championship season.

POSSIBLY FIVE FOR 5: The 29-year-old driver has started from the pole position in the last four events held at the Northern California track. In 2017 and 2018, he set the fastest time during qualifying on the 1.99-mile layout while, in 2019, Larson set the quick time on the 2.52-mile circuit that included the carousel. No race was held at Sonoma in 2020 due to the pandemic. Last year, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 started from the top spot in the field based on the metric qualifying system NASCAR used to determine the starting order at venues where time trials did not occur. Qualifying for this weekend’s event is scheduled for Saturday.

BROKEN RECORD: Larson’s three consecutive pole positions from 2017-19 tie him with Ricky Rudd (1990–92) for the most consecutive poles at Sonoma. He will have the opportunity to break that record during Saturday’s session while also improving his track-best average starting position of 2.29.

ROAD COURSE RINGERS: Only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have scored more wins on road courses than Larson. On serpentine layouts in the Cup Series, the all-time winningest driver is NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon with nine while Chase Elliott has crossed the line first on seven occasions.

BEST MAN: On Thursday, Larson will serve as the best man in childhood friend Colby Copeland’s wedding. Copeland, who was best man for Larson’s wedding in 2018, serves as an additional spotter for the No. 5 team during road course events.

HOME RACE: At Sonoma this weekend, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team will wear their “home” white uniforms. Home races occur in markets where there are Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships nearby, and the Bay Area is home to five of them. Be sure to follow Hendrick Automotive Group’s social media channels and visit HendrickCars.com to view the complete home and away schedule.

SPECIAL GUESTS: Hendrick Automotive Group is hosting 300 people Sunday, including dealership teammates and 50 students from Proctor Elementary School. Proctor is supported by the local dealerships year-round and will receive a Hendrick, Get Set, Go! grant to support STEM education. For more information on Hendrick Cares programs, please click here.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 1st

No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

COTA CATCH-UP: In the first road course race of the year for the NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Chase Elliott qualified 12th and drove to a fourth-place finish after a caution-filled final stage that sent the race into overtime. It was the first of his three top-five finishes this season.

SONOMA REWIND: Last season at Sonoma Raceway, Elliott started second and finished inside the top-10 in each stage, leading 13 total laps en route to a runner-up finish behind teammate Kyle Larson. In his five career Cup Series starts at the track, he has two top-five finishes and three top-10s with 16 laps led. Sonoma is one of only two road courses (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is the other) on the current Cup Series schedule he has yet to win on.

2021 ROAD COURSE RECAP: Last season, Elliott earned two wins (COTA and Road America), two runner-up finishes and five top-five finishes across seven starts on road courses. The Hendrick Motorsports driver earned two stage wins and led 102 laps on that track type.

ROAD COURSE KING: Elliott has proven his road-racing prowess, leading all active drivers with seven wins on road courses. He’s also third on the overall list of drivers with road course victories, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). Elliott has victories across five different road courses, the most in series history.

IN GOOD COMPANY: In 20 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 7.7, with seven wins, 12 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. His average finish is not only the best among active drivers, but third all-time among drivers with five or more starts, behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker.

POINTS LEADER: Despite two tough results in a row for Elliott and the No. 9 team, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native continues to hold the Cup Series points lead by nine markers over Kyle Busch. Elliott has been atop the standings for 11 consecutive weeks.

FIRST WIN: Elliott’s first career Cup Series win occurred on a road course. He conquered Watkins Glen International in 2018 after starting the race from the third position and leading 52 of 90 laps en route to the victory.

AG’S ROAD COURSE PERFORMANCE: This Sunday at Sonoma, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 42nd road course race from atop the pit box. In those starts, he’s led his team to seven wins – a series-high among active crew chiefs – 15 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 24 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 9th

No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

2022 SO FAR: To date in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron has scored two wins, four top-five finishes, three stage wins and accumulated 13 playoff points. His 570 laps led are the most by a driver this season and have come across 11 of the 15 races – tied with two other drivers (teammate Kyle Larson as well as Kyle Busch) for the second-most races led. He is currently ninth in the driver point standings and is locked into the Cup Series playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

ROAD RESULTS: During his Cup Series career, Byron has been working to step up his road course racing skills. In the last five road course races to hold qualifying, Byron has won the pole for three of them (Charlotte ROVAL in 2019, Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2021). He’s also led the fourth-most laps on road courses since the start of 2021 (51) including leading the most laps in two of the last nine road course races. Byron also has collected two stage wins on road courses – tied for the seventh-most all-time with three other drivers (Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez).

SONOMA STATS: This Sunday’s race will mark Byron’s fourth Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway. In his previous three starts, his best showing came in 2019 when he qualified second and raced up front for the majority of the event, collecting 18 stage points and his first Cup Series stage win. However, with differing strategy, Byron was credited with a 19th-place result. Aside from his three Cup Series starts, Byron has two previous starts at this road course with both coming in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series West. In fact, his first road race in a stock car came at Sonoma in 2015 where he qualified second and raced to a fifth-place finish. He again ran the ARCA Menards Series West race in 2018, tying his best qualifying effort of second, but crossed the finish line two spots better than his 2015 showing, in the third position.

FUGLE FILES: So far in 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series has raced on one road course – Circuit of The Americas – where crew chief Rudy Fugle and the No. 24 team scored a 12th-place finish. In total, Fugle has eight Cup Series starts on road courses, three starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and seven in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In those seven Truck Series starts, the Livonia, New York, native has one win (Erik Jones, 2015), three top-five finishes, and five top-10s. One of those seven truck starts was also with Byron where the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2016.

BACK TO THE ROOTS: Going back to his racing roots, Byron will once again climb back behind the wheel of the No. 24 Super Late Model for Wilson Motorsports this year, this time at Berlin Raceway on Wednesday. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has raced the No. 24 Super Late Model five times this year – three times at New Smyrna Speedway, once at Hickory Motor Speedway, and most recently at the Nashville Fairgrounds – scoring four wins total.

RAPTOR® TOUGH: Ready to take on Sonoma, Byron will be back behind the wheel of the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday’s event. RAPTOR® is a durable protective coating and bed liner that is designed to tolerate the toughest climatic conditions and can be applied to a wide range of substrates from steel, wood, concrete and plaster to plastics and composites. Resistant to common fuels, U.V., scratches and stains, RAPTOR® is available at local paint distributors, auto parts stores and can also be purchased from online retailers like Amazon.

48 Alex Bowman
Age: 29 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 8th

No. 48 Ally/Better Together Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

OH, SO CLOSE: Last time Alex Bowman raced on a road course, he took home a second-place finish at Circuit of The Americas. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was fighting for the lead heading into turn 18 at the Texas venue. He was then hit by AJ Allmendinger, who was spun out by race winner Ross Chastain, resulting in his runner-up result.

HANG A RIGHT: Since the start of 2018, Bowman has tallied nine top-10 finishes on road courses, with two of those being runner-up results. He is tied with three other drivers (Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric) at two consecutive top-10s on that track type with only Ryan Blaney having a longer active streak at three.

WEST COAST, BEST COAST: The 29-year-old driver has managed to take home hardware from the West Coast on two separate occasions since the start of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. He notched a win in March 2020 at Auto Club Speedway, followed by his most recent win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2022. This year, Bowman has garnered 96 points in all West Coast races, one marker behind teammates William Byron and standings leader Chase Elliott.

SLEEPER PICK: In his eighth season in the Cup Series, Bowman continues to silently surmount another banner year as the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevy. Through 15 races, Bowman has one win (Las Vegas), three top-five finishes, nine top-10s, and an average finish of 11.8. He has more top-10s through 15 races than ever before in his Cup Series career and is one of three drivers with nine – Elliott and Chastain are the others. The trio only trails Kyle Busch (11) for the most front-runner finishes this season.

TRUCKING OUT WEST: Saturday night will see Bowman strap into the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Last time the Tucson, Arizona, native got behind the wheel of a truck, he started third at COTA in the No. 7 Chevy and made his way through the field, but was taken out on the last lap, resulting in a 25th-place result.

PIT STOP POWER: The No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew had the third-fastest four-tire pit stop average of 10.9 seconds last Sunday at WWTR. Across all pit stops, the five-man team gained seven positions on pit road – third-best of all teams in the Cup Series that day. The Ally Racing pit crew is made up of fueler Jacob Conley, jackman Eric Ludwig, tire carrier Allen Stallings and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).

WEAR IT PROUD: In an effort to support the LGBTQ+ community, Ally will run the PrideALLYS decal on the rear fenders and on the TV panel of the No. 48 Ally/Better Together Chevy at Sonoma. As part of the employee resource group, Ally is committed to promoting inclusion practices for the LGBTQ+ community at and around Ally.

