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Tony Stewart Racing: Charlotte Advance for the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

By
Official Release
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Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
April 29 – May 1 | Charlotte, North Carolina

Event Overview

Friday, April 29 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q1): 4:15 p.m. EDT
● Nitro qualifying session (Q2): 7:45 p.m. EDT

Saturday, April 30 (Nitro Qualifying, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Nitro qualifying session (Q3): 1:15 p.m. EDT
● Nitro qualifying session (Q4): 4:45 p.m. EDT

Sunday, May 1 (Nitro Eliminations, streamed live on NHRA.TV)

● Round 1: 12 p.m. EDT
● Round 2: 2:45 p.m. EDT
● Finals: 5 p.m. EDT

TV coverage on FS1

● Friday, April 29: Qualifying show (7 p.m. EDT)
● Sunday, May 1: Qualifying show, recapping all of Saturday’s action (11 a.m. EDT)
● Sunday, May 1: Finals show (7 p.m. EDT)

Notes of Interest

● The Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte, North Carolina, is the sixth event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ 22-race calendar in 2022. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) brings its two fulltime entries – one in Top Fuel for nine-time event winner Leah Pruett and one in Funny Car for three-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan.

● Hagan comes into Charlotte as Funny Car’s most recent winner. The Christiansburg, Virginia-native scored his 41st career win in the 35th NHRA SpringNationals last Sunday at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas. The triumph served as a bookend for Hagan at Houston, as he scored his first career Funny Car win at the track on April 11, 2010. The 35th SpringNationals served as Houston’s final race, as the track has since closed. Soon after Finals concluded, the new property owners began repurposing the drag racing facility into an industrial park.

● Hagan’s win at Houston expanded his lead in the Funny Car championship standing to 60 points over his nearest purser, Robert Hight.

● Shelor Motor Mile, a family-owned car dealership serving the Christiansburg, Virginia, area since 1974, will adorn Hagan’s Dodge SRT Hellcat Funny Car at Charlotte. In addition to a large selection of cars and trucks from various manufacturers, Shelor Motor Mile also has an in-house financing department that can help customers determine a financial plan for buying their desired vehicle. They also make trading-in a vehicle a seamless process and offer a sizable assortment of pre-owned cars. Shelor Motor Mile is owned by Hagan’s father, David Hagan, who will attend the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals with Virginia Tech head football coach Brent Pry.

● Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection return to Pruett’s Top Fuel dragster this weekend in Charlotte. The Dodge Power Brokers program serves as the exclusive source for Direct Connection, Dodge’s factory-backed performance parts program, which is equipped with staff trained to deliver a performance-focused customer service experience.

● The Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals will mark Pruett’s 177th career Top Fuel start. It’ll be her 17th overall start at Charlotte and her ninth in the Four-Wide Nationals. For Hagan, the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals will be his 299th career Funny Car start. It’ll be his 23rd overall start at Charlotte and his 11th in the Four-Wide Nationals.

● Pruett is eyeing for her first victory at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. In 2017 and 2019, she advanced to the final quad at Charlotte. In 2015, Pruett raced to a semifinal appearance at the Carolina Nationals. Pruett is seeking her first No. 1 qualifier at the event.

● Hagan has three career wins at Charlotte. Two of his victories came in 2011 and 2014 during the Carolina Nationals. Hagan won the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 21, 2013 (4.071 ET at 315.34 mph) when he defeated Blake Alexander (4.156 ET at 294.56 mph), Tim Wilkerson (5.141 ET at 153.39 mph) and Chad Head (10.525 ET at 67.05 mph). Hagan is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier at the event.

● Hagan was the first Funny Car driver to break the four-second barrier when he completed a run of 3.995 seconds in 2011 at Charlotte. His milestone run was commemorated with a sign on the retaining wall near the starting line.

● The Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals will be a family affair for TSR as team owner Tony Stewart will host approximately 350 people from Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), the NASCAR team he co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. SHR is just nine miles north of the track in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

● DYK? Charlotte was the first four-lane drag strip on the NHRA schedule. The ground-breaking took place on Feb. 5, 2008 and a total of 1,876 workers were involved in the track’s construction. Together they worked 636,000 combined man hours and through this tremendous effort, the 13-month construction project was completed in only six months. The first NHRA sanctioned Four-Wide event took place in March 2010.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster

After a strong weekend at the last Four-Wide Nationals event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, how much confidence does that give you and the Dodge Power Brokers team at Charlotte?

“It brings just the right amount of confidence to the team to push a little harder in our power window, which will hopefully result in a notch or two lower qualifying position. Lower altitude and cooler temperatures will make for a much quicker and faster four-wide than Vegas.”

Describe the feeling of teamwork your Dodge Power Brokers crew is experiencing now that the NHRA has completed five events this season and you’re able to start gathering more data with each run.

“Expediting our data acquisition has been the goal, and still is, but we’ve gained another focus of data organization, which is a project of its own. That continues to prove we have the right forward thinking brains in our operation.”

What will the feeling of team comradery be having approximately 350 guests from Stewart-Haas Racing supporting TSR at Charlotte?

“For many, it will feel like meeting your half siblings for the first time. I feel there of course will be an extended will to perform well, but no degree of pressure none of us haven’t been under. The cool part is that these guests are racers too and know how difficult wins are to get at any level, so the respect factor over expectations is what really puts the ‘home’ in the homecoming race.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Having advanced to the finals in four out of the first five NHRA events in 2022, what’s the confidence level of you and the Shelor Motor Mile crew going into Charlotte?

“Rolling into the Four-Wide race at Charlotte is always chaotic. Coming off our win in Houston, we are carrying a lot of momentum this year. We’ve advanced to the finals in four out of the first five events to start the season. That momentum is really hard to get in a Funny car. The consistency comes from our guys on the team and what they do every day putting the parts and pieces together. I want everyone to realize how it’s about our guys, not me as a driver. It’s about Dickie (Venables, crew chief), Mike Knudson (co-crew chief), Alex Conaway (car chief) and everyone that works on the car. Consistency is key and without them doing what they do, we can’t do anything. We have a team we can go out there and win a championship with. We’re making a statement and we’re here to win. Everyone is working hard and we’re ready to win more races.”

What will the feeling of team comradery be having approximately 350 guests from Stewart-Haas Racing supporting TSR at Charlotte?

“It will be awesome to have almost 350 Stewart-Haas Racing guests at the track. It is extremely cool. I’m really excited to meet all of the guys and gals that support what Tony (Stewart) does. It’ll be neat for them to see an NHRA event and all that goes into it.”

What does it mean to have Shelor Motor Mile on your Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car Charlotte?

