Home Blog Page 1961

McCall Gaulding Defends as Better Half iRacing Dash Champion

By
Official Release
-

Sister Kennedy Gaulding finishes second

CONCORD, N.C. – (May 20, 2022) – When the checkered flag flew over the 2022 Better Half iRacing Dash, driver McCall Gaulding backed up last year’s victory by once again claiming the championship, trophy and ring from Southern Recognition, along with a $10,000 purse for her charity, Feeding America. The annual fundraising event benefiting Motor Racing Outreach continues to be a great, fun and growing success.

Airing on FS1’s NASCAR “Race Hub” from the FOX Sports Studios, the 12 drivers received coaching from their NASCAR-affiliated crew chiefs as they competed via iRacing in US Legends cars at virtual Texas Motor Speedway. iRacing is the most realistic racing simulation game and the official simulation of NASCAR. Two drivers earned front row starting positions based off of what they fundraised leading up to the race. One was Jamie Lambert, wife of NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief Luke Lambert. Her crew chief was Lambert’s driver Noah Gragson. The other was Taylor Nemechek, wife of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver John Hunter Nemechek, who had ARCA driver Corey Heim serving as her crew chief.

Leading up to the race were two heats. Gaulding, who had NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and fiance Zane Smith as her crew chief, won the first one. Kenzie Hemric, wife of defending NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship driver Daniel Hemric, won the second heat with her husband as crew chief.

When the initial green flag waved, the battles were intense in the first few laps. Gaulding quickly worked her way into the top spot and never relinquished the lead. As the final laps ticked down, Kennedy Gaulding and Nemechek became embroiled in a battle for second.

On the final lap, Gaulding prevailed to finish second to her sister, with Nemechek taking third. Close behind was Lambert in fourth, with Kate Fegley-Lummus rounding out the top-five finishers. The rest of the field, in order, were Jennifer Self, Kendall McReynolds-Anderson, Kristin Labonte, Jessica Ives, Jacquelyn Ragan, Cami Creed and Kenzie Hemric.

Afterward, McCall Gaulding said she was quite happy to partake in this year’s Better Half iRacing Dash to raise money for MRO, win for her charity, and best of all – defend her title as champion.

“Winning back-to-back is pretty dang cool,” Gaulding said. “I’m so pumped to have won again, not only for myself, but for my sponsor KOIA and my charity Feeding America. Plus, winning that huge trophy and the beautiful ring from Southern Recognition. It was so much fun being part of the Better Half iRacing Dash once again this year and competing against these wonderful ladies in our sport. It’s also super cool my little sister finished second, making it a Gaulding Girls sweep.”

“A big thank you to KOIA for coming on board to sponsor me, to MRO for putting this race on once again for us better halves, and for all they do for the sport of NASCAR. My crew chief, Zane Smith, is proud of me, and said I was one of the easiest drivers to work with. We had so much fun working together as he taught me all the racing terms. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who donated to help me and benefit MRO.”

MRO has hosted the event since its inception 12 years ago, with Kristin Labonte coming on board through her company, Breaking Limits, to organize and promote the event.

“What a race! The 2022 Better Half iRacing Dash exceeded expectations in every way,” said Billy Mauldin, Executive Director for MRO. “Under the leadership of Kristin Labonte, ‘The Commish,’ this year’s group of drivers not only put on a show, but they raised a lot of money for MRO. I cannot thank FOX, iRacing, US Legends and NASCAR enough for all their support. The buzz for 2023 has already started, as many drivers are looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in an effort to unseat our two-time, defending champion, McCall Gaulding. The Better Halves proved themselves as such once again.”

LE MANS 24 HOUR RACE TO BE THE FINAL LMP2 RACE FOR TEAM PENSKE IN 2022

By
Official Release
-

MOORESVILLE, NC (May 20, 2022) – Team Penske has announced that the team will no longer race in the LMP2 class for the remainder of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, following the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month.

The team will instead turn its attention to putting maximum effort into testing and preparation of its Porsche Penske Motorsport LMDh program ahead of its debut in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech Championship Series in 2023. The team has developed an extensive testing program both in the United States and Europe for the remainder of 2022 to ensure the four-car effort is ready to compete at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January of 2023.

“We are very appreciative of our time in WEC this year and we have been able to make the most of our time on track this season,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “As an organization, we didn’t have a lot of experience within WEC, so running the races in 2022 has allowed us to learn the tracks, the rules and understand how a race weekend operates. We were able to gather a lot of feedback and information over the first two races and we expect to learn even more at Le Mans. Fortunately, our LMDh program is progressing quickly, so we need to focus that to ensure we are prepared for the start of the 2023 season.”

In its first two races of the 2022 WEC season, the Team Penske LMP2 team, with drivers Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr and Emmanuel Collard, finished eighth in class at Sebring and fourth in class at Spa-Francorchamps. Team Penske will compete in its final LMP2 race of the 2022 FIA WEC season at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 8-12.

About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 660 pole positions and 41 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 56-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2022, Team Penske will compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NASCAR Cup Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.

RCR Event Preview – Texas All-Star

By
Official Release
-

Richard Childress Racing at the All-Star Race and Texas Motor Speedway … Richard Childress Racing has four wins in the NASCAR All-Star Race, three by Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990 and 1993) plus Kevin Harvick’s victory in 2007. Jeff Burton (2007) and Austin Dillon (2020) have wins at Texas Motor Speedway in events where points were awarded. The Welcome, N.C., organization has earned five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins with Kevin Harvick (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012) and two NASCAR Truck Series wins with Jay Sauter (1999) and Ty Dillon (2013).

All-Star Race Rules and Regulations:

The race will consist of four stages, with the first three 25 laps in length and the fourth and final being a 50-lap shootout for the $1 million prize. The new format has provided a major incentive to win any of the opening three stages or the pit stop competition during the break between Stages 2 and 3.

  • Stage 1 (25 laps): Stage 1 winner will start on the pole in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stages 2 and 3.
  • Stage 2 (25 laps): Stage 2 winner starts second in final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
  • Special Stage Break (Pit Stop Competition): Each team must pit and perform a four-tire stop. The team with the shortest time on pit road (pit in/pit out) wins the pit crew award and the driver will start fourth in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
  • Stage 3 (25 laps): Stage 3 winner starts third in final stage.
  • Stage 4 (50 laps): Stage 1 winner starts first, Stage 2 winner second, Stage 3 winner third and pit stop competition winner fourth. If a “natural” caution occurs between laps 15-25 of the final stage, standard race procedures will be in effect. If no “natural” caution occurs during that time, NASCAR will call an “All Star” competition caution. Winner of the Stage 4 earns $1 million.

Introducing the Next Gen … NASCAR’s Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which officially debuted in 2022, is a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing. With technology at the forefront, Richard Childress Racing has played a unique and critical role in helping to bring this new on-track identity to life, working closely with OEMs, other teams and NASCAR to build and test the initial prototype.

Catch the Action … The Texas 250 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, May 21 beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Follow Sunday’s Action at Texas … The NASCAR All-Star Open preludes the NASCAR All-Star Race and will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, May 22 beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the NASCAR All-Star Race at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Both races will also be broadcast live on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.


This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway … Dillon, who has made three previous All-Star race starts, is racing his way into this year’s All-Star event via the NASCAR Open, which will be comprised of three segments of 20, 20, and 10 laps. The winners of each Stage will advance to the All-Star race, as will the winner of a Fan Vote. Dillon is an accomplished racer at Texas Motor Speedway, with one Cup win at the track in 2020.

Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.

Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

Do you look forward to the All-Star race since Texas Motor Speedway is the track you earned your last win at?

“I do. I think it’s pretty cool to be able to run the All-Star race at Texas Motor Speedway. I’m really hoping that I can race my way in and have a chance at winning because Texas has always been a strong track for me. I think as the surface wears out, Texas could become a better race. It just needs to lose some more grip in order to make the racing more exciting.”


This Week’s Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway … Last season’s All-Star Race marked the first that Tyler Reddick competed in. As the Stage 2 winner in the All-Star Open, Reddick made his way into the main show, starting 19th and finishing 16th. Reddick led 18 of 20 laps in the first stage of the Open. In total, Reddick has made three NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Texas Motor Speedway, not including the All-Star Race. In 2020, he made his first start from 24th and got a career-best finish at the track of second. Last season, he started ninth and finished ninth.

All-Star Race Fan Vote … Every year for the All-Star Race, fans have the opportunity to vote for their favorite driver to make it into the race based on the “fan vote.” Tyler Reddick is currently ranked in the top four in the fan vote. Entries are open until Noon ET on Friday, May 20. You can vote once per day for Tyler at https://www.nascar.com/fanvote. If Reddick wins a stage in the Open race before the All-Star Race, he will be locked into the field and not eligible to win the fan vote. A driver must finish the Open with a car in raceable condition at the time called as determined by NASCAR to win the fan vote.

Numbers Don’t Lie … The 2022 season has been a roller coaster for Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 team so far this season. Thirteen races in and Reddick has accumulated four top fives and five top-10 finishes. Reddick has led a career-high 230 laps in 13 races. In previous seasons, he had not led more than 43 laps all season. In the last five races, Reddick has two runner-up finishes. Currently, he has an average start of 11.0 and an average start of 18.1.

About Guaranteed Rate … Guaranteed Rate is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, the company has more than 8,000 employees in 500 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances, funding more than $95 billion in total loan volume in 2021 alone. Powered by its belief in positivity, the company has become one of the largest retail lenders in the nation. Guaranteed Rate delivers innovative technology, including the world’s first Digital Mortgage, low rates and unparalleled customer service. Visit https://www.rate.com/mortgage-rates for more information.

TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:

Are you looking forward to the All-Star Race this weekend?

“The All-Star Race is always a really fun and competitive way for our sport to do something a little bit different during the season. Our season is really long, and every weekend is so important so it’s fun to put a different spin on things this weekend. The fact that it’s a non-points-paying race doesn’t make any of the drivers want it any less. We’re competing for a lot of money and bragging rights, so who wouldn’t want to win. Our team has had a really up and down few weeks and finishing 30th at Kansas isn’t a reflection of the results we deserve. Our pit crew is crazy good and my crew works so hard every single day at the shop to bring fast cars that can run up front and compete for wins. I hope we get to showcase that this weekend, win some money and use that as even more momentum to get out there and win at Charlotte, too.”

Do you prepare any different for this weekend knowing that you have to compete in the Open to get in?

