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BLAKE SHELTON ALL-STAR EXPERIENCE, MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHT SCC-TEXAS EVENTS AROUND NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE

  • Experience includes exclusive meet-and-greet with the country music superstar, pair of luxury suite tickets for all three days and more for May 20-22 All-Star weekend
  • NASCAR Cup Series All-Star driver Ryan Blaney to take part in Bill Walker Memorial Golf Tournament on May 20 at Bridlewood Golf Club

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 11, 2022) – The Bill Walker Memorial Golf Tournament presented by Premier Truck Group and the Blake Shelton All-Star Experience highlight the various fundraising events that Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter will be hosting during the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend set for May 20-22 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Bill Walker Memorial Golf Tournament presented by Premier Truck Group will officially kick off the SCC activities on Friday, May 20, at Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound. The scramble tournament will be a shotgun start at 8 a.m. and will include a welcome breakfast, activities on the course, silent auction and awards luncheon.

Among the participants will be one of NASCAR’s young All-Stars, Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. The opportunity to bid to play the round with Blaney will be available soon here.

Premier Truck Group, NTT DATA, RealCom Solutions and Hillwood have stepped up as corporate sponsors but there are remaining opportunities ranging from Eagle sponsor ($5,000) to Bogey sponsor ($150) for interested companies. A foursome is $1,000 and $225 for individuals who will be paired with a team. Click here to sign up.

SCC-Texas has created a VIP auction item for the ultimate experience to enjoy the race weekend in luxury and meet one of country music’s biggest names. The package includes:

· Exclusive meet-and-greet with Blake Shelton prior to his pre-race concert on Sunday, May 22.

· Pair of luxury suite tickets and VIP parking for all three days of racing, highlighted by the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 22.

· Pair of Track Passes for pit access throughout the weekend and upgraded access to the Shelton pre-race concert and NASCAR All-Star Race driver introductions.

Click here to bid now or visit www.sccauctions.com.

Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas will have an additional five fundraisers on site at Texas Motor Speedway throughout the race weekend, ranging from a VIP casino night to taking your personal vehicle on TMS’ 1.5-mile oval. Here’s a look at those events:

· 50/50 Raffle – The NASCAR All-Star Race winner won’t be the only one going home with a jackpot. From Friday through Sunday of race weekend, SCC will be selling tickets (10 for $10, 40 for $20, 120 for $40) for the 50/50 raffle, where one lucky winner will receive half the money raised and the other half will serve children in need. Keep an eye out for the 50/50 Raffle kiosks on the concourse as well as volunteers in the green 50/50 Raffle vests with signs.

· The Legacy Shop – This race weekend-only shop provides unique memorabilia items and pieces of Texas Motor Speedway history for purchase to benefit SCC-Texas. The Legacy Shop, located near Gate 5 on the concourse by Section 109, is open from when the gates open to the conclusion of the day’s on-track activities on both Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22.

· SCC All-Star Live Auction – The Trackside Live stage, located at Gate 3 of the Fan Zone, will be the site of a live 30-minute auction of various items and memorabilia for fans on Saturday, May 21, beginning at 3:30 p.m.

· All-Star Laps for Charity – This popular event, which will be held Sunday, May 22, from 8-9:30 a.m., allows people to take a ride around the high-banked, 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval in their personal vehicles. The vehicles will be led by an official TMS pace car. The donation is $60 per vehicle for three laps and there are limited spots available. To register, click here.

Since 1997, Speedway Children’s Charities at Texas Motor Speedway has distributed more than $11.5 million in funding to non-profit organizations in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties supporting children in need. The funds distributed by SCC are raised through special events held throughout the year. Most of the SCC events are geared around the major race weeks at Texas Motor Speedway. SCC could fill the grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway 18 times with the number of children the organization has helped since being formed.
For more information on SCC or the upcoming charitable events at Texas Motor Speedway, please visit www.speedwaycharities.org.

Texas Motor Speedway will once again play host to the $1 million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race, the marquee event of a race weekend (May 20-22) featuring all three of NASCAR’s premier series. The SpeedyCash.com 220 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race will be held Friday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. (FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, MRN, and 95.9 The Ranch) and the SRS Distribution 250 Xfinity Series race on Saturday, May 21, at 12:30 p.m. (FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, PRN, and 95.9 The Ranch). Both will be televised live on FS1 and aired locally on 95.9 The Ranch. The NASCAR Open will begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 22 (FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, MRN, and 95.9 The Ranch) and the NASCAR All-Star Race at 7 p.m. (FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, MRN, and 95.9 The Ranch).

Country music superstar Blake Shelton will perform a live 60-minute concert May 22 as part of the NASCAR All-Star pre-race festivities.

TICKETS:
Tickets for the May 20-22 NASCAR All-Star Race Weekend, are on sale now at https://www.texasmotorspeedway.com/events/season-tickets/.

MORE INFO:
Keep track of all of Texas Motor Speedway’s busy schedule by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with all the latest news and information on the speedway website and TMS mobile app.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Harrison Burton Kansas Advance

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Advance | Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, is in his rookie season driving for the Wood Brothers and one of three Ford drivers competing for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Burton is coming off a 14th-place finish at Darlington Raceway and looked ahead to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway with members of the media.

HARRISON BURTON, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang – A LOT OF TALK AFTER THE LOGANO-BYRON THING IS KIDS SEE THAT AND THEY KIND OF LEARN HOW TO RACE. AS A YOUNG DRIVER, DO YOU KNOW HOW FAR YOU’RE WILLING TO GO OR WHEN YOU SEE THINGS LIKE THAT DOES IT INFLUENCE HOW YOU REACT TO THINGS IN THE FUTURE? “I would say that a lot of people probably, you have your mindset about how you race kind of made up. It’s a personal thing and I think, for me, it is definitely predicated on how I’ve been raced by that person, or how I’ve been raced by people around me. Think about the Clash Last Chance race I was in, turned into I took the lead, got spun out and all kinds of stuff. I just kind of got ping-pong balled there and so in that race my aggression level was turned up really high. I started laying the bumper to people because I felt like I had been wronged in that race multiple times, and so then I got more aggressive and kind of matched that level. Obviously, in the Joey and William thing I think Joey feels that he got put in the wall beforehand and that changed how he would race, and William probably sees it another way. Every incident is pretty personal, I would say, but I don’t think I let other people’s racing influence how I would race.”