“It’s really important to me to run my family’s Shelor Motor Mile scheme. It’s my family’s business and we have over 900 employees. We’re going to bring quite a few of them to the race this weekend, so there will be a lot going on. I would love nothing more than to get my dad a win with his new logo and paint scheme on my Funny Car. To be able to bring the trophy back to him would mean a lot. Charlotte is considered my home track because it’s only two hours from my house. Everyone comes out, so I’m sure we’ll sell a lot of Matt Hagan shirts this weekend. It’ll be people on top of people, but I love it and thrive in it. The more the merrier. I love our fan base and everyone that supports us. We’ll have everyone out there that’s supported me from short tracks, all the way up to winning a championship.”

TeamSLR Cruises Up the West Coast to Sonoma Raceway

By
Official Release
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Mosack, Wood Conclude Back-To-Back California Swing That Began at Laguna Seca

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (April 27, 2022) – Just a weekend removed from Round 4 of the 2022 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, TeamSLR heads three hours up the coast for Round 5 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The scenic 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course located in the heart of Wine Country has a strong history with the series that dates back to 1969.

TeamSLR will be fielding two competitors for Sunday’s 40-lap, 75-minute TA2-class race – fulltime driver Connor Mosack behind the wheel of the No. 28 High Point University/Nic Tailor Custom Fit Underwear/Interstate Foam & Supply Ford Mustang, and Jack Wood, a Northern California native and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular who will pilot the No. 27 Velocity Racing/SLR/M1Racecars Chevrolet Camaro this weekend.

The 22-year-old Mosack, who hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, raced at Sonoma last year when the event was part of the non-points ProAm Challenge series. He started and finished second in the TA2 race behind fellow TeamSLR driver Sam Mayer.

Wood, a 21-year-old from Loomis, California, just outside Sacramento, will be making his third start of the season with TeamSLR. The fulltime driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competed at Laguna Seca last weekend, climbing into the top-10 early in the race before a mechanical issue brought an early end to his race day. Wood has raced previously at Sonoma in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, earning a 16th-place finish in the June 2019 event.

Connor Mosack, Driver, No. 28 High Point University/Nic Tailor Custom Fit Underwear/Interstate Foam & Supply/TeamSLR/M1 Racecars Ford Mustang:

After last year’s second-place finish in the ProAm Challenge at Sonoma, what will it take to go one better with points on the line this year?

“I think we’ll have a leg up on the competition setup-wise going into the weekend since we got to race there last year. To secure a win, we’ll have to qualify well because it’s tough to pass, and avoid making mistakes in the race.”

One third of the way through the season, how would you assess your position in the championship?

“We’ve gotten ourselves behind on points early this year with the engine failure at Sebring and the crash at Atlanta. Fortunately, we have the speed to work our way back to the top, but we really can’t afford any more DNFs (Did Not Finish).”

Jack Wood, Driver, No. 27 Velocity Racing/TeamSLR/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

After seeing your race day at Laguna Seca come to a premature end last weekend because of a mechanical issue, does that make you even more determined to get a solid result even closer to home at Sonoma?

“I think it definitely fires the whole team up. We’ve proved multiple times, now, that we have speed. We just need a little luck to go our way and finish off a race strong.”

Sonoma will mark your third Trans Am race this season. What areas do you aim to improve on this weekend?

“I think over the past two races, we’ve found all the pieces. Now, we just need to put them all together in one race and make it happen. I look forward to having a solid race at Sonoma, and also using it to get ready for my Truck Series race there later in June.”

About TeamSLR:

TeamSLR competes fulltime in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli in a multifaceted effort that includes dedicated entries in the TA2 division, customer programs, driver coaching and car construction. Its history dates back to 1985 and covers a wide spectrum of motorsports, including NASCAR, IMSA, SCCA, ARCA and ASA. TeamSLR is a family-owned organization run by Scott Lagasse Sr., and Scott Lagasse Jr., The father-and-son duo have combined to win more than 100 races and seven championships across a variety of series and styles of racecars, from paved ovals to road courses to dirt tracks. For more information, please visit us online at www.TeamSLR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on LinkedIn.

Weekend schedule for Dover

By
Angie Campbell
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Alex Bowman leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to the one-mile concrete paved oval of Dover Motor Speedway, aptly nicknamed, the Monster Mile.

Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active Cup Series drivers with three previous wins at the track. Chase Elliott leads the driver standings by a margin of 21 points but is still searching for his first win of the season.

The Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program continues at Dover. Noah Gragson, last week’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, has the best average finish of 9.7 at Dover. He’ll be competing against AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill for the $100,000 prize.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off this weekend but returns to competition at Darlington Raceway on May 6.

Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, April 29

1:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series East Practice/Qualifying – No TV
3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
5:30 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 125 race – MRN

Saturday, April 30

10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRM/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
11:15 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying– FS1/MRM/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
1:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series A-GAME 200
200 miles = 200 laps
Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
The Purse: $1,419,713
Defending Race Winner: Austin Cindric

Sunday, May 1

3 p.m.: Cup Series DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne
400 miles = 400 laps
Stage 1 ends on Lap 120, Stage 2 ends on Lap 250, Final Stage ends on Lap 400
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
The Purse: $7,205,230
Defending Race Winner: Alex Bowman

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES: GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA – TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
APRIL 27, 2022

Better at Barber: Chevrolet Riding Strong History to Alabama GP
Team Chevy on rare run to open 2022 racing season

DETROIT (April 27, 2022) – Chevrolet is hoping to add to a stellar start to the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES this weekend when its teams head to scenic Barber Motorsports Park for the Grand Prix of Alabama. Team Chevy is on a three-race win streak to open the season and heads to a venue where it has enjoyed incredible success during the past decade.

It has been 10 years since Chevrolet opened an INDYCAR season with four consecutive victories to signal its return to North American open-wheel racing. The 2017 season was the last time the Bowtie Brand won four races in row when it won five times late the season.

The odds appear to be in Team Chevy’s favor this weekend. A Chevrolet driver has won six times with the 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn circuit just outside Birmingham including four straight from 2015-18.

“It’s a gratifying feeling to be able to celebrate with our Chevrolet engineers, drivers and teams at the end of every race win,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “To do so three times to start this season is extra special. I wouldn’t say we are completely surprised because we expect to win every race. But we also recognize the high level of competition in INDYCAR at the moment. Our engineers will continue to work hard to find improvements with our teams to keep Chevrolet at the front each weekend.

“As to Barber itself, the track presents a number of challenges. It’s the first natural-terrain road course of the year. That means lots of elevation change and punishing runoff areas that always get the attention of drivers. Consistent power application and fuel management across the hills and around all 17 corners will be key. There’s nothing more we’d like than to go into the month of May and Indianapolis with another victory.”