“There’s a fine line between being overly competitive and playing it safe and being overly competitive and ruining your day and someone else’s. Last year in the Open, we ran really hard but also made it a goal to stay out of trouble and we won Stage 2. If you wreck your car in the Open, then you’ve got nothing to compete for in the All-Star Race. Every driver in the Open will likely have that same mindset, you want to make it in and do everything you can, but you don’t want to take yourself out in the process. The stages are much shorter, and we’ve got a little bit of practice time to see how our car is running.”

You’re currently in the top four in the NASCAR All-Star Race Fan Vote, how does that feel?

“When I found that out, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a really cool thing to know people are out there voting for you and that there have been enough votes to put me on the top of the list with other really talented drivers. I’ve got the best fans; I see them out there every single weekend supporting me. It’s special. I’d love to race my way in but to win the Fan Vote is something I’d be truly honored by.”

This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Texas Motor Speedway … Sheldon Creed will be making his first Texas Motor Speedway start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon, but he’s no stranger to success at the 1.5-mile speedway. He scored one of his most dominating wins in the NASCAR Truck Series in the 2020 fall event. Creed led 131 of 152 laps (86.18 percent) and passed current RCR teammate Austin Hill with two laps to go to secure the win. His average running position in the race was sizzling 1.18. Creed has five top-10 finishes in 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races entering this weekend at Texas and is 15th in the Xfinity Series drivers standings, 84 points outside of the top 10.

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

Special Paint for Whelen … The No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet will be running a special paint scheme at Texas to honor the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund following National Police Week. The No. 2 paint scheme will feature a unique design to represent an active police vehicle with light graphics as well as the brand marks for the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. The primary objective for this paint scheme collaboration is to raise awareness for their organization, and honor those fallen during National Police Week. The car will also carry 619 names of fallen heroes, including 472 who were killed in the line of duty, to honor their bravery and sacrifice.

SHELDON CREED QUOTES:

What’s the mindset heading to Texas this weekend?

“I’ve always like Texas and I’ve had a lot of speed there. It’s super-easy to overdrive just because of the banking in Turns 1 and 2 and it falls away really fast. The spray (resin) can be really dangerous early on. You got to kind of take what it gives you and be smooth. It can be tough to pass at times there so you’ve got to time your runs well. We’re just hoping for a good, smooth, problem-free day.”

How big of factor will the heat be there this weekend?

“I think practice day is going to be hot and the track is going to be greasy. It’s supposed to cool down by race time so I think that will help the track grip up a little bit and hopefully help the handling of the cars.”

Do you think track conditions will stay fairly consistent?

“The middle of the day is nice because it’s consistent and I like racing at that time just for that reason. The track will take rubber at some point and I think that will open up the opportunity for passing.”

Preview_AH_Global.png
This Week’s Global Industrial Chevrolet Camaro SS at Texas Motor Speedway … Austin Hill will be making his third Texas Motor Speedway start in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on Saturday afternoon. The Winston, Ga., native has 10 Truck Series starts at Texas, highlighted by a second-place finish in the 2020 fall event, plus four top-10 finishes. He enters the Texas event 10th in the drivers standings. With his victory in the season-opening event at Daytona, Hill has clinched a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs. Hill scored a ninth-place finish in the most recent Xfinity Series event at Darlington, his fifth top 10 finish in 11 races this season.

Global Industrial Appreciation Event … Global Industrial will host an employee appreciation event at its DeSoto, Texas distribution center on Friday. The event will include the official unveiling of the RCR Chevrolet No. 21 hood with every associate name, a meet and greet with driver Austin Hill, and a special race-themed raffle. The hood will feature 1,500 associate names, ranging from Global Industrial’s DeSoto, Texas distribution center to the Port Washington, N.Y. headquarters and will be featured in Saturday’s race.

About Global Industrial Company … Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC), through its operating subsidiaries, is a value-added industrial distributor. For more than 70 years, Global Industrial has gone the extra mile for its customers and offers more than a million industrial and MRO products, including its own Global Industrial exclusive brands. With extensive product knowledge and a solutions-based approach, Global Industrial helps customers solve problems and be more successful. At Global Industrial, “We can supply that®.”

A First for Global Industrial … The 2022 season marks the Company’s first year as a recurring NASCAR sponsor. For the second time this season, they will be the primary sponsor on the No. 21 Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill. Global Industrial offers customers more than a million products spanning from material handling to packaging and supplies, including its own Global Industrial exclusive brands. With extensive product knowledge and a solutions-based approach, the Company continues to lead the charge, helping customers solve problems and providing the tools needed to run their businesses and facilities.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:

What’s the mindset heading to Texas this weekend?

“It seems like the two racetracks that I’ve gotten around really well are Las Vegas and Texas. We ran really well at Las Vegas earlier this year and I honestly expect the same thing to happen at Texas. I think we can lead laps and run up front all day and contend for the win. I felt like I should have won two races in the Truck series at Texas so maybe we can get the job done this weekend in the Xfinity Series.”

As we enter the summer months, how important is it to stay fit?

“When you look at the weather forecast for the weekend and it’s going to be hot, you have to mentally prepare yourself for that. Earlier this week my weather app was showing 105 degrees on Friday. I think it’s going to cool off a little bit going into Saturday so that won’t be too bad. My hydration process starts on Monday and for me that’s drinking over a gallon of water a day. We’re going to be doing a lot of workout stuff with my athletic trainer with cardio in the heat elements outside to prepare for that.”

What is the key to running well at Texas?

“I’m sure they’re going to put the resin down and that’s one of those things throughout the race you have to figure out if your car likes it or if it doesn’t. Once it comes in and activates, you’re going to have to be up there to be fast. I feel like the driver who gets through Turns 1 and 2 really well and back to the throttle before everybody else is the one who is going to win the race. Everybody at RCR has been working really hard to make our cars better and faster.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES – INDIANAPOLIS 500: THURSDAY PRACTICE RACAP

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY THURSDAY PRACTICE RECAP
MAY 19, 2022

CHEVROLET-POWERED TEAMS AND DRIVERS MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME AS WEATHER CLEARS FOR TODAY’S PRACTICE FOR THE 106TH INDIANAPOLIS 500

  • ALL 33 CARS INCLUDING THE 16 CHEVROLET-POWERED CARS POSTED A TOTAL OF 3,114 LAPS
  • AS WINDS BEGAN TO PICKUP, DRIVERS NAVIGATED THE FAMED 2.5-MILE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL IN PREPARATION OF FAST FRIDAY
  • BOOST LEVEL IS ADVANCED FROM 1.3 BAR TO 1.5 BAR FRIDAY FOR MORE HORSEPOWER AS THEY READY THEIR CARS FOR QUALIFYING ON SATURDAY

INDIANAPOLIS (May 19, 2022) – After torrential rain shut-down all on-track activities on Wednesday, Team Chevy drivers were greeted with sunshine and a slight breeze as they took to the track at noon TODAY. Today teams maximized the time in preparation of the boost increase tomorrow. Moving the boost from 1.3 bar to 1.5 bar will give drivers’ the extra horsepower needed to make a strong run for the pole of the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The six-hour session was without contact incidents. Of great interest throughout the afternoon was the NO-TOW laps. NO-TOW laps are critical as they simulate the single-car four-lap runs drivers make in qualifying to grab the best possible starting position.

The Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled to take the green flag Sunday, May 29th at 12:45 pm EDT.

TEAM CHEVY QUOTES

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 SHELL CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE:

“Hey, everyone. So we’re day three here at Speedway you get lost track of time. It was a good day as a qualifying day for us. We were working on a lot of different things to see how we can be faster this weekend. Keep working on everything with Team Chevy that keeps me positive for qualifying. Our Shell Rewards car is really fast. We need tp have a good weekend, we got to be fast. We need to get it up front for some points and start the race well. Make sure you tune in and cheer us on.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PENNZOIL CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE:

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING:

alright so we just missed the rain here’s we’ve got our full session and today was great because it’s, you know, with the week of practice you still need to get as much time on track as you can to get the car ready for the race. We really only did one trim run today. We wanted to kind of focus on our race car we started the day I think after the rain yesterday, we started the day a bit unsure of the rear end I think some of the rubber got washed away. And it was a bit a bit sketchy but we made some changes made it better and had a good race run at the end so everything’s looking good.”

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

“A really solid day for us today. We did a lot of race running and gathered a lot of data. Tomorrow is going to consist of all qualifying running on Fast Friday. I’m really happy with the car, so I’m excited to see what speeds we can achieve tomorrow and during qualifying. Once we’ve got qualifying done, we’ll be back to working on the race car to see if we can make it go even better before next Sunday’s race.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 6 McLAREN CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN SP:

“That was good! We tried a lot of things today. We made a lot of improvements in the car but there’s still a little way to go to be really good. I would definitely say it’s been a positive day. Tuesday was a bit more difficult as we thought we’d be stronger after the test, so we were a little bit disappointed, but now I feel like we have a decent race car. Now, we’ll focus on qualifying as we head into the weekend and see what it brings. The forecast doesn’t look great for Saturday, and it’s going to be windy, so that could make it difficult.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE McLAREN CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP:

“A pretty solid day for Arrow McLaren SP, we learned a lot. It was a bit up and down with how the car felt, on one run we were superstars, then the next we were scratching our heads a bit. This place is always tricky, so we just have to be calm, look at what we’ve learned as a team across the three cars, and nail it for race day.”

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 11 HOME FOR OUR TROOPS CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING:

“We got through a lot today, conditions were hot for most of the day cooled off towards the end. You know, I think the positives for sure, just all the cars, including stuff we’ll send in the Dragon Speed cars, you know, everybody’s contributing and, we’re all kind of dealing with the same stuff out there. So, I think as long as everybody’s converging, if we’ve all got the same problem, that at least gives us some confidence that we can address what we need to address. We ended up kind of figuring a few things out towards the end of the day. And going into tomorrow, the game plan definitely changes. You will still be working on the handling characteristics of the car, carrying over, we have some the expectation that some of the things that we’re working on today will still remain to be things that we’ll work on as we head towards qualifying but get the extra boost, you know, it’ll be eight or 10 miles an hour or something once we once we really trim out and get with it. So excited to see what the majority of Chevy has in it when we roll out tomorrow and always fun to start working on qualifying at Speedway.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE:

“Yeah pretty, pretty good day. Just doing qualifying simulations obviously at the lower power level. Everything’s going to be more difficult tomorrow. When the boost gets turned up. Quite a bit more horsepower so we will be heading into the corner 10 mph faster. It’s going to be more windy and hotter. So definitely going to be tough, but I think we found a good place to start.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING:

“So it seems that everything’s going quite well at the moment. It seems like it’s a pretty even match right now between Honda and Chevy. Which looking I guess from the outside view, it seems like Chevy’s made a pretty big step. Not only this weekend but the entire year. And I’m curious to see what’s going to happen tomorrow. We think there’s kind of a confidence and a good aura around everyone that has Chevy power, and we’re expecting big things from them.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING:

“Track conditions seemed to make it quite difficult, but overall I don’t think it was a bad day for us! We really started to focus on getting ready for qualifying. We were doing a lot of single car running and no-tow speeds seemed to be quite good. That’s what we’re focused on, qualifying is of maximum importance and I really want to qualify well this year. We focused a lot on that this afternoon, which is good.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN RACING TEAM WITH BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING:

“Today was a good day. It was dry! The car felt really good in qualifying trim, and then in race trim we felt very good too. Overall a solid day! We made improvements and I have a good feeling heading into Fast Friday!”

SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 23 PALERMO’S CHEVROLET, DRYER & REINBOLD RACING:

“It was a little bit of any up and down day for us,” said Ferrucci, whose team announced an additional partner Thursday with the famed Barrett-Jackson organization joining the No. 23 car. “We got some qualifying running early in the session and we got an idea for the direction for the car. The race car setup felt pretty good, and we are happy there. We’ll see what happens on ‘Fast Friday’ and it’s supposed to be windy. So, we’ll see how things go throughout the day.”

SAGE KAREM, NO. 24 AES INDIANA CHEVROLET, DRYER & REINBOLD RACING:

“Day 3 in the books at IMS and we did a mostly qualifying stuff throughout the day,” said Karam, who won the “Hard Charger Award” in the 2021 Indy 500 by passing 24 cars for a seventh-place finish. “We worked through many different trim levels, and I think we were pretty decent on the ‘no-tow’ speeds. The car felt pretty good. Santino also worked more on the race trim settings, and I worked on more qualifying trim. We plan to do a little more setups, but the forecast is pretty gusty with the winds. We’ll have to wait and see what the weather brings.”

STEFAN WILSON, NO. 25 DRAGONSPEED/CUSICK CHEVROLET, DRAGONSPEED/CUSICK MOTORSPORTS:

“ Trying day for the #25 crew, we worked through a lot of changes, some positive and some negative, and we have a lot of information now to come up with a strategy and plan for the next time we go on track for traffic running. Now we’ll switch our focus to Qualifying running and Fast Friday!”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ALZAMEND NEURO CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING:

“We started out race running and we weren’t as good as the other day at the start, but we just didn’t kind of have the balance quite dialed in yet. We made good improvements in race running from where we were a couple days ago. Then we started prepping for qual sims to make sure we have a good balance in the configurations that we plan on running tomorrow once Chevrolet really turns loose all that horsepower! I’m looking forward to that.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 DYNAMIC EDGE CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING:

“It was a pretty long day. We hoped for quite a lot of single-car running and focused on our qualifying stuff. Toward the end of the day we did some pack-running. So we tried to get the best of both worlds. There are a few things to improve on and we’re slowly getting there and increasing the speed every run. We’re just chipping away. It does seem like a long week but it does close up pretty quickly, especially with the rain yesterday. Overall it was a good day. We’re getting there. I’m happy and looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a bit windy and everything gets turned up a bit tomorrow. Hopefully we can do a good job in this Juncos Hollinger car.”

Kyle Kirkwood
Ed Carpenter
Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up what is technically practice for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 coming up a week from Sunday. We’ll be joined by Kyle Kirkwood and Jimmie Johnson momentarily, but leading us off, the driver of the No. 33 Alzamend Neuro, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Ed Carpenter, who was tenth quick, third quick on the no-tow right behind Will Power and his teammate Rinus VeeKay also first and second on the no-tow.

So five and a half hours of green flag time, over 3,100 laps turned today. Did you get what you wanted to get done today?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I think we did a little bit of everything, so yeah, we started the day off doing some race running with the change from where we were the other day, first day I guess it was.

So it took us a little bit to kind of rebalance that change. In the end I think it was better, but we weren’t super happy in the first part of the day, then we wanted to shift gears and start getting some of our configurations and balances ready for tomorrow when we start going fast.

It’s one of those weird ones like I kind of would have liked to have done what Ganassi did and just do race running all day long, but we also have gone into Fast Friday not in a great head space for qualifying before, and kind of gotten confused once the boost is turned up. We wanted to go into tomorrow feeling pretty good about our balance at different trim configurations.

I think we accomplished all that, and then finished off race running again at the end of the day, and felt right nice.

THE MODERATOR: Did you go out and do any qual sims at all? We saw some of that.

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I did two complete ones. Feel like we’re in a decent spot. But again, a lot of people haven’t shown their hand just yet. I don’t think Ganassi has really shown anything — there’s someone else, McLaren I don’t think did any Q sims either today. So there’s some big hitters that still are concealing what they can do.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by the driver of the No. 14 Rocket AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Kyle Kirkwood. Kyle, welcome. Tell us about your day today.

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, it was pretty good. I think we just got done in the nick of time. It’s starting to downpour out there coming back over here. I’m happy with the way the day went. AJ Foyt Racing seems to be doing pretty decent the past couple days, so I’m happy with the performance so far.

THE MODERATOR: 19th quick today for Kyle Kirkwood, the rookie again, driving the No. 14 for AJ Foyt.

Q. Ed, why the shift in philosophy? I know you’ve been 19 straight years here. Was it too good to balance or was it monkey see, monkey do?

ED CARPENTER: No, it was our plan coming into the day. I think anytime you lose a whole day to rain you’ve got to modify the plan a little bit. I didn’t do — all we do on opening day was race running. Didn’t even think about any trimming.

The car changes a fair amount of times when they give us all the qualifying power that we’ll have tomorrow, so I think it’s important to at least have an established kind of qualifying baseline balance going into that just so then the only thing we’re dealing with tomorrow is a whole lot more horsepower.

Q. How does the car feel in qual sims? Do you feel like the cars are more even this year?

ED CARPENTER: Who knows. We haven’t seen the boost up yet, so it’s hard to know what we’re going to have. These guys haven’t shown anything yet. Things will become more clear tomorrow night.

Q. Probably for Ed since he’s a team owner and the veteran up there.

ED CARPENTER: Veteran at what? (Laughter.)

Q. Driving at Indianapolis. Ed, how much of a track position race has this become, and how much does that beat what you did on qualifying setups today?

ED CARPENTER: I mean, it can be. At the same time, I was at the front last year and stalled it on the first pit stop and went back and we found our way back to the front.

A lot of it just depends on the day that you have. If we have a 90-degree type of weather day it makes the track position probably more important than a racetrack like we had last year that I don’t even know if it got to 70 degrees.

It can be, but it’s a 500-mile race. A lot can happen. You can do a lot with strategy. There’s a lot of ways to find your way to the front.

From experience, it definitely can set you up for an easier 500 miles if you can get the track position and keep it. There’s no doubt about that.

Q. How is the Chevrolet package playing out so far? Have you seen a big improvement on the road courses? How will that translate to Indy?

ED CARPENTER: So far, so good. I think Chevrolet has been a great partner for us, and all the years I’ve been here with them, I never felt like we didn’t have a chance to win this race. It’s always been a good fight with Chevrolet and Honda.

I think they’ve worked really hard this past off-season and came into this season prepared.

Like I said earlier, I think it’s kind of a toss-up in race trim. It’s hard to really tell if anyone really has an advantage one way or the other, and by tomorrow night I think we’ll maybe have a little bit of an idea if one manufacturer has the upper hand for qualifying or not, but it seems tight.

Q. Kyle, you’re used to much shorter races in both of your careers, and obviously this one is a lot longer. How are you approaching the mental aspect, making sure that you’re ready?

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, for me, like you said, it’s a really long two weeks. It feels like we’ve been here forever already, and it’s only been three days, and we missed one day. It’s just not trying to get ahead of yourself. I’m trying to take things as slow as possible.

Usually you go into a race week and you get two practice sessions and then you’re straight into the race and you’ve got to attack right off the bat, and this year has been tracks that I haven’t been to and I’ve had to attack early on.

This one I’ve had to take a massive step back and kind of just rethink the entire philosophy of the two weeks going into a weekend.

Yeah, it’s quite a bit different, but I think everything is going pretty well at the moment. We’ve got a lot of race running in. We did a couple qually sims early on this afternoon. Yeah, I think it’s going well so far.

Q. How did the day yesterday change and affect the program in terms of what becomes more important for the rest of the week?

ED CARPENTER: I mean, it just condenses the plan. We still have to get the same amount of work done. You can see that everyone kind of has a different approach to how they’re managing the work.

I think like our team and Andretti probably had more philosophy today than what the Ganassi cars had, a little bit different philosophy. But it’s the same for everybody. It would be worse if you lost today and other people were on track, but the fact that nobody ran, I think it just condenses all the work we need to do.

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, I tend to agree with what you just said there. We’re just keeping it simple. We kind of planned for the weather to ruin one day, so we got through all our big test items the first day, which was really good.

There is no hiccups there, so glad that happened. Today we got through the test items we needed to, so we’ve actually kind of made up for the lost time.

Q. Ed, you and both your teammates were pretty high up on a non-tow stint. Just wondering, is there a reason for that? What goes into being good at that?

ED CARPENTER: Well, I mean, we all three did qualifying simulations, so not everyone did that today. It seems like we have some decent speed. But again, there’s a lot of good cars that didn’t do any qualifying simulations today.

It doesn’t quite mean anything until tomorrow. That’s what I was talking about earlier. We just wanted to do it and get a good baseline and balance for the configurations we plan on running tomorrow with the boost.

Q. You and Connor have obviously been doing this a little longer than Rinus. What kind of advice have you had for him?

ED CARPENTER: Rinus doesn’t need much advice anymore. He figured this place out quick. I think more so than anyplace we go, I think he got comfortable in the way he drives and the feel that he has.

It really suits him well here. He pulls his weight for sure, and I’ll still give him some things, like going into Turn 1 today on a cool-down lap or Turn 3 and send it like four wide around the top, and I’m like, hey, dude, they’ve got warm-up lanes, let’s use them. No big deal.

So stuff like that. But the hard part he has figured out.

Q. Changes in qualifying procedures this year, to get full you guys have to make three runs at it instead of two. I think probably back when you started, might have only had to do one. I can’t quite remember. But any thoughts on having to make like three runs just right there on the ragged edge of things to try and go for full? Do you enjoy being able to do that one more time or do you wish it was back at two?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, it’s a good question. I do love qualifying here, but I don’t know that I love doing two runs within 30 minutes. It’s kind of nice to do one and then recharge the batteries a little bit because it is stressful and draining even though it’s four laps.