IF YOU DO GET IN A POSITION WHERE YOU ARE BATTLING FOR THE WIN, AND YOU KNOW A WIN CAN POTENTIALLY PUT YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DOES THAT CARROT SERVE AS AN INFLUENCE ABOUT HOW YOU WOULD GO ABOUT RACING AT THAT POINT? “It’s been a rough start to say the least. Fourteenth place is our best finish, so that’s not good. There’s no hiding that. I think there’s been some growing pains there and I feel like now we’re getting rolling in the right direction, so I’m excited to get back to the racetrack and hopefully be in that spot to try and contend for wins and just take it one step at a time and get some top 10s, get some top fives and build there. But it does definitely change it. I think if I get in a spot where I’m racing for a win, I’m gonna be pretty aggressive for a multiple amount of reasons. Obviously, it would really change my whole life. I think it would be amazing for the Wood Brothers to get their 100th win. I think there’s some pressure to that, especially with the start we’ve had, that if I do get there, I’m certainly gonna be aggressive and go try and take it from those guys, and I think also we saw at Darlington that it’s hard to pass. It’s really challenging to complete passes. I think the side-by-side racing has been good because the outside guy can’t really get you too loose anymore, so you can go side-by-side, but it’s really hard to complete passes. If you get a chance to make a pass, you better take it.”

CAN YOU LOOK AT LAST WEEKEND AS A SMALL VICTORY OR AS A SIGN THAT THINGS ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? “Absolutely, and more than the finish I think the speed we had in that race, there was a part of that race where we came out and had a pit stop and had been really not very good to start the race, and then the car woke up. We made the right changes on pit road and Joey and Denny I think were second and third and I ran them down and caught them. I think Joey had one lap older tires, so pretty even to him there and I caught them, and I was like, ‘OK, now we’re rolling.’ Looking at the lap time data, that was our strongest race, for sure, compared to the leaders and in that particular segment we matched the leader’s lap time, so it’s like, ‘OK, we’re going in the right direction there.’ We had the speed at times to be a top-five car. We just have to go and execute a whole race now. We had one segment where we were kind of really good, and then tuned ourselves out of it some, so I think that was a big victory was to run with those guys, catch Denny, catch Joey. Obviously, I was in a different track position scenario, where I was racing with Brad for the lucky dog, but to be able to catch them and show that we had that speed was the biggest victory of that day, and then the finish was actually probably worse than what we had for lap times. That probably wasn’t representative of our best runs. We had the flat spotted tires after the big crash and had to pit and lose some track position there. The finish number is not that exciting, but I think the speed we had was more exciting.”

DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE A GOOD FEEL FOR WHAT YOU NEED BEHIND THE WHEEL NOW AND YOU’RE LIMITING ANY MISTAKES? “Yeah, I told my crew chief Brian that when we ran that run I was talking about earlier that was the most like, ‘OK, I feel comfortable.’ It’s like the first time where I wasn’t uncomfortable in this race car, which is pretty wild when you think about it. This is a hard race car to drive, which is great for our sport, I think. When you hit it right, it drives really well, so we had some notes to build off of now – things that I like, especially based off of that run, some changes that I like – and hopefully that can carry over. For me, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can finally go be aggressive in this car.’ And I hadn’t felt that yet and now I kind of feel like we’ll be able to replicate that and go get after it more.”

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF AS A DRIVER THROUGH THE START OF THIS SEASON? “I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I won’t quit. There’s nothing that I will never quit. I think some of the good things about this start is you build confidence in your work ethic, you build confidence in your desire. When things are bad that’s when you find out who you are. You go through adversity in life. Everyone has it and feel like it makes you better. It’s just something that, for me, is exciting that I’ve gone through this rough spot and some really hard moments – been in things that were really disappointing, leaving the racetrack with your head hanging low and Monday morning rolls around and I’m as excited and motivated as ever to go to work and work harder than I ever have, and the schedule is as hard as it’s ever been for me personally. The Cup schedule is pretty grueling, so I’m learning a lot about myself in a work ethic capacity. My love for this sport is higher than I think it’s ever been because I appreciate what Cup is all about. I’m getting ready to try and hopefully start succeeding in that and that’s exciting, so I like to take those things out of it and I think that’s what’s really gonna help me grow in the future. I can never guarantee results, but I can guarantee what I will do before the race to try and be ready and our whole team is dedicated as ever to being good and we know that means work. We can’t do what we’ve been doing and expect to just pop off a win. We have to go to work and that’s what we’ve been doing and I’m really proud of that.”

IN WHAT WAYS HAS THE DIVERSIFICATION OF THE SCHEDULE TO THIS POINT HELPED AND DOES THIS UPCOMING THREE-RACE STRETCH ON 1.5-MILE TRACKS HELP? “I think it’s really beneficial to get all of these different track types not out of the way, but you get a notebook on every single type of racetrack. Now we’re going to places that you can relate to other places and when we first started with the car it was Daytona, California, Vegas, Phoenix, all different tracks and every time we went there it was kind of a guess, and now we’ve hit a lot of tracks that, quite frankly, I think race teams were worried about. They were really worried about Dover being really hard to kind of get set up right and maybe it was for some guys, I think us included. I crashed in lap two of practice, so I guess some of those fears were right, but then we got through it and got better throughout the weekend, so the diversity of the schedule early has been, I think, good for the fans because they get to see a lot of different things and see how the Next Gen car performs, and it’s been really good for the teams because now we have a notebook of kind of every kind of racetrack that you could think of and we can go try to build off of that and show up off the truck closer than what we have been in the past.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST POSITIVE FROM THIS EARLY PART OF THE SEASON? “I think just the growth and me as a driver and our race team as a whole. It’s kind of all of our first year in Cup at our jobs. My crew chief, Brian, had been a race engineer in Cup before, but hadn’t crew chiefed. I have never raced in Cup, obviously. Our race engineer was on the 22 Xfinity car, so I think the first few weeks were pretty eye-opening for us about what was so different about Cup from Xfinity and then you look at us now and we feel like we’re in a rhythm of we know our jobs, we know what we’re responsible for, we know what the other person is kind of thinking before they say it now, and so that’s really good. As a team, I think we’ve really grown. And then the biggest positive for me has just been getting to know the Wood family and learning about their history and trying to represent them well has been really cool – something that I’ll always remember is their support in us and belief in us as a group has never wavered, and the same with our relationship with the Penske organization as an alliance team. That group has been really helpful for us and believes in us, so it’s really cool to go to work and have people that believe in you, especially when you have a bad day to have a group that believes in you. We’ve learned a lot about each other and we know that our bosses have our back, which is really cool.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ALL-STAR RACE IN TEXAS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT MOVE AROUND OR DO YOU WISH IT WAS STILL IN CHARLOTTE ALL THE TIME? “It’s definitely a hike. I think the fans in Texas are really awesome, so that’s fun to go see them. I agree that it should move around. I like that idea. Charlotte was always really neat for me because I could leave school and then I’d go watch my dad qualify for the All-Star Race. I think that was like at 5 o’clock on a Thursday, so just stuff like that was neat as a kid growing up. I enjoyed that, so I’m always kind of partial to Charlotte, but I think moving it around is really cool for the fans of each racetrack. You see other sports kind of do that, where the All-Star Game will be here and there and kind of all over. The NBA had one in Charlotte recently, so just kind of roaming around and doing different things, I think, is cool and I’m enjoying that idea. We’ll see. I think Texas has been a pretty good spot for it too with the fan base that’s out there.”