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden is the hottest driver in INDYCAR with the points lead and consecutive victories at Texas and Long Beach. Now he heads to a Barber Motorsports Park where he has won three times – the most of any driver in the series. A win there by the No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet would net Newgarden the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, which rewards the first driver to win on an oval, street circuit and road course in the same season.

That driver will share $500,000 with his or her team and donate $500,000 to that driver and team’s chosen charity.

Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin won the season’s opening street race at St. Petersburg and sits second in points. With two pole positions in three races, Chevrolet also leads the Engine Manufacturer Championship.

In addition to Team Penske, Ed Carpenter Racing has found its share of success at Barber. It won with Newgarden in 2015 and has two additional top-10 finishes at Barber.

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 1 from Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160). Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

TEAM CHEVY QUOTES
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “I love Barber and how close it is to Nashville. Before the Music City Grand Prix, it was kind of my home race to some degree. I love the high-speed nature of Barber. It’s a lot of high-speed commitment from a lot of the corners which makes it a lot of fun to drive. It suits my style, for sure. It’s all about flow and carrying big speed and putting the car on the edge. That’s what I like most about it.”
“It’ll be fascinating to see how we go on a permanent road course. I think we’ve proven we can have a good street-course car and a good oval car, but we need to have a good road-course car to complete the set. So I’m really looking forward to it.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 SONSIO CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “Excited to head back to Barber. I think for me it was my first race last year in INDYCAR and it was just trying to take it all in at that point. Now after having a year and a few more races under my belt
I am excited to head back to a track I actually originally enjoyed. I love the track. I think it is a roller coaster. It reminds me a lot of the bravery and commitment you need on some of the big tracks in Australia. I think with the experience I’ve gained in the last 18 months, I feel really strong and excited to head back to a track. It really kicks off our road course campaign. It’s the first road course we’ve had this year. I’m excited to see how the car feels like. What the changes we have made in the off-season feels like. It’s been good on the street circuits and ovals. This will be our first road course test and I think we can be right at the front and put Team Chevy in Victory Lane.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “Can’t wait to get on track at Barber. Barber’s always been one of the cool tracks on the
circuit–it’s a well-maintained, well-put-together circuit. It’s a fun track to drive and challenging physically. It can be hard to pass so we’ll have to be working on that. Obviously qualifying is going to be super important so we’ll be keeping that theme of focusing really aggressively on qualifying through the practice and getting ready for those qualifying runs to get a good start for the race. Looks like ticket sales are going great so looking forward to a busy weekend with all the INDYCAR fans there. The No. 4 K-Line Insulator crew will be ready.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP:
“I love Barber. It’s one of my favorite racetracks because it’s a very high commitment track. I’ve always said it’s one of the most beautiful and well taken care of facilities I’ve ever been too. It’s always a great turnout; I also heard it’s going to be a sold-out event on Sunday so I’m sure it’s going to be a great event for everyone to watch and for us to entertain. Looking forward to continuing on the momentum we have built and getting some great points for our championship.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW McLAREN SP CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP: “It’s good to be going back to a proper road course, Barber, it’s the first one this year. It’s a great track; it’s a cool, physical, and mental challenge. It’s always a great joy to drive that track. I think as a team both Pato and I, and everyone working on the cars, are ready to have a solid result. We are looking forward to getting some good points to get the season going.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “I’m really looking forward to Barber. Although I have been there in Star Mazda, I have to say I had to watch a lot of onboards to remember the whole track, so it will be a new track to learn for me. The only thing I remember from Barber was that I had my first podium in Star Mazda there. It’s our first permanent track of the year so I’m excited to be able to explore the limit of the car a bit more freely than in the first two rounds– it’s always tough to do that on a street circuit.

“I have spent the last couple of weeks training hard in Florida (good for heat training), as according to some of the drivers and engineers, Barber is one of the toughest tracks physically. I have done a bit more strength work ahead of this weekend and the different format of having only the race on Sunday (and no warmup) may help for that. I expect a big challenge regardless and for sure trying to catch up as quick as possible as most of the drivers or rookies have tested in Barber recently. My goal is still the same to start off where we left in Long Beach and keep improving every session.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “Barber will be interesting. People have tested there, so it could a tough race for us. I finished second there last year so hopefully we can build on the setup a little bit and be pretty good when we get there.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “Looking forward to Barber, it’s an awesome race,” Kirkwood said. “I heard it’s sold out and we’re looking forward to getting back on a permanent road course. It’s a track I’m familiar with and a track that the team’s familiar with, and they’ve had pretty good races there in the past so hopefully that momentum continues and we’ll have a good weekend.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Barber is a place where we have been able to test. It’s very fresh in our minds and is a very well-manicured circuit. It’s very different from our street races, obviously. But it also is one of the most physically demanding circuits on the schedule because it has very high G-loads and high levels of grip. It’s an enjoyable circuit to drive. It’s a tougher race circuit until the tires start to wear out and that creates some overtaking. The straights aren’t super-long but it’s a fun track. It’s a little narrow but it doesn’t seem as narrow as a place like Road America, for example.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Before Long Beach, we had a great test at Barber Motorsports Park and it made me even more excited to get back there! We have a fast car that can challenge for a Top 5. Ed Carpenter Racing has a strong history at Barber, which is also very good. I really like the track and it’s pretty beautiful in the spring. I might also get a haircut at Barber because it makes sense.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING: “After testing the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, we are looking forward to our first road course race of the season at Barber. Luckily I got the chance to test at Barber and iron out any little issues we may have had so hopefully we can hit the ground running at Barber. It’s a fun track. It will be difficult to overtake in the race, but hopefully we can get a better qualifying run and move up a few places. Otherwise the weather looks a bit questionable so that could make it a bit interesting, but we will have to see. It would be nice to see what this car is like in the wet.”

BY THE NUMBERS: CHEVROLET IN INDYCAR
· 1: Chevrolet’s position in the INDYCAR Engine Manufacturer standings after three races
· 3: Career Barber wins for Josef Newgarden. All have been in Chevrolet-powered entries
· 3: Consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the pole and race at St. Petersburg. Penske teammate Josef Newgarden won at Texas and Long Beach.
· 6: Wins for Chevrolet INDYCAR teams at Barber Motorsports Park
· 6: Different Chevrolet drivers to win races dating back to the start of 2020. Scott McLaughlin was the most recent at St. Petersburg
· 6: Number of Manufacturer Championships in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012
· 6: Number of Team Chevy Driver/Entrant championships since 2012
· 9: Wins from pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver
· 13: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including past 10 with Chevrolet
· 25: Wins by Will Power since 2012. All have come with Chevrolet, giving him the most of any driver with same manufacturer
· 39: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver
· 98: Chevrolet victories in NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012
· 109: Earned poles by Chevrolet since 2012
· 168: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.