NEARING 100,000: Hendrick Motorsports needs to lead 98 miles in the NASCAR Cup Series to cross 100,000 miles led in the sport’s top series. Ahead of Sunday’s race, the organization has led 99,902.90 miles at the Cup level. Crossing the 100K milestone would be achieved by leading 50 laps at the 1.99-mile layout at Sonoma Raceway. Through 15 points-paying races in 2022, the four-car team has led 1,445.43 miles.

AT YOUR SIRVIS: Beginning this weekend at Sonoma, SirviS will appear on the B-post on all Hendrick Motorsports race cars. In 2020, Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, partnered with Hendrick Motorsports to form a multi-year marketing and technology relationship. SirviS recently joined the Acronis’ #TeamUp program.

ROAD WARRIORS: Throughout its history, Hendrick Motorsports has 25 wins on road courses in the Cup Series. Since the organization’s inaugural season in 1984, the squad has won 29% of all races on Cup Series road courses (25 of 86). The two closest teams in this statistic have combined for only 21 wins.

COUNTING ‘EM UP: The 25 road course wins have come from seven different drivers – most for any team in the Cup ranks. Jeff Gordon leads the way for the team with nine victories (which are also the most among all drivers) followed by Chase Elliott with seven. Tim Richmond and Kyle Larson are tied for third on the list with three wins apiece. Geoff Bodine, Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Rudd each tallied one victory.

READY FOR THE ROAD: In addition to road course wins, Hendrick Motorsports stands at the top of the board on road courses in the following stats: Poles (21), top-five finishes (76), top-10s (132), laps led (2,020) and stage wins (12).

SAVORING SONOMA: Wine country has been the sight of much success for Hendrick Motorsports over the years. Much like its overall road course success, the team leads the way in wins (seven), poles (nine), runner-up finishes (seven), top-fives (33), top-10s (57) and laps led (749) at the California facility. Gordon’s five wins at Sonoma are the most at the track, while Johnson and Larson each have one win here for the Rick Hendrick-owned company.

FROM WINE COUNTRY TO TITLE TOWN: The Sonoma race winner has gone on to win the championship five times in Cup Series history. Three of those instances involved Hendrick Motorsports drivers: Gordon (1998), Johnson (2010) and Larson (2021). Tony Stewart (2005) and Kyle Busch (2015) were the others to achieve this feat.

SWEEP SENSATIONS: In the era of stage racing, there have been two times – both by Hendrick Motorsports – when one driver swept every road course stage and won the race. Elliott was the first to do so in his 2019 win at Watkins Glen International. Larson also accomplished this with his victory last season at Sonoma.

WEST COAST WINS: The four-car organization out of Concord, North Carolina, has won seven of the last 12 races contested on the West Coast. Larson has four of those wins, while Alex Bowman has two and Elliott has one. Both Larson (Auto Club Speedway) and Bowman (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) earned wins on the western swing earlier this season. In total, Hendrick Motorsports has 41 wins on the West Coast – the most of any organization.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Sonoma Raceway: “I’ve always had some good speed at Sonoma (Raceway) and it’s my home track. It’s always fun to see my friends and family, and it was cool to get my first win at my home track last year. But that was with last year’s car and on the longer track. Hopefully, we can get another pole there this weekend, lead some laps and challenge for the win again.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the track without the carousel: “The track layout will be a different element compared to the last couple trips we’ve made there. We’ll place a little more emphasis on right-hand turns because so much focus was placed on the carousel and the left-hand turning capability of the car – and now we don’t race that portion of the track. It’s just going to race differently.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Sonoma: “Sonoma (Raceway) has been a place that has been a pretty big challenge for me in the past. Last season, I felt like it was the best I’ve ever been there. We were pretty good late in the race and I was really proud of that effort by our NAPA team. With having one road course race down with this new car and having some learnings from COTA (Circuit of The Americas), I’m hopeful that we can put together another strong run like we did last year.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for the second road course race of the season: “Heading into the first road course race of the year at COTA (Circuit of The Americas), we didn’t really know what to expect. There are so many new things with this car, so many unknowns. We didn’t really get the chance to test on a road course before the season started. Chase (Elliott) had the opportunity to drive the car at Charlotte (ROVAL), but we weren’t there because we were in the middle of the playoffs. So, it was a steep learning curve for our team at COTA and I think going through that experience was good. It certainly helped us moving forward. We’ve still got to learn some things, but now I think can start working our way down the list of unknowns that we need to figure out. Hopefully, we have a better run than we did in COTA and be able to go off that for the remainder of the road courses this season.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how to approach this Sunday’s race at Sonoma: “I think Sonoma (Raceway) is the most different of the road courses that we race on. I feel like you have to focus more on your corner entry and exits to really be able to roll through them and get a good run off. There’s not many true braking zones, so it’s more about keeping as much speed as possible and setting yourself up for the next corner constantly. I feel like that changes what you want from the handling of your car as well. We’ve had good runs going there the last couple races, we just haven’t had the finishes to match it. We also have had to approach this race differently in the past strategy-wise and focus more on capturing as many points as possible. Coming into this race with 13 playoff points already, I think we’re in a better position to utilize a different strategy this time around.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his thoughts for Sonoma: “This is only my second time going to Sonoma (Raceway) and it will be my first with this configuration. I think we had a solid race going last year before being caught up in a late race incident and we have a good notebook to lean off of from the No. 5 car’s win. Obviously, there will still be some unknowns for this weekend, especially with this being only the second road course race with the Next Gen car. We were able to test two weeks ago at Watkins Glen (International) for the Goodyear tire test and I think we learned a lot that we can apply for Sonoma. Right now, it’s going to be all about building our notebook for this style of racing seeing as four of the next 10 races are road courses.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing twice in Sonoma: “I think it’s important to get as many laps as I can in before getting in the No. 48 Ally Chevy on Sunday. Last time we ran the No. 7 Spire truck, we had a ton of speed and I think it helped me learn the track which helped me be fast in the Cup race. Obviously, it didn’t end the way I wished, but ultimately, the experience can only make me better.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his expectations for the race at Sonoma: “We had a ton of speed at COTA (Circuit of The Americas) and got collected in someone else’s mess which cost us a win. I think it’s great that Alex (Bowman) is going to get back in the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Spire truck to get more road course experience – it served him well last time. We learned a lot at COTA and Alex gained some confidence in his ability to run well on road courses, so I am optimistic for the race and look forward to getting out to Sonoma (Raceway) and redeeming ourselves on a road course.”

Chandler Smith – No. 18 Safelite Tundra TRD Pro Camping World Trucks Sonoma Raceway Preview

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Official Release
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Chandler Smith: Driver, No. 18 Safelite® Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: DoorDash 250, Race 12 of 23, 75 Laps – 20/25/30; 149.25 Miles
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 12-turn road course)
Date/Broadcast: June 11, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Chandler Chatter:
Chandler Smith and the No. 18 Safelite team head to Sonoma Raceway for Saturday’s DoorDash 250. It will be Smith’s first trip to Sonoma in any series and just his fifth career start on a road course in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action. Across his first four starts, his fifth-place result earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. has been his best result.

Smith’s strong showing at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last week helped catapult him up to second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season point standings, where he sits 17 points behind reigning series champion Ben Rhodes with five races remaining in the regular season. Smith led 40 laps, won the opening stage and despite suffering damage to his Safelite Tundra TRD Pro when another competitor slid up the track into him while battling for the lead, came back to finish third.

Through the first 11 events of the season Smith ranks first among Truck Series regulars in quality passes (483), second in average finish (9.1) and average starting position (7.3), third in driver rating (102.0) and fourth in average running position (8.812) and fastest laps run (69). He has produced one win, 96 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his sophomore campaign.

The Georgia driver earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.

In addition to his Truck Series schedule in 2022, Smith is competing in a three-race schedule with Sam Hunt Racing (SHR). Smith finished 38th in his series debut at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after a mid-race wreck and finished 21st at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. His final race with SHR will come Oct. 22 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman will once again call the shots for Smith and the No. 18 team in 2022. Stockman’s drivers have produced six victories at KBM across his first two seasons, including two with Smith behind the wheel in 2021. The veteran crew chief captured a Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon in 2011 and also won an Xfinity Series championship with Dillon in 2013. Stockman’s lone visit to Sonoma as a National Series crew chief resulted in a 24th-place finish with Austin Dillon in the 2019 Cup Series race at the California road course. He was atop the pit box for David Mayhew’s runner-up finish in the NASCAR West Series event in 2019. Smith’s fifth-place finish at COTA earlier this year was his best result across five races in Truck Series action on road courses.