ARE YOU GUYS DOING ANY EXPERIMENTAL STUFF FOR PENSKE WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR CONSIDERING WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS? “Yeah, we’ve done some of that and our group is learning what I like and we’re still trying to build as a group, so a lot of times every weekend is kind of an experiment, but we’ve differed on some things that worked and didn’t work. I wouldn’t say we’re full experimental mode, just kind of swinging for the fences. I still think that we’re trying to build off our notes that we’re learning and trying to just learn about the car and learn about what I like in what car. The whole throwing caution to the wind thing is probably not our position quite yet. There’s still a lot of season left and we feel like we can get things rolling in the right direction, just kind of taking the steps that we are. I think Darlington was a big swing for that direction. We had some changes in our setup that I thought was really positive and kind of came to light in the race that I thought was better than what we had performed, so we’ll try and build off of that and get better and better.”

IS THERE ANYONE YOU HAVE RELIED ON FOR FEEDBACK THROUGHOUT THESE FIRST 12 RACES? “Certainly, Joey and Ryan have been really helpful. Both guys have kind of been through everything you could think of. I think back to when Joey started in Cup. I think his experience is kind of been one where he struggled out of the gate and then turned into one of the best to do it, so I think that’s motivating for me to have a guy that, hey, let’s be honest, I’ve struggled out of the gate, right? Joey, I think, he would say that he did too and now he’s a champion and a guy that when you think of the most talented drivers he’s pretty high up on that list. That’s pretty awesome to see that and learn from his experiences and try and understand that it’s possible with turning this thing around. It’s not inevitable that it will turn around. You have to earn it turning around and I think that’s something I’ve learned and something that’s cool for me. And then, obviously, my dad – just leaning on him a lot. He’s an experience guy who has been through it all as well and obviously I have a great relationship with him, so it’s good to learn from him, for sure.”

Cadillac seeks to conquer Mid-Ohio natural-terrain course

Cadillac DPi-V.R has finished second the past two years in 2-hour, 40-minute race

DETROIT (May 11, 2022) – No one need remind Pipo Derani that every second matters in an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

The reigning Daytona Prototype international (DPi) champion has co-driven to a runner-up finish in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R the past two years at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – by a combined margin of less than one second – in the 2-hour, 40-minute races.

Derani and first-year teammate Tristan Nunez, who earned the third-place trophy May 1 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca after starting sixth, will attempt to secure the top spot of the podium in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio this weekend. Drivers of the three other Cadillac DPi entries, all of whom have had success this season, will also seek to claim the top prize in the 2-hour, 40-minute race May 15 on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn natural-terrain road course.

Cadillac at Mid-Ohio media resource guide: Storylines, notes, statistics and more

Cadillac DPi 2022 media guide: Historical statistics, technology transfer and more

Cadillac DPi entries have won two of the four IMSA races this season, including podium sweeps at Sebring International Raceway and on the streets of Long Beach, California, and collected eight podium finishes overall.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R led the charge at Mid-Ohio in May 2021, with the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R setting the race record lap time of 1:12.188 (112.605 mph).

“I think we’ve done extremely well (at Mid-Ohio) considering that it’s a track that better suits the Acuras. We were so close to winning, but we came up short at the end,” Derani said. “It’s such a difficult place to pass. We weren’t quite able to do that last year and the year before.

“Nevertheless, it’s great to be coming back to Mid-Ohio. It produces great racing. We want to put on a good show for them and bring Cadillac a win.”

Much like at Laguna Seca, Cadillac teams will contend with low grip and traffic, and pay particular attention to fuel mileage. Last year in the heated closing stint at Mid-Ohio, the top four DPi finishers ran 56 minutes — about 10 minutes longer than the average length.

“I’m feeling great about heading into Mid-Ohio following the amazing result we had a Laguna Seca,” said Nunez, who started the 2019 Mid-Ohio race from the pole. “It was a tricky track for us, but we made the most of it and we came out with a really great result. I think we’ll have the same mindset for Mid-Ohio. I think it’s about getting the car dialed in, so it feels really good for the race.

“I’m really itching to get a win in this car, with this team. I think we’re close. I think everything is starting to come together.”

Green flag is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 15. The race will air live on USA Network and stream on Peacock starting at 2 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

Cadillac DPi roster for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Cadillac Racing)

Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais

Van der Zande and Bourdais co-drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to the victory on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting from the pole. … It was the 16th IMSA victory for van der Zande and eighth for Bourdais. … Bourdais set the qualifying lap record time in the event. He set the lap record time in earning the pole for the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring. … Van der Zande has three top-five finishes in four DPi races with Cadillac at Mid-Ohio, including third place in 2020. … Bourdais drove to the pole start in GTLM competition at Mid-Ohio in 2019.