McDowell Entering Dover With Momentum

By
Official Release
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Navage Nasal Care Ford Driver Claiming Two Straight Top-10s

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 27, 2022) – Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Navage Nasal Care Ford Mustang team head to Dover (DE.) for the Cup Series’ one and only visit to the high banked one-mile oval.

McDowell, who is riding a wave of momentum, has inked two consecutive top-10 finishes in the last two races, at Bristol (Dirt) and Talladega. This weekend is sure to be exciting when the drivers and teams take to the high banked, bumpy, concrete speedway.

“It’s been nice this last couple weeks to have some solid finishes. This season has been pretty up and down for us, so far. We kicked off the year at Daytona with a decent run and had a fast car at California and Vegas, but kind of struggled the last few weeks at the short tracks with Richmond and Phoenix and Martinsville, so it’s nice to get some momentum and get things rolling in the right direction. Dover is a really fun racetrack, really intimidating.” Say McDowell.

“I think we’re all a bit nervous with this Next Gen car, not nervous with what’s gonna happen with it, but more of just how they’re gonna drive because it’s such a fast racetrack, a lot of loading, so it’s gonna be a challenge the first couple of laps when you unload there to see what you have. The bigger tire will have a bit more grip, a little bit different aero package obviously with downforce levels and horsepower, but I think it will actually be pretty close at Dover as far as lap times, within three or four tenths of where we were last year. I don’t think it’ll be a huge difference there.”

McDowell and the No. 34 Navage Nasal Care Ford Mustang team will race this Sunday, May 1st, at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Month of May Schedule Packed with Action, Excitement on IMS Oval, Road Course

By
Official Release
-

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, April 27, 2022) – It’s almost time to come Back Home Again.

The Month of May will return to its normal schedule at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with full seating capacity, including the traditional lineup of on-track and off-track activities surrounding the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 and the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 14.

Fans can enjoy 11 days of on-track activity on the IMS road course and the historic, 2.5-mile oval. Action on the road course for the GMR Grand Prix will start Friday, May 13, with practice for the Indianapolis 500 starting Tuesday, May 17 on the oval.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers will line up to take the green flag for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at 12:45 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 29 on the historic, 2.5-mile oval (live on NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network). The ninth GMR Grand Prix will kick off the Month of May at IMS at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11 on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course (live on NBC, Peacock Premium, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Helio Castroneves will capture the attention of the sporting world as he tries to follow his emotional, record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021 with a fifth win, elevating him above A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the most successful Indy 500 driver. On the road course, Team Penske will look to continue its hot start to the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season – it has won the first three races – with its sixth GMR Grand Prix victory.

“We have looked forward to a ‘normal’ Month of May for more than two years, and we can’t wait to see all of our loyal fans at the Racing Capital of the World,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “But as anyone who has attended even one Indianapolis 500 or GMR Grand Prix knows, there is nothing ordinary about this magical time of the year at IMS. It’s so special, with action, excitement and memories every single day. We truly welcome everyone back home again.”

Among the highlights of the Month of May at IMS is an exciting new format for PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22.

After Day One of qualifying from noon-5:50 p.m. (ET) Saturday, May 21, Day Two will include two rounds of qualification attempts to decide the first four rows, including pole position.

Starting in reverse order of speeds based on Day One, each of the top 12 drivers will have a guaranteed attempt to post a traditional four-lap qualifying time starting at 4 p.m. The fastest six will advance to the Firestone Fast Six at 5:10 p.m. to determine positions one through six and compete for the NTT P1 Award for pole. The slowest six will fill out starting positions seven through 12 according to their recorded time.

In the Firestone Fast Six, each entrant is again guaranteed one attempt and will qualify in reverse order based on their Top 12 qualification results. The fastest wins pole position, which includes a $100,000 prize, with the remaining five drivers filling out the remainder of the first two rows.

A post-qualifying practice from noon-2 p.m. Monday, May 23 will give fans another opportunity to see NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers hone setups in traffic before Race Day.

Miller Lite Carb Day will feature the final practice before Race Day, with cars on track from 11 a.m-1 p.m. Friday, May 27. The popular INDYCAR Pit Crew Challenge also returns after a two-year hiatus, rewarding the fastest crews in the sport and putting their talent in the spotlight from 2:30-4 p.m.

Month of May action will start on the IMS road course with the GMR Grand Prix, with two full days of on-track action open to the public Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14 featuring the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.

The GMR Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14. Only two drivers have swept this event and the Indy 500 in the same year – Will Power in 2018 and Simon Pagenaud in 2019.

A great variety of live music also will complement the exciting on-track action throughout Race Weekend.

Rock’s ultimate supergroup Kings of Chaos and legendary Grammy Award winner Rick Springfield will co-headline the Miller Lite Carb Day Concert on Friday, May 27. Legendary funk and R&B band Morris Day and the Time will open the concert, followed by Springfield and Kings of Chaos. The show starts at 3:30 p.m. on the Miller Lite Stage inside Turn 3 of the IMS oval, a new location this year.

Country music superstar Dierks Bentley will headline the Firestone Legends Day Concert on Saturday, May 28. Special guests Ashley McBryde and Dillon Carmichael will open the show, which begins at 7 p.m. (ET) at the TCU Amphitheater in White River State Park, further expanding the celebration of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” into downtown Indianapolis.

Superstar DJ and producer Martin Garrix will headline a stellar lineup of global electronic music artists at the Indy 500 Snake Pit presented by Coors Light on Sunday, May 29. deadmau5, Galantis, Steve Aoki and Yellow Claw also will perform at the Race Day concert during the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Performances begin at 8:15 a.m. in the infield adjacent to Turn 3 of the IMS oval.

Tickets are on sale now at IMS.com for the ninth GMR Grand Prix and 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. All fans 15 and under are admitted free for general admission with an accompanying paying adult. There is no free admission for reserved seats on Race Day for the Indianapolis 500 or GMR Grand Prix.

NINTH GMR GRAND PRIX PUBLIC SCHEDULE

(All times local, subject to change; all on-track activity on IMS road course)

FRIDAY, May 13 (General admission $20)

7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

8-8:30 a.m.

USF2000 Qualifying

8:45-9:15 a.m.

Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying

9:30-10:30 a.m.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (45 minutes)

10:45-11:30 a.m.

