Why Playing Sports is Good For Your Health

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February 27, 2022

fitsum-admasu-oGv9xIl7DkY-unsplash — Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash

Playing sports is a great way to improve one’s health and overall fitness. While many may find it difficult to commit to exercising at home or the gym, most will happily work up a sweat chasing a ball endlessly in a court or playing a game, for that matter. Not only does taking part in sports impact your well-being, but it also integrates an interesting routine that you’ll look forward to each day.

For many Canadians, physical activity is an essential part of their day. For this reason, you would see many people actively involving themselves in sports or other activities. In fact, many health care doctors actually recommend being involved in sports on a regular basis due to its countless benefits. Once you successfully complete your immigration process with the help of Canadian immigration lawyers total Law, you may be interested in taking up a sport as well.

In this article, you will learn some of the reasons why playing sports is ultimately good for your health and the benefits that you will get from taking part in it.

1. Weight Loss and Control

Obesity is a common problem faced by many people worldwide. Obesity comes with increased risks of heart diseases and hypertension, which can be deadly when left unattended over time. However, you can still find ways to prevent this from happening. Indulging in sports helps you get rid of obesity, allowing you to control your own weight at the same time. This is because most sports are usually intensive physical activities that burn calories more efficiently and quickly. Improving your intestinal health with dietary supplements such as Total Restore ingredients are essential to your overall health and could even help to lose some weight.

By taking part in sports, you’ll be able to achieve your ideal body shape and burn away all the extra weight you’ve been meaning to get rid of for a long time.

Apart from the usual exercise, sports can prove to be a better alternative for weight control. Even though you get tired, you’ll still want to continue playing since the activity itself is fun and entertaining, to begin with.

2. Low Cholesterol Levels

If you’re someone who has problems with lowering cholesterol levels, playing sports can easily remedy that. According to various scientific studies, it has been discovered that people who engage in high physical activity tend to have lower cholesterol levels compared to people who practice a sedentary way of life. Because of this, you need to incorporate physical activities into your daily routine, especially if you want to maintain a low cholesterol level. Using additional solutions like AI Food Tracker alongside regular exercise can also help individuals monitor their eating habits and make healthier dietary choices that support balanced cholesterol levels.

3. Improved Blood Circulation

As you play sports, your blood circulation also becomes better. By performing physical activity regularly, you help keep your blood well-oxygenated, which helps you stay more active and healthy. Not only that, but doing so also increases blood volume and hemoglobin count. This is possible because your heart begins to pump faster, and an additional load is placed on your cardiac muscles whenever you participate in sports. The additional load strengthens the heart muscles, improving overall blood flow.

Furthermore, your heart starts to work better with regular physical activity, leading to an improved heart rate. Through this, you’ll find it significantly easier to indulge in high-intensity sports over time without accumulating too much stress.

4. Stronger Immune System

In this current situation where diseases and sickness are prevalent, maintaining a strong immune system is a must. With regular exercise through sports, you can help strengthen your immunity, allowing your body to respond better to various diseases. This is because exercise increases the rate of white blood cell flow exponentially, and as you sweat, your body removes harmful toxins. Moreover, the rise in body temperature from playing sports also helps reduce the risk of bacterial growth in your body.

5. Toned Muscles

People who aim to achieve a toned body should try participating in sports, as it’s the best way to get a proper workout. Instead of the usual exercise routines you perform at the gym, sports make the whole process more fun and entertaining through football, soccer, basketball, or baseball. Engaging in sports provides a neuromuscular program that enables you to train and tone your muscles while strengthening them. Sports are the perfect avenue for burning fat and building lean muscle mass. Of course, the kind of sports you want to participate in should depend on your fitness goals. Other sports tend to require coordination of most muscle groups and are higher-intensity than the rest.

Get Rid Of Old Car With A Scrap Car Agent in Singapore? 5 Tips To Help You Do It Right

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SM

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February 27, 2022

documerica-W4-ID9V8JSY-unsplash — Photo by Documerica on Unsplash

It’s time to get rid of that old car with a scrap car agent in Singapore. There are a few things you can do to make the process easier. First, make a list of all the things your car is no longer good for. Maybe it’s not fit for the road anymore, or it’s just collecting dust. Second, find a car donation or recycling center that will take your car. Finally, get quotes from several different companies and compare prices before making a decision. You’ll be glad you took the time to get rid of that old car!

Here are five tips to help you do it right.

Assess the Situation

If you are considering getting rid of your car, it is essential to assess the situation.

Determine Why You Are Considering Getting Rid Of Your Car

There are many reasons why someone might want to get rid of their car. Maybe they no longer use it and can’t afford to keep it, or they have a newer, more fuel-efficient model that they no longer need. It’s essential to determine the primary reason for wanting to get rid of your car before you begin shopping for a new one.

Research the Options

There are several key considerations to keep in mind when disposing of an old car. First, research the available options. This includes looking into car donation services, recycling centers, and junkyards. Second, ensure that you obtain a written estimate of the cost and time required to complete the process. Finally, be prepared to commit to the process and have realistic expectations.

Choose the Right Method

If you’re thinking about getting rid of your old car, there are a few things you need to consider. The first is what the best method is for getting rid of your car. There are several ways to get rid of a vehicle, and each one has its benefits and drawbacks.

The most common way to get rid of a car is to donate it to a charity. This is the easiest way to get rid of your vehicle, and it’s also the most common way to get rid of cars. The downside is that it can be challenging to find a charity that will take your car, and it can also be expensive to donate your vehicle.

Another option is to sell your car. This is the easiest way to get money out of your vehicle, and it’s also the most common way to get rid of cars. The downside is that it can be challenging to find a buyer, and selling your vehicle can also be expensive. The last option is to scrap your car. This is the most challenging way to get money out of your vehicle, and it’s also the least common way to get rid of cars. The upside is that it can be the most cost-effective way to get rid of your car, and it’s also the only way to get rid of vehicles that isn’t illegal.

Now that you know how to get rid of your old car, go out and do it! Sell the car and treat yourself to something special!

Custer grabs a dominant Xfinity win at Fontana

By

Andrew Kim

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February 26, 2022

FB62E5E9-BF19-4B5F-A618-EE5C1F445A97 — Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Cole Custer rallied from two slow pit stops and through three overtime restarts to score a dominant win in the Production Alliance 300 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, February 26.

The 24-year-old native from Ladera Ranch, California, led five times for a race-high 80 of 165 laps to beat Noah Gragson by half a second in his first of select NASCAR Xfinity Series starts this season with SS-Green Light Racing, which achieved their first career victory in NASCAR.