No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Cadillac Racing)

Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

First-year entry in expanded Cadillac Racing DPi program. Bamber and Lynn co-drove to a runner-up finish on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting second. … They, along with Neel Jani, co-drove to victory March 19 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. … Bamber is a two-time winner in GTLM (2018, 2019) at Mid-Ohio. … Lynn will be making his first start at the track.

No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)

Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook

Vautier and Westbrook co-drove to third place on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting fifth. Vautier and Westbrook, joined by Loic Duval, drove to second place in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring and opened the ’22 season by starting second and finishing third at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. … Vautier has a best finish of fourth in 2021 in DPi competition with Cadillac at Mid-Ohio.

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)

Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez

Derani and Nunez co-drove to third place on the Laguna Seca road course May 1 after starting sixth. … Derani and Nunez, joined by Mike Conway, started second and finished third in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring. … The three-driver team started seventh and finished fourth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to open the season. … The No. 31 Cadillac has been the runner-up the past two years at Mid-Ohio, with Derani as co-driver. … Derani and Felipe Nasr were the 2021 IMSA DPi Driver Champions and Whelen Engineering/Action Express Racing was the Team Champion.

Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course results 2021-2018

2021: Second (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

      Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval

      Fifth (No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen

2020: Second (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

      Third (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe

      Sixth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Sebastien Bourdais, Joao Barbosa

      22nd (eighth in class) (No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Tristan Vautier, Gabriel Aubry

2019: Fourth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

      Sixth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

      Seventh (No. 84 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Stephen Simpson, Simon Trummer

      Eighth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

     Ninth (No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Kyle Kaiser, Will Owen

    10th (No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Tristan Vautier, Misha Goikhberg       

2018: Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth — Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

    Fifth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

   Eighth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 12th – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran        

About Cadillac
A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

Crypto Rewards Token BUSDX Teams with JR Motorsports and Sam Mayer

Mayer to Pilot No. 1 BUSDX Chevy in Xfinity Series at Michigan

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 11, 2022) – JR Motorsports announced today the addition of BUSDX as the newest partner of the No. 1 team with driver Sam Mayer. BUSDX, a digital staking and rewards token built on the Binance Smart Chain, will be featured as Mayer’s primary partner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 6).

Headquartered in Detroit, BUSDX offers a crypto token which automatically distributes 10% rewards to every holder in Binance USD (BUSD), a regulated, fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. In essence, token holders will be able to generate revenue just for holding BUSDX in their wallet. BUSDX token holders will also be able to swap, buy, or sell their tokens on decentralized exchanges to fiat. To date BUSDX has distributed more than $1 million in BUSD to its token holders.

“We are excited to be partnering with JR Motorsports and supporting Sam Mayer in the No. 1 BUSDX Chevrolet,” said Jason Robert, CEO of BUSDX. “Sam is an extremely talented driver, and JR Motorsports is a championship-caliber team. We are thrilled to have them showcase our brand.”

The hot-handed Mayer has been strong in the 11 races this season, racking up five top-five finishes in the last six races and six top-10 finishes this season. The 18-year-old Franklin, Wis. native sits seventh in the championship standings.

“I’m really looking forward to hopping behind the wheel of this BUSDX Chevrolet at Michigan,” Mayer said. “With their headquarters being so close to the track, it’s like a home race for them. It’s sure to be a huge weekend and hopefully we can celebrate with them in Victory Lane at the end of the day.”

Mayer will debut the No. 1 BUSDX Chevrolet Camaro at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 6 with broadcast coverage at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

ABOUT BUSDX:
BUSDX Is The Native Token That Fuels Our Product Ecosystem. Users are required to hold/stake/pay with the BUSDX token to access our products. X = 10%, BUSDX is a rewards token that was created on the BNB Chain, with a mechanism that distributes 10% rewards in BUSD to holders automatically. BUSDX has quite a few utility products, such as a Staking dApp, Launchpad, NFT Marketplace, DEX Swap, and Virtual Payment System. All of our products were developed to create additional volume in the BUSDX Ecosystem, resulting in the distribution of more BUSD rewards.

ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
JR Motorsports is the racing operation co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. Now in its 21st year of overall competition, JR Motorsports competes in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it currently fields four full-time teams and earned championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also races in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional Late Model divisions and added a prized national title in 2020. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

HaasTooling.com/Production Alliance Group Racing: Cole Custer Kansas Advance

COLE CUSTER
Kansas Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: AdventHealth 400 (Round 13 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 15
● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Cole Custer heads to the season’s second NASCAR Cup Series race on a true mile-and-a-half tri-oval when he and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) take to the track at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400.

● Sunday’s 400-mile race will be Custer’s 88th Cup Series start and his fifth at Kansas. His Kansas debut resulted in a seventh-place finish in July 2020 en route to earning that year’s Rookie of the Year honors, best of his previous four Kansas outings. It was his fourth top-10 through his first 19 Cup Series starts.

● Riding along with Custer and his SHR Mustang is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

● Also returning to Custer’s No. 41 Mustang for the second time this season is Production Alliance Group (PAG). Tustin, California-based PAG is a premium, live-event and creative development company. Its creative works can been seen at concerts, award shows, sporting events, and corporate events. From the lights to the sound and everything in-between, PAG is the creativity and execution behind it all.

● The 24-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, pulled double duty with PAG as primary sponsor in both the Feb. 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the Feb. 27 Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Saturday, he scored his 10th career Xfinity Series victory in dominating fashion behind the wheel of the No. 07 for SS GreenLight Racing, qualifying second, leading a race-high 80 laps and crossing the finish line .565 of a second ahead of runner-up Noah Gragson in the third overtime. Custer followed that up with a solid 11th-place finish in the Cup Series race in his No. 41 SHR Ford.

● Custer has four Kansas appearances in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, the most recent three in the No. 00 SHR Ford and the first in the No. 5 entry for JR Motorsports, with a best finish of 11th in the 2019 event after leading a race-high 85 laps.

● In his lone NASCAR Camping World Truck Series outing at Kansas, the 24-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, qualified fourth and finished seventh in the No. 00 JR Motorsports entry in the May 2016 race.

