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Pat Smage Sweeps Rounds One & Two at the AMA Trials Nationals in Tennessee

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Credit: Stephanie Vetterly of Stephanie Vetterly Photography

Sequatchie, TN – Rounds one and two of the 2022 AMA observed trials national championship took place this weekend in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains at the Trials Training Center. FactoryONE Sherco pilot Pat Smage picked up where he left off with a commanding sweep of the weekend. Smage would score just 11 points over both days compared to second place with 49.

“Today started out pretty shaky I would say!” exclaimed Pat Smage when speaking on day one. “I didn’t feel that confident or comfortable from the start as I hit my skid plate on one and my boot on a few rocks. After that, I started getting frustrated and wasn’t having fun,” continued Smage. “From there, I changed my mindset to have fun and not focus on the final placement. You never know how long you will have to ride nationals so I decided to just go have fun and not worry if I won or lost, and surprisingly, I didn’t dab from there, I cleaned the rest of the day. The sections were really good so I was happy to go clean from then on out. The competition has really stepped up their game, so I know i have to ride really well to stay ahead of them”.

Pat would finish with just four points from the first loop. He would not score another point on the day coming in with 34 “cleans”. Josh Roper and Alexander Niederer would round out the first podium. FactoryONE Scorpa rider Alex Myers would just miss the last step of the box with a P4 finish. Younger brother Willem woke with severe back spasms and wasn’t able to compete.

Round two saw a much tighter battle for the top two positions between Smage and Roper. Smage’s clean loop three would be the difference maker. The pair finished loop one with Smage on six points and Roper on seven. Loop two would remain equally close, but Smage would gain 2 points to the better over Roper with scores of one for Smage and three for Roper. The third and definitive loop saw Smage with a zero and Roper with a seven for a 10 point deficit to the 12 time champion. Scorpa pilot Alex Myers would better his previous days finish with a P3 podium finish. Willem Myers was able to compete on day two and finished P5.

Pat Smage on day two: “Overall it went really well but I started off with a big mistake in section six. There was a creek and I didn’t have much confidence in the line I was taking. I took a couple points early and I had a small line where I thought there was traction but I ended up behind it a bit and I spun (the rear tire) and ended up taking a five there. I took one more point on the loop so I was a bit frustrated but I knew what I needed to do to clean it up. I did have another dab there on the second loop but went clean on the third. I had some good rides and some shaky rides that I really had to work for to stay clean. In the end, I am happy with the result”

Alex Myers on his P3 finish on day two: “My riding improved from yesterday. It seemed like the first two loops I was on it, and then I wasn’t. It was a mental battle with that. My minder did a really good job keeping me calm and focused. I am happy to salvage the third, but I know I have some work to do to put pressure on Pat.”

Rounds three and four move to the west coast on May 14th and 15th. Pat Smage will be making a stop at the California Invitational Trial on April 20 and the 50th El Trial de Espana on April 23rd. Louise Forsley will be making her trials debut at those same two events.

About FactoryONE Sherco: FactoryONE Sherco is a multi-time United States AMA championship observed trials team and multi-discipline Championship enduro team led by some of the top riders in the business. The Enduro team is led By Cody Webb who is a multi-time champion that competes in Extreme Off-Road, EnduroCross and FIM SuperEnduro. He is also the 2010 AMA Mototrials Champion. The Trials team is led by 12x AMA Champion Pat Smage (Smah-gee) on the men’s side; and 6x AMA Champion Louise Forsley (fours-lee) on the Women’s side. The trials team consists of four professional riders and five development riders.

Gilliland Finishes 25th and McDowell 30th in Richmond, Virginia

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The Front Row Motorsports (FRM) NASCAR Cup Series teams were in action this past weekend at the Richmond (Va.) Raceway. After solid runs in Austin, Texas, the duo of Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland were ready to tackle their next test- 400 laps at the Richmond short track.

GILLILAND STRUGGLES EARLY, REBOUNDS TO FINISH 25th

Todd Gilliland started the weekend at the Richmond Raceway with a career-best qualifying effort. The No. 38 Black’s Tire Ford Mustang team started the event in the 22nd position. But, once the green flag dropped the team struggled to find grip.

Gilliland fought hard early in the race. He stayed on the Lead Lap and raced inside the top-25. However, loosing grip and being tight in the center, made it difficult for Gilliland to advance any higher. The pit crew continued to make adjustments during green flag stops and made the Black’s Tire Ford Mustang better.

This allowed Gilliland to maintain his position during the the final stage. Patience was key, as the car came to life and the team raced lap times that were close to the top-10 cars. Gilliland finished the 400-lap event in 25th.

GILLILAND ON RICHMOND

“Yeah, that was a long race for us and a lot of guys. I’m proud of our Black’s Tire Ford Mustang team for never giving up throughout the race. You didn’t see too many teams today on the Lead Lap. We didn’t have a lot of cautions, so you had to take care of your car and manage the tires. I learned a lot that I can take into Martinsville this Saturday night.”

McDOWELL FIGHTS HARD ALL RACE, FINISHES 30th

This past weekend, Michael McDowell debuted the Navage Nasal Care Ford Mustang on the track. The car looked great on the track and the teamed started the race from the 24th position. With weather taken into consideration, the expectation was for a loose car that would favor the track conditions early in the race.

After an early race pit stop, the team played the strategy game to get back with the leaders. Without may cautions, the team was forced into running long during the stages in hopes of catching a caution and advancing their position.

The cautions never came. This meant no opportunities for taking advantage of the strategy. However, by capitalizing on the mistakes of others, McDowell was able to run clean to the end and finish in the 30th position.