Qualifying on Saturday determined the starting lineup for the event. AJ Allmendinger, coming off his runner-up result at Daytona International Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.829 mph. He was joined on the front row with Cole Custer, who qualified with a fast lap at 179.793 mph.

Prior to the event, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Jeb Burton, Jesse Iwuji, Joey Gase, Tommy Joe Martins and Josh Williams dropped to the rear for unapproved adjustments. Kyle Sieg also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Joe Graf Jr. due to a driver change after he replaced Timmy Hill.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Allmendinger and Custer battled dead even ahead of the field before the former cleared the latter through the backstretch and went on to lead the first lap.

During the following lap, Allmendinger continued to fend off early challenges from Custer to retain the top spot. Behind, Austin Hill, coming off his first Xfinity career victory at Daytona, made an unscheduled pit stop after sustaining right-side damage to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro due to contact with Josh Berry through the backstretch.

By the fifth lap, Allmendinger and Custer continued to battle for the lead followed by Trevor Bayne, Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones. Ryan Sieg was in sixth ahead of Daniel Hemric, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier.

A lap later, the first caution flew when flames erupted out of the No. 10 Carnomoly Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Landon Cassill, who was running in 11th place. Cassill, though, was able to park his car below the apron in Turn 1 as he exited his flaming car.

Following an extensive cleanup, the race restarted on Lap 13. During the following lap, Trevor Bayne, making his first of select starts in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Devotion Nutrition Toyota Supra, flexed his muscles as he moved into the lead followed by Allmendinger, Custer and the field.

On Lap 19, the caution returned when Mason Massey cut a left-front tire and shredded debris in Turn 2.

When the race restarted on Lap 24 and as the field fanned out, Noah Gragson peaked ahead with the lead followed by Bayne, Custer and the field. When the field returned to the frontstretch, however, Bayne retained the lead followed by Custer, Gragson, Gibbs and Allmendinger.

By Lap 30, Bayne was leading by a tenth of a second over Custer. Gragson was in third followed by teammate Justin Allgaier and Gibbs while Allmendinger, Hemric, Berry, Sieg and Sam Mayer were in the top 10.

In the closing laps of the first stage, Custer started to close in and challenge Bayne for the top spot while Gragson was trailing by more than two seconds.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Bayne, making his first start in NASCAR in two years, claimed his first career stage victory. Custer settled in second while Allgaier overtook teammate Gragson in Turn 3 after Gragson scraped the wall to settle in third. Gibbs, Allmendinger, Berry, Sieg, Hemric and Mayer rounded out the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field pitted and Hemric utilized the first pit box to his advantage to move into the lead. Gibbs followed in second along with Gragson, Berry, Allgaier and Custer while Bayne dropped to 10th following a slow pit stop. During the pit stop, Ryan Sieg missed his pit box and had to return to pit road for service.

The second stage started on Lap 42 as Hemric and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs challenged Hemric for the top spot through the backstretch while Gragson, Custer and Allgaier battled ahead of the field that was fanning out. Then in Turn 4, Gibbs, who battled dead even with Hemric, bumped against Hemric’s No. 11 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro before he spun wildly across the frontstretch and through the infield grass, all while sustaining no significant damage to his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra.

On Lap 48, the race restarted under green as Hemric and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Hemric retained the top spot until Custer stormed back to the lead during the following lap. With Hemric back in second, Gragson challenged for second ahead of Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Berry.

By Lap 50, Custer was leading by a second ahead of Gragson while Hemric, Brandon Jones and Allgaier were in the top five. Allmendinger was in sixth ahead of Berry, rookie Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer. Behind, Bayley Curry pitted under green after sustaining a flat right-rear tire.

Five laps later, Custer stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Gragson while third-place Allgaier trailed by more than three seconds.

Another lap later, Brandon Jones, who was running in sixth place, spun his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra in Turn 4.

When the field restarted under green on Lap 60, the field battled through two lanes entering the first turn before fanning out to multiple lanes entering the backstretch. In the midst of the battles, Custer retained the lead and Gragson was in second ahead of teammate Allgaier, Allmendinger, Hemric, Berry and Mayer.

Five laps later, Custer remained as the leader by a second and a half over Allgaier while Gragson, Allmendinger and Hemric were in the top five.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 70, Custer claimed his 17th career stage victory. Meanwhile, Brandon Jones, who made a late charge on fresh tires following his spin, settled in second followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Gibbs, Hemric, Allmendinger, Mayer, Berry and Riley Herbst.

Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Brandon Jones exited with the lead followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Berry and Hemric while Custer, who endured a slow pit stop, dropped to eighth.

With 74 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Jones powered ahead with a brief advantage on the outside lane as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Custer, who restarted eighth, used a fast race car to his advantage by barreling his way back to the lead as Gragson challenged Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot.

With less than 70 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted under green to address a potential loose wheel to his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro as he lost a lap to the leaders.

Back on the track, Custer was leading by more than a second over Gragson. Brandon Jones was in third, trailing by more than two seconds, while Allgaier was in fourth. Meanwhile, Gibbs, who rallied from his early spin, was in fifth ahead of Hemric, Trevor Bayne, Berry, Mayer and Creed.

Ten laps later, Custer extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Gragson while Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Gibbs were in the top five. Behind was Hemric, who had Berry, Bayne, Creed and Mayer battling behind him.

Another 10 laps later, Custer’s advantage narrowed to less than two seconds as he continued to lead ahead of Gragson while Allgaier, Jones and Hemric were in the top five. Gibbs, Berry, Bayne, Creed and Herbst were scored in the top 10.

With 48 laps remaining, Brandon Brown spun in Turn 2 as he drew the caution. Under caution, the field pitted and Justin Allgaier exited with the top spot followed by Jones, Gragson, Berry and Herbst. Meanwhile, Custer, who endured another slow pit stop, fell back to seventh.

With 42 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allgaier retained the top spot through the first two turns as the field jostled for positions. Not long after, Gragson muscled to the lead while Allgaier was back in second ahead of Berry and a hard-charging Custer.

Down to the final 35 laps of the event, JR Motorsports’ competitors occupied four of the top-five spots as Gragson was leading by more than a second over teammate Berry while teammate Allgaier trailed by more than two seconds. Custer was back in fourth while Mayer, the fourth JRM competitor, was in fifth.