But it’s the same for everyone. It’ll be interesting for sure. The only times that I’ve had to kind of do multiple runs is usually when we’re having a bit of a struggle and you’ve got to go try to find some more time.

Yeah, it’s going to be interesting. I’ve thought about it a lot trying to figure out exactly what it’s going to be like, but it’ll really, I guess, largely depend on, one, getting into the Fast 12, and then from there what the conditions are and what the balance of the car is will determine how stressful the second run is.

Q. Do you feel like the procedure that INDYCAR has put in place with — I think there’s a couple laps, I don’t know if you recall them, maybe a warm-up lap that —

ED CARPENTER: The gladiator laps you’re talking about.

Q. Yeah, exactly. You feel like that will do enough to even things out for the guy that finished 12th on Saturday that’s able to get into the Fast Six a half hour or so ahead of the guys —

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I think that’s going to work out pretty well. I simulated that today, too, just to kind of see what it was going to be like. Yeah, I think that’ll be a good procedure.

Q. For the rookies, you now are going to have the boost go up and you’re going to go a lot faster going into Turn 1 tomorrow. What are the thoughts going into tomorrow knowing you’re going to probably be pushing 240 going into Turn 1?

KYLE KIRKWOOD: For me it’s a little bit intimidating going from qually sim and pulling out the downforce out and feeling how light the car is there. It’s kind of like you don’t really want to turn the wheel because you’re just unsure what the car is going to do, and adding another 10 or 15 miles per hour to it is going to be less than comfortable, I would have to say.

From the people that I’ve talked to they all say it’s not that big of a step. It actually feels better because you get the runs out of the corners and it’s not like you lose tons of grip due to the speed. I guess I’ll let you know after I go through Turn 1 the first time with more power.

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, the number one thing he said to me just trust instincts when you go out there. If something doesn’t feel right just stop, because there was a moment where we missed it on aero and ended up with a wrong rear wing and I went out and did one lap at 185. I was like something doesn’t feel right. I remember he said that. Came in and we realized we were two degrees off on the rear wing, so was one thing.

Q. We had the rain yesterday that washed the entire track clean. How similar did the track today feel compared to Tuesday?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I agree. I thought it was different. I don’t know if I would say there was less grip, but I thought there was a bit of a balance shift, which happens around here, whether track temps, wind, whatever it may be. Just something you learn to not freak out about and adapt to.

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, for me it was — I didn’t really notice much because we went with a completely different car, but talking to J.R. who was running the same car I switched to, he said, yeah, it seemed a bit freer to start off the morning.

Q. We have a bit of drizzle coming on right now. Does that give you all any apprehension that some of the rubber laid down today might get washed off and it might be a bit more greener than you were hoping?

ED CARPENTER: I don’t think so. For me I think back to the open test, the track came in really quick, and it had been sitting for a long, long time. Having 33 cars here, it’ll come back to life pretty quickly. It’s more just adapting to what the day brings.

It’s going to be — I think the big topic tomorrow is going to be wind. Looks like the wind is going to be pretty strong, so I think that’ll be the dominant difference for tomorrow.

Q. Romain said this morning, I’m not quoting him directly, but he said something about when you have a moment out there, butt puckering and things like that; have you been guys experienced any of that as first timers here? How does it feel?

KYLE KIRKWOOD: Yeah, I had a couple out there. There was one that I got loose right in the middle of 1. Did like one solid tank slap, and after that it took me a few laps to have the confidence to hold it flat again, and then multiple situations where you get a little bit high in someone’s aero wash and you just end up right in the middle of their wake and you can’t get out it. You just out of the throttle and you feel like the car is never going to turn.

It’s like the onboard videos do not give it any justice because you start turning the wheel, and then all of a sudden us just don’t turn anymore. You get to about 25 degrees of steering input. After that you’re just past the slip angle. The car is just not going to turn anymore. It’s a very scary moment when you get past that moment and you’re just understeering looking at the wall and that’s coming at you at 220 miles per hour.

Q. Does it take your breath away?

KYLE KIRKWOOD: A little bit, yeah. It makes your heart drop for a moment but you get back on the horse and keep digging.

Q. Ed, do you remember any in your first moments?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, it still happens. If you’re pushing and going hard here and pushing the limits of it, you’re always going to have that. I think having more experience and having different things happen, yeah.

But for sure you learn quickly, like Kyle said earlier, to trust your instincts. This isn’t the type of place that you push through for very long until it comes race time. But yeah, too many to count.

Q. Can you explain to us what butt puckering is to English dudes because that’s a new one.

ED CARPENTER: It keeps you from shitting your pants.

Q. Ed, just based on your experience here at the speedway, how much of a problem is the wind likely to be, and is it likely to reduce your run tomorrow or what kind of impact will it have?

ED CARPENTER: No, we’ll run in it. I’ve always been of the mind that you need to run in whatever conditions you get because we don’t know what exactly we’ll have next Sunday, so you need to be prepared for it. I think the direction of the wind makes a big difference here, and gustiness can change things and make you feel different things than you feel on a calm day. It’s just something you have to be cognizant of and aware of as you’re preparing your car.

Q. Ed, what do you think about Connor’s hot tub prank?

ED CARPENTER: I thought whoever did it, it was a brilliant idea. Exactly parents that has kids, it’s not — first off, you get a cereal bowl of those things and they end up all over your house.

Q. You know a lot about this.

ED CARPENTER: I do, but it wasn’t me. He knows it wasn’t me.

ABOUT CHEVROLET

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Young’s Motorsports Texas Motor Speedway May Truck Series Team Preview

By
Official Release
-

Young’s Motorsports | NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Texas Motor Speedway | SpeedyCash.com 220
Fast Facts

No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Team:

Driver: Jesse Little

Primary Partner(s): Young’s Building Systems | Randco Industries Inc.

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado RST

Crew Chief: Steven Dawson

2022 Driver Points Position: 25th

2022 Owner Points Position: 18th

Chassis Intel: YMS Chassis No. 012

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Notes of Interest:

Little’s Back: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Young’s Motorsports welcomes back Jesse Little as the driver of the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado RST. Little returns to the organization for his sixth of 12 confirmed races aboard the team’s flagship entry.

Halfway Home: Considered the home track for Young’s Motorsports, Jesse Little is halfway through his 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series program with the veteran team.

Little kicked off his partial schedule with the Mooresville, N.C.-based team with an impressive sixth-place finish aboard the No. 02 Shriners Children’s Hospitals Chevrolet Silverado RST after starting a season-high ninth in the season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.

Overall, he has captured one top-10, three top-15s and holds an average finish of 17.2 entering the lone race of the 2022 Truck Series season from No Limits Texas.

Welcome Aboard: For the ninth Truck Series race of 2022, Young’s Motorsports welcomes Texas-based Young’s Building Systems and Randco Industries Inc. as the primary marketing partners on Little’s No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado RST for the SpeedyCash.com 220.

Back For More: For Texas, Young’s Motorsports and Jesse Little also welcome back Luxio as an associate marketing partner on the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado RST.

Luxio joined the Young’s Motorsports team at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.

Luxio was founded in 2021 with a mission to bring high-quality home goods to consumers all around the world at fair, affordable pricing. Luxio currently offers shipping to Canada, Mexico, United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Happy Anniversary: Earlier this month, Young’s Motorsports and Jesse Little celebrated the Shriners Children’s® in helping to kick off its 100th Anniversary of providing life-changing care to children with the introduction of its new logo during the Dead On Tools 200.

Little and Shriners Children’s are beginning a new campaign, commemorating the momentous occasion with a special paint scheme and die-cast depicting the 100th Anniversary logo.

The 2022 #givealittle campaign offers fans a chance to be a part of the occasion with a $250 donation which will not only give you the opportunity to virtually ride along with Jesse at a future race but you will receive a commemorative Shriner’s Children’s Young’s Motorsports No. 02 Jesse Little die-cast truck.

The campaign trail continues with Little and the team this weekend at Texas in a smaller role.

Jesse Little Truck Series Texas Motor Speedway Track Stats: Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 220 will mark Little’s seventh Truck Series start at the 1.5-mile speedway.

In his six previous efforts, he has earned a track-best of seventh after starting 10th in the 2018 JAG Metals 350 for his family-owned JJL Motorsports team.

He also hasn’t finished worse than 20th in his six starts between 2015 to 2019.

Additionally, Little also has four previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with a track-best of 14th after starting 20th in the 2020 My Bariatric Solutions 300.

Jesse Little Truck Series Speedway Stats: At NASCAR Camping World Truck Series tracks classified as a speedway, Little has made 29 starts throughout his career with five top-10 finishes, while also carrying an average finishing position of 18.0.

Kansas Speedway | Heart of America 200 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Little made his 39th career Truck Series start.

After starting the race 22nd aboard his No. 02 RANDCO Industries Chevrolet Silverado RST, Little and the team’s race efforts were hampered by an untimely caution which thwarted their race strategy. Little settled for 24th.

Calling the Shots: Guiding Little as crew chief of the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST is crew chief Steven Dawson.

A long-time Young’s Motorsports employee, Dawson will serve as crew chief for just his 10th Truck Series race. The SpeedyCash.com 220 will be his first race as crew chief at the 1.5-mile oval.

Dawson, 34, is a native of Concord, N.C.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Jesse Little, please like him on Facebook (Jesse Little Racing) and follow on Instagram (@JesseLittle97) and Twitter (@JesseLittle97).

For more on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Young’s Motorsports) and follow on Instagram (@youngsmotorsports) and Twitter (@youngsmtrsports).

Jesse Little Pre-Race Quote:

On Texas Motor Speedway: “I’ve been looking forward to getting to the home track of Tyler, Becky, Randy and Youngs Motorsports all year long. I know how much this race means to them and I’m lucky to carry the Randco colors as we hope to deliver a strong run for all the family and friends in the area.

I enjoy the challenging characteristics of Texas and the guys and I have been working tirelessly on our 1.5-mile package for this event. It will be good to carry into the weekend what we have learned the last two weeks at similar-sized tracks and hopefully, only make it better.”

No. 12 Young’s Motorsports Team:

Driver: Spencer Boyd

Primary Partner(s): Montucky Cold Snacks

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado RST

Crew Chief: Ryan “Pickle” London

2022 Driver Points Position: 22nd

2022 Owner Points Position: 27th

Chassis Intel: YMS Chassis No. 020

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Notes of Interest:

Back To Familiar Territory: Fan favorite Spencer Boyd returns to Texas Motor Speedway settled in aboard his new Truck number and leadership eyeing his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of his career.