Safelite, the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair, replacement and recalibration services, returns to KBM for a fifth season and will be the primary sponsor on Smith’s Tundra TRD Pro Tundra for 16 races this year, including Saturday’s race at Sonoma. Charge Me will serve as an associate sponsor on the bedtop of Smith’s No. 18 Tundra TRD Pro this weekend. Charge Me was founded on the principle that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will require robust infrastructure support at all levels.

Chandler Smith, Driver Q&A:
You are 17 points out of the lead with five races remaining. How do you like your chances of winning the regular season championship?
“With the stretch of top-10 finishes we have had recently with our No. 18 Safelite/Charge Me team we have definitely put ourselves back into a position to fight for the regular season championship. That will be our main priority these next five races because winning the regular season championship comes with a good chunk of playoff points, so getting those points would definitely be beneficial for our team when the playoffs start.”

We are in a stretch of races at very unique tracks, is it fun taking on a new challenge each week?
“It’s definitely a fun stretch where last week we went to what I would classify as a short track and then coming we have a couple road course races, a dirt race and Nashville Superspeedway. I think NASCAR has done a good job making the Truck Series schedule unique, but if I had it my way I’d add in a few more short tracks because those are my favorite.”

Sonoma is a new track for you. How do you prepare for a track you’ve never been to?
“To prepare for Sonoma I’ve watched a lot of film and spent a lot of time at TRD on the simulator. I feel like I’ve been pretty fast on the road courses for as few of them as I’ve raced. I’m as prepared as I possibly can be for Saturday and really looking forward to the challenge of taking on a new road course.”

Chandler Smith Career Highlights:

  • Across 49 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts has recorded three wins, 402 laps led, 19 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.6.
  • Earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
  • Has posted an average finish of 29.5 across two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2022, with a best result of 22nd coming at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
  • Has collected nine wins, 10 poles, 1783 laps led, 22 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes en route to an average finish of 5.4 across 34 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
  • Has numerous Super Late Model victories across his career, including two marquee wins: the Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. (2021) and SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia (2018). Will compete in several Super Late Model events around his Truck Series schedule in 2022.

Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Safelite Tundra:
KBM-72: The No. 18 Safelite team will unload KBM-72 for Saturday’s race at Sonoma. It is the same Tundra TRD Pro that Smith raced to a fifth-place finish with at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. in March.

KBM-72 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:

  • Across 35 starts on road courses, KBM drivers have earned one win, 13 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 9.4 and an average finish of 12.3.
  • Erik Jones picked up KBM’s lone road course victory in 2015 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont.
  • KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (94) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
  • The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 24 career victories.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Hailie Deegan Heading Back to Native California for Sonoma Event

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Sonoma Advance | Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Hailie Deegan, driver of the No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for David Gilliland Racing, was a guest today on the weekly Ford Performance media call. She answered questions from the media about her season to date and this weekend’s return to Sonoma Raceway.

HAILIE DEEGAN, No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150 – WHERE ARE YOU ON THE AGGRESSION SCALE? “It’s really crazy in the Truck Series. I feel like there’s a lot that happens during these races, a lot of chaos, so I think that it’s hard to avoid it. I think sometimes if you don’t stand up for yourself or do what they’re doing to you back, you’ll get run over quick and it happens quick. So, I think just from now on, and I feel like I’m trying to do more of it, is just racing people how they race me. Someone like, for instance, Ross Chastain. When he comes down to the Truck Series he races aggressive, but he does it in a respectful way. We can race each other really, really hard, but in the most respectful way. We’re not just cleaning people out. He’ll race me hard and I’ll race him hard back and it’s super respectful, so that’s what I like. I really, really like that and I think there are some instances where there are a few drivers in the Truck Series that the moment they get to me they try and move you and you’re like, ‘What did I do?’ But I think that it kind of depends on who you’re racing around. You kind of have to know who you’re racing around and I feel like that affects it a lot is everyone that you could be around at that moment you have to decide like, ‘OK, how are they gonna race me? Are they gonna race me with respect or am I gonna get buy them and they’re just gonna try to wreck me the next corner?’”

WHAT ABOUT LAST WEEKEND? YOU WERE THE CENTER OF A LITTLE BIT GOING ON? “Are you talking about with the 52? I think that what initially all started it was it happened going into turn one – kind of on the frontstretch but in turn one – I was kind of hanging on the 42’s left-rear, just trying to pull him back before we got to the entry of the corner, and I think when I did that I was just so close to the 42 that the rear – because of the skew and everything the rears are out just a little bit more – and I think it just barely got into Freisen, but it was enough to kind of upset my truck and kind of put me a little bit into the 42, so I didn’t mean to do anything to the 42 at all or Freisen, but it was just kind of like more of a racing situation. Honestly, I didn’t even know really what happened. It’s not like you can see very well out the right-rear, so I think that it was just kind of a racing little mishap of racing each other hard. I’ve been used up, I feel like, by quite a few people on track and I thought I was just racing hard. I didn’t think there was much wrong with it. Obviously, if I would have wrecked him or anything like that, yeah, I would have felt bad and it wouldn’t have been intentional, but I felt like we were racing pretty hard right there for the position we were in and then he ended up driving me down track and stuff. It was just a mess, but I think that’s just kind of what comes with it. I’m no stranger to being flipped off on the track. It’s become a pretty common thing, but I feel like it happens a lot during these races. I feel like it kind of goes back and forth during the whole race with a lot of people and not just me, but seeing it from an outside perspective. There’s just a lot of chaos in the Truck Series and I think it’s almost a discipline issue. It’s like if you’re building a building and it has no structure, it’s gonna fall apart. If you’re raising a kid with no discipline, they’re not gonna behave the best way possible and I feel like the Truck Series, kind of what’s lacking right now is that discipline. You’ve got a lot of young kids in there trying to prove themselves and then you have some of the older talent that has a lot of experience and it’s not meshing well. I feel like there needs to be some structure to it in order to get it under control because I know, at least for me, if I’m gonna go hit somebody or wreck somebody if there is a black flag or some sort of discipline, some type of repercussion that I could face because of it, I’m probably gonna decide whether or not to do that and not just instantly do it because you know there’s nothing bad that’s gonna come of it after.”

SO IT’S KIND OF LIKE THE WILD WILD WEST? “I haven’t seen many people get penalized in the Truck Series for what happens on track. It’s kind of disheartening because you wish there were situations you’re in like, ‘Man, I didn’t deserve that,’ and I just get put in these positions and I know there are other drivers that probably feel the same way, but I feel like there needs to be more discipline and structure in the Truck Series.”

NASCAR SHOULD TAKE MORE OF A ROLE? “If we decide that’s a racing incident, all good. But if you see it’s blatantly intentional or something like that, I don’t know exactly how you’d do it, but as I was growing up if you did that you get put to the rear. That’s enough discipline to make someone have to decide and make a decision. Should I take that risk or should I not?”

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO INSPIRE WOMEN WHO WANT TO BE DRIVERS? “I love seeing girls get into racing, especially from a young age. When you see little girls around the racetrack or even coming up to me and saying ‘I started racing because of you.’ Or have their parents come up to me and say, ‘I got my daughter into racing because she watched you race and it made her want to get into racing.’ I love that. I honestly think that some of my best motivation comes from that – to show that I’m inspiring girls to get into racing and show that it is possible. Yeah, it may be hard, but it’s possible.”

IF THERE WAS A SONG FROM ANY GENRE THAT DESCRIBES YOU AS A PERSON AND DRIVER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “That’s a hard one. I think it kind of depends what kind of mood I’m in. My categories vary. One day it’s like 90’s rap. Sometimes it’s kind of sad, like Lana Del Ray, and then you have my old 80’s rock. I have three different genres I go to depending on my mood.”