McDOWELL ON RICHMOND

“The race didn’t go the way we wanted. The Navage Nasal Care Mustang looks great, but it wasn’t our day on the track. In a race that is normally 50/50 on cautions to green flag runs, we saw mostly the latter today. We learned more about the car and hopefully we can take that into this weekend.”

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.

KURT BUSCH TO CELEBRATE MILESTONE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS MEMORABLE FIRST CUP SERIES WIN WHEN NASCAR CIRCUIT RETURNS TO THUNDER VALLEY FOR FOOD CITY DIRT RACE

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Since his breakthrough 2002 Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch has claimed six victories at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 4, 2022) – When Kurt Busch is asked about all of his success at Bristol Motor Speedway, he always pauses and has a slight smile when he thinks back to the first time he ever jumped into a NASCAR Cup Series machine around the all-concrete high-banked bullring where so much NASCAR history has unfolded.

You see, Busch’s success at Bristol was earned through the school of hard knocks in his first two visits to the ultra-challenging short track nestled in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee. It wasn’t instant.

This season Busch is celebrating the milestone 20th anniversary of his first Cup Series victory, which came at BMS back in 2002. He is part of an exclusive fraternity of NASCAR hall of famers who tamed Bristol to get that first ‘W’ on their resumes. That short list also includes Dale Earnhardt Sr., Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan and Elliott Sadler.

Before Busch mastered the World’s Fastest Half-Mile that Sunday afternoon in the Food City 500 at the controls of the No. 97 machine for Roush Racing, he used his first two starts at Bristol during his rookie season in 2001 to “get adjusted” to a short track that races like a superspeedway. He finished 42nd in his first ever Bristol start and then posted a 25th place effort in his second BMS start.

Busch is proud to have overcome that rough introduction to The Last Great Colosseum and graduate as a highly-decorated member of the elite group of drivers who conquered Bristol to earn their breakthrough victory on the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Wow, it’s hard to imagine that it’s been 20 years since my win at Bristol,” Busch said recently. “It’s been a great ride. I was so intimidated my first time at Bristol, I feel like I wrecked five times in the first 100 laps. Then I was able to come back my second year in about my 50th race and win the spring race there.”

After getting that first BMS win, Busch unlocked the Bristol secret that only a handful of drivers have discovered over the years. It’s a powerful secret that has allowed drivers to score multiple victories, and a few, like Busch, to earn consecutive wins at the high-banked oval. Since 2002, Busch has become one of Bristol’s winningest drivers with six total victories.

Busch says he remembers an amazing feeling after holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Cup veterans Jimmy Spencer and Ricky Rudd to take that win in 2002. He said it was like reaching the top of Mount Everest.

“What I remember so vividly was that Jack Roush came up to me after practice and said the car looked really good on exit of turn four,” Busch recalled. “That’s what I was telling my crew chief Jimmy Fennig, is that my car is really dialed in and feels great on the exit of turn four. That’s the spot where I’ve watched Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Sr. and all of the big names win at Bristol, because their car would really carve off of turn four. It was a great battle with Jimmy Spencer; I moved him out of the way, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer that day. It was really cool to get my first win at Bristol.”

Busch sits sixth on the impressive list of Bristol’s all-time Cup winners, behind Waltrip (12), Earnhardt Sr. (9), Wallace (9), Cale Yarborough (9) and his younger brother, Kyle Busch (8).

The Las Vegas native will be going after lucky Bristol win number seven when the Cup Series returns for the Food City Dirt Race, April 15-17. This time around, Busch will be driving the No. 45 machine for 23XI Racing. Busch is teammates with Bubba Wallace, who pilots the No. 23 for the two-car team that is owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and fellow Cup star Denny Hamlin.

In last year’s historic Food City Dirt Race, the first dirt race for the Cup Series in more than 50 years, Busch finished 16th after starting 28th. So far this season Busch has had a strong start to the season, posting a third place finish at Atlanta, fifth place effort at Phoenix and an eighth place showing in Southern California.

Busch’s most recent Cup victory at Bristol during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in 2018 was highly ranked on fan polls and has been called an “Instant Classic” by many racing historians. That night Busch emerged the winner in an explosive race that featured a bunch of crashes and a big mix of race leaders. He eventually held off Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer to take the checkered flag.

“This track brings out the best in everybody,” Busch said after the 2018 win. “Just to come here and feel that Saturday night atmosphere and racing under the lights, it brings you back to your roots… When you come to the ‘Holy Grail of Short Tracks,’ you want to win it.”

The Food City Dirt Race weekend starts on Good Friday with Bush’s Beans Practice Day that will have both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series machines on track for two 50-minute practice sessions during the afternoon.

On Saturday, Bush’s Beans Qualifying will be held for both Cup and Truck competitors with each series participating in four blind-draw 15-lap qualifying heat races to set the fields for the main races. The Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt will follow Bush’s Beans Qualifying with an 8 p.m. (ET) start (FS1, MRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

The green flag for the Food City Dirt Race is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. (FOX, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio) on Easter Sunday evening.

Fans will want to take advantage of all of the fun activities taking place during the weekend. The BMS Fan Zone has plenty of action going on, highlighted by driver appearances, music, games and prizes at the Food City Fan Zone Stage. On Saturday night, country music artist Tim Dugger will perform during the post-race concert at the Food City Fan Zone Stage. On Sunday at 4 p.m., BMS will host a very special Easter Celebration in the Fan Midway, which will be headlined by Chris Tomlin, Max Lucado and former Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox.

For additional information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com. If you prefer to make your ticket purchases over the phone, you can also call the BMS Ticket Office at (866) 415-4158.