Then with 27 laps remaining, the caution flew when Jade Buford wrecked in Turn 2 after getting loose before being hit by Creed. Under caution, some led by Gragson pitted while Gibbs and Anthony Alfredo remained on the track. During the pit stops, Gragson slid through his pit box and ran over his air hose as he exited pit road out of the top 10 while Allgaier was the first competitor on fresh tires and fuel to exit pit road.

With 22 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes, Allgaier reassumed the lead through Turn 1 while Bayne moved into second along with Berry.

During the following lap, a five-car battle for the lead ensued as Allgaier led ahead of Bayne, Gragson, Berry and Custer. Soon after, Gragson muscled his way back to the lead. Not long after, Custer moved into second. By then, Myatt Snider fell off the pace after he lost an engine to his car.

Back on the track, Gragson continued to lead, but he had Custer narrowing the advantage to less than three-tenths of a second.

Then with 15 laps remaining, Custer stormed back to the lead beneath Gragson.

Just then, the caution flew with 10 laps remaining due to debris in Turn 1 as Mason Massey lost a left-front tire. At the time of caution, Custer had extended his advantage to more than a second over Gragson, more than two seconds over Josh Berry, more than three seconds over Bayne and more than four seconds over Allgaier.

With six laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson mounted a brief challenge on Custer before the latter cleared the field through the backstretch. Behind, Bayne challenged Gragson for the runner-up spot as Custer started to pull away.

During the following lap, the caution returned due to an incident involving Creed and Brett Moffitt in Turn 1.

With the field set to overtime, Custer and Gragson occupied the front row as the race resumed to green flag conditions. At the start, Custer, who spun the tires, managed to retain the lead ahead of Bayne and Gragson as the field fanned out to multiple lanes. Then in Turn 1, Hemric made contact with Brandon Jones as Jones spun across the track and dodged by the oncoming field. The incident, however, sent the race into another overtime attempt.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, Custer received a strong start to retain the lead as the field fanned out. Then entering Turn 4, a multi-car wreck struck that involved Creed, Stefan Parsons and Brandon Jones, who spun down to the infield and collided against the sand barriers near the pit road entrance, which destroyed the barriers in a sandstorm. The incident occurred before Custer could start the final lap of the event as the race was sent into third overtime attempt.

Prior to the overtime attempt, the red flag was displayed for 23 minutes for repairs towards the pit road entrance. When the red flag was lifted and the third overtime attempt commenced under green, Custer received another strong start to retain the lead while Gragson and Bayne moved up to second and third followed by Alfredo, who restarted on the front row.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Custer was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Gragson and the field. With a fast race car, Custer was able to circumnavigate his way around the circuit for a final time and cycle back to the finish line to grab the victory.

With the victory, Custer claimed his 10th Xfinity Series career win in his 106th series start, his second at Fontana and his first since winning at Dover Motor Speedway in September 2019.

“Man, it was just an awesome car,” Custer said on FS1. “That [car] was just a rocket ship all day. I can’t thank [owner] Bobby Dotter enough, everybody who was involved on this car. It was just unreal how fast we were. Production Alliance Group, this is awesome, it’s [Dotter’s] race. It’s the Production Alliance Group 300 and we got him to Victory Lane. It’s awesome to win at home, so [I] can’t wait for tomorrow. ”

Gragson settled in second place while Bayne notched a strong third-place result in his first Xfinity start in six years.

“We had the lead there and then came down pit road, slid through the pit box and then, had a really good restart from 11th, got back up to the lead in like a lap or two,” Gragson said. “I felt like the Bass Pro Shops Camaro was really close all day. Just struggled with the cloud cover and the temperature change, being too loose or too tight. Hats off to all the guys on the No. 07 car and Cole Custer. He was really fast today. We finished third last weekend, finished second here this weekend. Hopefully, [we] got some good points. This is not one of my good tracks, so I’ll take a second-place finish…Came up short today, but hey, top threes through the start of two races this season, I’ll take it.

Josh Berry grabbed his first top-five result of the season by finishing fourth and Anthony Alfredo made the late decision to remain on old tires work to perfection as he finished in fifth place.

Mayer, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Herbst and Ryan Sieg finished in the top 10.

There were 19 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 58 laps.

After rallying for a top-10 result, Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by a single point over Gragson, three over Allgaier and 19 over Herbst, Ryan Sieg and Gibbs.

Results.

1. Cole Custer, 80 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Noah Gragson, 25 laps led

3. Trevor Bayne, 24 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Josh Berry

5. Anthony Alfredo

6. Sam Mayer

7. AJ Allmendinger, 13 laps led

8. Justin Allgaier, seven laps led

9. Riley Herbst

10. Ryan Sieg

11. Brandon Brown

12. Daniel Hemric, 10 laps led

13. Ty Gibbs, three laps led

14. Jeb Burton

15. Joe Graf Jr.

16. Kyle Weatherman

17. Jeremy Clements

18. Kyle Sieg

19. Brett Moffitt

20. Joey Gase

21. Josh Williams

22. JJ Yeley

23. Matt Mills

24. Alex Labbe

25. Kaz Grala, two laps down

26. Myatt Snider, two laps down

27. Austin Hill, three laps down

28. Mason Massey, three laps down

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, four laps down

30. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident

31. Tommy Joe Martins, seven laps down

32. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

33. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident, three laps led

34. Bayley Currey, 11 laps down

35. Ryan Vargas – OUT, Accident

36. Jesse Iwuji, 34 laps down

37. Jade Buford – OUT, Accident

38. Landon Cassill – OUT, Engine

The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season proceeds with its second of a three-race West Coast swing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, March 5, at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Austin Cindric Pole Winner Press Conference

By

Official Release

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February 26, 2022

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pole Winner Press Conference | Saturday, February 26, 2022

FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS
1st – Austin Cindric
6th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Joey Logano
9th – Brad Keselowski
20th – Chris Buescher
21st – Cole Custer
22nd – Harrison Burton
23rd – Michael McDowell
24th – Chase Briscoe
26th – Todd Gilliland
27th – Cody Ware
29th – Garrett Smithley
30th – BJ McLeod
31st – Aric Almirola
32nd – Kevin Harvick

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang — “I would say the last time I approached a qualifying session having to talk myself into my own lap as much as I had to today was back when I raced USF 200 in 2013 or 2014 and went to IRP the night before the 500. I know that is probably gibberish to the entire NASCAR fan base but that is what today reminded me of. There is so much learning and so much going on and it is all happening really fast. As a driver, you can’t be distracted by the crashes or mistakes or the short amount of time. I had all the data I needed today to learn what I needed to do and go apply it. It is fun to be able to go do that. Like Erik (Jones) was saying, it is easy for me to be happy about it but there are a lot of guys that had pretty rough days and put some teams in some rough spots for the west coast swing. It was pretty awesome. Pretty dramatic. I thought my lap wasn’t going to stand. I thought my one and two was money but my three and four were a bit conservative mostly because my one and two was money. I didn’t talk myself into going deep like I wanted to in three. Anyway, just an awesome couple of days and an awesome way to start things out but I don’t think it guarantees anything for the race but is certainly a lot of fun to be able to go through that.”