Indy Lights Practice 1

11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

USF2000 Race 1

12:45-1:45 p.m.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes)

2-2:30 p.m.

Indy Lights Qualifying

2:45-3:35 p.m.

Indy Pro 2000 Race 1

4-5:15 p.m.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES NTT P1 Award Qualifying

5:35-6:30 p.m.

Indy Lights Race 1 (35 laps or 55 minutes)

SATURDAY, May 14 (General Admission $40; Reserved Seats Start at $41)

7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

8:05-8:50 a.m.

USF2000 Race 2

9:10-10 a.m.

Indy Pro 2000 Race 2

10:30-11 a.m.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup

11:15-11:55 a.m.

USF2000 Race 3

12:10-1 p.m.

Indy Pro 2000 Race 3

1:20-2:15 p.m.

Indy Lights Race 2 (35 laps or 55 minutes)

2:40-3:05 p.m.

Silver/Bronze Badge Grid Walk

3:30 p.m.

Ninth GMR Grand Prix (85 laps)

5:45 p.m.

GMR Grand Prix Post-Race Track Invasion

106th INDIANAPOLIS 500 presented by Gainbridge PUBLIC SCHEDULE

(All times local, subject to change; all on-track activity on IMS oval)

TUESDAY, May 17 (General Admission $15)

8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

9-11 a.m.

Veteran Practice

1-3 p.m.

Rookie Orientation Program, Veteran Refresher Tests

3-6 p.m.

Open Practice

WEDNESDAY, May 18-THURSDAY, May 19 (General Admission $15)

10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

Noon-6 p.m.

Open Practice

FRIDAY, May 20 – FAST FRIDAY (General Admission $15)

10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

Noon-6 p.m.

Open Practice

6:15 p.m.

Qualifications Draw

SATURDAY, May 21 – PPG Presents ARMED FORCES QUALIFYING (General Admission $20)

8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

9-10:30 a.m.

Pre-Qualifying Practice (Two groups)

Noon-5:50 p.m.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying (Setting positions 13-33 or 13-30 if there are more than 33 entries)

SUNDAY, May 22 – PPG Presents ARMED FORCES QUALIFYING (General Admission $20)

10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Last Chance Practice*

12:30-2 p.m.

Top 12 Practice

2-3 p.m.

Last Chance Qualifying (Positions 31-33)*

4 p.m.

Top 12 Qualifying

5:10 p.m.

Firestone Fast Six Qualifying for NTT P1 Award

5:40 p.m.

NTT P1 Award Presentation

  • — if necessary

MONDAY, May 23 (General Admission $15; Infield Access Only for Fans)

11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Public Gates Open (Gates 2, 4, 6S, 7, 7S only)

Noon-2 p.m.

Open Practice

TUESDAY, May 24-THURSDAY, May 26

No track activity

FRIDAY, May 27 – MILLER LITE CARB DAY (General Admission $40)

8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Public Gates Open

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Final Practice

2:30-4 p.m.

INDYCAR Pit Stop Challenge

4-6 p.m.

Miller Lite Carb Day Concert, Turn 3 infield

SATURDAY, May 28 – LEGENDS DAY presented by Firestone (General Admission $10)

8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Public Gates Open

9-10 a.m.

Full Field Driver Autograph Session, Pagoda Plaza

10:30 a.m.

Public Drivers’ Meeting, Tower Terrace

Noon-1:30 p.m.

AES 500 Festival Parade, downtown Indianapolis

7 p.m.

Firestone Legends Day Concert, TCU Amphitheater in White River State Park, downtown Indianapolis

SUNDAY, May 29 – RACE DAY (General Admission $50; Reserved Seats Start at $55)

6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Public Gates Open

7 a.m.

Indy 500 Snake Pit presented by Coors Light Gates Open, Turn 3 infield

12:45 p.m.

106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge (200 laps)

RFK Weekly Advance | Dover

By
Official Release
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Roush Fenway Keselowski Weekly Advance | Dover

RFK heads north to Dover Motor Speedway for 400 miles of racing Sunday afternoon, a track where Jack Roush has nine wins, third-most of any track on the circuit. Both RFK drivers are former winners at the Monster Mile with Brad Keselowski earning a Cup win back in 2012, and Chris Buescher going to victory lane in 2015 in Xfinity.

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Dover

Sunday, May 1 | 3 p.m. ET

FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang

· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

The Monster Mash

RFK’s nine wins in the NCS at Dover ranks third for the organization trailing only Michigan and Bristol with 13 and 11, respectively. Dover also ranks second in top-fives (52) and third in top-10s (84) for the organization.

Get the Broom

RFK swept the NCS and NASCAR Xfinity Series spring races at Dover in 2004 and 2011, and won both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and NCS races at the track in 2006.

First in the First State

RFK has won in all three major NASCAR series at Dover (9 NCS, 6 NXS and 2 NCWTS). RFK won its first race at Dover in the NCS from the pole in the fall of 1997 with former driver Mark Martin.

To Xfinity and Beyond

RFK has recorded six victories at the one-mile oval in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with drivers Chris Buescher, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. Buescher recorded his victory in June 2015, Biffle earned victories in the spring event in both 2002 and 2004, while Edwards took the checkered flag in the spring of 2007 and swept both races in 2011.

Tale of the Tape

RFK has started 220 NCS races at Dover with 84 top-10 and 52 top-five finishes along with seven poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1997, 1998, 1999, 2004), Greg Biffle (2005, 2008), Matt Kenseth (2006, 2011) and Carl Edwards (2007) are responsible for RFK’s combined nine Cup wins at the 1-mile track. Overall, a Jack Roush Ford has led 3892 laps at Dover.

RFK Dover Wins

1997-2 Martin Cup

1998-2 Martin Cup

1999-2 Martin Cup

2000-1 Busch Truck

2002-1 Biffle NXS

2004-1 Martin Cup

2004-1 Biffle NXS

2005-1 Biffle Cup

2006-1 KensethCup

2006-1 Martin Truck

2007-2 EdwardsCup

2007-1 EdwardsNXS

2008-2 Biffle Cup

2011-1 Kenseth Cup

2011-1 Edwards NXS

2011-2 Edwards NXS

2015-1 Buescher NXS

Parker Retzlaff Hopes Dover Experience Pays Off in Xfinity Series Rumble

By
Official Release
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DOVER, Del.: Set to make his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season this weekend at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, thriving rookie Parker Retzlaff is hopeful that his prior experience at the “Monster Mile” will reward his RSS Racing team with his second top-10 finish of the season.

Retzlaff returns to the seat of the No. 38 Ponsse Ford Mustang after a brief three-week hiatus but on the heels of a solid 12th place finish in his Martinsville (Va.) Speedway debut on April 8th.