About Bristol Motor Speedway
Forged amid the scenic mountains of Northeast Tennessee near the Virginia state line, Bristol Motor Speedway is The Last Great Colosseum, a versatile multi-use venue that hosts major auto races, football games, concerts and many other captivating events. The facility features a 0.533-mile concrete oval race track with 28-degree corner banking and 650-feet straightaways that offers racing in several NASCAR touring series, highlighted by two major Cup Series weekends each year. In 2020, the track also served as host of the prestigious NASCAR All-Star Race, and in 2021 began converting to a temporary dirt track each spring to take the Cup Series back to its racing roots. While at the track, fans are offered a unique viewing experience courtesy of Colossus TV, the world’s largest outdoor center-hung four-sided video screen with a 540,000-watt audio system. The adjacent quarter-mile dragstrip, Bristol Dragway, offers more than 50 events annually, including the marquee NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The Thunder Valley Amphitheatre presented by Ballad Health transforms Bristol Dragway into a premier outdoor concert venue for the world’s greatest music performers. Three football games have kicked-off inside the oval, most notably the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, where border rivals the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech met before an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990. In existence since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway was purchased in 1996 by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., a publicly traded company that is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. For more information, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.

Irish Mike’s Racing Faces New Challenge – Street Racing at Long Beach

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Big team trip west as Carrera Cup joins huge California event

LONG BEACH, CA (4 April 2022) – Irish Mike’s Racing is set to take on a new challenge this weekend, when the Florida-based team enters two cars in Round 2 of the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by Visit Cayman Islands during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend.

The team will field a brace of Porsche 992s in a pair of 40-minute races on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary circuit, Irish Mike’s first venture into street competition. Conor Flynn will drive the No. 95 FlynnCo Cars / Chillout Systems entry in the Porsche Pro class, while Craig Conway will pilot the No. 97 Diamond Suzuki Porsche in the Porsche Pro-Am division.

Set thousands of miles from the team home base and running between the unforgiving concrete walls, Long Beach will be a huge change from the recent season opener at Sebring International Raceway. Flynn took 15th in both races on the bumpy airport-based circuit, while Conway took 15th and 16th in Pro-Am.

“Street racing is one area that I am completely foreign to,” Flynn said. “I’m extremely excited to finally get that opportunity. Living in Florida, every year I’m teased with the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, so I’m extremely excited about Long Beach. I can’t wait. With the full paddock it should be very interesting. We’ll be pushing to the limit, for sure.”

Irish Mike’s took advantage of the break between races to better prepare for Long Beach and the other upcoming events.

“We did some testing to work on the setup of the car,” Flynn said. “Our eyes are now on Long Beach. A lot of the teams have never been there before, or haven’t been there in a long time. And, no team has brought this car to Long Beach. Everyone will be in the same setup scenario as we are.”

While Conway never competed at Long Beach, the veteran’s street racing experience includes events at Toronto, Dallas, New Orleans and Three Rivers.

“I’ve raced at street courses before,” said Conway, who finished third in the final points last season. “They can be very interesting, and I’m looking forward to Long Beach. We’ve gotten through the first races in good shape, so now it’s on to the next challenge.”

Given the logistics of closing public roads for the competition, the event features a truncated schedule. Porsche Cup competitors will have a 40-minute practice session at 8:30 a.m. (all times PT) and 30-minute session at 11:05 a.m., with 30-minute qualifying at 4:30 p.m. The opening race will be Saturday at 10:45 a.m. Porsche Cup has the honors of closing out the weekend with race two on Sunday at 4:20 p.m.

Runner-up Finish for Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas Puts Hagan in Championship Lead

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Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals
  • Tony Stewart Racing’s Matt Hagan drove his Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a runner-up finish at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series’ Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
  • Hagan powered his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from a No. 4 qualifying effort to the team’s third consecutive final round appearance in just their fourth national event and take over the lead in the Funny Car championship points standings
  • Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett had her strongest performance of the season to date after running in the top-five in each qualifying session, earning the No. 3 qualifier position, and turning on the win light in the first quad
  • No. 7 seed Cruz Pedregon and his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat were quickest in the third of four qualifying sessions, and while not being able to advance out of the first elimination quad, they remain fourth in Funny Car standings

April 3, 2022, Las Vegas, Nevada — Just four races into the 2022 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series’ season, Matt Hagan has put the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) team into the Funny Car championship points lead by driving his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a runner-up finish at the Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After earning the team’s first nitro win and his first career Gatornationals victory last month, Hagan followed-up that performance this weekend by advancing to TSR’s third consecutive final round appearance in its first season of competition.

This weekend’s uniquely formatted competition, the first of two four-wide events this season, saw racers battle one another in four lanes instead of the usual two, and as such, they also had four qualifying sessions to make a pass in each lane. Hagan put his Dodge Power Brokers Direct Connection Funny Car in the No. 4 qualifying position for eliminations with the second quickest lap of the second session by posting a 3.920-second elapsed time run at 332.92 mph.

In eliminations, Hagan turned on the win light in the first of three rounds to beat No. 5 Bob Tasca III, No. 12 Chad Green, and No. 13 Jeff Diehl and advanced to the next round, along with Tasca, to face No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps and No. 9 seed J.R. Todd. In the second stanza, Hagan finished second to fellow Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver and defending Funny Car champ Capps, with both moving on to the final quad to join No. 6 Robert Hight and No. 10 Alexis DeJoria and battle for the Four-Wide Nationals Wally trophy at Las Vegas.

The final round saw Hagan come off the start line with the Capps and Hight and in a close race from start to finish. The Dodge Power Broker Funny Car charged to the runner-up finish just behind the HEMI-powered machine of Capps, who earned his first national event win as an owner and driver. Hagan takes over the points lead by nine points over Hight, with Capps and Cruz Pedregon also among the top contenders in the class.

TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett swapped her dragster’s usual Dodge Power Brokers paint scheme for a Code 3 Associates wrap for Las Vegas to bring attention to the non-profit organization that goes into disaster areas to rescue animals and help reunite them with their owners. She kicked off the weekend with two solid pulls on Friday to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifier position with a best run of 3.741 seconds at 326.79 mph.

She consistently posted qualifying lap times that kept her and her Dodge//SRT performance machine among the top-five in each of the four sessions, collected a total of five bonus points for her efforts, and earned the No. 3 spot on the eliminations ladder for Sunday’s four-wide battles.

Pruett powered her dragster straight down the lane to turn on her first win light of the season with quick 0.042-second reaction time and solid 3.740-second elapsed time run at 327.27 mph ahead of No. 11 Shawn Langdon (0.069/3.853/316.01), No. 10 Doug Kalitta (0.065/4.100/227.80) and No. 14 Rob Passey (0.098/13.101/63.28).

Pruett and Langdon both advanced to the second quad to face No. 2 qualifier Brittany Force and No. 7 Steve Torrence. Pruett launched and battled hard against her competition to cross the finish with a 3.745 sec./325.69 mph run, just a hair behind Torrence’s 3.744 sec./328.46 mph lap and Force’s round winning effort of 3.725 sec./329.58 mph, and ahead of Langdon’s 3.884 sec./294.32 mph.

Funny Car driver and team owner Cruz Pedregon took his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a 3.926-second elapsed time run at 321.9 mph to record the quickest run of the third qualifying session, earn three bonus points, and put himself in the No. 7 position on the eliminations ladder for Sunday’s main event. Pedregon staged his HEMI-powered ride alongside No. 2 qualifier John Force, No. 10 Alexis DeJoria, and No. 15 Jim Campbell for the opening stanza and powered off the start to battle Force to the halfway mark until a loss of traction dropped him out of contention for advancement to the next round.

The Dodge//SRT Mopar-powered contingent will be back on track on April 2-24 at Houston Raceway Park in Texas for the 35th edition of the NHRA SpringNationals, the fifth of 22 NHRA national events this season.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:

Leah Pruett, Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster 

(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.741 seconds at 326.79 mph)

Round 1: (0.042-second reaction time, 3.740 seconds at 327.27 mph) defeated No. 11 Shawn Langdon (0.069/3.853/316.01), No. 10 Doug Kalitta (0.065/4.100/227.80) and No. 14 Rob Passey (0.098/13.101/63.28)

Round 2: (0.068/3.745/325.69) loss to No. 2 Brittany Force (0.056/3.725/329.58) and No. 7 Steve Torrence (0.057/3.744/328.46), defeated No. 11 Shawn Langdon (0.052/3.884/294.32)

“What a monumental weekend for the Code 3 Associates [Dodge//SRT Mopar-powered] Top Fuel dragster. The points at the end of the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals may not represent that, but anybody that was here, or watched the FS1 broadcast or looked at the times, and saw that we made six full clean healthy passes that where fast and qualified us No. 3, knows that we are coming. We just needed a little bit of momentum and we have found it. We are extremely happy with the way that our car is running. The attitude of these team members is great. They know that we knew in the off-season that we had the potential. We were the only ones that really knew and believed in our performance. This past weekend, our competition now knows that we’re coming and that’s exciting.

“I have really worked hard on finding my love and passion again for drag racing, being eager to be at the line to cut down the Christmas tree, and actually race and enjoy racing. It’s been a long time since really enjoyed that. I attribute it to the positive-minded people that I have around me. I am more excited at this moment than I had been all season because our potential is showing itself. We’ve got one foot out that opening door right now and we’re going to take that other step and people will know that we’re coming.

“It was tough competition today. Four-wides are always interesting and require maximum focus on all parts. NHRA did a fantastic job of keeping all four lanes equal and prepped and primed for us to lay it down. We were within just a couple, one to two hundredths off the top competitors in our field and for the pace of our progress, which has been very fast, is inspiring. It’s encouraging. It’s what makes me more excited than I’ve ever been to get back in the race car and race at Houston coming up.”

Matt Hagan, Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.920 seconds at 332.92 mph)

Round 1: (0.068-second reaction time, 3.929 seconds at 323.35 mph) defeated No. 5 Bob Tasca III (0.087/3.929/326.32), No. 12 Chad Green (0.081/3.937/312.35), and No. 13 Jeff Diehl (0.078/4.136/291.07)

Round 2: (0.060/3.919/320.43) finished second to No. 1 Ron Capps (0.073/3.902/329.91) and defeated No. 9 J.R. Todd (0.047/3.936/326.08) and No. 5 Bob Tasca III (0.073/3.949/323.12)

Round 3: (0.056/3.924/324.44) finished runner-up to No. 1 Ron Capps (0.053/3.914/331.20) and defeated No. 6 Robert Hight (0.052/3.943/328.94) and No. 10 Alexis DeJoria (0.088/3.954/321.35)

“What a crazy race. Anytime we go four-wide it’s always crazy, but we had a really solid weekend, finished number two, and took over to points lead. The [Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car] is running really good. It was a little tough as we’re up here on a hill a little bit with the altitude and trying to make power, but [Crew Chief] Dickie Venables is the man at we had a great race car this weekend and had three good rounds on Sunday after qualifying number four. I’m really proud of my guys.

“We’re going to test tomorrow here and try to make some more power up here on the hill because we’ll be back here in Vegas [for the Dodge//SRT Nationals] in October around Halloween time. I can’t wait to get back here. We’ve got a lot more racing to go.”