No. 128: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Boyd will make his 128th career NASCAR start. Boyd has three starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, 50 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and will make his 75th start in Trucks when the green flag waves Friday night.

The highlight of his NASCAR career is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2019 driving for Young’s Motorsports.

Welcome Aboard: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Spencer Boyd and Young’s Motorsports welcome Montucky Cold Snacks as the primary marketing partner for the ninth race of the 2022 Truck Series season.

Refreshing light beer for rippers, pony riders, gator wranglers, and badass do-gooders.

Montucky Cold Snacks can currently be found in 24 states including many with NASCAR tracks like Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

Crisp. Light. Sessionable. Snackable. Delish. Perfect for race day. Perfect for any day.

Montucky Snackers visiting montuckycoldsnacks.com can use code SpencerSnacks15 for a 15% discount on swag and contributions to charities of Spencer’s choosing throughout the year.

Spencer Boyd Truck Series Texas Motor Speedway Track Stats: Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 220 will mark Boyd’s sixth start at the 1.5-mile speedway.

In his five previous efforts, he has earned a track-best of 11th after starting 17th in the 2019 Vankor 350 for Young’s Motorsports.

Spencer Boyd Truck Series Speedway Stats: At NASCAR Camping World Truck Series tracks classified as a speedway, Boyd has 44 starts throughout his career carrying an average finishing position of 23.9.

Kansas Speedway | Heart of America 200 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, Boyd made his 74th career Truck Series start.

After starting 30th for the 134-lap race, the handling of Boyd’s No. 12 Freedom Warranty Chevrolet Silverado RST hindered his on-track performance as the driver lacked the grip he needed to make a serious charge forward during the race.

Boyd, however, managed to stay out of trouble and collect a 31st place finish.

To The Point(s): Entering Texas, Boyd sits 22nd in the championship standings.

63 points separate Boyd from 15th in the championship standings currently held by Matt DiBenedetto with 15 races remaining this season.

129 points separate Boyd from 10th in the championship standings occupied by Matt Crafton.

Young’s Motorsports’ No. 12 team secures 27th in the Truck Series owner standings.

Chasing That W: Boyd is eyeing his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory for himself and Young’s Motorsports.

In 2019 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Boyd pulled an upset during the Truck Series Playoffs by winning the Sugarland Shines 250 at the 2.66-mile superspeedway edging Todd Gilliland by 0.027 seconds.

Truck Series Rundown: In five years of Truck Series competition, Boyd has 74 career Truck Series starts with one win, two top-five and three top-10 finishes and a championship best of 17th in 2019 and carries an average finish of 22.8.

Calling the Shots: Guiding Boyd as crew chief of the No. 12 Montucky Cold Snacks Chevrolet Silverado RST is veteran crew chief Ryan “Pickle” London.

He will crew chief his 54th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night. In his previous 53 races, he has one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes to his resume.

This weekend marks his fourth race as crew chief at the track nestled in No Limits, Texas.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Spencer Boyd, please like him on Facebook (Spencer Boyd Racing) and follow him on Instagram (SpencerBoydpr) and Twitter (@SpencerBoyd).

For more on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Young’s Motorsports) and follow on Instagram (youngsmotorsports) and Twitter (@youngsmtrsports).

Spencer Boyd Pre-Race Quotes:

On Texas Motor Speedway: “Texas Motor Speedway is an awesome track and is the roots for Young’s Motorsports. We brought the horsepower with Montucky Cold Snacks and I am excited to race at one of my favorite mile and a half tracks.”

No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Team:

Driver: Garrett Smithley

Primary Partner(s): Trophy Tractor

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado RST

Crew Chief: Andrew Abbott

2022 Driver Points Position: N|A

2022 Owner Points Position: 30th

Chassis Intel: YMS Chassis No. 017

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Notes of Interest:

Welcome Back: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Young’s Motorsports welcomes back veteran NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series driver Garrett Smithley to pilot the No. 20 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet Silverado RST for the first time this season.

Sponsor Intel: Smithley will pilot the No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado with support from Trophy Tractor.

Trophy Tractor sells and rents heavy equipment nationwide. Best known for their dependability, honesty and integrity.

They know their equipment and offer a buying and renting experience second-to-none in the industry. A brand new, state-of-the-art showroom and equipment yard is currently being built and will open later this year.

Garrett Smithley Truck Series Texas Motor Speedway Track Stats: Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 220 will mark Smithley’s second Truck Series start at the 1.5-mile speedway.

In 2019, Smithley finished 15th after starting 25th in the No. 42 Sunwest Construction | Crown Exteriors Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Cook Finley Racing in the Vankor 350.

Additionally, Smithley has nine NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with a best finish of 17th in the 2019 edition of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300.

Four of his 73 NASCAR Cup Series starts have also occurred at Texas with a best run of 24th last October in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.

Garrett Smithley Truck Series Stats: From 2015 to 2020, Smithley has nine starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, highlighted by a career-best 14th place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August 2015 driving the No. 63 BRUH | SegPay Chevrolet Silverado for MB Motorsports.

In addition to MB Motorsports, Mills also has also made Truck Series starts for SS GreenLight Racing with Jeff Lefcourt, Cook Finley Racing and Niece Motorsports.

Texas will mark his inaugural debut with Young’s Motorsports.

Double Duty: In addition to Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, Smithley will also compete in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open on Sunday night for Rick Ware Racing vying for one of three available positions in the race to compete in the Cup All-Star Race and a chance at a million-dollar race purse!

Kansas Speedway | Heart of America 200 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, Matt Mills returned to the organization for the third time this season and the 14th Truck Series race of his career.

After starting 28th for the 134-lap race, Bohn maintained a good pace in his No. 20 J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST but approaching Lap 100, he developed a mechanical issue that sent him to the garage.

The team later determined an axle issue would end their night early with a disappointing 34th place finish.

Calling the Shots: Guiding Smithley as crew chief of the No. 20 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet Silverado RST is veteran crew chief Andrew Abbott.

He will crew chief his 91st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night.

In his previous 90 races, he has one pole, two top-five and seven top-10 finishes

to his resume.

This weekend marks his ninth race as crew chief at the track nestled in No Limits, Texas.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Garrett Smithley, please like him on Facebook (Official Garrett Smithley) and follow him on Instagram (@GarrettSmithley) and Twitter (@GarrettSmithley).

For more on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Young’s Motorsports) and follow on Instagram (youngsmotorsports) and Twitter (@youngsmtrsports).

Garrett Smithley Pre-Race Quote:

On Texas Motor Speedway: “I’m excited to get back to the track this weekend and especially excited to run double duty.

“I’ve known Tyler (Young, team principal) for a while now, so it will be fun to get to race for him at Texas. Super thankful for Trophy Tractor for making this weekend happen. It’s always fun to go racing with Jeff, Maxx and Louann at their home track!”

Race Information:

The SpeedyCash.com 220 (147 laps | 220.5 miles) is the ninth of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2022 schedule. Practice begins on Friday, May 20, 2022, from 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Qualifying will soon follow from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 36-truck field will take the green flag later that night shortly after 7:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (CT).

NCS AT TEXAS ALL-STAR: Team Chevy Advance

By
Official Release
-

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
MAY 22, 2022

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: NASCAR ALL-STAR EDITION

The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) shifts its attention from points racing for the weekend as drivers and teams head to Texas Motor Speedway for the annual NASCAR All-Star Race, with all focus turned to the $1 million grand prize on the line. The annual, non-points paying race is returning to the 1.5-mile Texas oval for the second-consecutive year after becoming just the fourth venue to host event in 2021.

Chevrolet looks to make it four-in-a-row for NASCAR All-Star victories in the Next Gen Camaro ZL1’s debut at Texas Motor Speedway. The string of wins in the coveted All-Star event started with Kyle Larson in 2019, who drove the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to his first-career All-Star victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2020 event saw Chase Elliott capture his first-career All-Star win in the event’s first appearance at Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson went on to make it a third-consecutive trip to All-Star victory lane for Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway in 2021. This season will mark the 38th-running of the NASCAR All-Star Race, where Chevrolet has recorded a manufacturer-leading 20 trips to victory lane in the event.

RACING TO THE BIG SHOW

The unique format of the NASCAR All-Star weekend highlights the talents of the sport; giving drivers, pit crews and road crews their chance to shine throughout the weekend to get their team to the ultimate cash prize.

Teams that have already clinched a spot for the All-Star Race will see a shake-up in the qualifying format this year. Qualifying will be spit into two rounds, with the first consisting of a single-car, single-lap run, with the top-eight qualifiers advancing on. Round two will feature a three-round, elimination-style bracket, with pit crews playing a vital role in the battle for the pole. During each elimination round, pit crews will perform a four-tire stop, with the driver then racing back to the start/finish line under no pit road speed limits, with the fastest advancing on until the polesitter is crowned.

Drivers can lock-in their spot in the All-Star Race as a points-paying winner in 2021 or 2022; full-time NCS drivers that are past All-Star Race winners; or full-time NCS drivers that are previous champions of the series. 20 drivers have met those requirements and have clinched an All-Star Race starting spot for 2022, six of which are Chevrolet drivers: AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and defending-winner Kyle Larson. The 125-lap NASCAR All-Star Race will feature three, 25-lap Stages; and a 50-lap final stage that will ultimately crown the All-Star Race winner.

Drivers who have not qualified for the All-Star Race will have the opportunity to race their way in by competing in the NASCAR Open. The 50-lap event consists of three stages – Stage One, Stage Two, Final Stage – where the winner of each advances to the All-Star Main Event. A fourth driver will be added to the All-Star Race by virtue of a Fan Vote. Nine Chevrolet drivers from six different teams have their eyes set on joining the elite All-Star Race field.

CHASTAIN TO MAKE ALL-STAR DEBUT

It’s been a breakout season for Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, where a season of “firsts” continues for the 30-year-old Florida native this weekend as he makes his NASCAR All-Star Race debut. Chastain is one of just three drivers that have clinched a spot into the All-Star Race as a result of their first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory recorded this season. Chastain, along with Chevrolet teammate William Byron, are the only two multiple race winners thus far this season, both standing at two wins each.

MAKE IT A TRIPLEHEADER

Texas Motor Speedway will also be the host of points-paying action for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), giving fans a tripleheader race weekend.

On an eight-consecutive race run for the series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series gets the race weekend underway Friday under the lights with the SpeedyCash.com 220. Chevrolet is coming off of three top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway last weekend, led by GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger, who has driven his No. 23 Silverado to back-to-back third-place finishes. Heading into the ninth race of the season for the series, two Silverado drivers sit inside the top-10 of the NCWTS points standing, including Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar (7th) and Grant Enfinger (9th).