● Custer’s potential top-10 finish in Sunday’s annual Throwback Race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway ended 33 laps short when he was caught up in a multicar accident that was not of his own doing. He arrives at Kansas 26th in the Cup Series standings.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

You’re coming off a potentially strong finish that came to an abrupt end when you got caught up in a late-race accident at Darlington last Sunday. Do you feel there is momentum as you head to Kansas this weekend?

“Yeah, right when we had things turning around, we got caught up in the wreck on the backstretch. We’ve had a lot of things not go our way this year, but all you can do is move on to the next one, and that one is a pretty racey track at Kansas. Hopefully we can build on the positives from Darlington. Kansas is actually a tough racetrack. You have to move around and work the different lanes. You have to have the speed, as well, obviously. Track position is going to be huge and how you work the strategy is important. It’s a track where you have to put everything together. You have to make sure you can work the lanes good, and work them from the bottom to the top of the track.”

Kansas has one of your best tracks during since your Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, when you scored your third career top-10 in the spring, then came back in the fall to almost grab another. How was that experience for you?

“The guys fought all race long both times that year and we definitely were able to make something of it in the first race, even though it wasn’t the prettiest day. We were in a good position in the fall race. Right there at the end was the best I had been in the top groove all race long. But a speeding penalty set us back and we still ended up with 14th place, which was disappointing when we considered what might have been. Our spring race last year turned out to be a frustrating day, but we came back and had a decent run in the fall race.”

This will be just the second race weekend of the season on a true mile-and-a-half tri-oval. Is there anything you can carry over from the first one at Las Vegas to this weekend’s race?

“Every single track is different, so you can’t necessarily bring the same thing to each one. Considering we almost made it to halfway in the race at Las Vegas before something happened under the hood, we didn’t get the most track time that we could’ve. But it was a very eventful day, for sure. We started in the back and then we started making progress, but had to go to the back again. Then we spun and had to go to the back one more time, so it was just an eventful day and it didn’t end very well. I think we had a solid car, though. We finally got running good at the end and it was shaping up to be a solid day, but it didn’t work out. We do know with how the aero is on the NextGen car, they’re edgier to drive on the mile-and-a-halves. But I think we have a really good idea on what we need to bring to Kansas this weekend. We’ve been working hard to put in all the preparation we can, but it all still comes down to making our best educated guess because we still don’t get a ton of track time before race day. You just have to hope you hit it right.”

No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Production Alliance Group Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California

Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
Hometown: Amherst, Ohio

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Lee Deese
Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina

Engineer: Scott Bingham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Josh Leslie
Hometown: Mount Clemens, Michigan

Rear Tire Changer: Coleman Dollarhide
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Matthew Schlytter
Hometown: Ponte Vedra, Florida

Fuel Man: Dewayne Moore
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife
Hometown: Orange County, California

Tire Specialist: Austin Greco
Hometown: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer
Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

Toyota Racing Weekly Preview – 05.11.22

This Week in Motorsports: May 9-15, 2022

· NCS/NCWTS/ARCA: Kansas Speedway – May 14-15
· NHRA: Virginia Motorsports Park – May 15

PLANO, Texas (May 11, 2022) – NASCAR and ARCA are headed to Kansas Speedway for the first of two stops at the track this season, while NHRA is headed back to Virginia Motorsports Park for the first time since 2019.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NCWTS

Busch ready to add to Kansas success… Kyle Busch scored a birthday win at Kansas Speedway one year ago to clinch his Playoff berth and add to his incredible Kansas success. Busch has eight wins across NASCAR’s top three series at the track (two Cup Series victories, four Xfinity Series wins, two Truck Series victories.).

Hamlin looks to score another Kansas triumph… Denny Hamlin scored Toyota’s first win at Kansas Speedway in April 2012. Hamlin has since added two additional victories in consecutive fashion in October 2019 and July 2020.

Bell adds to top-10 streak… Christopher Bell continues to climb in the overall point standings as he scored his fifth top-10 finish in the past seven events on Sunday in Darlington. Bell is sure to have fond memories of Kansas Speedway as it was the site of his first Xfinity Series victory in October 2017.

Nemechek looking to go back-to-back… John Hunter Nemechek scored his first victory of the season last weekend in Darlington and moved up to second in the overall Truck Series point standings. Nemechek earned a top-five finish at Kansas Speedway one season ago after starting from the pole and leading 16 laps.

Toyota strength in the Truck Series… Toyota drivers continue to show strength in the Truck Series with the manufacturer holding down the top four spots in the point standings and six of the top eight. Toyota drivers currently in Playoff positions are Ben Rhodes, Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Heim returns to first win track … Corey Heim returns to Kansas Speedway as a former ARCA winner at the track. The Georgia-native scored his first career ARCA victory – and Toyota’s 100th ARCA win – at Kansas Speedway in October 2020. Heim will have two chances to add to his victory total on Saturday as he competes in both the ARCA and Truck Series events.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

NHRA back at Richmond … For the first time since 2019, the NHRA is back at Virginia Motorsports Park. The winners in 2019 are both current Toyota drivers as Steve Torrence won in Top Fuel and Ron Capps claimed victory in the Virginia Nationals.

Torrence lone Top Fuel winner… Steve Torrence not only won the last time we were in Richmond, but he’s also won both Top Fuel trophies at Virginia Motorsports Park since NHRA returned there in 2018. Torrence is still looking for his first victory of the season but is solidly fourth in the point standings.

Capps strong in Supra debut… Reigning NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps made a successful Toyota debut in Charlotte. The two-time champion qualified his Toyota GR Supra in the third position and advanced to the final quad.

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

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

Corey Heim – No. 51 JBL Tundra TRD Pro Camping World Trucks Kansas Preview

Corey Heim: Driver, No. 51 JBL® Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Heart of America 200, Race 8 of 23, 134 Laps –30/30/74; 201 Miles
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: May 14, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

The Story on Corey:

Corey Heim returns to the No. 51 JBL Tundra TRD Pro for this week’s Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway. For Heim, who ran three races last year and is running a limited schedule again this year, it will be the first time that he has raced in consecutive races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in his budding career. Despite having just seven starts under his belt, the talented teenager already collected his first series win earlier this year at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Overall, in six starts, he has tallied 24 laps led and an average finish of 17.8.