After qualifying 20th for the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at the famed 0.526-mile paperclip, Retzlaff exercised extreme patience throughout the race and continued to showcase his short track skills and put himself in position for his second straight top-10 finish of the year.

However, an array of late-race cautions jumbled the field and despite his best efforts, Retzlaff settled for 12th after a grueling night of beating and banging under the beaming Virginia lights.

“I’m still a little disappointed that we finished 12th at Martinsville so that just gets me fired up thinking about Dover Motor Speedway this weekend,” said Retzlaff. “I cannot thank everyone for RSS Racing enough for giving me a fast No. 38 Ponsse Ford Mustang.

“Historically, Martinsville has always been a tough place to pass and the Xfinity race was no different. I thought we were in a good place, but there was just so much chaos at the end of the race and we finished 12th. Not what we wanted, but it wasn’t terrible either.”

Eyeing to keep his name in the spotlight, the Rhinelander, Wisc. native returns to the famed Dover race track hoping his prior two ARCA Menards Series East starts at the 1.0-mile facility will pay dividends in Saturday afternoon’s A-Game 200.

In his two previous starts in 2020 and 2021 respectively, he earned a respectable seventh-place finish in his track debut and finished 12th last spring.

“I love everything about Dover,” added Retzlaff. “It is a very demanding race track and it’s a track where hitting your marks every lap is crucial to execution. Passing can be tough, but it’s doable and from time to time, you can see a stretch of long green flag runs. I’m not sure what to expect on Saturday afternoon, but our RSS Racing should be ready for any challenges that come our way.

“I know track position is going to be super important but I’m hopeful that my two prior races in ARCA East will be beneficial from a driver’s perspective. I didn’t have any prior experience at Richmond or Martinsville, so it took some time to get up to speed with those tracks, but at Dover, we should be able to go hard in practice and get a good baseline for qualifying and then the race.”

Retzlaff’s goals for his fourth of 10 Xfinity Series races with the Sugar Hill, Ga.-based team is to better his 10th place finish from Richmond and inch closer to a top-five performance.

“Finishing strong is what is going to keep our momentum rolling,” continued Retzlaff. “Following Dover, I won’t be back in an Xfinity car until Nashville in June – almost two months so it’s important to have a good finish – hopefully better than Richmond so we can keep some momentum on our side and inch closer to a top-five if not this weekend than maybe at Nashville.”

Ponsse, which manufactures and markets a range of forestry vehicles and machineries such as forwarders and harvesters will return as the primary partner of Retzlaff’s No. 38 Ford Mustang for the 200-mile race.

In addition to Ponsse, Eco-Tracks, Grille Adz, Iron Horse Loggers, Northern Chill Spring Water and Pewag will serve as associate marketing partners for the 10th Xfinity Series race of the season.

“I feel very fortunate to be able to have the support of Ponsse, Eco-Tracks, Northern Chill Spring Water and our other partners not only for Dover this weekend but for the 2022 season overall,” explained Retzlaff.

“Without them, I would not be competing in the Xfinity Series this year. My goal is to go out there and just stick to the same goals we’ve had all season. We want to be better than we unloaded and go forward during the race.

“Hopefully, on Saturday afternoon, we can do a little better than 10th at the checkered flag.”

Retzlaff, 18, graduated to the Xfinity Series in 2022 after spending the last two years competing in the ARCA Menards Series East tour where in 12 starts, the Rhinelander, Wisc. native delivered one top-five and nine top-10 finishes, including a career-best fourth-place finish in June at Southern National Motorsports Park (SNMP).

In addition to Dover, Retzlaff will drive an RSS Racing entry at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Kansas Speedway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and the season finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway on Sat., Nov. 5, 2022.

Retzlaff added, “I feel like I’ve raced the others on the track with respect and race them how I liked to be raced. Dover has some tight quarters, but I would like to continue building on that respect with my peers and teammates and hope it will be mutual with them. I’m just looking forward to getting to Dover and getting to work.”

Outside of the cockpit, Retzlaff is an accomplished iRacer with 1,615 poles, 1,653 wins, 3,291 top-five and more than 68,800 laps led.

He is also the rookie driver of the No. 6 KOHLER Generators Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

For more on Parker Retzlaff, please visit parkerretzlaff.com, like him on Facebook (Parker Retzlaff Racing), Instagram (@parkerRetzlaff) and follow him on Twitter (@Parker79p).

The A-Game 200 (200 laps | 200 miles) is the 10th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2022 schedule. Practice begins on Friday, April 29 from 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Qualifying follows shortly after at 3:30 p.m. The 38-car field will take the green flag on Saturday afternoon, April 30 shortly after 1:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (ET).

About RSS Racing:

RSS Racing field three Ford Mustangs in full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. Brothers Ryan and Kyle Sieg pilot the No. 39 and No. 28 Ford Mustangs respectively, while the third entry, the No. 38 Ford Mustang funnels a rotating list of drivers including Parker Retzlaff and Charles Joseph (C.J.) McLaughlin.

RSS Racing has competed in NASCAR events since 2009 from its headquarters in Sugar Hill, Ga.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Michael McDowell Dover Media Availability

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Dover Advance | Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang, is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series after posting a ninth-place run on the Bristol dirt and an eighth-place effort on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. McDowell spoke with members of the media about this weekend’s trip to Dover Motor Speedway and his season to date.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE SOME MOMENTUM GOING RIGHT NOW? “It’s been nice this last couple weeks to have some solid finishes. This season has been pretty up and down for us, so far. We kicked off the year at Daytona with a decent run and had a fast car at California and Vegas, but kind of struggled the last few weeks at the short tracks with Richmond and Phoenix and Martinsville, so it’s nice to get some momentum and get things rolling in the right direction. Dover is a really fun racetrack, really intimidating. I think we’re all a bit nervous with this Next Gen car, not nervous with what’s gonna happen with it, but more of just how they’re gonna drive because it’s such a fast racetrack, a lot of loading, so it’s gonna be a challenge the first couple of laps when you unload there to see what you have.”

WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY WITH DENNY HAMLIN’S TWEET. HOW DO YOU VIEW A SITUATION LIKE THAT? “I don’t know where to go with all of it. That’s kind of why I stay off of social media, to be honest with you. Everything is taken so seriously and out of context, and I think that’s a problem with social media is you don’t know a person’s intention, you don’t know what they’re trying to communicate and it’s a dangerous spot for your partners and your team and all the people around you. I don’t really have a lot of input. Honestly, I didn’t know about it until my cousin sent me a text and asked me, ‘Hey, did you see what happened?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean? What happened?’ And I had to go look. Obviously, we’re in a predominant sport and the athletes and drivers are held to a high standard and I think that’s OK. I think that’s good, but, at the same time, you’ve got to be super careful about everything you say and do.”