DO PEOPLE VIEW THE SPINS AS MISTAKES? “I do. If I spun and hit the wall I would view it as a mistake on my part, not somebody else’s fault. I am the one driving the car. That doesn’t mean it is easy by any means. There are a lot of things that are new, and when you have a lot of things new, especially in race cars you are trained by muscle memory in a lot of ways to key off different things. I am not saying I am doing anything better than anybody else but you key off different things with different race cars when you get loose or have a moment or when things are right or wrong. With such a condensed schedule on such a challenging dynamic race track I think it makes perfect sense to me why today was a challenge for sure. I think if you put this race in the middle of the summer when we have had four months to figure out the cars and make things easier and more refined, I think today would have probably been a lot easier for a lot of teams. That isn’t how the schedule laid out and this track is as tough as it is talked about.”

IS IT GOOD THAT THE CARS ARE THIS HARD TO DRIVE? “I am not sure that is for me to decide. I think they are enjoyable to a certain extent. The hard-to-drive part is different than in years past when you go to Darlington or Fontana or Atlanta in the past it was hard to drive but controllable. I think with this car you don’t have as much sidewall deflection and you don’t have the side force. You’re hard to drive is defined by different things. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I know what all those things are. YOu have to be somewhat conservative in some areas and somewhat aggressive in other areas. I was having to talk myself into my lap because I wasn’t aggressive enough in a lot of areas. I think the learning process is different for every driver and every team. You key off different things and there is a lot that is different right now.”

DID YOU THINK YOUR FIRST FULL-TIME CUP SEASON WOULD START OFF LIKE IT HAS? “Probably not but I certainly knew it was possible. I have the race team behind me to do it and it is certainly my job to be able to do it. Expectation wise, probably not. You kind of measure that and continue forward. I still feel like my mentality for tomorrow is the same as it was when I walked in the joint today. Maybe add on the things I learned today but there is a long race ahead. A lot of tire fall-off. I don’t know if I have a good long-run car or good short-run car. I had eight minutes of practice today. Usually, when we come here you know if you have a good long-run car or short-run car and you know those things. I don’t even think we know what fuel mileage looks like for tomorrow. There is a lot that we don’t know right now. I know I am on the pole and I know we have a fast car for some certain point in the run and I learned a lot and had fun today. I love qualifying. I missed qualifying the last couple of years. I always loved it when you show up and your fastest lap of the weekend was the first thing you would do in the morning when you showed up to the race track. I love that pressure. It was something I wasn’t very good at early in my career and have put a lot of emphasis on and I enjoy it. It is fun when it works out for sure.”

DO YOU THINK THIS WILL COME DOWN TO WHO CAN LEARN THIS NEW CAR THE QUICKEST? “For the next four months, I 100-percent agree with that. It is about who is the best learners. That isn’t just the drivers, it is the crew chiefs and the teams and the manufacturers. The OEM influence with this new car is more than we have ever seen. I think all those things are huge and for the next three or four months, absolutely. I think the west coast swing is a great opportunity for us to gauge where everything is and where our strengths and weaknesses are for a lot of reasons. I give a perfect example of change being an opportunity. Dave Elenz, it is his second weekend as a Cup crew chief and he qualified on the front row. He is someone that has been able to win championships in Xfinity and constantly runs up front but he is a rookie crew chief in Cup and just put his car on the front row. That is the opportunity with change. At the same time, the same opportunity could be a bad thing. I think it is way too early and you have way too few data points to make any conjectures. From that standpoint, you have to keep focusing on the things you have learned and how to apply them as quickly as possible.”

WHAT WERE YOU SAYING TO YOURSELF TO TALK YOURSELF INTO YOUR LAPS? “Just different driving things. Watching the race broadcast and watching the SMT, different driving characteristics. I took my time to get up to speed in practice today and my lap in qualifying was a second and a half faster than I went in practice. That is a lot. It is one of those things that you have to talk yourself into it and know that the car is capable of it and give yourself enough reasons why you think that is the case.”

DOES THIS NEXT GEN CAR DRIVE LIKE ANYTHING YOU HAVE EVER RACED IN YOUR CAREER? “Today I had flashbacks of driving a F2000 car at IRP. As stupid and crazy as that sounds, I would say mentality wise that is something that I could relate it to. Otherwise, I think just the ability to be open-minded will be really important for quite awhile here. Otherwise, no, this is still in my opinion very much a stock car, very much a NASCAR and there is not much else that relates to it from a driving or setup standpoint. It is its own beast like we as a sport always have been.”

WHEN DID IT SETTLE IN THAT YOU WERE THE DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION? “I smile every time someone says that. I don’t think it has yet, honestly. I think the moments that have put it in perspective for me are when you get to see your pit crew guys, your guys jumping over the wall at the end of the race. That footage for me – I know what winning the Daytona 500 means for Austin Cindric. I know the hard work I have put in. I know what that has meant to my career but I don’t know what it means to everybody else. To see those emotions, that is the humbling part for me and the part for me that shows me the gravity of that event and that success and achievement. You go back to the shop and hang out with the guys that were two or three decades ago showing up to speedweeks with Rusty Wallace and trying to do the same thing and what it means to those guys and to know I had a role in that is pretty special. It is definitely back to reality this week in my head but I smile every time I hear it and it is something you can’t take away.”

YOU WIN THE DAYTONA 500 AND YOU GO HOME, IS IT TRUE THAT YOU WERE MET WITH A JURY DUTY SUMMONS? “Am I allowed to talk about that? Is that a thing? Am I going to be put in jail if I talk about that? Yeah, I showed up on Monday and took out the trash, walked to the mailbox and have jury duty. How do I deal with that? Yeah, that will definitely put you back on your feet.”

WHEN IS IT? “Well, I am trying to get out of it because otherwise, I am not racing Las Vegas. Something tells me the county is used to racing people.”