Despite not being slated for a full-time schedule this year, Heim is competing for the 2022 Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. Having only competed in three of the seven events this season, he sits fourth in the standings, 34 points behind Lawless Alan. Heim will look to join three other KBM drivers that have won the award, reigning winner Chandler Smith, William Byron (2016) and Erik Jones (2015).

While he has yet to tackle Kansas Speedway in a truck, it was the site of his first career ARCA Menards Series victory. Heim led 82 of 100 laps en route to his first series victory on Oct. 16, 2020. In addition to his victory, he has four other starts at Kansas in the ARCA Menards Series, all finishes of fourth or better. By the time the Truck Series takes the green flag on Saturday night, Heim will have another ARCA start under his belt as he is pulling double duty this weekend driving the No. 20 Camry in Saturday afternoon’s ARCA race.

Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series event is part of Heim’s six-race schedule for Venturini Motorsports. Heim led 74 of 90 laps en route to the victory at Daytona in February to pick up his eighth career ARCA Menards Series victory. Across 38 career ARCA Menards Series starts he has produced 588 laps led, 28 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.1. Heim finished second to Ty Gibbs in the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship standings.

Heim made three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts for KBM in 2021, with a best result of 11th coming at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Heim had an impressive Truck Series debut at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last May, where he led two laps, finished Stage Two in the runner-up position and was running second when he got turned from behind on a restart with just under 30 laps remaining. The incident forced him to the garage and ended his night with a disappointing 23rd-place finish.

Mardy Lindley returns to KBM for his second season atop the pit box of the No. 51 team. In addition to this year’s with Heim, the No. 51 team produced three victories in Lindley’s first season as a crew chief at KBM, two with owner-driver Kyle Busch and one with Martin Truex Jr. Before arriving at KBM, Lindley guided his drivers to 32 wins and four ARCA Menards Series East championships since 2013, including back-to-back titles with Sam Mayer the last two seasons. Additionally, he earned the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship with Mayer in 2020. Behind the wheel, the second-generation driver won 11 races on the Pro Cup Series from 2000 to 2006 and was crowned the series champion in 2001. In his lone Truck Series race at Kansas, Lindley was victorious with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch last year. Busch led a race-high 59 laps to give Lindley his third career Truck Series victory as a crew chief.

JBL, the authority in engineering superior sound, returns to KBM for an eighth season and will be the primary sponsor on Heim’s Toyota for 10 races this season including Saturday’s race at Kansas. Crescent Tools, a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, will serve as a primary sponsor for four of Heim’s races, beginning July 29 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park.

Corey Heim, Driver Q&A:
Corey Heim | Kansas Speedway Preview
Kansas was the site of your first career ARCA win. Is it a special track to you?
“Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned my first ARCA win was huge for me. I’ve been their four times – which I think is more than any ARCA track or any NASCAR style track that I’ve been to in the past – so I’m really looking to getting out there in my JBL Tundra TRD Pro this weekend and hopefully having a good run.”

You won in your last mile-and-a-half start at Atlanta. Does that give you confidence going into Kansas?
“For sure, as a driver Kansas is a lot different than Atlanta as far as the package that you have to bring to the race track and how you drive the track is a lot different. It will be a lot less throttle time than Atlanta for sure, but I’m confident that KBM gave me a really good truck at Atlanta and its going to be a similar downforce package and everything with how we set the truck up, so I feel like that is going to be a really good advantage going to Kansas.”

You’re in a stretch where you are in the JBL Tundra TRD Pro for three consecutive races. Does that help you get in a rhythm?
“One-hundred percent. The months off were definitely rough from Daytona to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Darlington. To be back in the truck on a consistent basis – I think I’ve got six of the next eight or something like that – and working with Mardy Lindley and my JBL crew is definitely going to be an advantage for sure.”

Corey Heim Career Highlights:

  • Picked up first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway March 19, 2022 in just his fifth start. Across six career starts has one win, 24 laps led, one top-five and one top-10 finish resulting in an average finish of 17.8.
  • Made three Truck Series starts in 2021 with a best result of 11th coming at Martinsville Speedway in October.
  • Finished runner-up in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings in 2021 after collecting six wins, three poles, 406 laps led, 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 3.1 across 20 starts.
  • Across 38 career ARCA Menards Series starts has eight wins, 588 laps led, 28 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.1. Picked up his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Kansas Speedway Oct. 16, 2020.
  • Corey Heim’s No. 51 JBL Tundra TRD Pro:
  • KBM-54: The No. 51 JBL team will unload KBM-54 for Saturday’s 134-lap event at Kansas. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch has two victories driving this Tundra TRD Pro, including at Kansas Speedway last May. The other victory came at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in 2018 in its first career start.

Click here to see KBM-54 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:

  • KBM drivers have collected five wins, four poles, 621 laps led, 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.6 across 37 starts at Kansas.
  • Owner-driver Kyle Busch has collected three wins at Kansas (2014, 2017 and 2021). Noah Gragson led a race-high 128 laps and swept all three stages in the 2018 event and William Byron earned his first career Camping World Trucks victory there in 2016.
  • KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (93) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
  • With 38 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Advance: Kansas Speedway

Saturday, May 14
Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 8 of 23
Event: Heart of America 200 (134 laps, 201 miles)

Schedule
Saturday, May 14
Practice: 12:00 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET
Race: 8:00 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Ford Performance F-150

  • Hailie Deegan returns to Kansas Speedway for the eighth contest of 2022, marking the first appearance with Ford Performance as the No. 1 team’s primary sponsor this season.
  • The Temecula, CA native made her first-ever NCWTS appearance at the facility in 2020, scoring a 16th place finish — the highest result for a female in her series debut.
  • Kansas Speedway has historically been one of the stronger tracks for the 20-year-old, averaging a finish of 14.5 throughout her young career.
  • Veteran Crew Chief Mike Hillman has seen a plethora of success at the 1.5-mile oval, taking home a win, five top-fives, and ten top-10s across his 17 career appearances.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

  • Tanner Gray heads into Saturday’s Heart of America 200 looking to right the ship on the 2022 season after getting caught up in a multi-truck incident at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last Friday that ended his race after 98 laps.
  • After seven rounds, the Ford Performance driver sits on the bubble spot for the Truck Series playoffs in 10th, 17 points above the cut line.
  • Historically, tracks between one and two miles in length have suited Gray’s driving style well. He has three top-fives and nine top-10s including a top-five run at Kansas in 2020.
  • In eight races at Kansas, a truck crew chiefed by Jerry Baxter has only finished outside the top-10 on two occasions with the last time being 2014. In those eight races, Baxter’s average finish is 8.3.