WOULD YOU CONSIDER 2022 THE BEST START YOU’VE HAD IN A SEASON, NOT COUNTING LAST YEAR? “I think it is other than 2021, like you said, as far as having three top 10s in 10 races. That’s definitely the best start that we’ve had minus last year, and I think there’s a lot of potential with this Next Gen car for us to have more good results and be in contention. We were optimistic about that going into this season that this could be a year for us to really have an opportunity to shine and get better results, and so I think there’s still a lot to come this year and I’m looking forward to some of the tracks that we have circled and seeing where we can stack up against the competition. There’s a tremendous amount of development going on right now and there seems to be teams that are sorting it out pretty quickly, so we have to make sure that we keep up with the rapid pace of development of a brand new car.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH A NINTH-PLACE FINISH AT BRISTOL? “I was happy. I wouldn’t say surprised. I think I finished 12th there last year, so I had a decent run and was learning a lot throughout the weekend, but my crew chief, Blake Harris, he’s got a tremendous amount of dirt experience from a driving standpoint and from a crew chief standpoint, so I felt like I had a little bit of an upper hand in that regard of somebody that really understood how the track was changing, what we need to do change-wise and setup-wise, so that felt really good having somebody in your corner with a lot of experience on the dirt and I think that played a big part of our result and getting another top 10.”

IT’S THE FIRST CONCRETE RACE OF 2022. HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE TIRE WEAR WILL BE WITH THE WIDER TIRE? “We don’t know yet. That’s one of the big question marks. This tire in general being wider and obviously with the wheels seems to cool a lot better than our previous car, so a lot of the wear issues and things have been different. I wouldn’t say there has been less wear, it’s just been different – definitely less heat, but, like you said, Dover is concrete and pretty abrasive. Typically there on a green track, a track that doesn’t have any rubber, you’re only about 10 or 15 laps into it before you start seeing cords, and so in that 20-minute practice that we have I’m not sure if we’ll have a good indication of where things are at. I’m definitely thankful that we’re in that second group of practice because I feel like that first group will lay down some rubber and give us a better indication of where the tire wear is gonna be, but I feel like Goodyear has done a really good job with not a lot of information and experience with this car. The tires so far have been really good as far as fall off and durability, so I feel like they’ve hit it pretty well so far this year and hopefully Dover will be the same.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE SPEEDS WILL BE LIKE THIS WEEKEND WITH THE NEW CAR? “I think lap time will probably be pretty similar to what we’ve seen in the past there. The bigger tire will have a bit more grip, a little bit different aero package obviously with downforce levels and horsepower, but I think it will actually be pretty close at Dover as far as lap times, within three or four tenths of where we were last year. I don’t think it’ll be a huge difference there.”

IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU AND EVERYBODY AT FRONT ROW ARE PRETTY HIGH ON THIS CAR. IS IT DOING WHAT YOU EXPECTED AS FAR AS COMPETITION AND ADAPTING TO IT? “I think it’s done what we anticipated in some regards. I think that the hardest thing for us has probably been the challenge of just the limited amount of practice that you have and with the newness of this car you want to try a lot of things because it’s so new, so you want to try different packages, different geometries, springs, stiff, soft, bars, no bars, there are a lot of things that you want to work through that you can’t work through in those 20 minutes that you have leading into the race, so I feel like it’s kind of ebbed and flowed a little bit as far as the small teams being able to perform because there’s been tracks where it seems like we’re closer to the competition than we were last year, and then there have been tracks where we feel like we’re pretty similar, but I think in the next few weeks and definitely in the next few months we’ll have a better handle of what we need to do to get us closer to the competition, so I hope it plays out how we anticipated it. On the business side, I’m not really sure as far as the expense and whether it’s saving the teams money and all the things that go along with what made this move really important, but from a competition standpoint I feel like we’ve closed the gap at some places and at others we’re similar, but I feel like there’s a potential that we will still be able to close the gap even more so, so I feel good about what the car has done.”

IS THERE ANY ADDED PRESSURE TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR AFTER MAKING IT A YEAR AGO? “I definitely feel like you’re always thinking about winning a race, which puts you in the playoffs. I think what it did for me last year and what it did for our team really emphasized to us the importance of making the playoffs, the importance of winning a race. It did so much for our organization and our partners and it’s just a big part of our sport to be able to do that, and so more emphasis is on trying to win than the playoffs, but the playoffs come with it. Added pressure? I don’t feel like it’s any added pressure because it’s already there. You’re always trying to perform at a high level and you’re always trying to get that win. We’re not thinking about pointing our way into it. I mean, it is possible. We’re still early in this season, but we look at it as we have to win to have a spot in that, so we’re just focusing on giving ourselves the best chance at that.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL THE NEXT GEN CAR HAS WORKED IN TERMS OF YOUR TEAM AND GETTING TO THE FRONT LIKE PETTY GMS AND TRACKHOUSE HAVE THIS SEASON? “I think the car has done a good job as far as leveling those things out, but those organizations you mentioned also had a big influx of cash and capital come into those programs and as you guys know in motorsports that’s a big part in development and having the right resources and funds to get the right people and do all those things, so I’m not surprised that those teams are more competitive than they were last year. I don’t think that is a great indication of where all the small teams will be because those weren’t small organizations. Those were big organizations that got bigger with new ownership and with new opportunities, so I think those circumstances are a little bit different, but I do feel like there is more of an opportunity with this Next Gen car than with the previous generation.”

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM IS RIGHT NOW? “Even though we’ve had some good runs the last couple weeks I don’t feel like we’re where we need to be, but I feel like there’s the potential to get to where we need to be, so I’m not discouraged by where we’re at, but it’s not gone as well as we’d hoped, but, at the same time, we’re learning this new car and learning these new packages and there have been places we just haven’t hit it yet, so as long as we can start stringing together like we have the last few weeks, some good results, and keep building the momentum, but what’s important is having a shot at winning a race, so we are continuing to work towards that to where we can be closer to the front to give yourself that opportunity. We’re not there yet, but I feel like we have all the things that we need to get there. We just haven’t gotten there yet.”

WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE WORKING WITH BLAKE SO FAR THIS SEASON? “Blake has done a good job. It’s been a big transition for him, not just with his role changing but taking over our program with a brand new car and a lot of changes at Front Row. I think if this would have happened last year with the old car, it would be a much smoother transition because everybody is learning so much so quickly, but he’s done a good job and I enjoy working with him. I think he’s got all the stuff that it takes to be really successful in this sport and he’s a good leader and he’s got a good personality to lead our group, so we’re just building and working on it.”