WHAT WOULD YOUR OPINION BE OF GIVING THE TEAM MORE PRACTICE TIME FOR A FEW RACES TO FIGURE THIS CAR OUT? “I don’t even know if it is even a worthwhile discussion topic because I think there is a lot more that goes into it unfortunately than just from a team and driver standpoint. Yeah, obviously having more practice would certainly lessen the urgency of today’s events. But I think at the same time that from a TV value standpoint, that was some pretty good suspense for me. Watching from the garage I thought my goose was cooked. I thought Chase (Elliott) had me and I thought I didn’t drive it hard enough into three. From a TV value standpoint, it was a lot to take in. From a team and driver standpoint, yeah, I think I would have a lot more to base my race tomorrow off of than just our practice session today.”

IS THERE ANY MEMORY FROM THIS WEEK THAT REALLY STICKS OUT? “I think the coolest thing, and it will stay with me, that I received – well, I guess my dad received it but he shared it with me. He got a voicemail from AJ Foyt. I have gotten a lot of cool text messages from a lot of people and those are really meaningful but to hear AJ’s voice talking about me winning the Daytona 500 and all the things I did on that day is really, really special. That is something that I am going to try to save and put on a hard drive because that is something you can’t really describe how cool it is. I played it for Jeremy (Bullins) when I went to his office on Wednesday. I was like, ‘Hey, check this out, this is really cool.’ That is the coolest thing that happened to me all week. It was really cool to hear from him. I guess it was the 50th anniversary of him winning the race so I am pretty sure that was half the reason why he was as engaged as he was with the race but it was really cool to hear from him.”

CHEVY NCS AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: Erik Jones Puts Camaro ZL1 on Front Row at Fontana

By

Official Release

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February 26, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
WISE POWER 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES
FEBRUARY 26, 2022

ERIK JONES PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON THE FRONT ROW AT FONTANA
Four Team Chevy Drivers Qualify in the Top-10

TOP-10 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
5th DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 16 POPPY BANK CAMARO ZL1
8th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
10th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Austin Cindric (Ford)
2nd Erik Jones (Chevrolet)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
5th Daniel Hemric (Chevrolet)

FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Wise Power 400 live at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, February 27. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd
“I definitely left a bit out there. I thought we probably could have had a shot there for the pole, but missed (turns) one and two a bit. But nonetheless, I’m proud of number one, Petty GMS Motorsports; and number two, Dave (Elenz, Crew Chief) coming into a new role this year and being really strong right off the bat. We were strong at the Clash, Daytona and here. Obviously, there’s a long way to go tomorrow, but I’m happy with how we’ve started with the No. 43 FOCUSFactor Chevrolet.

“I’m looking forward to it. I was excited the second we hit the racetrack and started making laps with how the car was driving; and obviously the speed in qualifying. It’s definitely on an edge and it’s challenging. It’s easy for me to say it’s fun. I’m sure some don’t have the same opinion at this point, but it’s definitely a challenging car right now.”

WHAT WE’RE SEEING OUT THERE, IS IT JUST AS SIMPLE THAT THE CAR IS HARD TO DRIVE? WHAT’S GOING ON TO CAUSE ALL THIS?
“Yeah, I think so; 100 percent. It’s challenging. I felt sick to my stomach until really I got over here. Just after the first run – I was nervous before I even went out for practice, just seeing those guys out there making mistakes. A guy like Kevin Harvick is not going to go out and wreck on lap one in practice, especially in the old car. So, they’re just challenging. It’s really unknown. The driving style is 100 percent different. You cannot push the car as hard as you could and there’s just a really fine line of pushing it hard to make speed and really stepping over that line. And when you do, it’s hard to get it back. I don’t know how that’s going to change as the car develops and what goes forward with it. But it’s definitely the most challenging car I’ve driven in the Cup Series to this point.”

IS THERE A WAY TO MAKE THE CAR LESS TWITCHY; OR DO YOU HAVE TO RUN IT THAT WAY IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH THE PACK?
“I don’t know. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys a lot smarter than me that are looking at that. I think there are a few factors that play into that. Part of it’s tires, part of it’s suspension. Kind of what we’re chasing on the underbody and those sort of things. You can see some of it in the platform of the racecars out there and how they look a little bit different than years past and it’s making them drive a little bit different. There’s just so many factors. It’s not one thing. I think the tires are probably the bigger thing that’s making it twitchy; and as well as a little bit of some suspension stuff. Will that get better going forward? I don’t know, I really don’t. It’s hard to tell. This is the first time I’ve even driven this package. I didn’t get to drive it at Charlotte. So, today getting on track here was the first time I made laps with it. It’s a lot different. It’s definitely a different feel; a lot less feel on the car than probably we had in the old car.”

WITH THE WIND THIS MORNING A FACTOR DURING PRATICE, COULD YOU FEEL THE GUSTS OF WIND OUT THERE?
“Yeah, I could for sure. Some of those guys probably got in trouble in (turns) three and four with it. I came close once or twice making my practice laps on entry, just with it kind of pushing me in the corner. The exit I think was a little bit more of bump and guys kind of getting around that and getting on the apron where we saw those wrecks. It was a big challenge. The car was already presenting its own challenges and then we had 30-40 mph gusts of wind that were making it even crazier, which was challenging with the old car. I don’t know – I hope it’s not windy tomorrow. That’d be nice.”

YOU HAD A LOT OF SPEED IN PRACTICE AND BACKED THE SPEED UP IN QUALIFYING. WHAT’S REALISTIC FOR TOMORROW?
“I don’t know – I feel like our car was good. I was happy with it. The balance – it was not the balance at all that I’d look for in the old car. If we had that balance with the previous generation car, I would say we were out to lunch and we’d probably have to make some pretty big changes tonight. But this car, is it right or wrong? I don’t know. The speed was there. There were some things that still concerned me about the race tomorrow and how it’s going to drive and some tire wear stuff. We’ll have to see how it goes and we won’t know until tomorrow. Hopefully it gets better with the Xfinity race today, but it’s hard to say. Expectations are high. The speed is there and I felt like it was in practice too on the longer runs. Obviously running up front and taking advantage of it. I think teams are going to continue to get these cars better and right now, we seem to have it going well. So, hopefully we can take advantage of that tomorrow.”