Riley Herbst, No. 17 Monster Energy Ford F-150

  • Riley Herbst will make his second start of the 2022 season behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford F-150 for DGR.
  • In the season opening event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the Xfinity Series regular brought home a 12th-place effort.
  • In 10 career Truck Series starts, the Las Vegas native has scored two top-fives and four top-10s with one of those top-five runs coming last season on the Daytona Road Course in the No. 17.
  • Herbst may only be 23 years old, but he is a veteran at Kansas Speedway. Dating back to the ARCA Menards Series in 2017, he has eight total starts at the 1.5-mile track with two top-fives and five top-10s. He has one truck start with a ninth-place run in 2019.

Turn 3 Motorsport Ready for Triple-header at Indianapolis Road Course

Jonathan Browne in his #2 Indy Pro 2000 car

Indianapolis, Ind. (May 11, 2022) – Rounds 5, 6, and 7 of the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires are set to take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this weekend as Turn 3 Motorsport readies to take on the first triple-header event of the season for both the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series.

Coming off a solid weekend at Barber Motorsports Park just a couple of weeks ago, Turn 3 Motorsport is eager to carry that momentum forward as the championship hunt remains tight for both the Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 series going into the Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires.

3 Josh Green // Indy Pro Championship

SessionGuardian / Zimperium / Lionfish Tech Advisors / Mark Green / JHG Investments

“I am pumped for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis,” said Green. “I have had a super pleasant break and a good mental reset to get prepped for the busy month of May, starting at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. I really can’t wait to be back in the car and get to wheeling. Let’s boogie!”

2 Jonathan Browne // Indy Pro 2000 Championship

Human Centred Movement / CRPS Awareness

“I’m really looking forward to getting going at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with practice on Thursday,” said Browne. “I’ve watched cars go around this track since I can remember, so to be driving on that will be a cool experience. As far as the racing goes, I’ll be pushing to continue getting further up the grid every time. Can’t wait to get there!”

33 Spike Kohlbecker // USF2000 Championship

Ignite Autosport / Margay Racing / TierPoint / PSL / RSolution / TrueTitle / Ruckus Racing / Messmer Cares / Alvear / Cfx

“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway grand prix circuit is the coolest venue of the year,” said Kohlbecker. “The track is inside the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and uses parts of the Indy 500 oval. It also has amazingly long straits where we go upwards of 155 mph! This event is also close to my home which means lots of family and friends will attend. I’m excited to once again race at this amazing track and to see the people I love. See you there!”

32 Christian Weir // USF2000 Championship

ProFlo / Ferguson / eComfort.com

“This weekend at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis might be an interesting one,” said Weir. “With my lack of experience on this track, I’m not sure where I’ll end up, but with the strong pace we were able to show at Barber Motorsports Park a couple of weeks ago, I still feel we can be in the hunt. With IMS being a track that promotes overtaking, I think we can pick our way through the races even with a lack of pace. Let’s see how things get shaken up!”

“Any race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is always special, but to have six races in one weekend is certainly high pressure as a team,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “I feel we are as well prepped as possible and really looking forward to the challenge ahead. Both our Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 programs are performing well; we just need to get a little more to be right there. I trust our drivers will be able to find the extra edge this weekend. There are a lot of points up for grabs, so consistency will be important to give ourselves the opportunity for a successful weekend. It’s time to go and get it – results are always earned and not handed out!”

The 2.439-mile, 14-turn grand prix circuit will host a practice day on Thursday with races on Friday and Saturday for the Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 series. A full weekend schedule is detailed below.

Road to Indy TV
Live streaming for the event can be viewed worldwide on the Road to Indy TV app or on www.indypro2000.com / www.usf2000.com.

To stay up to date on Turn 3 Motorsport, follow the team on social media using the handle @turn3motorsport.

For more information or images, please contact Mandy Dempsey at turn3motorsport@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, MAY 12
9:00-10:00am | USF2000 Test 1
10:15-11:15am | Indy Pro 2000 Test 1
12:00-1:00pm | USF2000 Test 2
1:15-2:15pm | Indy Pro 2000 Test 2
3:00-3:30pm | USF2000 Practice 1
3:45-4:15pm | Indy Pro 2000 Practice 1

FRIDAY, MAY 13
8:00-8:30am | USF2000 Qualifying 1
8:45-9:15am | Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying 1
11:45-12:30pm | USF2000 Race 1 (15 laps / 40 min)
2:45-3:35pm | Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 (25 laps / 50 min)

SATURDAY, MAY 14
8:05-8:50am | USF2000 Race 2 (15 laps / 40 min)
9:10-10:00am | Indy Pro 2000 Race 2 (25 laps / 50 min)
11:15-11:55am | USF2000 Race 3 (15 laps / 40 min)
12:10-1:00pm | Indy Pro 2000 Race 3 (25 laps / 50 min)

All times Eastern Standard Time.

About Turn 3 Motorsport: Turn 3 Motorsport is a full-service operation specializing in racecar preparation, engineering, and driver development. Founded and managed by racecar driver and coach Peter Dempsey, T3M is focused on professional service, team member growth, and high-level performance across multiple racing series.

In 2019, the team secured the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup North America championship titles in the 1340cc, 1500cc, and overall classes. Later that year, Peter and Turn 3 Motorsport achieved a record-breaking win at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race, piloting the #10 Eastern Racing / Turn 3 Motorsport Radical SR3 RSX 1340 to a dominating win, leading 638 out of 672 laps, and becoming the first car under two liters to achieve the overall win.

In the team’s rookie season, Turn 3 Motorsport attracted attention out of the gate by winning the season opener of the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in a sweeping performance with Singaporean driver Danial Frost. Frost and the team went on to achieve a pole position, six podium finishes, and third overall in the championship in 2020.