Cruz Pedregon, Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.926 seconds at 321.96 mph)

Round 1: (0.112-second reaction time, 4.343 seconds at 206.16 mph) loss to quad winner No. 2 John Force (0.092/3.978/328.14), No. 10 Alexis DeJoria (0.177/3.932/327.43), and No. 15 Jim Campbell (0.112/4.066/313.00)

“Las Vegas Four-Wide started off being a really good event for us. Our Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat had the quickest run of Q3 at a 3.92 seconds at over 322 mph which was a solid run. It was very smooth and it was actually done during the hottest part of the weekend when the track temperature was 120 degrees. We felt good going into the race day with our quad consisting of John Force, Alexis DeJoria and Jim Campbell. We felt good and felt we had a good shot to win. We were actually leading the other three cars until we smoked the tires about half track and that was the end of our weekend, unfortunately.

“Overall a good a good weekend. We had been consistently qualifying in the top five and we got moved down to seventh, but if you look at the times, there was a lot of 3.92s. We were right there and everybody was really close. Obviously we didn’t accomplish our goals of winning the race, but it was still a good solid weekend for us and we’re going to set our sights on Houston now.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat)-394 (1)

2.  Robert Hight-385 (1)

3.  Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat)-354 (1)

4.  Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat)-224

5.  John Force-217

6.  Alexis DeJoria-207

7.  Bob Tasca III-193

8.  Tim Wilkerson-183

9.  J.R. Todd-170

10.  Chad Green-163

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1.  Steve Torrence-304

2.  Brittany Force-300

3.  Mike Salinas- 297

4.  Justin Ashley-270 (1)

5.  Clay Millican-229

6.  Austin Prock-198

7.  Tony Schumacher-192

8.  Josh Hart-189

9.  Doug Kalitta-168

10.  Antron Brown-164

14.  Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers)-137

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT

For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.

Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2022 model year, Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the Dodge Durango SRT 392, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.

In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). In 2021, Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market) — making it the only domestic brand ever to do so two years in a row.

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Mopar

This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar.

A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over nearly 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Follow Dodge, Mopar and Stellantis news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Dodge brand: www.dodge.com

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com/

DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com

Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge and www.facebook.com/mopar

Instagram: @Dodgemoparmotorsports, @dodgeofficial and @officialmopar

Twitter: @Dodge, @OfficialMopar and @StellantisNA

YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge, https://www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

Petty GMS Race Recap: Richmond Raceway

By
Official Release
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Ty Dillon, No. 42 ChevyLiners.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 30th
FINISH: 24th
POINTS: 24th

Ty Dillon Post-Race Thoughts: “While the result might not show it, I feel like today was one of the best races so far this season where our No. 42 Camaro ZL1 had speed. Even though we had to start deep in the field, I was able to steadily move forward and battle for a spot inside the top-15 in the opening stage. Our ChevyLiners.com Chevrolet fought a loose in, tight in the middle and loose off handling condition, but small air pressure adjustments helped the overall balance. Pit strategy was all over the board which caught us a lap down. We fought our way to be in the free pass position to get back on the lead lap, but it was taken from us when we were called for being involved in the accident. That could have opened the door for us to move back through the field, because I thought our car was good enough to do so. This Petty GMS team will keep battling though and we’ll shift our focus to Martinsville under the lights.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 5th
FINISH: 23rd
POINTS: 17th

Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “Our FOCUSfactor Chevrolet fired off tight in the center and loose on exit. In the first stage, I felt like the guys I was racing were really killing me on entry and exit, but I tried to save my stuff as much as possible during that first run. The looseness picked up as we continued, especially in turn three. I was able to manage it in turn one, but three was my weak spot on entry. It felt like the car was free even before I started turning. During one of the green flag pit stops, I overshot my stall and cost us some time on pit road. Our Camaro ZL1 built tight in the middle on the long run, to the point where I was using so much front brake that I was plowing through the center. The different pit strategies definitely had the field mixed up and unfortunately it didn’t play out how we had hoped. Those things happen over the course of a season and we will learn from them for the next time.”

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated over 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow Petty GMS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tony Stewart Racing: Las Vegas Event Recap for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

By
Official Release
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Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
April 1-3 | Las Vegas

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Code 3 Associates Top Fuel Dragster:

● Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.772 ET at 328.06 mph).

● Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.

● Earned No. 1 qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.741 ET at 326.79 mph).

● Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session.

● Earned No. 2 qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.752 ET at 326.32 mph).

● Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session.

● Secured No. 3 qualifying position based off Q2 run on Friday. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.766 ET at 321.27 mph.

● Advanced to Round 2 on Sunday:

●  Round 1: 3.740 ET at 327.27 mph, defeated Doug Kalitta (4.100 ET at 227.80 mph) and Rob Passey (13.101 ET at 63.28 mph). Shawn Langdon also advanced to Round 2 (3.853 ET at 316.01 mph).

●  Round 2: 3.745 ET at 325.69 mph, lost to Brittany Force (3.725 ET at 329.58 mph) and Steve Torrence (3.744 ET at 328.46 mph). Shawn Langdon (3.884 ET, 294.31 mph) was also defeated by Force and Torrence.

● Currently 14th in the championship standings, 167 points behind Top Fuel leader Steve Torrence.

Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

● Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.045 ET at 322.34 mph).

● Earned No. 3 qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.920 ET at 332.92 mph).

● Scored one bonus point for the third-quickest run of the session.

● Smoked tires during Q3 on Saturday (6.905 ET at 96.45 mph), yet maintained No. 3 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q2 run (3.920 ET at 332.92 mph).

● Secured No. 4 qualifying position based off Q2 run on Friday. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.969 ET at 326.56 mph.

● Advanced to Finals on Sunday:

●  Round 1: 3.929 ET at 323.35 mph, defeated Chad Green (3.937 ET at 312.35 mph) and Jeff Diehl (4.136 ET at 291.07 mph). Bob Tasca III also advanced to Round 2 (3.929 ET at 326.32 mph).