ERIK, WE’VE SEEN THE NO. 43 CHEVROLET SLOWLY BE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS YEAR AFTER YEAR. YOU’VE BEEN WORKING FOR TOP-20’S AND TOP-15’S; SNEAKING IN SOME TOP-10’S. WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE NEW CAR COMING AND THE WHOLE RESET BUTTON, DOES THIS KIND OF SET A NEW LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE FOR YOU GOING INTO THE SEASON, KNOWING YOU CAN RUN UP THERE AND START OUTSIDE POLE THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON?
“I think goals change every year and probably every week. For me, the process last year at RPM was a rebuild mode, in some ways. Obviously, they’ve struggled in the past and trying to improve them was my goal because I want to run well. I want to be upfront and I want to win races. Petty GMS Motorsports wants to do the same. I think them coming in during the off season has been a pretty big positive for us. Dave coming in during the off season has been a huge gain for us. Him and Danny have been working together really well. The guys have been working together really well; putting in a lot of hours on these cars. It’s been tough for everybody, but they’ve been putting in the work this week and this month.
“I think right now, expectations are high. I think Dave’s expectations were high coming into this year. He’s a guy that’s been around the sport a long time. He wants to make his mark in the Cup Series. I still want to make my mark in the Cup Series. I’ve been able to win before, but I want to get back to that point. I know we’re capable of it, we just have to continue to do what we’ve been doing these last four weeks and continue it into the season.”

IS THIS CAR RACEABLE? I KNOW YOU HAVE WHAT YOU HAVE, BUT IS THERE A FEELING THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A LOT OF CHANGE BEFORE YOU GO TO LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY NEXT WEEK; OR IS IT GOING TO BE DRIVERS LEARNING WHERE THE POINT IS ON THIS CAR?
“You’re probably asking the wrong guy (laughs). I’ve felt good about it this morning, so I would say race it. I can remember a Carl Edward’s story a few years ago. When I was first getting to JGR, they went to Watkins Glen and tested a tire; and guys could barely make a lap with it. Everybody was really against it except Carl. Carl wanted to race that tire. His opinion was that racecars shouldn’t be easy to drive. It’s going to make the driver work, put it in their hands and make them work for it. I may be having a totally different feeling after Sunday if we go out and wade it up and get in trouble. But I don’t think racecars should be totally easy to drive. Does that always put on a great show? Yes, no, sometimes; depends on the track. But it’s just going to be a learning process. Right now, I’m content. I’m happy with what the team has done to get it driving good. I feel like I have a feel for tomorrow and what I need to do to stay out of trouble. And I think guys are learning quick. You’re seeing a lot of mistakes. But I think about when we went to the low downforce package a few years ago. We saw a lot of guys spin out with that too early on, until teams got better. We’ll see. If we need to make changes, we’ll make changes. But right now, I’ve been happy with it.”

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

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

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES – TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

By

Official Release

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February 26, 2022

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FL
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP
FEBRUARY 26, 2022

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN CLAIMS CAREER-FIRST NTT P1 AWARD WITH CHEVROLET POWER
Will Power Gives Chevy and Team Penske Front Row For First Race of the Season

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA (February 26, 2022) – Scott McLaughlin transferred his fast time in this morning’s practice to his first ever pole in just his second season in the NTT INDYCAR Series. McLaughlin was the final car on track for the six-minute Firestone Fast Six session when time expired. His lap of 59.421 seconds bested Team Penske teammate Will Power to lock the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet into the pole starting position.

McLaughlin’s pole is the 285th for Team Penske in INDYCAR competition, and 112th pole (earned and awarded) since Chevrolet returned to the NTT INDYCAR Series in 2012 with the 2.2 liter, V6 twin turbo direct injected engine. It was the eighth pole for Team Chevy since 2012 for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

For the 12th time in his career, Power will start on the front row on the Streets of St. Petersburg: He has nine poles and three outside front row starts. During the Q2 Fast 12 session, he set a new track record of 59.3466 seconds.

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, qualified for his first ever Firestone Fast Six and secured the fourth starting spot. Two-time winner at St. Pete Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet qualified in the ninth starting position.

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.

DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER:
“I love qualifying. You have to put it all on the line. I’m working really well with Ben Bretzman (new race engineer). The DEX Imaging Chevy is phenomenal. Ben is a legend. We said we could do it. I’m really proud. I know Mom and Dad will be watching at home, so this is awesome. I have my in-laws here and I haven’t seen them in two years. I’m super proud for that. Chevy has done a tremendous job giving us driveability. The engine is handling so much better and I’m so confident. I’m so happy… I have a race tomorrow and can’t use too much energy!”

YOU SAID YOU WERE TIRED OF STARTING AT THE BACK OF THE FIELD. HOW DIFFERENT WILL THE PERSPECTIVE BE TOMORROW? “I’m a competitive bloke so I hate starting at the back! At the end of the day, it’s a new thing for me. I’ll be starting from the front and leading a group to the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me so I have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot! We’ll have fun. I appreciate all the fans coming out. It’s great to see so many fans and I can’t wait for tomorrow. The show is going to be big.”

BEN BREITZMAN, ENGINEER, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING CHEVROLET:
“It’s been an interesting offseason with a big transition for both of us. We’ve put a lot of work in, a lot of ‘How are we going to do this together and what do we need to learn together?’ I’m super proud of him. The speed has always been there, it’s how do you extract it? So far so good.”
DID YOU THINK A POLE WAS POSSIBLE? “Honestly I wasn’t sure until I saw where we were when we unloaded. When we unloaded, all that work that we did over the offseason really came to fruition. We were quick right off the truck, and then I knew we could do something. I’m pretty excited. A lot of work went into this so I’m really proud of everybody.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE, STARTING 2ND:
“ I was very happy up until the last run. I was like P1, P1, P1, P2. But it was good. Like honestly, I feel like I got the most out of the session. I guess there’s not much I could have done. What I could have done in the last one was to fuel for just one lap and may have had a shot. But yeah, like I said, starting way ahead of last year at this track.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING, STARTING 4TH: “Very happy with qualifying. P4 and first ever Firestone Fast Six
experience-very happy and very proud with the team, and with all of my guys-they gave me a great car! We had an amazing off-season and it paid off with a great result. So, very happy and on to a great result tomorrow.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE, STARTING 9TH: “The car was fine. The traffic is horrible. The Hitachi was really comfy. I think it felt good from a balance standpoint. We’re fighting some issues is what I’ll say. There are a couple of things in the background that are working against us. Overall, ninth isn’t a horrible starting spot. It gives us a fighting chance for tomorrow. We just need to sort out some of these things out that we have going on. It’s a new team for us, really. Everyone is doing a great job getting along and jelling. There are just a couple of things that you wouldn’t like to have around to start out a weekend. It’s what we’re dealing with. Overall I feel really confident. Team Chevy is here supporting us and they’re doing a great job as you saw with our teammates. We’re feeling good for tomorrow to at least start our year on a positive note.”