Armani Williams Returns to Reaume Brothers Racing in 2022

By
Official Release
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MOORESVILLE, N.C.: Armani Williams, the first NASCAR driver openly diagnosed on the autism spectrum will return to competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Reaume Brothers Racing beginning at Texas Motor Speedway next month.

Williams, a native of Detroit, Michigan impressed in his series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last August finishing a respectable 21st and earning his speedway license in NASCAR competition.

“I’m incredibly grateful for this next chapter in my NASCAR career by making my Truck Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway next month,” said Williams. “We have been diligently working hard on sponsorship to run as many Truck Series races as we can this season and I’m thrilled to have a few races locked down with some terrific partners.”

To kick off his limited NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule in 2022 in the Lone Star state, Williams will be joined by co-partners IceCOLD Technology and The Doug Flutie Foundation for Autism Inc.

IceCOLD Technology LLC. is the manufacturer of the IceCOLD® synthetic catalyst, an environmentally friendly green energy efficiency product for all types of HVAC and refrigeration in residential, commercial and industrial applications.

For more than 20 years the IceCOLD product has increased efficiency and reduced the energy consumption of cooling equipment, lowered carbon emissions, reduced equipment maintenance, extended equipment life, and saved money.

“IceCOLD Technology is excited and proud to support and sponsor Armani Williams as a NASCAR driver,” offered IceCOLD Technology president Don Bryan. “Armani’s strong values, positive attitude, and confident determination are what make him an inspiration and a true champion.

“Nothing can stop Armani from being successful in life or on the track and we are honored to partner with him and watch him prove it.”

Alongside IceCOLD Technology will be The Doug Flutie Foundation for Autism Inc.

Former NFL Quarterback, Doug Flutie, and his wife Laurie started The Doug Flutie Foundation for Autism Inc. in 1998 after their son, Dougie, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Their personal experience of raising a son on the autism spectrum inspired them to help others on an equally long and challenging journey.

Over its 24-year history, the Flutie Foundation has distributed over $15 million to schools and organizations who provide clinical therapies, respite services, recreational programs, social skills training, job supports and more for people affected by autism.

The Flutie Foundation also provides education technology tools, adaptive camp scholarships, safety equipment, and direct family support through its partnerships and special initiatives.

“We are pleased to partner with Armani Williams to support his career goals and passions through the Flutie Fellow ambassadorship program as he competes professionally in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Doug Flutie, Co-Founder of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

“It’s our goal at the Flutie Foundation to create a world where people with autism are included, respected, and engaged in their communities. Armani is living proof of what people with autism can accomplish.

“We are ecstatic to support Armani’s budding career dreams while partnering with him as he advocates for inclusive opportunities for his peers with autism.”

From Texas Motor Speedway, Williams will trek to the Pocono Mountains and tackle the 2.5-mile triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in the CRC Brakleen 150 on July 23.

MDXclusive will make its foray into the NASCAR world as the primary partner for Williams in the 60-lap event.

MDXclusive is a Los Angeles-based wellness company founded by experienced medical professionals with over forty years of healthcare experience within intensive care, pediatrics, nursing, internal medicine, and cardiology.

Our leadership team and associated partners include diverse business professionals and alternative health advocates for the special needs community, medical research, and rigorous product testing. Our collaborative effort creates superior cannabidiol products that adhere to pharmaceutical-grade standards of production, quality, and efficacy.

Our mission includes educating and engaging medical practitioners and the CBD community to ensure that they are recommending and receiving the purest, safest, highest quality CBD product for natural support. We ensure our CBD transdermal patches, relief patches, sleep patches and oils/creams are ethically sourced.

“We are thrilled to be able to support Armani,” said Denise Chesne, Founder and CEO of MDXclusive.

“His message of defying expectations and fostering inclusivity and acceptance echoes the values of everyone at MDXclusive.”

Visit mdxclusive.com for additional information.

Williams will close out the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway on November 4 with local support from Visit Mesa (Arizona) in the Lucas Oil 150.

Visit Mesa, the leading destination marketing organization for Mesa, Arizona, helped establish the Mesa Regional Foundation for Accessibility, Diversity & Inclusion to enhance and implement equity, diversity and inclusion for youth and adults within the Mesa community.

To learn more about Mesa, Arizona’s designation as an Autism Certified City and Visit Mesa’s mission to promote the value and vitality of Mesa’s visitor economy to create a better community, go online to VisitMesa.com.

Ahead of his Truck Series debut at Phoenix, Williams will also be working heavily with Visit Mesa on several initiatives building up to NASCAR championship weekend at the Avondale, Ariz. race track, including in-market visits, video messages and various foundation programs projects.

“We are in awe of Armani’s passion to drive action and hope for those with autism,” said Alison Brooks, Director of Destination Experience & Advocacy, Visit Mesa. “He is the ideal partner to help Mesa become known as a destination for people of all abilities and honoring our creed of “City Limitless.”

The continued partnership with Reaume and the placement of the new partners were orchestrated by fgrACCEL, a full-service sports marketing and management agency. Additional races for Williams with Reaume Brothers Racing are expected this season.

“There are a lot of people that have worked tirelessly in order for me to continue my dream and I’m so thankful,” sounded Williams. “Right now, I have three opportunities with instrumental marketing partners who want to see me succeed on the race track while assisting them in building their respective brands.

“I am spending every waking moment making sure I am prepared to do my part behind the wheel. Whether that is iRacing, studying pictures, reviewing film or just talking to others in the industry. It’s my job to go out there and give my team and partners a finish they would be proud of and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Josh Reaume, team principal at Reaume Brothers Racing offered, “Armani is a dedicated young driver and being a part of opportunities such as this is what gets us excited at Reaume Brothers Racing!”

Williams, 22, graduated to the Truck Series after stints in the premier ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West and the Canadian-based NASCAR Pinty’s Series.

For more on Armani Williams, please visit teamarmaniracing.com, like him on Facebook (Team Armani Racing) and follow him on Twitter (@TeamArmaniRacin).

Visit Reaume Bros Racing on Facebook (Reaume Bros Racing), follow them on Twitter (@rbr_teams) and Instagram (@rbr_teams).

About Reaume Brothers Racing:

Reaume Brothers Racing is entering their fifth season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series fielding the No. 33 and No. 43 entries in 2022.

Reaume Brothers Racing is dedicated to providing unparalleled excellence and quality to our drivers, team members and partners.

We are committed to building value by bringing and creating a culture of competitiveness, performance and teamwork.

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