ANY POSITIVES YOU’VE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE START OF THE SEASON? “Yeah, for sure. I feel like me as a driver, I’ve improved. There’s been a lot of stuff this year where we’ve gone into little situations or just like on track stuff to where you just get into someone else’s mess that happened, or just little things happening. At Gateway, we had the generator overheat in qualifying, so we weren’t able to cool down the truck, which means you can’t tape off, which taping off in qualifying at somewhere like Gateway, talking to some of the other drivers who have been there a lot and crew chiefs in the Truck Series, that’s worth like six-tenths. So, that affects my starting position and then Ilmore was just pulling some of the data and stuff off all of the trucks and they noticed that on our truck something with the fuel pressure wasn’t right, so they ended up changing up the fuel cell. So instead of starting 26th, which is already not great, we had to start at the rear, so I feel like it’s very hard to overcome a lot of those things happening and I guess it’s just luck. I don’t really know what to say, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s out of my control right now that’s happening and It’s hard as a young driver who it’s only my second season in the Truck Series, I didn’t get much practice last year and there’s only 20 or 30 minutes of practice usually at most of these tracks this year, it’s hard to overcome a lot of that stuff when you’re still trying to learn yourself and trying to take in as much information yourself when you’re starting at the rear trying to just get to where you want to be and go from there and actually go and develop and improve.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RACE IN YOUR HOME STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIS WEEKEND? “I’m excited. I’ve raced at Sonoma before in the K&N Series. I’ve qualified on the pole there before and it’s fun. I mean, I kind of got used to, when I raced on the west coast in the K&N Series, driving on those tracks and they had no grip, none, because they’re sitting in the sun for all those years and it just lacks a lot of grip. That’s kind of what I got used to and I feel like that’s why I was pretty decent at Sonoma when we went there for the first time. You kind of get the luxury once you start racing on the east coast that these tracks have a lot more grip than they do on the west coast, so I’m excited to go back there. I think I’ve got some good notes from the year’s past of me going there. Obviously, they trucks haven’t been there since ‘98, so it’s hard to go off notes from then, but I think having that little bit of experience in the west series is gonna help a lot – just firing off in practice, knowing what you want out of the truck, knowing how it kind of should feel and have at least an idea of it, and knowing those kind of markers on the track, so I’m excited. I’ve been using the Ford sim a lot and trying to get some more laps there. Joey Hand has been helping me on the sim, just kind of perfecting and tweaking little things that, in his opinion as a road course racer, could make me better on road courses.”

DOES YOUR SRX EXPERIENCE AT KNOXVILLE GIVE YOU AN EDGE FOR NEXT WEEKEND? “I love Knoxville. Knoxville is a really cool track to drive on and racing the SRX Series was really fun. It was crazy how comparable the SRX cars were to the truck handling-wise. I feel like it was a lot of fun and I feel like it translated pretty well and I feel like going back there it’s probably gonna be pretty crazy, like how it was last year, but I think with the experience we have there we should be pretty good.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TRACK ON THE SCHEDULE AND WHY? “I am a big fan of mile-and-a-halves. I just enjoy it. I feel like there’s a lot of information I’ve learned over the last year-and-a-half in the trucks and I think that in the mile-and-a-half stuff I’m able to apply it a lot more, just because it kind of slows down a little bit. You’re kind of having a little bit more time to kind of decide what you’re gonna do. I feel like it opens my mind to be able to use other things that I’ve learned the last year-and-a-half and apply them a little bit better, but mile-and-a-half stuff is really fun for me. I think Kansas, Vegas, those are kind of my favorite tracks. Gateway, obviously, I was really looking forward to for this year, but it didn’t go as planned. We got a decent finish away from it, but I had higher hopes for Gateway and I think my truck was pretty good that if we weren’t in the situation even before the race that we were in, we probably could have gotten a better finish.”

HOW DOES THE K&N CAR COMPARE TO A TRACK ON A ROAD COURSE? “I’ll let you know after. I’m hoping it compares pretty good because I do have a lot of notes from back then of me asking other drivers what to do, so I have their notes too, which is pretty nice. I’ve had the same laptop for six years, so that’s a plus. I think that going back to Sonoma in the truck is gonna be a little bit different. Obviously, the racing is probably gonna be a lot harder. This is a lot deeper field of good competition, but I think, at least for me, it gives me an idea of what to do. It gives me a base to go off of. Obviously, you could go in a couple different directions with stuff, but I feel like I have a good, solid base from being there in the K&N race.”

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN YOURSELF GROW ON AND OFF THE TRACK SINCE JOINING THE TRUCK SERIES? “I think last year I was lacking a little confidence in myself, just like when you go from running top three, top five every single week in K&N, ARCA, that kind of stuff – able to hop in dirt cars and do really good – and then all of a sudden you get in the Truck Series and you’re like, ‘I’m getting in wrecks every single weekend. Is my reaction time terrible? What’s going on?’ I live a little bit sometimes too much in the moment and I feel like it kind of hurts me because if there’s a problem right now, I want to fix it right now. That’s not always the case when it comes to racing stock cars. It doesn’t always work out like that, so I’ve kind of had to get used to that and kind of accept what I was working with and making the best of it, and trying to fix little things as we go and not try to fix everything right then in the moment. It’s tough. I mean, it’s very, very tough, but I think we’re just trying to do the best we can right now and just kind of get as many good finishes as we can, staying out of all the wrecks happening because I swear every single race in the Truck Series only half the field finishes.”

HOW ENJOYABLE WAS RUNNING SRX LAST YEAR? “It was a great experience. I never would have thought I would be sitting around at an autograph session with Bill Elliott. I was right next to him talking to him the whole time, and it’s crazy when you bring this older generation of racers – some are retired and some still race, but you bring them together. For me, this is my best opportunity to get the most information possible as a driver and kind of learn the ropes of everything from people who have, first of all, made it to that level, been at that level for a long time, and are out of it now because they’ve been so successful. I think there’s a lot of good advice and good tips you can learn from those type of guys and I’m excited to go back. That was a great experience. I don’t think I could complain about one thing in the SRX Series.”

HOW VALUABLE IS IT BEING AROUND THOSE GUYS AND HOW MUCH CAN YOU BRING INTO THE TRUCK SERIES? “I think when you learn anything from drivers who have had a lot of success that you can apply those really anywhere. I feel like I have this toolbox and I’m always trying to add new tools to it. I feel like you can take a lot of things away, whether you apply them in the Truck Series or dirt racing or SRX Series, wherever you apply them as a driver or it could just be literally applying them in your life. I think there’s a lot of things you can take away from people who have experience.”

IS IT A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE RACING AGAINST THOSE GUYS WHO HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUCK SERIES, WHERE THE COMPETITORS ARE YOUNGER? “For sure, 100 percent. I think when you have these guys who have been racing for so long and they, first of all, have earned their respect, but they’re respectful when they’re racing around you because they know that you’re young and you’re trying to learn from them. So, I really look at it is how they race me, I try to race people back with, but, obviously, I’m gonna have a lot more respect right from the get-go of those guys’ experience.”

AT THE START OF THE YEAR THERE WAS SOME TALK ABOUT XFINITY RACES FOR YOU THIS YEAR. IS THAT STILL A POSSIBILITY? “It’s tough trying to get funding midway through the season or trying to figure things out for a potential end of the year deal for at least me in these situations. We’re still working on it and trying to do what we can, but there’s nothing we really have set in stone at all right now. It’s all just kind of seeing what we could possibly do in the future. I wish I had an answer because I want answers myself, but nothing set yet.”

Amber Balcaen Riding Momentum Wave to Iowa Speedway ARCA Debut

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NEWTON, IA: Fresh off a career-best seventh-place finish in the premier ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway two weeks ago, rookie Amber Balcaen and her Rette Jones Racing ride the momentum wave to Iowa Speedway for Saturday night’s Calypso Lemonade 150.

The tight confines of the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway offer another new track on Balcaen’s roster, but she is embracing the opportunity to tackle the series’ first short track of the season hoping to deliver her first top-five finish in the sixth race of the season.

“I am looking forward to carrying my momentum of another career-best finish onto Iowa this weekend,” said Balcaen.

“This momentum of back-to-back top 10s is big for our team and my confidence moving forward. Hopefully, it continues in a big way on Saturday night.”

The race on Saturday marks the first time this season that the premier ARCA Menards Series has combined with the ARCA Menards Series East which will bring a variety of new drivers and new teams to the table, a challenge that Balcaen embraces.

“Combining the two ARCA Menards Series platforms brings in new players into the mix which means we must step up our Rette Jones Racing game with our No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion. The premier ARCA Menards Series alone has a lot of fast cars, but when you combine another series, it brings a few more, so execution for us on Saturday is key in making sure we keep going in the right direction.”

Since the drop of the green flag to the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season in February at Daytona,

Balcaen’s mission has been to make improvements with every start. Some finishes may not reflect the enhancements she has gained behind the wheel of her No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion, but with every ARCA premier start, she is becoming a better driver and her average finish of eighth over the past month showcases a path in the right direction.

I think we are definitely headed in the right direction for our 2022 season,” Balcaen explained. “Our goal going into the season was to show improvement and progression every race and we have done that. The more laps I get underneath me, the more skills and confidence I am building as a driver.