YOU HAVE A NEW ENGINEER WITH ERIC LEICHTLE. IT’S HARD TO START A RELATIONSHIP WITH TWO PRACTICES AND STRAIGHT INTO QUALIFYING. “This was probably the hardest offseason because we only had one test day. For Eric, it’s like trial by fire. He’s doing a great job. He’s been around us for awhile in IndyCar with the Team Chevy camp. We have a great group here. I have to remind myself that this is the first race. As much as I want to come out and knocking down the fence and being the fastest car out here every session – and I’d love to do that – it doesn’t seem like it was destined to start this year. We’re going to try and make the most out of tomorrow, hopefully get a podium and maybe sneak in a win.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING, STARTING 12TH: “The first goal was to get to Round Two. I wanted to get in the Fast Six. I pushed as much as I could out of the car but unfortunately when you push that hard, I made a mistake just into the first corner after the timing line so I was playing catch-up from there. I was pushing my brake points further, and the car took it really well, but I caught myself out coming out of Turn Nine. I got to power where I thought maybe I could just get back on it and it just set free a little bit. I brushed the wall and after that, I wasn’t sure if anything was wrong. This car is a tank… I hit the wall pretty good and only the piece of the floor was brushed. I was super-happy with it. I think we were quickest out of the rookies, so that was the first goal but I really wanted that Fast Six. I think we have the car to do it.”

WHAT HAS THIS WEEKEND BEEN LIKE? “It’s cool because I have a lot of experience around this track. I’m able to drive here. Every other one I have to fly to. This one feels like home to me. I have a lot of friends and family here, and I know they’ll be cheering me on. I’ve got a lot of experience here and some wins in other categories in US F2000 and IndyLights. Hopefully I can take that knowledge over to this for tomorrow.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING, STARTING 14TH: “First day of qualifying with our No. 4 K-Line car. We had a great run in our Team Chevy here on the Streets of St. Petersburg Grand Prix. It’s a really fun event. The track was great. We really the nail on the head from a set-up standpoint on the Firestone blacks. We were a little free, then when we went to reds, it really came to us. We only had that one lap to get it done.

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 McLAREN CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP, STARTING 16TH: “I had the pace for sure. The car had it. We started off the weekend not very good, but we made some great changes. The car has pace. Just note to self for next time: Don’t smash the wall halfway through the wall if you want to transfer! It’s all my mistake. I just didn’t quite judge the amount of snap I was going to get and I didn’t want to back out of it. I paid the consequences. I think tomorrow we are going to have a good race. The car is good and let’s see what we can pull off.”

WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME YOU STARTED 16TH AT DETROIT LAST YEAR? YOU WON. “That’s a great memory. But yeah, tomorrow is going to be tough with the heat. Strategy-wise, it’s going to be difficult. Luckily for us, we’ll have a new set of reds that the Fast Six won’t have. That can play into our favor and what strategy we pick out. Let’s just see where we go!”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 DYNAMIC EDGE CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING, STARTING 19TH: “It was quite a difficult session. It’s very, very tight. We made a lot of improvements over the weekend and are getting closer. As you see, it’s a tenth here and there and you’re moving up a lot. We’re going to work on a few things. We’ll have a big meeting tonight to see what we can do. We can definitely race from there. The first race of the year will be a tough one, but let’s see what we can do.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING, STARTING 20TH: “Today we had a great performance from our teammate. Rinus did a great job. I just could not find the grip I needed. The team has given me a great car. We’ve improved a lot from last year. I feel way better than I did as a driver. The race is obviously what we look forward to. Not what we wanted in qualifying for sure. And there are a lot of positives from what we’ve done from a balance standpoint and what we are going after tomorrow. The race is what matters.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 McLAREN VUSE CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP, STARTING 21ST: “It was kind of a weird session. The black primary Firestones were a good step forward from practice, and felt we didn’t need any adjustments for the red alternates. We went out and the tires were ready to go straight out of the pit lane. That’s not what we are used to, I expected them to come in on the second or third lap. I just took too much out of the tires on the first lap and couldn’t complete a better lap after that. It was a good lap, but kind of weird how the tire just went away. There’s a lot of lap time left to find, but we will focus on the race. I think we have a pretty good race car, so I’m not too worried. We will push tomorrow.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING, STARTING 25TH: “It’s been such a warm welcome. Honestly I wasn’t expecting something like this, so I’m happy. Every session we went out, I improved a lot. The team gave me a great car and I’m really happy to drive the RokIt Chevrolet IndyCar. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a street circuit but I’ve been fortunate enough to do Monaco in Formula Two and Macau, as well. This is something different. I’m building up to it. I think we’ve done a good job particularly in qualifying. I felt like I found a ton of grip so I’m looking forward to the race and getting into a rhythm. The level of competition here is extremely high. You have champions of literally everything. You have ex-Formula One drivers, upcoming stars… there is no one who is going to give you anything. It’s 27 cars that are the most competitive ones I’ve faced in my career. I expect things to be tough but I love this kind of challenge and hope through the year we can make those jumps.”

POST QUALIFYING TRANSCRIPT – SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN AND WILL POWER

THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started here this afternoon after qualifying earlier today, getting set for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg tomorrow presented by RP Funding. Joined now by Will Power, who picks up his 12th front-row start here on the Streets of St. Petersburg, also now the new track record holder at 59.3466 around this 1.8-mile layout. Not pole position for you, Will, but it’s a Team Penske front row. How special is that to kick off the season?

WILL POWER: Well, it’s just much better than last year. Last year was P20, so here’s to starting further up the front and hopefully the first corner is good. Many names went through my head who were behind me then. I’m like, there’s some potential for a bit of mayhem there.

THE MODERATOR: Well, if it’s your teammate you might have a little discussion beforehand?
WILL POWER: Well, he’s beside me. He’s gone. He’s good. It’s the dudes behind you you’ve got to worry about.

THE MODERATOR: Talk about overall your day today. Happy with it?
WILL POWER: I was very happy up until the last run. I was like P1, P1, P1, P2. But it was good. Like honestly, I feel like I got the most out of the session. I guess there’s not much I could have done. What I could have done in the last one was to fuel for just one lap and may have had a shot. But yeah, like I said, starting way ahead of last year at this track.