Coming off the series’ second-off week of the 2022 season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) resumes action in the “Lone Star State” with the SRS Distribution 250 on Saturday afternoon. Chevrolet enters the Texas Motor Speedway race weekend looking for its fourth-consecutive victory, a winning streak that started with Noah Gragson at Talladega Superspeedway; followed by his JR Motorsports teammates’ wins at Dover Motor Speedway (Josh Berry) and Darlington Raceway (Justin Allgaier).

The top of the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and manufacturer points standings continues to see Chevrolet in command. NXS Series points leader, AJ Allmendinger, is leading the bowtie brand to an impressive four of the top-five and six of the top-10 in the standings. Looking for its sixth-consecutive NXS Manufacturer Championship title, Chevrolet continues to lead in the standings by 43-points over its manufacturer competitors. The Camaro SS has recorded a series-leading six wins thus far this season, performed by five different Chevrolet drivers.

LEADING AT THE HALFWAY MARK

Leaving Kansas Speedway last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series has officially hit the halfway mark in the 2022 Regular Season. With 13 points-paying races down, 13 remain for Chevrolet drivers to capture a win and a berth into the NCS Playoff field. Battling to defend its NCS Driver and Manufacturer Championship title, Chevrolet will enter into the second-half of the regular season on top of both standings.

Taking over the points lead at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the fifth race of the season – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Chase Elliott, continues to sit atop the NCS driver points standings. Five Chevrolet teammates accompany Elliott in the top-10, including: William Byron (4th); Ross Chastain (5th); Alex Bowman (8th); and Kyle Larson (9th).

Chevrolet, the winningest brand in NASCAR, continues to hold strong onto the NCS manufacturer points lead, 35-points over second. Camaro ZL1 drivers have recorded seven wins, 36 top-five’s, 63 top-10’s, 12 stage wins and 1,884 laps led thus far this season, all of which tops its manufacturer competitors. With a strong first half of the season, Chevrolet looks to keep the momentum rolling en route to its 34th NCS Driver Championship and 41st NCS Manufacturer Championship.

Chevrolet will be pacing all three NASCAR touring series to the green this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series for the All-Star Race and All-Star Open; the Camaro SS will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the SRS Distribution 250; and the Silverado RST will lead the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the SpeedyCash.com 220.

BOWTIE BULLETS

· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 20 NASCAR All-Star Race victories, including the last three:

Kyle Larson with Chip Ganassi Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway (2019)

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 at Bristol Motor Speedway 2020)

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 at Texas Motor Speedway (2021)

· Hendrick Motorsports leads all NASCAR Cup Series teams with 10 All-Star wins among five different drivers: Jimmie Johnson (4), Jeff Gordon (3), Terry Labonte (1), Chase Elliott (1), and Kyle Larson (1).

· Kyle Larson swept the NASCAR Cup Series events at Texas Motor Speedway in 2021, capturing his second-career NASCAR All-Star win in June, later returning to take the first race of the NCS Playoffs Round of Eight at the 1.5-mile Texas venue in October.

· With 13 NASCAR Cup Series races complete in the 2022 season, Chevrolet continues to lead all manufacturers in NCS wins (7), top-five’s (36), top-10’s (63), laps led (1,884) and stage wins (12). Chevrolet’s NCS wins, top-five’s and laps led count for more than double its manufacturer competitors.

· William Byron leads all drivers with 569 laps led this season. That is a career-high most laps led by the Chevrolet driver after 13 events in a single season.

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. captured his third-consecutive top-10 finish, earning an eighth-place finish in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Camaro ZL1 at Kansas Speedway after being forced to start at the rear due to an accident in practice. With now four top-10’s on the season, the feat now matches the most top-10’s he’s earned in a single season with the team, this year recorded in just 13 races.

· Ross Chastain captured his eighth top-10 finish of the season at Kansas Speedway to match his total number of top 10’s that he scored in all of 2021. Chastain has also recorded a series-leading seven top-five’s.

· Chevrolet drivers, Ross Chastain and William Byron, are the only two drivers that are multiple race winners in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. Both have captured two wins each: (Chastain – COTA, Talladega), (Byron – Atlanta, Martinsville).

· Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 12 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins:

Tyler Reddick 2 – (Fontanax2)

Alex Bowman 1 – (Las Vegas)

Ross Chastain 2 – (Las Vegas), (Darlington)

William Byron 3 – (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega)

Daniel Suarez 1 – (COTA)

Chase Elliott 2 – (Martinsvillex2)

Kyle Larson 1 – (Bristol)

· Chevrolet leads in the driver points standing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chase Elliott remains in the top position in the NCS standings with a 52-point advantage over second place; and AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the NXS standings by 25-points. Chevrolet remains atop both the NCS and NXS manufacturer points standings.

· With its 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships; 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships; and 821 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR.

FOR THE FANS:

· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Texas Motor Speedway.

· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado 2500 High Country, Blazer RS, Colorado ZR2 Bison 4ZR, Traverse RS, Corvette Coupe 3LT, Silverado ZR2 and Silverado EV.

· At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 show car.

Display to Feature the First-Ever Chevrolet Silverado EV

Making a special appearance in the Team Chevy Racing Display this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway will be the first-ever, all-electric Chevrolet Silverado. The Silverado EV is a reimagined full-size, electric pickup, leveraging the power of GM’s Ultium EV platform. It offers a revolutionary mix of performance, capability, technology and style.

Key features include:

· The Silverado EV was built from the ground up as an electric pickup, including Ultium-enabled engineering and design.

· Revolutionary performance and capability:

o GM-estimated range of 400 miles

o Impressive horsepower and torque

o Four-wheel steer

o Up to 10 available power outlets that, when paired with an accessory power bar, provide up to 10.2kW of power

· It’s packed with smart technology, including a 17-inch freeform infotainment screen; 11-inch diagonal driver information display; and ultifi-enabled capabilities.

· Athletic exterior design and purposeful interior, featuring aerodynamic design to maximize range; storage capacity and spaciousness; fixed-glass roof; and a midgate.

TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:

Friday, May 20

· Derek Kraus and Colby Howard: 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

· Jesse Little and Spencer Boyd: 5:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

· Grant Enfinger and Jack Wood: 5:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.

· Kris Wright and Blaine Perkins: 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 21

· Jeremy Clements: 9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

· Brett Moffitt and Anthony Alfredo: 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

· Sheldon Creed: 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

· Josh Berry and Sam Mayer: 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Sunday, May 22

· AJ Allmendinger: 1:55 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.

· Erik Jones: 2:10 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.

· Ross Chastain: 2:25 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:

· Friday, May 20: 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

· Saturday, May 21: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

· Sunday, May 22: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

TUNE IN

To kick-off the tripleheader race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220 on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 147-lap event can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series SRS Distribution 250 on Saturday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

FS1 will air Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star action, starting with the All-Star Open at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by the 125-lap All-Star Race at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage of both events can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO GET TO TEXAS?

“I can’t wait to get to Texas. We have Worldwide Express on the car and Rob (Rose) is such a huge supporter of us and of racing which includes the Truck Series. It would be awesome to get them into victory lane. They got to experience it with us at Talladega earlier this year, but it would be great to do it again with them as the primary.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO ALREADY HAVE TWO WINS THIS SEASON AND BE LOCKED INTO THE ALL-STAR RACE?

“It a great feeling to be locked in to the All-Star race. To think back several years ago at a road course I was asking Justin (Marks) questions when he was driving the No. 42 Xfinity car.

How do I brake, turn right into a blind corner, down shift twice and get off of that corner and it wasn’t an easy answer for him. It took years of going over it with him and now to have wins with him as the owner is so cool. I remember I paid his wife Erin for race seats. I went to their house and Justin was gone and I paid her cash for two seats because I didn’t have the NASCAR certified seats and Justin did.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1

DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE ALL-STAR RACE SINCE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY IS THE TRACK YOU EARNED YOUR LAST WIN?

“I do. I think it’s pretty cool to be able to run the All-Star race at Texas Motor Speedway. I’m really hoping that I can race my way in and have a chance at winning because Texas has always been a strong track for me. I think as the surface wears out, Texas could become a better race. It just needs to lose some more grip in order to make the racing more exciting.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 GUARANTEED RATE CAMARO ZL1

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ALL-STAR RACE THIS WEEKEND?

“The All-Star Race is always a really fun and competitive way for our sport to do something a little bit different during the season. Our season is really long, and every weekend is so important so it’s fun to put a different spin on things this weekend. The fact that it’s a non-points-paying race doesn’t make any of the drivers want it any less. We’re competing for a lot of money and bragging rights, so wo wouldn’t want to win. Our team has had a really up and down few weeks and finishing 30th at Kansas isn’t a reflection of the results we deserve. Our pit crew is crazy good and my crew work so hard every single day at the shop to bring fast cars that can run upfront and compete for wins. I hope we get to showcase that this weekend, win some money and use that as even more momentum to get out there and win at Charlotte.”

DO YOU PREPARE ANY DIFFERENT FOR THIS WEEKEND KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPETE IN THE OPEN TO GET IN?

“There’s a fine line between being overly competitive and playing it safe and being overly competitive and ruining your day and someone else’s. Last year in the Open, we ran really hard but also made it a goal to stay out of trouble and we won Stage 2. If you wreck your car in the Open, then you’ve got nothing to compete for in the All-Star Race. Every driver in the Open will likely have that same mindset, you want to make it in and do everything you can, but you don’t want to take yourself out in the process. The stages are much shorter, and we’ve got a little bit of practice time to see how our car is running.”

YOU’RE CURRENTLY IN THE TOP FOUR IN THE NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE FAN VOTE. HOW DOES THAT FEEL?

“When I found that out, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a really cool thing to know people are out there voting for you and that there have been enough votes to put me on the top of the list with other really talented drivers. I’ve got the best fans; I see them out there every single weekend supporting me. It’s special. I’d love to race my way in but to win the Fan Vote is something I’d be truly honored by.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

LARSON ON THE ALL-STAR FORMAT:

“The format sounds exciting. It’s always interesting because it seems like the format is different each year. I’m sure (crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) and the team will study to see what strategy may work the best – but I’m sure that strategy is trying our best to win the first segment so we can start on the pole for the final one. Hopefully we can get another all-star win.”