“I know Iowa Speedway has become a fan favorite for the ARCA Menards Series over the years, so I am looking forward to experiencing it for myself this weekend and earning our third top-10 of 2022.”

With her previous preparations paying off, Balcaen is keeping her same approach for Iowa Speedway this weekend.

“I am taking similar steps to prepare for Iowa by watching and studying film, going on iRacing and keeping up with my rigorous fitness and hydration regimens. At the end of the day, I am hoping that all of that hard work will pay off with fast laps and a smart race on Saturday night.”

As far as the race, Balcaen believes her Rette Jones Racing No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion can contend for another top-10 finish or better.

“For Iowa, I want to continue on this path of clean top-10 finishes and push towards getting our first top-five of the season,” sounded Balcaen.

For crew chief and co-team owner Rette, he is confident that his rookie driver will continue to adapt and find her groove and continue an upward pace in her ARCA Menards Series quest.

“I was thrilled with Amber’s efforts at Charlotte,” offered Rette. “It can be difficult to get comfortable at incredibly fast tracks like Kansas and Charlotte, but she has done very well over the last two races and we are eager to get to Iowa and see what type of finish we can put together.”

ICON Direct will continue to adorn the primary positions on Balcaen’s race car in their sixth of 20 races this season.

ICON Direct is a manufacturer of high-quality plastic component parts for the RV industry, located in Manitoba, Canada. ICON aftermarket replacement parts are available through RV Dealers and Distributors across North America and directly through their website IconDirect.com.

The Winnipeger’s new endeavor at Rette Jones Racing will also be supported by Glenn McLeod and Sons – cementing a full Canadian roster of partners for her ARCA Menards Series rookie season.

Longtime RJR partners Ford Performance, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement and JRi Shocks will continue their relationship with the team in 2022 and serve as associate partners on Balcaen’s No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion.

RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.

Entering Iowa, Balcaen sits fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, five points out of fourth and 51 markers in the arrears to championship leader Rajah Caruth.

For more on Amber Balcaen, please visit amberbalcaenracing.com, like her on Facebook (AmberBalcaenRacing) and follow her on Instagram (@amberbalcaen10) and Twitter (@amberbalcaen10).

For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing) or follow them on Instagram (@RetteJones30) and Twitter (@RetteJones30).

The Calypso Lemonade 150 (150 laps | 132 miles) is the sixth of 20 races on the 2022 ARCA Menards Series schedule. A final practice begins on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. General Tire Pole Qualifying will follow shortly after starting at 6:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on MAVTV and FloRacing beginning at 8:00 p.m. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).

About Rette Jones Racing:

Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up attitude.

Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plan to field a full-time entry in 2022 in the ARCA Menards Series, while also planning to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) respectively.

The winning ARCA team also offers technical and setup intel as part of its technical alliance partnership program.

Past Sonoma Truck Series Winners Named Grand Marshals & FaZe Faxuty Named Honorary Starter Of DoorDash 250 At Sonoma Raceway

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SONOMA, Calif. (June 8, 2022) – It’s been 24 years since the last command to start engines has been roared through these hills for a truck series race, and on Saturday, June 11 we will be honored by all four of the past truck series winners for the DoorDash 250 when they give the command to start engines to the drivers.

The group will include Ron Hornaday Jr, who won the Subway 100 in 1995, Dave Rezendes, who won the Kragen 151 in 1996, Joe Ruttman, who won the Kragen/Exide 151 in 1997, and Boris Said, who won the most recent Kragen/Exide 151 race in 1998. The four former winners will also take part in an autograph session and a fan Q&A prior to the start of the DoorDash 250.

“NASCAR Trucks are back, and what better way to start the race than with the drivers that won it all here first,” said Sonoma Raceway EVP and General Manager Jill Gregory. “We know fans have been waiting for this day since we announced the truck race, and we’re all excited to see this new set of drivers take on this challenging course.”

In addition to all four past winners giving the command, Sonoma Raceway will have Mohammed Eid, better known as FaZe Faxuty by all 206k of his Twitch followers wave the green flag as the Honorary Starter for the inaugural DoorDash 250.

Faxuty is a content creator and live streamer on Twitch and YouTube who joined FaZe Clan after his fiery personality caught the organization’s eye during the #FaZe5 recruitment challenge. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Sacramento, Faxuty has had aspirations to be a renowned gamer since he was a kid. He started as a Call of Duty player and has since expanded into several other games and genres.

In September 2020, FaZe Clan, the lifestyle and media platform rooted in gaming and youth culture, held the #FaZe5 recruitment challenge which resulted in six new recruits each winning a spot in FaZe Clan. Among the hundreds that entered the competition was Faxuty, a streamer who had only begun seriously streaming six months prior.

While the pandemic proved to be a difficult time for many, it did result in some remarkable stories of growth for the 23-year-old who in less than a year went from pulling 10-hour shifts to support his family, to becoming part of an organization he once dreamed of joining. In December 2020, Faxuty was introduced as the latest member of the FaZe’s Fortnite clan, and now we have the pleasure of introducing him as an honorary starter to our race.

The DoorDash 250 will serve as the 12th race on the Truck Series schedule. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the Truck Series’ all-time winningest driver Kyle Busch will be among the entrants in this year’s race. The event will be part of a tripleheader weekend that includes the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race and General Tire 200 ARCA Menards Series West event.

For tickets or more information on the DoorDash 250, visit https://www.sonomaraceway.com/events/doordash-250-and-general-tire-200-doubleheader/ or call 800-870-RACE. Weekend and single-day tickets are available; race-day tickets for kids 12 and under are just free with the advance purchase of an adult ticket.

Roush Fenway Keselowski Weekly Advance | Sonoma

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The first half of the NASCAR Cup Series season comes to a close this weekend as Sonoma Raceway hosts the 16th points race of the 2022 campaign. RFK has visited victory lane three times at the West coast road course with two wins in the Cup Series.

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Sonoma
Sunday, June 12 | 4 p.m. ET
FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kohler Power Reserve Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang

Looking for the Hat Trick in the ‘Golden State’
In 106 NCS starts at Sonoma, RFK has recorded two wins, 14 top-five finishes, 34 top-10 finishes and has led 274 laps. Former RFK driver Carl Edwards earned the organization’s most recent victory at the road course in 2014.

Hasta La Vista Baby

RFK has left the California road course victorious on two occasions in the NCS with former drivers Mark Martin and Carl Edwards. Martin earned the victory in 1997 after starting from the pole and leading 69 laps, while Edwards started fourth and led 26 laps in the 2014 running of this event.

Road Racing Success

As an organization, RFK has made 372 starts on road courses across NASCAR’s major touring series and has recorded 15 wins, 70 top-fives, 136 top-10s, 11 poles and 879 laps led. RFK has earned the most road course victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (six) followed by five in the NCS and four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

California Dreamin’

In 235 NCS starts in the state of California, RFK has scored nine wins, 44 top-fives, 87 top-10s and has led 1,715 laps at the tracks of Sonoma, Auto Club Speedway and Riverside International Raceway.

RFK Sonoma Wins

1997 Martin Cup

1997 Ruttman Truck

2014 Edwards Cup

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES – SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA – SILVESTRO AND CALDERON PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

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CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
ROAD AMERICA
ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 8, 2022

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 16 PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, AND TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT CHEVROLET met with members of the media via ZOOM to discuss the upcoming race at Road America.

THE MODERATOR: This weekend the NTT INDYCAR SERIES back at it heading to the historic 4.0 mile road course at Road America. For the first time in some nine years two women will be competing in a significant number of races during the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

This weekend Simona de Silvestro returns to the series, first of several races in 2022, as Paretta Autosport expand their program this year after doing the one-off Indy 500 last year. She will drive the No. 16 Paretta Autosport Chevrolet.

Preparing for her sixth start of the season, driver of the No. 11 Rocket A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, it’s great to have Tatiana Calderon with us as well.

Simona, certainly you’ve been in the simulator, this is a program that was announced in April with KiwiCo onboard. How excited are you to get to Road America?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I’m super excited to get back in the car. Yeah, it’s been a while since we announced it, so there was a lot of time to think about it, maybe overthink it. Talking a lot with the engineers and stuff like that. I’m just really glad to be in the week of the race now, kind of just getting down to work and get going.

So, yeah, I can’t wait to be back in an INDYCAR. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now, especially on the road course. So, yeah, pretty excited about it.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously Paretta Autosport, Female-Forward team, bringing back most of the team both over the wall and when it comes to the commercial side as well.