In 2021, T3M expanded its presence in the Road to Indy by introducing a two-car program into the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship alongside its Indy Pro 2000 Championship campaign. In its debut USF2000 season, the team found victory at the season finale with American driver Josh Green as well as earning an additional podium and fifth overall in the championship. The team earned further accolades in the Indy Pro 2000 series with a race win at the season finale by Irish driver James Roe as well as a pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway and seventh overall in the championship.

M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Racing: Kyle Busch Kansas Advance

KYLE BUSCH
A New Addition to the Family

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 11, 2022) – As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, Kyle Busch has already had a winning week.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), his wife Samantha, and their son Brexton, welcomed a baby girl to the family early Tuesday morning. Lennix Key Busch weighed in at 6 lbs, 1 oz and measured 20 inches long.

After Busch spends the rest of his week getting acclimated to the new addition to the family, he’ll head to the Midwest in hopes of adding another addition to the trophy case on Sunday. With two Cup Series wins to his credit at Kansas, Busch has nine top-five finishes and 11 top-10s in his last 15 starts at Kansas His second Kansas win last May makes him the defending winner of Sunday’s event.

While the two-time Cup Series champion’s recent record at Kansas is quite impressive, there was a time when that wasn’t the case. Busch struggled mightily his first seven seasons competing at the 1.5-mile oval.

The Kansas oval was built in 2001 and originally featured a constant 15 degrees of banking in the turns. But it underwent a massive renovation leading into its October 2012 event. The changes included repaving of the existing track surface, reconfiguration of the oval, and the addition of a new infield road course. The oval’s geometric shape also was changed to feature variable banking of 17 to 20 degrees in the turns.

To say that Busch didn’t take well to the new surface would be quite the understatement. From October 2012 to 2013, he had three consecutive DNFs (Did Not Finish) there, with accidents ending his day each time, for final results of 31st, 38th and 34th.

Feeling snakebit on the new Kansas surface, Busch and his M&M’S team took a different approach starting with the April 2014 race by starting from scratch with a brand new car. They attacked Kansas with the hopes that a fresh outlook would produce vastly different results. While a pit-road speeding penalty cost them precious track position and an even better finish in the race, the result and effort was much different than the three previous trips. Instead, they were competitive enough to turn the corner in terms of results.

In the October 2014 Cup Series race, Busch brought home a third-place finish at Kansas. Those who know Busch knows he has never cared much for moral victories. However, the momentum kickstarted by his first Kansas top-five has remained to this day. Finally, with the surface starting to wear, Kansas has become a place much more agreeable to Busch’s driving style. He brought home his first victory there in NASCAR’s top series in May 2016 and added the aforementioned second win there last spring.

M&M’S Crunchy Cookie will once again be adorning his No. 18 Toyota at Kansas on Sunday. M&M’S Crunchy Cookie combines two favorite treats – M&M’S and chocolate chip cookies – and is now available nationwide. It’s bound to give race fans a fun, nostalgic snack to enjoy during this weekend’s race.

So as Busch heads to Kansas this weekend, they’ll be celebrating the new addition to the family, while also hoping to add another addition to the trophy case on an already exciting week for the entire Busch family.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Talk about this weekend at Kansas Speedway and your expectations on the track.

“Kansas has been a good place for our sport. You know the crowd, the reception, the racetrack, the community has really built up around the racetrack there over the last 10 years, or so. It’s been a lot of fun to see all that happen and I’m looking forward to the race. It’s been a great racetrack for us, lately. We’ve had some good runs there once the track aged. We’ve kind of seemed to maybe have figured out the place a little bit better, but the new car is always a new challenge each new place we go and we learn more every week. And, you know, we’re looking forward to the opportunity of being able to go out there and hopefully get ourselves a win with our M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Camry.”

You’ve run up front and led some laps at both Dover and Darlington the last few weeks. Is that encouraging as you try to figure out the NextGen car?

“Yes and no. Obviously, we would like to have some better finishes to show for it, but we’ve run up front and led some laps and that eventually leads to wins if you keep doing those things. We’ve made a lot of progress on the NextGen car, but you never know what is going to be around the corner. We’ll just keep trying to learn what we can and if we can continue to run up front, then I’m hoping it leads to good things at some point soon.”

Have you looked forward to racing at Kansas more since you won there?

“I do. Also, I did even the last few times before we won there when we had some really strong runs. We finished in the top-five, I think, five races in a row and we have also been in the top-10 a lot, so it’s a place where we’ve really picked it up and now we have two wins there. We seemed to have gotten a setup or ahold of that place and I feel like our cars keep getting better over the last few races. I’m hoping we can continue our strong runs and have a shot to win there again with our M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Toyota.”

What’s the biggest challenge that Kansas Speedway poses?

“I think the wind is usually a factor there. Sometimes it comes from the south, sometimes from the west, it’s like being in the Wizard of Oz. Kind of crazy to get there each year and try to figure out what’s best. But the wind also plays into our setups. We talk about how you have to set up the racecar according to which way the wind is blowing and what we have to do from that aspect. It definitely adds a different challenge to what we all do.”

Event Overview:

● Event: AdventHealth 400 (Round 13 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 15
● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Meet the No. 18 M&M’S Crunchy Cookie / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Thomas Hatcher
Hometown: Middleburg, Florida

Jackman: Kellen Mills
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey
Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham
Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Road Crew Members:

Engine Tuner: Dan Bajek
Hometown: Camden, New York

Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York

Truck Driver: Eloy Trevino
Hometown: Adrian, Michigan

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Mechanic: Tony Hamm
Hometown: Walla, Walla, Washington

Notes of Interest:

● Breakthrough Win: After struggling for much of his career at Kansas, Busch came through with his first win at the 1.5-mile oval in May 2016. That night, Busch led for a total of 69 laps and took the lead for good with just 37 laps to go. The breakthrough win at Kansas buoyed a streak at Kansas that saw Busch score consecutive top-fives from 2014 through 2017 and eight top-10s in a row from 2014 through 2018.

● All in the Stats: Busch has two wins, nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10s and has led a total of 404 laps in 28 career Cup Series starts at Kansas. Busch’s average Kansas finish is 15.6.

● 223 and Counting: Busch will be aiming to add to his record 223 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series this weekend at Kansas. In addition to his 60 Cup Series wins and 102 in the Xfinity Series, Busch has 61 wins in the Camping World Truck Series.