●  Round 2: 3.919 ET at 320.43 mph, defeated J.R. Todd (3.936 ET at 326.08 mph) and Bob Tasca III (3.949 ET at 323.12 mph). Ron Capps also advanced to the Finals (3.902 ET at 329.91 mph).

●  Final: 3.924 ET at 324.44 mph, finished runner-up to Ron Capps (3.914 ET at 331.20). Robert Hight ran third (3.943 ET at 328.94 mph) and Alexis DeJoria finished fourth (3.954 ET at 321.35 mph).

● Currently leads the Funny Car championship standings with a nine-point advantage over Robert Hight.

Notes of Interest

● By running a 3.741 ET at 326.79 mph during Friday’s Q1 session, Pruett drove her Code 3 Associates Top Fuel Dragster to the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot for the first time in 2022.

● Pruett had her quickest reaction time of the season during Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday (.042).

● Hagan has advanced to the finals in three out of the first four NHRA events in 2022.

● The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals marked Hagan’s 26th overall start at Las Vegas and his fourth in the Four-Wide Nationals. He advanced to the Finals for the fifth time at The Strip.

● Hagan’s runner-up finish put him atop the Funny Car point standings in just his fourth start with Tony Stewart Racing. Hagan is a three-time Funny Car champion (2011, 2014 and 2020) and finished second in last year’s title chase.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Code 3 Associates Top Fuel Dragster

“What a monumental weekend for the Code 3 Associates Dodge//SRT Mopar-powered Top Fuel dragster. The points at the end of the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals may not represent that, but anybody that was here, or watched the FS1 broadcast or looked at the times and saw that we made six full, clean, healthy, passes that were fast and qualified us No. 3, knows that we are coming. We just needed a little bit of momentum and we’ve found it. We’re extremely happy with the way our car is running. The attitude of these team members is great. We knew in the off-season that we had the potential. We were the only ones that really knew and believed in our performance. This past weekend, our competition now knows that we’re coming and that’s exciting.

“I’ve really worked hard on finding my love and passion again for drag racing, being eager to be at the line to cut down the Christmas tree, and actually race and enjoy racing. It’s been a long time since I really enjoyed that. I attribute it to the positive-minded people that I have around me, including Nan Stuart from Code 3 Associates, Kevin Rudeen (Race Rudeen Foundation), and Tony Stewart leading this group and charging hard. We’re coming. Our competition knows that. I’m more excited at this moment than I have been all season because our potential is showing itself. We’ve got one foot out that opening door right now and we’re going to take that other step and people will know that we’re coming.

“There was tough competition today. Four-wides are always interesting and require maximum focus on all parts. NHRA did a fantastic job of keeping all four lanes equal and prepped and primed for us to lay it down. We were within just a couple, one to two hundredths of the top competitors in our field, and for the pace of our progress, which has been very fast, it’s inspiring. It’s encouraging. It’s what makes me more excited than I’ve ever been to get back in the car and race at Houston coming up.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“What a crazy race. Anytime we go four-wide it’s always crazy, but we had a really solid weekend, finished second, and took over the points lead. The Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car is running really good. It was a little tough as we’re up here on a hill a little bit with the altitude and trying to make power, but Dickie Venables (crew chief) is the man and we had a great racecar this weekend and had three good rounds on Sunday after qualifying number four. I’m really proud of my guys.

“We’re going to test tomorrow here and try to make some more power up here on the hill because we’ll be back here in Vegas for the Dodge//SRT Nationals in October around Halloween time. I can’t wait to get back here. Congratulations to Ron Capps who’s doing really good over there with his first win of the season as an owner and driver. We’ve got a lot more racing to go.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA SpringNationals April 22-24 at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

Chevrolet drivers hold winning hand at Las Vegas

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
APRIL 3, 2022

Chevrolet drivers hold winning hand at Las Vegas

• Brittany Force scores 12th career Top Fuel victory
• Erica Enders repeats as Pro Stock four-wide winner
• Ryan McClanahan wins Stock Eliminator in COPO Camaro

LAS VEGAS (April 3, 2022) — Chevrolet drivers had the winning hand at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Brittany Force won the Top Fuel final quad race with a pass of 3.718 seconds at a blistering 338 mph in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster for her initial win of the season and 12th of her career – all with Chevrolet.

Force, who earned her second NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series victory in the Charlotte four-wide event in 2016, topped the finalists who represent 15 NHRA Top Fuel season titles. She moved to second in the Top Fuel standings through four of the scheduled 22 events.

“This is huge for our team. We’ve had a little bit of a tough start to our season, but our guys got the job done,” said Force, the 2017 Top Fuel champion who holds both ends of the track record including the 338.17 mph run in November 2019 that stands as the class national speed record.

“To be able to look at that final quad and see the guys that we were good enough to pull up next to and then beat them all, it’s something that we’re very proud of. I’m proud just to share the lanes with those guys to be able to race against them. I watched Tony Schumacher when I was out here watching my dad as a kid, so to be able to line up next to him is just something very exciting, and then to turn the win light on is even better.

“We had an awesome race. We qualified pretty well, No. 2, and we got four qualifying sessions this weekend and three out of the four were pretty dang good, so going in today was just consistency.”

She was runner-up in the 2019 four-wide event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and came back to win the fall race.

Four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders won her second consecutive four-wide event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for her second victory of the season and 35th of her career.

“Las Vegas has been good to me even when I wasn’t at my best,” said Enders, driver of the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS. “Thankfully, I have a crew that picks me up when I need it. That (holeshot loss) in Gainesville was a lot of crap to eat over the last two weeks while we had off. I took it hard. I also lost on a holeshot in Phoenix but my sister reminded me that we’ve had four races this year and I’ve won two of them so she doesn’t let me get too down on myself.