Even those no longer with the team, Caitlyn Brown, she did the inside front tire last year’s 500, she is now with Scott McLaughlin’s car as a junior mechanic. Lauren Sullivan is now a coordinator with Team Penske. Madison Conrad did the inside right tire. She is now involved in NASCAR.

The women’s program that has and is working providing a lot of opportunities. So I guess the question is, how excited are you to see what this next step looks like with Paretta Autosport?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Like you just said, I think it’s really important. I think what Beth has put together last year, just doing the Indy 500 with these women, seeing three of them really kind of taking off and doing some really important jobs on some other teams, I think it just really gives a lot of credit to her.

I think if she wouldn’t have put this program together, I don’t think these women would be in those positions now. I think that’s something really special. I think it’s something that Beth can really be proud of.

For me as well, I think the last seven years I’ve always tried to come back to INDYCAR. It was really a struggle, to be honest, to get a seat or something like that. Trying really hard to do it because I think for me INDYCAR is very special and I think it’s something that really suits me, where I really wanted to race.

She putting this program together, especially now doing more races, I think it’s really important, a really big step forward actually for us as well, just to see how we’re doing, and hopefully we can really build on this and become full-time.

Yeah, I’m super pumped. She’s an amazing person. I wouldn’t be here without her from that point of view. I think all of the women involved, me, myself, the other ones, I think we’re pretty grateful for her really fighting for this and getting it going.

THE MODERATOR: Also welcoming Tatiana Calderon. Tell us about the first few races this season for you and what you are learning and continue to learn about the race team and about the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

TATIANA CALDERON: Yeah, first of all I’m super happy to see another female driver joining the grid, to see women in motorsport. I think it’s great for the series, great for the sport. Is another very competitive driver joining the grid that is already quite competitive. Yeah, looking forward to see Simona and compete against her this weekend and in the next couple of rounds.

But also, you know, it’s been very tough for me coming as a rookie with very little testing. So I think we have improved particularly, like, in the road courses where I can, like, explore the limit of the car a little bit more. These street circuits are really tough here, compared to Europe even or some other places. The bumps that you experience in Detroit, for example, I think that’s unique from INDYCAR that you can have all these kind of tracks.

I’ve been enjoying suffering a little bit, as well. It’s tough, but we like the good competition. Yeah, hopefully once we get to places where I’ve been before, like Indy GP again, Mid-Ohio where I tested for the first time last year in July, to go to familiar places, I hope that our performance can continue to improve

.

THE MODERATOR: That’s what makes the championship all the more special and difficult because of all the disciplines involved.

It’s back to Road America really for both of you. Simona, you were in Atlantics in 2007, 2008, and Tatie in the old Star Mazda Series. Your thoughts about going back to a big track like Road America?

TATIANA CALDERON: I think it was 2011, 2012. All I remember was the carrousel and I really liked the track because it reminds you of, I don’t know, like Spa-Francochamps or something, flowing elevation changes.

I will be in the simulator just to remind myself of all the corners and stuff. Yeah, happy to be back in a road course. I think everyone enjoys Road America quite a lot, so looking forward to the weekend.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. Tatiana, through now a handful of races in your rookie INDYCAR season, do you feel like you have a grasp of where you’ve improved the most so far as well as maybe one or two areas that you’re supremely focused on trying to improve as the season goes on?

TATIANA CALDERON: Yes, certainly. I think the first time I did more than 20 laps in the car was, like, in the race in St. Petersburg. Then to understand a little bit the tires like I’m used to, like Pirelli, the Yokohama I was running in Super Formula a few years back. It’s a very different type of tire and style I think you need in INDYCAR.

Just getting a little bit of the specific style for this type of car, a bit heavier, but good power. I think it took me a little bit longer than I would want to. Also because we started with the street circuits. It’s a little bit more challenging to explore the limit of the car when you know the wall is right there, and if you miss the track time in a place like this.

Yeah, I think just understanding a little bit more of the car behavior and the tires is what will bring me more performance towards the end of the year.

Q. Simona, you’ve done full seasons in INDYCAR, but it’s been a long time. What do you feel like is a realistic expectation for you and the team?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, I think the last time I was at Road America was 2009. Yeah, it’s been quite a while.

But I don’t know. For me, the expectation, I think at the end of the day you want to do the best job you can. I think we have to be realistic as well. We have not tested. It’s the middle of the season, all these guys and girls have been running half the season already. We need to see where we kind of stack up.

I think for me in a sense, I’m really looking forward to getting back in an INDYCAR. So from that point of view I think I’ll push quite hard to get up to speed as quickly as I can.

Yeah, I don’t know. I think if we do our job correctly, I think we can be on the competitive side for sure. I don’t think we can win the race or be a podium. I don’t think. I think that’s really unrealistic. Even if we see Will qualifying 16th and stuff like that, I think the field is super deep.

From that point of view, yeah, I think we have to be realistic. We just need to do our job correctly and just kind of, yeah, keep chipping away at it, finishing the race. I think if we do everything correctly, I think the race could be all right.

Q. A decade or so ago it was more common to see a handful of women racing in INDYCAR. Nine years since we had two or more outside the Indy 500. What do you feel getting back to a trend where we see women racing in INDYCAR on a more regular basis, what that can potentially do for the growth, from the fan side or potential future driver side?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I think, like you said, for me personally, when I got into INDYCAR in 2010, there were quite a few females. Danica was driving. We were quite a few.

It’s interesting the last few times it hasn’t really happened. I think in a sense, seeing at a top level it’s only going to be the two of us, but I think the trend has changed a little bit, there’s some up-and-coming. If you look at the junior series, I think it’s much more common to see female drivers, which I think is really positive.

But for sure, I think being the two of us in a top series, also hopefully get results, I think it can encourage even more girls to go driving and all that. I think it’s really important that we are able to be competing in INDYCAR, yeah.

TATIANA CALDERON: I saw you race when I was doing Star Mazda. I look up to Simona, Danica. There was Bea at some races when I was there, as well. It’s a shame it was a long period the last couple of years that we hadn’t had somebody in the top level of single-seaters.

I think sometimes you have to see it to believe it, for the young generation to say I want to be in INDYCAR, because there are females that can compete against men in a very competitive championship.

I hope that together we can keep that momentum going and to see more females starting also in single-seaters because at the end that’s what we need. It’s a circle, so hopefully there will be more and more joining us in the future, and we can stay and represent women in the best possible way.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, did you look up to Simona, watch her drive?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: You make me feel old (laughter).

TATIANA CALDERON: Let’s just experience looking at that (smiling).

She was doing so well. I wanted to be in INDYCAR watching her and Danica being very competitive. I think great news to have her back, to have more females. The more the better. The more normal it becomes.

THE MODERATOR: You’re both way younger than any of us on the call, so don’t go there, Simona.

Q. Simona, an unusual situation where when you leave a series for seven years and come back, the car isn’t often the same. I guess the chassis is the same fundamentally but a lot of changes to the car. What are you feeling like is going to be your main challenge this weekend, what aspect of the car will be most difficult?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, in the sense when I’m in the car, it feels pretty similar because, like you said, it’s the same chassis. But definitely with the aeroscreen it seems the behavior of the car has changed quite a lot, as well as looking at the onboard looks different than how I used to drive it.

To be honest at the moment, I haven’t driven it. I’m a bit maybe overthinking sometimes a little bit. I need to go into the weekend and see what we got.

The good thing is it’s been quite a while. I think in a sense I won’t really remember how it really felt like so I can start from a blank sheet and work from there. I think a lot of the guys who have been running a lot, I think the aeroscreen changed that a lot. I think they’ve been trying to get the feel they used to have without it. In that sense for me it’s been so long that maybe I’ll just hopefully adapt to it a little bit quicker.

But the other thing, I only haven’t done a really long race, like an INDYCAR race in a while. I did GT last year where I think we were in the car for like 45 minutes. I think that’s going to be interesting to be back in the car for two hours.

I don’t know. For me, I feel like a little kid again getting to drive an INDYCAR. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten how to drive so I think we’ll be okay.

Q. Can you tell us who your engineer is? Have you been able to establish a relationship there?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, little bit. I actually was in Detroit with the team as well, with Ed Carpenter Racing, kind of integrating. I know a few guys there that I worked with in the past, so that’s kind of positive.

John Gentilozzi is going to be my engineer. He’s really well-integrated in the team. I think the guys they have there are really strong. From that point of view, even my teammates, I think they’re really strong. I can just kind of feed off them, try to get up to speed as quickly as I can.