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

DANIELS ON LAST YEAR’S WINNING STRATEGY:

“We studied on what we needed to do (to win), but our car was not what it needed to be for most of the race. At the end of every stage, we were doing huge changes to try to free it up because we were so tight in traffic. We started on the pole – I believe by random draw – and we were okay out front in the first stage but we couldn’t pass at all in the second stage. I got worried. Kyle got worried. But it all worked out okay because we were in good position (for the restart) going into the final stage – which is all you can ask for. No matter all the studying we did and could do, it didn’t change the fact we didn’t have a good car in traffic and needed to adjust on it and make it better.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

ELLIOTT ON COMPETING IN THE ALL-STAR RACE:

“I’m glad that NASCAR has started rotating this event some. I think that’s what this event was initially designed to do. To give fans in the different regions a special event and I think that’s really cool. It’s more like what other forms of sports do. I’m hoping that next year they switch it up and head somewhere else after being back in Texas for the second year. It’s not exactly one of my best tracks, but we did put in a pretty good effort last year and the pit crew was able to get the job done. Hopefully with this year’s format, it will be entertaining for the fans and we can put on a good show for them.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

GUSTAFSON ON BUILDING A NOTEBOOK FOR THE PLAYOFF VISIT TO TEXAS:

“Last year was good, we were able to win the pit crew competition. I was really happy for all the guys and the effort they put into the pit stops. I feel like they don’t often get the recognition they deserve for how good they are. The race was good for us last year. I felt like we had a shot to win. For us this week, going back to Texas is just about this new car. Being able to try some things and it’s a race that doesn’t pay any points, so we can be a bit more aggressive in trying some different setup configurations and trying to learn some stuff.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD CAMARO ZL1

“I’m pumped to be in the All-Star race again! It’s a super cool opportunity to have. It will be my first time driving this Next Gen car on a mile-and-a-half racetrack, so it will be interesting to get a feel for these kinds of tracks. I’m also looking forward to having Andy’s Frozen Custard back with us at Texas with their newest flavor of custard featured on the car – the All-Star Jackhammer!”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1

BYRON ON HOW THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE SHOULD HELP HIM FOR SUNDAY’S ALL-STAR RACE:

“Texas (Motor Speedway) is a track I found success at early on in my career in both trucks and Xfinity but I feel like I’ve struggled just a little bit to get the same results on the Cup side of things. That’s part of why I’m excited to get back in an Xfinity car this weekend and see how it races compared to when I was in one last a few years ago. I feel like those cars relate similarly to the Next Gen car and hopefully that will give us some extra notes that we can use not only for the All-Star Race on Sunday but also for when we go back to Texas in the fall.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1

FUGLE ON WHAT CHALLENGES TEAMS WILL FACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:

“I’m interested to see how the Next Gen car will race this weekend at Texas (Motor Speedway). In the past, we have ran high downforce packages for the All-Star Race but this year we will not only run lower downforce but the Next Gen car as well. Add in the fact that both ends of the track are so different from each other, it’s going to make it a challenge on your approach to setting the car up and changes you make throughout the weekend. With us using the same tire this weekend as we did last weekend in Kansas and at Las Vegas, I think that gives us a good starting place at least when it comes to what changes we can make with air pressure and the fine line on how the car reacts. That’s where practice is going to be the most help since the All-Star Race is broken up into mini races essentially and you don’t have a ton of chances to make big swings and recover by the end.”

JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1

“I’m excited to put Kansas in the rearview mirror and go for million dollars this weekend in Texas. We will have to race our way in during the Open, which is going to be a short race. That will bring some excitement. I enjoy racing at Texas, so hopefully we can make the big show and put this No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro in the All-Star race.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY GMS CAMARO ZL1

JONES’ THOUGHTS ON RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND HIS CHANCE FOR THIS WEEKEND’S ALL-STAR RACE:

“I’m looking forward to the All-Star race. Texas has been a good place to me in general over the last four or five years. I hope to race our way in through the Open and if not, fallback hopefully on the fan vote. The goal obviously is to be in the All-Star race on Sunday night and be racing for that million. Looking forward to getting down there. I always have fun going to Texas and being in that area. I can’t wait to get there and have a chance on Sunday.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / VIVA CAMARO ZL1

“This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, I feel like it will be tricky. Both ends are completely different. Texas is kind of exaggerated with how flat Turns 1 & 2 are compared to 3 & 4. I ran some laps on the simulator this week. I think it is going to be a handful. You’re going to have to sacrifice some handling on one end to be good on the other end and just trying to pick which one of those is the fastest will be key. Also, qualifying is going to be very important. We’re looking forward to getting to Texas with a new purple and blue paint scheme on our No. 47 Kroger/VIVA Towels Camaro ZL1.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

BOWMAN ON HOW HIS SEASON HAS GONE SO FAR:

“Greg and I have spent a lot of time working together to get more consistent and we have accomplished that. We are happy with the fact that we have eight top-10s but we both feel like we should have a few more wins. Our team has worked very hard to continue to get better and we feel like we are learning more about the Next Gen car, but we are always looking for more. Greg and I are ready to go to Texas this weekend and continue to get better and try to take home the $1 million check.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

IVES ON HIS APPROACH TO THE RACE AT TEXAS:

“Texas Motor Speedway is a tough track to get the car dialed in with both ends of the track different from each other in banking and shape. I think it’s a great place to have the All-Star Race in that respect, but it makes for a long day if you can’t get the car set up for the track. Alex (Bowman) has found success at the track, having a couple of top-fives and top-10s, so it should be a fun weekend. We are going to go out there and learn a lot at the unique track and continue to build on our success this year.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1

WHY DO YOU LIKE THE ALL-STAR RACE?

“It’s fun. We have some work to get into it this year, but we are confident we will be there. We have been fast lately and I’m sure we will win one of the stages.”

WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY?

“First thing we have to do is win the Open race or a stage. When we do that we’ll be in the All-Star Race and anything can happen. We have to get in it to win it. It’s been done before so we know it can happen. We will have as good a shot as anyone.”

GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST

“Our No. 23 team has been doing great at the shop and on pit road. I think the race in Texas will be a great opportunity for our team to shine, especially after seeing what we have learned over the last couple weeks. In the past, this track has really suited my driving style, but we haven’t been able to pull off that win yet, so I’m hungry for one here. If we are able to unload quickly and stay ahead of the racetrack, I think we can contend all night with our Champion Power Equipment Chevy.”

JACK WOOD, NO. 24 SEVWINS SILVERADO RST

“I’m excited to race at Texas for the first time this weekend with my GMS Racing guys. I’ve never been there in any type of car before, but I’ve spoke with a lot of drivers and they agree that this track is one of their favorite places to race at. Last year here, the No. 24 Chevy ran up front all race and finished second with Chase Elliott, so I believe that there is a good opportunity for our team to back it up with another strong run. We are bringing really fast Silverado RSTs to the racetrack week in and week out, so if we are able to put a full race together, the good finishes will come naturally.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 40

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2022 STATISTICS:

Wins: 7

Poles: 2

Laps Led: 1,884

Top-five finishes: 36

Top-10 finishes: 63

Stage wins: 12

Tyler Reddick (Fontanax2)
Alex Bowman (Las Vegas)
Ross Chastain (Las Vegas), (Darlington)
William Byron (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega)
Daniel Suarez (COTA)
Chase Elliott (Martinsvillex2)
Kyle Larson (Bristol Dirt)

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 821 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 725

Laps led to date: 243,220

Top-five finishes to date: 4,174

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,618

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

       General Motors: 1,155

       Chevrolet: 821

       Pontiac: 154

       Oldsmobile: 115

       Buick: 65



       Ford: 814                                                         

       Ford: 714

       Mercury: 96

       Lincoln: 4



       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

       Dodge: 217

       Plymouth: 191

       Chrysler: 59



     Toyota: 165

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Your Guide to Choosing the Right Light Bar for Your Car

By
SM
-

You’ve likely heard of lightbars if you’re in the market for them. But what exactly is a light bar? And how do they work?

A light bar is simply a long strip of lights that usually mounts on top of your car and shines down onto the road. Lightbars can be used as daytime running lights (DRLs), or they can be used to illuminate your vehicle at night. Lightbars are especially useful if you like to drive during off-peak hours or on smaller roads where visibility may not be optimal. They also come in handy when driving through inclement weather, such as rain and snowfall.

If you are looking to add a light bar to your car, here’s how you can choose the right fit for you.

Look for a Specialized Light Bar for Your Car

The size and quality of light bars are different based on your car’s brand and model—so try to find if there’s a specialized light bar made specifically for your vehicle. Suppose you own a RAM truck, go for a RAM bar. Likewise, if you own a Jeep, it would be best to stick with lightbars designed for a Jeep. Choosing a specialized bar for your car makes mounting it more straightforward. Moreover, these specialized bars are of better quality than other regular ones. You can usually find these online or at local auto parts stores.

Some brands offer packages that include new bulbs and mounting brackets, and wiring harnesses. This is especially helpful if you’re installing them yourself because it means one less thing to buy!

What Type of Light Bar Do You Need?

If you’re going to buy a light bar, you have some decisions to make. The light bar you choose will depend on your needs, whether off-roading in the woods at night or driving around town during the day. Here are the options:

  • High-intensity discharge (HID) bulbs produce an intense white light ideal for illuminating large areas from a distance and are used in high-end cars such as those made by Mercedes and BMW. HIDs also use less energy than halogen bulbs and can last up to three times longer than incandescent ones; however, they require more power than LEDs, so they may not work well with certain types of vehicles (such as older cars).
  • LED lights are among the most efficient forms available today because they don’t require much electricity—about half as much as conventional alternatives like halogen bulbs do! They’re also highly durable since they lack any moving parts inside them (like incandescent or HID headlights).

Have You Checked Your Local Laws?

Before you run out and buy a light bar for your car, you should first check your local laws regarding their legality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has strict guidelines on how bright lights can be and where they can be mounted. For example, in California, you can have up to five white or amber LEDs on the front bumper of a vehicle—but they must not be brighter than 300 lumens each. If you live in another state that doesn’t have such specific laws regarding light bars or other aftermarket lights, there are still some general rules of thumb that will help keep you safe while driving at night:

  • Ensure that the colors on your light bar match those used by police officers, so they don’t mistake it for an emergency vehicle.
  • Be aware that if the lights aren’t properly aimed through their housing and lens coverings (if applicable), other drivers may think that what appears to them as glare is being emitted from behind them instead of from directly ahead of them like it is!

How Much Power Do You Need From a Light Bar?