“Our Elite family lost one of the best guys on the planet this week (Pro Mod racer) Scotty Oksas. We wanted to win this one for him.”

She was also the runner-up in the 2021 fall race at the track, won the 2020 and ’19 fall race and was runner-up in the 2018 fall event. Enders closed the gap to No. 1 qualifier and points front-runner Aaron Stanfield, driver of the Janac Brothers Camaro SS, to three points.
Robert Hight, who set low elapsed time of the event (3.864 seconds) in the second Funny Car quad in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, wound up third in the final as he had a cylinder out early in the run.

John Force won his first-round Funny Car match in the PEAK BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS with a 3.978-second pass. Force, the No. 2 qualifier, finished third in the second round and did not advance.

Austin Prock, the No. 12 qualifier in the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, advanced to the second round. His 3.783-second run, which was quicker than his first-round pass, was good for third but not good enough to advance to the final quad.

Ryan McClanahan of San Bernardino, California, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to victory in Stock Eliminator for his 11th national event win. Drivers of a COPO Camaro have won all four Stock Eliminator national events this season.

The NHRA SpringNationals on April 24-26 is next up for Chevrolet teams and drivers. Hight (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) were winners for Team chevy. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET April 26 from Houston Raceway Park.

An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier):

YOU RACED AGAINST STEVE TORRENCE ALL THREE ROUNDS. TALK ABOUT THAT.
“I pointed out how tough our quads were every single time. It’s tough trying to keep up with him and make sure we get around him in that final, and we got it done. He had lane choice over us on one of the runs, we got it back on him and we figured it out in the final round.”

DOES IT MAKE THIS WIN SWEETER WHEN IT COMES AGAINST A GROUP LIKE THAT?
“Absolutely. To be able to look at that final quad and see the guys that we were good enough to pull up next to and then beat them all, it’s something that we’re very proud of. I’m proud just to share the lanes with those guys to be able to race against them. I watched Tony Schumacher when I was out here watching my dad as a kid, so to be able to line up next to him is just something very exciting, and then to turn the win light on is even better.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE REST OF THE SEASON?
“It just builds and builds. This just lights a fire under us and motivates us, puts that extra energy that maybe we lost over the last few races because we have struggled. Getting in the winner’s circle with your team, there’s no better feeling than that.”

WHAT WAS PREPARATION LIKE GOING INTO THE FINAL? ANY HEAD GAMES?
“There’s so much going on. There’s not just one car next to you, now there’s three other cars. There’s too much thinking going on. For me, when I pull up there and try to cut a good light and keep my focus, I can’t be thinking about all that. And now you’re adding more into the mix and that makes it far more complicated. I don’t need to go up there worrying about that. For me, I pull up there and I know who I’m going to run but I’m not even thinking about that. It doesn’t matter who we’re up against. It’s about me getting this car down there first and stepping up and getting a win light.”

An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier):

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL AND YOU’VE DONE SO WELL?
“I’m not really sure what it is about Las Vegas. I feel like my guys have a really great tuneup. Everything changes out here. It’s obviously dry, crazy air so you have to have your tuneup right. So I have to give my crew chiefs a lot of credit; they have a ton of data here and they do a great job. I’m not much of a gambler. I’d rather go shopping than gambling, but I love coming to Las Vegas. I’m thankful for the success we’ve had here.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS WIN FOR YOU?
“I took Gainesville really hard. I also lost on a holeshot second round at Phoenix as well, so coming off that awesome 900th Pro Stock win in Pomona I kind of fell into a couple race slump. I’m my worst critic; I take a lot of pride in my driving. I’ve been racing Pro Stock for 18 years where we didn’t have any success the first nine, so it’s been quite the ride with Elite Motorsports and I’m really thankful for that. It definitely makes it easier going back to normal work easier when you get to take a Wally on the plane home.”

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR MIND RIGHT FOR THIS RACE?
“I don’t really think I showed up here with my mind right, to be honest with you. I did my very best. It’s just the six inches between my ears – getting in a positive mindset and believing in myself. My goal this year is to make every round count. I didn’t do that in Phoenix and I didn’t do that in Gainesville, but you can only do the best you can and I’m the biggest variable of our entire program being human. So it’s up to me to be positive, crack the Tree, hit my shifts and we’re going to give it our all this year.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Las Vegas Post-Race Report 4.3.22

By
Official Release
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DEJORIA GIVES GR SUPRA FIRST FOUR-WIDE FINAL APPEARANCE
Torrence and Brown Take Toyota Top Fuel Dragsters to Final Round in Vegas

LAS VEGAS (April 3, 2022) – The first four-wide NHRA race of the 2022 season didn’t disappoint for the Toyota race teams. The GR Supra Funny Car of Alexis DeJoria made it’s first final round appearance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Toyota Top Fuel dragsters of Steve Torrence and Antron Brown also made appearances in the final round of four-wide competition with Torrence claiming the runner-up result and overtaking the Top Fuel point lead.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Race 4 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS    —  Race Winner: Brittany Force