I know they are quick and that will help as well.

Q. Simona, right now the plan is still Road America, Mid-Ohio and Nashville for you this year, no other races at this point?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Correct, yes. At the moment it’s those three that we announced.

Q. Because Beth wants to obviously build out Paretta Autosport, Female-Forward, how has the dynamic changed with the female personnel, given three of last year’s members of the team have left? Have they been replaced with other females? What’s the female dynamic right now?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, so there’s a few that are coming back. Like you just said, three of them left and got different opportunities, which I think is really positive.

But I think what Beth really is going to try to do is really find more girls that can kind of train, train with Carpenter, kind of build them in. Just actually giving them their, let’s say, first step into it.

I think she’s been able to do that last year. I think that’s kind of how she’s looking at it: giving the first step. Hopefully they will grow enough within the team that we can start really running with those girls and kind of they can really do the changing tire and all that, really be pointed out to be left front or something like that.

But that will take a little bit of time now, especially with our new association with Carpenter. This is all kind of a work in progress. But hopefully with this year and having even more races next year or something like that, this is really kind of the first steps towards that goal.

Q. Simona, how beneficial was it for you to be integrated with ECR in Detroit? What do you think you learnt over that weekend that you can bring forward to Road America this weekend?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Quite a lot. I think the biggest thing was just the process of the race with strategy and all that. It was actually cool to be on the timing stand because in my career I never really did that because I was always driving. You kind of see a little bit all the stuff behind the scenes, you kind of learn and understand a little bit more what the engineers are going through, things like that. That was good.

Also kind of just getting back to how an INDYCAR race unfolds. I haven’t been around it for a long time. It was just good to see how this kind of all works.

It’s still pretty similar to what how I’m used to, but I think it’s always good to get a bit of a refresher, let’s say.

Q. Tatiana, Kyle had a great race on Sunday. What do you think the race on Sunday is going to do for the team’s confidence this weekend going into Road America?

TATIANA CALDERON: I think it’s a very different type of circuit, and the setup will be completely different to a street circuit. Yeah, I think Seb, we were looking a little bit on his data, the comments he had from the car back in Road America. I think we have a good baseline to start off with.

Obviously, you know, every year every driver is a little bit different in terms of what they like of the car.

But, no, I’m happy. I’m confident the team has been very motivated to keep trying to move up the grid. Yeah, I’m happy with my engineering group and everybody just really listening to my comments and trying to make it better for me.

Hopefully we’ll have an entertaining weekend.

Q. How are you feeling about getting back into a road course race after almost seven years? What are your thoughts about not getting a 500 drive but a three-race program for 2022?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: You know, I’m really looking forward to get on a road course, street course, because I think that’s really where I’ve in the past my strength in a sense. So from that point of view it just gives me a bit of confidence. When I look back at races, I was kind of all right, so I think I can get there again. That’s pretty positive.

I think getting the three races instead of the 500, in a sense it makes a lot of sense. I think the situation we would have been in, Ed couldn’t run a fourth car, there wasn’t enough people to run a fourth car, so it didn’t really make much sense to really try to do something that wasn’t really possible to do just to do the 500.

Coming up with those three races I think in general, as well, to where Beth wants her team to go, how she wants to grow it, I think it makes a lot of sense for us to be a bit more on track as well, getting this experience.

Also all the women that are involved, to get to experience different things, hopefully we’ll get some momentum through that to do this.

Q. Simona, being out for a bit, a lot of talk has been about the road course. Do you think the physicality of the race will be much of a challenge for you?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Well, I’ve been training really hard the last few months. I think for sure when you don’t drive for a while, yeah, I think there’s always being fit, but then there’s driver fit. I would ideally for sure liked to have had a test day to be in the car, seat position, all that. Right now we did everything at the shop and I’m going to go in the first session, and hopefully it will all be good. I think having a test day would have been really good.

But, yeah, I don’t know. I’ve trained a lot. I’ve been in racing for a long time. Hopefully what I’ve done is enough. Yeah, you know, for sure I think it won’t be a walk in the park. I think these cars are quite tough to drive. You don’t have power steering, things like that. The carrousel, it will be quite a lot of Gs going in.

For sure it’s not going to be super easy, but at the end of the day I’m a racing driver. When opportunities like this come up, I need to be ready for it, and hopefully I am.

Q. You’re a racing driver. Put your INDYCAR racing hat on. Do you see yourself as a female INDYCAR driver or an INDYCAR driver who happens to be a female?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, well, definitely more the second one. I think for me throughout my whole career I’ve always just been a driver. You know what I mean? I think for sure as the years went on, I realized I definitely can have an impact as well because I just kind of went my way. I didn’t care that I was a girl, I just wanted to be a racing driver, I wanted to win races. That’s how I went about it.

In the sense I think racing is a great platform to show that you can compete against the guys. I think I’ve shown that in the past. I think that’s a really important message. Also I think in business and all that, if somebody is good enough, they should get the opportunity.

I think that’s something I’ve always fought for. I’m still fighting for this, to really show that, yeah, anything is possible. Yeah, for sure it’s not an easy walk and stuff like that, but hopefully if we get good results I think it will create even more opportunities for young girls to follow their dream and not be afraid to try something different.

Q. Tatiana, would you mind answering that one, too, on the gender part.

TATIANA CALDERON: I totally agree with what Simona said. I feel like a racing driver first who happen to be female. I think it’s the same way Simona has done it: you have to be measuring yourself against the best to be better. I think in this sport is one of the only sports where we can compete in equal terms. We can prove that we can do the same job or better than anybody.

It’s been just more about having those opportunities and maybe sometimes you have to knock the door, use some other tools that you have has a female, and explore those because that’s something you have.

But certainly I hope that having more females at the top level and doing well will then open more doors for the generation that comes underneath us because it’s not easy to get those chances.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, obviously when you go through a paddock area and see little girls, young women that aspire to do racing, maybe haven’t thought about racing as a place of employment or job opportunity, there’s a connection you guys make that no one else in the paddock can make. Do you sense that, feel that? How important is that and how special is that?

TATIANA CALDERON: Oh, absolutely. I think that’s one of the things I love most about American racing, that the paddocks are open for more kids, for more people so you can interact with some of the little girls. Just a handshake or a picture can change their view on the sport. That’s something you feel with their parents, as well. It’s like, Look, this is a girl, you can do this.

It’s been really nice to experience that kind of thing. With little changes you can maybe change the perception of somebody or get them interested. I have felt that more in America than in any other place. So hopefully we start to change some stereotypes and some beliefs and we get more young girls involved very early on because I think you need that in sport as well, to start early.

THE MODERATOR: Simona, you agree?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I totally agree with Tatiana, what she says. If I look at myself when I was younger, I didn’t really realize, but in a sense I have, like, a really big impact in making people believe that really they can do anything.

I think also seeing the women that are in the team, that there is a lot of opportunities out there, not to be afraid to go that way.

I think sports is the perfect platform. Especially I think INDYCAR is the perfect platform because it’s quite accessible to fans. That makes it really special.

Q. How do you see the future of women in motorsport? Do you think in the future they will be more opportunities or do you think it will be maintain those opportunities? We know Tatiana has been in the past few years in important championships around the world. We’re seeing more girls in junior categories. How do you see the future in these important categories around the world like INDYCAR, F2? Will women be more competing there more than now?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Well, I hope so. I think it’s still a bit of a fight in the sense, yeah, if I look at my career, I think in 2013 I was really kind of at the top where I should be. I was really competing up front in INDYCAR.

To be honest, there wasn’t really an opportunity to go into a bigger team. I think that still is something — I think that we need to fight for. I think if we are able to be really competitive, I think the last 10 years things have changed a lot, that there is in a sense more people willing to maybe take a risk. I think it’s still a bit of a work in progress.

I think we still need to prove that every weekend we can be running up front and get those results. Hopefully that will even pus

h more opportunities for women to really be at the top level in racing.

TATIANA CALDERON: I agree 100%. We need more opportunities with more females starting. It’s a long process. I think it’s been changing, but not at the speed we would like it to change.

Like Simona said, I think we still need that big opportunity. Look at Formula 1 as well, 45 years since a female was on the grid, right? In Formula 2 there has not been that many. We still need to get more opportunities at all levels, not just as drivers.

I definitely see people want female drivers more and more, to give us more opportunities. Hopefully we will see them in the upcoming years. But, yeah, it’s a long process.

Q. Is there any chance to speed that process that you’re talking to, what would it be?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I don’t know. In racing definitely money makes a big difference. If you have sponsors that are really helping teams that also really want to see you successful, I think that will really I think push things forward.