When choosing a light bar, you’ll need to ensure it has enough power for your vehicle. The more power a light bar has, the farther away you can see with it. If you’re looking for a bright light that will light up the side of your vehicle and get people’s attention, look for high-powered bars. If you want something cheaper and less powerful that will still offer some visibility on dark roads but isn’t as bright as others, choose a lower-powered one.

However much power your car needs depends on how far away you want to be able to see with the lights on—if it’s just so that other drivers can see what color their license plate is (or whether or not they remembered to turn off their high beams), then any amount of power should be sufficient for your needs. This also means that if you drive in areas with many hills or trees obscuring vision ahead of time, then having more powerful lights may help prevent accidents because someone couldn’t see clearly enough where they were going!

Where Do You Want the Light Bar to Go?

Once you’ve decided on the right light bar, it’s time to put it in. The first thing to consider is where you want it mounted. Mounting a light bar at an angle in your windshield will make it more visible from the outside of the car but can distract other drivers who the lights might blind. On the other hand, mounting a light bar on top of your vehicle could cause problems if someone is driving next to you—they may end up with a face full of UV rays.

Mounting your new light bar just above your license plate is a good option because this placement allows for visibility from outside and inside of your vehicle without causing any unnecessary distractions or discomfort for others on the road.

Some More Tips

When choosing the right light bar for your vehicle, you should keep a few things in mind.

  • Choose a light bar that is compatible with your vehicle. Some light bars will be too heavy for specific cars, so make sure to check the weight of the light bar before purchasing it.
  • Choose a light bar that is easy to install and use. A good indicator of whether or not this will be true for you is whether or not there are instructions included with the purchase (some even come with videos!). If there aren’t any instructions, ask someone who has experience installing them before purchasing!
  • Choose a durable product that won’t break easily after prolonged use over time – especially if it’s going on adventures like off-roading trips where these things happen all too often!

Conclusion

Lightbars come in a plethora of different sizes and configurations, so you will be able to find one for pretty much any vehicle you own. There may not be a single “best” answer, but there are certainly a few considerations that can help narrow down the selection. Whether you choose one with clear or colored LEDs, rest assured that these lights look great when properly mounted and make your car more visible to other motorists on the road.

Great F1 drivers who are passionate about poker

By
SM
-
Image by Pixabay

If you are a speed enthusiast, you will surely know names like Michael Schumacher, Robert Kubica… They are all legendary racers and rich athletes that have built huge fortunes with their success. But did you know, they are also poker enthusiasts? That’s the information that Gumball 3000 & Ignition casino will provide you right below.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is the most famous F1 driver in the history of speed racing and is the idol of many motorcyclists today. He used to participate in F1 racing for big companies like Jordan, and Ferrari. With his aggressiveness and great driving skills, he won many prestigious awards, becoming the most successful F1 driver of all time with a net worth exceeding $800 million. Even in the years that he didn’t race, Schumacher won $50 million a year from the endorsement. At the height of his career, he was paid a salary of 10 million dollars. At the peak of his career, he was once the highest-paid athlete in the world, not only that, all the products that are represented by the brand name Michael Schumacher are extremely loved by fans. Loved and sold out in an instant.

A very special thing that few people know, is that from a young age, Michael Schumacher had a special love for other sports. But perhaps his destiny chose racing. Therefore, up to this point, when he has won many prestigious awards and has a luxurious life with a record high salary, he shows his passion for gambling, especially poker. He spends his free time playing poker at charity events or tournaments with fellow F1 drivers just like him. Schumacher believes that poker helps him relax, and keep calm during competition.

Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica is the second most successful player after Michael Schumacher, he is the most talented Polish athlete to reach the final round of the most prestigious race on the planet – the F1 race. After making a name for himself in small tournaments like Kart, and cycling races in Italy, he decided to join and train for Formula Junior. And here, he has successively achieved success thanks to his skill and professionalism. He is a great driver when consecutively winning prestigious awards and is a formidable opponent to all Formula 1 drivers in the world. Although Robert Kubica has never admitted that he is a good poker player, because to him he is a pro on the speed track, with poker he is just a novice, but that is just recognition. In his personal opinion, everyone who has seen him play poker or his fans have affirmed that he is the best poker player to come out of an F1 driver. Kubica was especially focused on playing poker around 2011 when he had a serious accident and had to take a short break from the race, but with a strong will, he turned to poker as a way to keep his mind clear and responsive.

Giancarlo Fisichella

He started his career at a young age, with his enthusiasm and passion for speed, he won the Guidonia Kart. Then, in order to further develop his buddy’s career, he entered the world’s biggest motorsport, the F1 race, where he gradually settled down and was recognized as one of the strongest drivers of all time. Besides, Giancarlo Fisichella also participates in professional poker tournaments at Melbourne’s Crown Casino in 2009 and is passionate about online poker.

Although they are not professional poker players, they still have a love for this game. And you, which game do you love?

Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst Texas NXS Advance

By
Official Release
-

RILEY HERBST
Texas NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview

• Event: SRS Distribution 250 (Round 12 of 33)
• Date: Saturday, May 21
• Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
• Layout: 1.5-mile oval
• Time/TV/Radio: 1:30 p.m. EDT on FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

• Riley Herbst comes into Saturday’s SRS Distribution 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth riding a wave of front-running consistency. The driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) is on a five-race top-10 streak, punctuated by a season-best third-place finish in the Xfinity Series’ most recent race May 7 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. It was his eighth top-10 in the 11 races run this season – tying Herbst for the second-most top-10s this year with fellow Las Vegas-native Noah Gragson – and it has Herbst eighth in the championship standings, 54 points above the top-12 playoff cutline.

• The Xfinity Series was off last weekend, but Herbst was still on. The 23-year-old competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Herbst wheeled the No. 17 Monster Energy Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing (DGR) to a seventh-place starting spot and a 12th-place finish as he furthered his experience on intermediate-style ovals.

• Prior to the Xfinity Series off weekend, racing worlds collided. Herbst, along with his NASCAR Cup Series teammates Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer, spent the day with Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher. In a day of speed and fun on the Ford Performance Racing School road course at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, all the drivers were able to get behind the wheel and give rides to Haas Automation customers. F1 Digital released a video recap of the day on their social channels earlier this week.

• The SRS Distribution 250 will mark Herbst’s 88th career Xfinity Series start and his fifth at Texas. Herbst’s best finish at Texas is a pair of 12th-place drives, both of which were earned last year in the series’ two stops at Texas.

• SHR has one Xfinity Series win at Texas. Cole Custer delivered the victory in November 2018, beating Tyler Reddick by .162 of a second.

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

There was no weekend off for you. While the rest of the Xfinity Series took a break, you were wheeling the No. 17 Monster Energy Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing (DGR) at Kansas. What did you learn by running that race?

“You learn a lot. I was able to drive that truck back at Daytona, and I think there’s a good bit that you can learn and carry over to the Xfinity Series. I’m thankful to DGR for giving me the opportunity to learn. No matter what, it’s more seat time and a way to gain more experience. I’m a big fan of Kansas, and it’s also an intermediate track, which we’ll run this weekend in Texas. While they’re different tracks, I can learn as a driver. In my career, I’ve had limited track time with practice and qualifying going away in 2020, so I’ll take what I can get.”

What are your expectations for Saturday’s race?

“We’re focused on ourselves, and that’s trying to get the No. 98 Monster Energy team to victory lane. Right now, we’re focused on trying to bring the best racecar to Texas and I’m focused on being the most prepared that I can be as a driver. Hopefully, we can lead some laps, run up front, and win some stages. Last year, we were decent there, but struggled to find speed. We’re gathering all of our notes, going to the simulator, and preparing for this race. The plan is to have a solid run at Texas and go for the win, but we’re also preparing for Charlotte next week, which is one of my favorite tracks.”

You’re sort of flying under the radar this year despite a strong start to the season with eight top-10s and being eighth in points. How are you feeling about the team’s performance so far as you’re currently on a five-race top-10 streak?

“The goal this season was always to be consistent. Momentum is everything. It was tough last year, and we knew that if we did what we were supposed to do, we would finish decently. We’re way more consistent, and being able to finish has been huge for this No. 98 Monster Energy team. It allows us to keep moving forward and progressing. Ultimately, we’re moving toward the goal of winning races.”

No. 98 Monster Energy Team Roster

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Riley Herbst

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: Matt Noyce

Hometown: Oregon, Wisconsin

Engineer: DJ VanderLey

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Spotter: Tim Fedewa

Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Crew:

Front Tire Changer: Josh Leslie

Hometown: Mount Clemens, Michigan

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons

Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Fueler: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Jackman: Brandon Banks

Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Road Crew Members:

Truck Driver: Steve Wood

Hometown: Eatontown, New Jersey

Engine Tuner: Willie Pelotte

Hometown: Oakland, Maine

Tire Specialist: Austin Quick

Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona

Actor and Recording Artist Jordan Fisher To Perform National Anthem at Indianapolis 500

By
Official Release
-

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, May 19, 2022) – Jordan Fisher, whose accomplishments and accolades span from television to music, Broadway and film, will perform the national anthem before the start of the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Fisher is an actor, producer and musician. He was the first African American to portray the title character of Evan in Broadway’s “Dear Evan Hansen” and Mark in Fox’s Emmy-nominated “Rent Live.” Named a breakout star in Fox’s Emmy-winning broadcast “Grease Live!”, Fisher also starred in Netflix’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and “Work It,” and the CW’s “The Flash.”

In addition to a duet collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda on Disney’s “Moana” soundtrack, Fisher joined the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical “Hamilton.” He also won ABC’s 25th season of “Dancing with the Stars” with his partner Lindsay Arnold in 2017. He subsequently hosted “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors” in 2018.

“The national anthem is a signature pre-race moment, and Jordan is ready to welcome fans back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a memorable and emotional performance at the Racing Capital of the World,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “This year’s pre-race show will be fantastic, and I know our fans at the track and everyone watching on NBC will be thrilled with the excitement, tradition and pageantry on display as we await the green flag.”

Beyond his accomplishments as a performer, Fisher is an advocate for youth in foster care, continually partnering with nonprofits. He started “Be My Friend” to support dependable communities that build up those in need. Fisher is also an avid gamer who regularly streams on Twitch (@jordanfisher).

Follow Fisher on Facebook @JordanFisherOfficial, on Twitter @jordanfisher, on Instagram @jordanfisher and on youtube.com/jordanfisher. For more information, visit www.jordanfisherofficial.com.

NBC’s live coverage of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge starts at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday, May 29.

Visit ims.com to purchase tickets for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 and for more information on the complete Month of May schedule at IMS.

1...1,9601,9611,962...6,653Page 1,961 of 6,653