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalsW. 3.720 vs. 3.747 (B. Force – advances) vs. 3.798 (Hart) vs. 5.899 (Ferre) W. 3.744 vs. 3.725 (B. Force – advances) vs. 3.745 (Pruett) vs. 3.884 (Langdon) L. 3.756 vs. 3.718 (B. Force – winner) vs. 4.713 (Schumacher) vs. 5.086 (Brown)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-FinalsW. 3.754 vs. 3.880 (Schumacher – advances) vs. 3.779 (Salinas) vs. Farley W. 3.749 vs. 3.733 (Schumacher – advances) vs. 3.783 (Prock) vs. 3.786 (Millican) L. 5.086 vs. 3.718 (B. Force – winner) vs. 3.756 (Torrrence) vs. 4.713 (Schumacher)
Shawn LangdonDHL Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 2W. 3.853 vs. 3.740 (Pruett – advances) vs. 4.100 (Kalitta) vs. 13.101 (Passey) L. 3.884 vs. 3.744 (Torrence – advances) vs. 3.725 (B. Force – advances) vs. 3.745 (Pruett)
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L. 9.845 vs. 3.768 (Millican – advances) vs. 3.803 (Prock – advances) vs. 3.973 (Maroney) 
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L. 4.100 vs. 3.740 (Pruett – advances) vs. 3.853 (Langdon – advances) vs. 13.101 (Passey)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS  — Race Winner: Ron Capps

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSemi-FinalsW. 3.932 vs. 3.978 (Force – advances) vs. 4.066 (Campbell) vs. 4.343 (Pedregon) W. 3.936 vs. 3.864 (Hight – advances) vs. 3.983 (J. Force) vs. 4.182 (Alexander) L. 3.954 vs. 3.914 (Capps – winner) vs. 3.924 (Hagan) vs. 3.943 (Hight)
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarRound 2W. 4.419 vs. 3.970 (Capps – advances) vs. 8.045 (Wilkerson) vs. Rupert L. 3.936 vs. 3.902 (Capps – advances) vs. 3.919 (Hagan – advances) vs. 3.949 (Tasca)

TOYOTA QUOTES

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

Final Result: Finals

How was your run in the final round?

“I ran a .75, but was .039 on the tree and left on everybody and I knew I probably needed to. But this Capco Contractors Toyota dragster has been been pretty bad. So we’ve been making a lot of changes, big changes, especially this weekend and it’s all trending in the right direction so I couldn’t be happier with the car. Everybody’s doing a great job. Not the outcome we wanted, but better than than the other two cars in there with us. So we’ll take the runner up. We will leave here with some momentum and a lot of confidence and head to Houston.”

Heading to Houston with the point lead and a home track for you, how do you feel about your chances there?

“We finally were able to mark that thing off the list for winning a race there last year as it’s been one that has eluded me for quite some time. So we’ll go there with some confidence going into it and try to definitely finish off the Houston Raceway Park with a bang. I mean, that’s the track that I’ve grown up racing out my whole whole career and so a lot of memories there. And so I look forward to it, but let me see what we can do. I’m really excited leaving here with the runner up and we’ll just go from there.”

ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, AB Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How do you feel about your race weekend overall and the final round appearance?

“I’m super proud of all of my guys this weekend here at (Las) Vegas for the Four-Wide Nationals. We put those Matco Tools to work and the Lucas Oil was cooking. I thought we had something for them in the finals the way this car has been running this weekend. To that point, we made it down the track six straight times and got quicker each lap, but as soon I hit the gas I felt a hole (cylinder) go out and I knew it dropped a hole cause it felt real lazy to the 60-foot and then it shook (the tires). That being said, we did a great job this weekend. To go down the track and be so consistent and improve the performance on each lap after what happened in Gainesville is just an awesome rebound weekend that we needed. That first win is right around the corner and we can’t wait to get to Houston.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How do you feel about the progress your team is making with this Final Round appearance?

“There’s nothing to hang our heads about this weekend. We made it to the finals at the four wide and you know, a pretty successful weekend in Vegas for our team. I think we got a handle on this the GR Supra, you know everything’s coming together and need some more time. We’ll be back up there again and I just want to make my guys and everybody that supports us and you know the guys did a hell of a job getting everything turned around quickly.”

How do you feel about your race weekend overall?

“We made it to the finals here in (Las) Vegas this weekend and another pretty successful weekend at this track for us with the Bandero Supra. We didn’t come away with the hardware, but no reason to hang our heads. We did good today. The team hustled. We made three really good, consistent runs on race day and we’re right there. I’m proud of these guys. They’re working hard and we’ll get prepare for Houston and look to grab our first win of the season there.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Round Two

How do you feel about your performance this weekend overall?

“We’re still learning and making adjustments with this new GR Supra body, but this weekend we really feel like we’ve made some good progress with the race car overall. We had some good qualifying passes and had to really drive our DHL GR Supra into the second round. Of course we wanted more and wanted to be in the final round, but we’re learning and improving each race weekend.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.  

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.

Buescher Earns Career-Best Finish at Richmond

By
Official Release
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No. 17 Violet Defense Team Shows Speed with a Top-15 Run

RICHMOND, Va. (April 3, 2022) – When it comes to on track success, it’s no secret that Chris Buescher and Richmond Raceway haven’t gotten along well in the past. Sunday a new leaf was seemingly turned as the 29-year-old from Prosper, TX, battled in and out of the top-10 throughout much of the 400 lap event.

Starting in the 18th position, Chris and crew chief Scott Graves rolled into the event optimistic after success at Phoenix Raceway, a track similar in character to Richmond Raceway. The No. 17 Violet Defense Ford was able to learn the track early, making up two positions to finish a short stage one in the 16th position.

After pitting during the stage break, Buescher restarted stage two from the 15th position, climbing and clawing his way up inside the top-10 on old tires. With a caution-free stage two, Buescher came up just shy of earning stage points with an 11th-place finish.

The start of stage three would bring 140 laps to go in the race, with the No. 17 Ford restarting from the 12th position. A string of two cautions for incident – the only two of the race – would follow the restart, bringing Buescher down pit road under caution for one of his final three stops on the day.

The remainder of stage three would run green with a plethora of varying strategies between teams. In the final handful of laps, Buescher was able to gain a handful of positions to finish in the 15th position.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to action next weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Race coverage next Saturday night is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Channel 90.

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