At the end of the day, if I look back, like I said before, I think in ’13 I finished in front of Josef in the championship. He ended up going to Penske and then won the championship two times.

At the end you need to get the right shot, you need to get people behind you who really want to support you. I think as a female driver, we do get the opportunities, but I think also sometimes it’s really quick when we have a bit of a bad season, not get dropped but the support then isn’t really right away.

I think with some guys, they get more chances at it. I think that is sometimes something we fight a little bit more for, what is a bit trickier in that sense to navigate.

For sure I think if you find good sponsors, a really good team that wants you around, wants you to succeed, I think we can really change that.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, the scrutiny is a little different, isn’t it?

TATIANA CALDERON: Sorry?

THE MODERATOR: The scrutiny is a little different, to Simona’s point, that maybe a weekend that doesn’t go as well as you would like is looked at differently.

TATIANA CALDERON: Yeah, you know, sadly that’s the way it is sometimes. We get judged in a different way that maybe some guy does a mistake, it was a mistake, but if it’s a female driver then it’s because she’s a female sometimes.

But I think we’ve been changing that perception. Like I said, I think it’s just taking time and getting those opportunities to perform at a really high level with a really good team behind you.

It’s about also the management side believing truly in what we can achieve in a good sort of team atmosphere. Yeah, at the end of the day performance is all what matters. Hopefully we can show that and earn those opportunities once we are up there.

THE MODERATOR: Simona, what do the next 24, 48 hours look like? Are you going to be in the simulator tomorrow?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yes, I’ll be in the sim getting through all the procedures and all that, then on Thursday I’ll be going to Road America, so looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: The countdown is on. We’ll wrap things up from here.

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Meyer Shank Racing Heads to Road America for Third Consecutive Round of INDYCAR Competition

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Official Release
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#60: Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (8 June 2022) – Meyer Shank Racing’s durability and versatility will be tested this weekend when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES competes for the third-consecutive weekend on the third different type of track for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday (12:30pm ET, NBC / SiriusXM Ch. 160).

Coming off of a big weekend in Detroit which saw both of MSR’s IMSA WeatherTech and INDYCAR programs on track, the team will now head to Road America for the eighth round of IndyCar competition.

After tackling the famed Indianapolis 500 on the world’s most famous oval and shifting to the temporary circuit at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, MSR drivers Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud will now race for 55 laps, 220.55 miles on the legendary four-mile, 14-turn permanent circuit in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine.

Castroneves won the pole, led 17 laps and finished third in his most recent IndyCar race at Road America in 2017. He also finished fifth in 2016, with his best finish of seventh in four CART starts in 2001. Castroneves’ experience at Road America extends beyond open-wheel racing having also won from the IMSA WeatherTech DPi pole position in 2020.

Pagenaud’s best result at Road America was fourth in 2017, when he started from fourth and led two laps. His eight starts at the Wisconsin circuit include a 2007 Champ Car event and seven IndyCar races from 2016-21.

MSR has three IndyCar races at Road America to its credit from 2019-2021. The team’s run at Road America has seen quick qualifying pace with MSR qualifying on the front row in 2020 followed by a third place qualifying run in 2021.

Live broadcast coverage of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America will begin at 12:30pm ET on NBC on Sunday June 12th. SiriusXM will also provide live IndyCar Radio coverage on XM Ch. 160.

Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:
“Road America is a track that I am looking forward to going back to. It’s certainly a challenging track, it’s very long – and beautiful by the way. Last time I was there in IndyCar I got pole position and last time I was there with IMSA I got the win from the pole, so I’m really looking forward to going back this weekend.”

Simon Pagenaud:
“I’m really looking forward to Road America. Coming off of the last few races we have really started to pick up some momentum and we have been able to show what we’re capable of. All the guys have been working super hard behind the scenes and it’s showing in our performance. Hopefully we can have another good run in the AutoNation SiriusXM machine this weekend.”

KENNINGTON AND CASTROL EDGE TEAM SET FOR RETURN TO CHAUDIERE

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Official Release
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June 8, 2022. DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team return to battle this Saturday for round three of the 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series on the challenging high-banked oval at the Autodrome Chaudière in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec. It’s a track that suits the style of the St. Thomas, Ontario driver and one where he’s enjoyed good success in previous races.

This will be the first trip for the series to the Quebec oval since 2019. Typical of Kennington’s career performance, in six previous events at the Autodrome Chaudière Kennington has placed the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in top-ten at five of those races. He also captured a podium finish in 2015.

The race will feature 250-laps of action and the high degree of banking allows for plenty of side-by-side combat. With room to maneuver expect to see Kennington wheel the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge up front.

Here’s what you need to know.

Weekend Race Event Preview
Saturday June 11th Green Flag 5:30PM Eastern
QwickWick 250 presented by St. Hubert
Race three of 13 in 2022
This is the NASCAR Pinty’s Series race at the Autodrome Chaudière

The Track: .25-mile, banked, paved oval

Best finish: Third in 2015

Career Victories: 23

Most Recent Win: Delaware Speedway 2022

DJ Quote: “It will be nice to get back and race in front of some passionate race fans at Chaudière. We’ve run well there before, no doubt the track has changed a bit, but we’ll be able to adjust our set up during practice. With a large field of cars being patient and being in position at the end will be key”.

TV & Live Streaming
All races will be streamed live on TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada and through FloRacing in the United States. The race will also be broadcast on TSN and RDS2. Check guide for date and time.

Race fans can follow DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team on their official social media platforms:

Twitter www.twitter.com/@djkracing
Instagram www.instagram.com/djkracing
Website www.djkracing.ca
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DJKenningtonRacing/

Ford Performance Racing School Mustang: Chase Briscoe Sonoma Advance

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Official Release
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CHASE BRISCOE
Sonoma Advance
No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
● Time/Date: 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 12
● Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway
● Layout: 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 110 laps/218.9 miles (352.3 kilometers)
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 30 laps / Final Stage: 55 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe is back behind the wheel of the Ford Performance Racing School-branded No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Mustang for this Sunday’s Save Mark 350k at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Ford Performance Racing School is the only school to wear the Ford oval, and Ford is the only full-line vehicle manufacturer to offer product-focused experiential driving programs exclusively to the owners of its complete line of performance vehicles, from cars to trucks to SUVs.

● Briscoe has one start at the 1.99-mile, 10-turn Sonoma road course. He started 25th and finished 17th last season. In eight Cup Series starts on road courses, Briscoe has three top-10 finishes and was just shy of earning his career first Cup Series victory on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last summer.

● The 27-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, picked up two Xfinity Series wins on road courses – his first career Xfinity Series victory was in the series’ inaugural race on the Charlotte Roval in 2018. He also fulfilled his childhood dream of kissing the historic Yard of Bricks when he scored his fifth win of the 2020 season on the Indianapolis road course.

● Briscoe finished among the top-10 in all but three of the 10 road-course races in which he competed in the Xfinity Series. And in his lone NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start on a road course – 2017 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario – Briscoe finished seventh in a Ford F-150.

● Briscoe is 14th in the driver championship with 15 of 36 races complete. He is 145 points out of first and currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his March 13 win at Phoenix Raceway.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Last year was your first time racing at Sonoma and you were still new to Cup Series racing. How have you evolved as a driver since then and how will it help you this weekend?

“Last year was tough. Sonoma is a super technical track, and the only experience I had there was in the ARCA West race the day before, so I didn’t have a whole lot to use to prepare. I think I’ve become more confident as a driver. Last year, I was trying really hard to learn how to race in the Cup Series while not messing up other drivers and I realized I had to get over that. I learned a lot more by getting up there and racing these guys to see what I could figure out from how they drive certain tracks. This season has been good so far. We got off a little after the Phoenix win, and COTA didn’t really go the way we wanted, but I’m excited to get to another road course and see how it goes. This car is much better on road courses than what we’ve had in the past and I think this is a chance for us to get another really good finish and maybe another win to secure our spot in the playoffs a little more than it is now.”

Your team owner and former driver of the No. 14 was pretty good at Sonoma. Have you had a chance to talk with him about what you can do to run up front on Sunday?

“Yeah, it seems like dirt racers have done pretty well at Sonoma in the past. I haven’t talk to Tony (Stewart) specifically about Sonoma, but I’ll be with him later this week and might have to pick his brain a little on what we can do. I think I understand the car a little better this time around, and knowing the track helps. So, I kind of know what I need to focus on and maybe he can help out with that.”

No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey
Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen
Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Joey Campbell
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

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

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

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

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink
Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina

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