Q. The speeds today with so many guys being under a minute, did everybody come in here expecting it was going to be the case? Is there any reason for it?
WILL POWER: No, I was surprised actually. I didn’t even know what they did last year, and when they said that was the lap record, I was like, oh, okay. Yeah, I didn’t know that. That shows how far these cars and engines have come. They’re pretty fast.

Q. The Team Penske performance, you guys got the front row lockout and I think Josef was ninth, an encouraging start for you guys?
WILL POWER: Yeah, definitely. We had a bad year last year, so certainly came into this season determined but with a lot of work behind that, a lot of work and understanding. When you have a struggle, a year of struggle, you always come back and have a pretty close look at what you were missing.
That’s kind of what we turned up with here. Missed out on qualifying last year, so I was very determined to make it to the Fast Six was the first thing. Well, make it to the Fast 12, honestly, and then the Six. So we got there, just one short of pole, man.
Poles keep eluding me down to this last like five that I need. After that I don’t care about pole.

Q. You just want 67?
WILL POWER: No, I want 68. 68, yeah. I know it’ll be tough. A lot of good guys.

Q. Scott only made the Fast Six once all last season. Was that surprising to you, and to see his performance today and the lap he put together, is that what you were expecting from him as a rookie last year?
WILL POWER: I mean, man, the experience he had in the series down there in Australia, he’s had a number of years at a very high level as a professional. He knows how to put it together. It’s just a matter of him getting used to this car which he has now, and yeah, I’m expecting him to be a contender for the season.

THE MODERATOR: And fresh off celebrating career pole No. 1, welcome in the driver of the Dex Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin.
A couple questions for you guys. First of all, Scott, congratulations. A year and a half after making your NTT INDYCAR Series debut here, you come back a year and a half later and pick up your first career pole. How thrilling for you?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s amazing. I don’t know what other words. Pretty speechless. It’s something that you know you can do, but sometimes — obviously in Australia we had a lot of success with poles and wins and all that sort of stuff and you know you can do it, but you have a hard year like ’21 where it just didn’t click and there was a few things where you just didn’t put it together, but you know the speed is there. It’s all about taking pressure off yourself and just focusing on what you need to do, and that’s what we did today.
Really working well with my new engineer, Ben Bretzman, who’s been fantastic for me. Jonathan Diuguid, who I used to work with, he basically helped me to this moment. He was the one engineer I worked with to this point, and Ben has picked me up and just polished me off a little bit there. I feel good.
Yeah, it’s one. Hopefully I’d like to have more, but at the end of the day, it’s qualifying, and tomorrow is the big day, so we’ll see what we’ve got.

THE MODERATOR: Your previous best start was fifth at the GMR Grand Prix on the Road Course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is INDYCAR Series pole No. 285 now for the Captain, Team Penske.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: This guy next to me has taken a few of those. Yeah, I’ll try and help him add to those and maybe we’ll get 300.
Q. Will, the red tires clearly have a nice peak. They’ve got a lot of speed in them for a little bit of time. How long are they going to last?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s a good question because no one has done more than two laps on them. We heat cycled them and did another one or two laps. Yeah, that will be an interesting story tomorrow because I don’t even think in warmup you’ll be able to tell because the condition will be so cool and good, you won’t get a feel for is it going to go off or not.

Q. Do you like it when you get that big delta from red to black?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. I think it’s good. Yeah, I like that.

Q. Will, when it comes to Scott, do you think that we kind of poked the bear there and that we’re going to see him a lot more winning these poles?
WILL POWER: No, I think it’s a one-off thing. He falls off a cliff now. (Laughter.)
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Bring it on.
WILL POWER: No, it’s not surprising. You saw it in practice last year. He just had a few issues in qualifying getting through the rounds a couple times. But the potential was there.
He’s been at a very high level in a very competitive series for quite a few years, so he knows the game. He knows the game well. He knows the car now. You really expect him to be there every time.

Q. Scott, how important would it be to get all three of you up there fighting for wins and a championship?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I mean, you guys asked me if I needed to step up for these two, and I feel like I’ve really worked hard over the off-season to make sure I was ready to go. It is important, and I’m right there, and it’s important that I push these guys because it’s only going to make them better and it’s only going to make me better, as well, as a team. Yeah, pumped to be able to put it together. As Will said, struggled to get through some of the rounds last year, but I feel good.

Q. Scott, what do you put this performance down to in terms of your development and where you are in terms of the team and the car?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it’s just a lot of putting things — like put it together this time. I feel like, like Will said, we showed some speed last year and I was just getting better and better as the car went on. I think rolling out with a car that suited me from the get-go was important.
We worked very hard on this track with the simulator, and thankfully this simulator has been fantastic for that, and getting me to a great baseline setup that I’ve really only touched a little bit here and there just tweaking it trying to figure out what was right.
I know what I’m driving out there and I’m able to just punch out the laps and find the time within myself, which is exactly what I did in that Q3 lap. I put together a lap that I had worked on the whole session and didn’t quite get it right; looked at a bit of Will’s data, looked at a bit of Josef’s and just put it together. Didn’t panic. And I guess experience. You can’t buy experience. I’m certainly feeling really comfortable now in the series and in the car.

Q. Scott, the pole lap you were best known for before today was at Bathurst a couple of years ago. Could you compare and contrast how tense that lap was to how tense this lap was, the commitment differences between that lap and this lap?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, this is a minute shorter. That’s about it, because man, the intensity is crazy. Honestly, the way you’ve got to extract the speed out of both cars is pretty full on, and at Bathurst you’re right up against the wall.
I guess one thing I’ve learnt as well as I’ve got used to these open wheel is my proximity of the walls, and I’m used to slamming the walls with my doors and whacking the mirrors off. I can’t do that, and I’ve done it plenty of times in INDYCAR and didn’t come off too good. Didn’t do it today and it worked out good.

Q. Scott, we just talked about it with Chris, you had a bit of a different strategy there in qualification, a one-lap kind of shootout, kind of Bathurst style. Tell me about that.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We wanted to stay on the red tire purely because I didn’t want to change between blacks and reds. I’m still getting up to speed with the confidence going from compound to compound, so I guess I felt like it was more important for me to roll out on the same set regardless. We knew that our first set that we ran in Q1 we were going to save for last because we only did one lap on it, so it was all about just using the oldest set, do a lap, feel it out. I only did like a 60.5, then I come out and slap the 59.4 or whatever it was.
I knew I could do it; it was just a matter of just feeling what the track was like in that Q3 and then it was like I had tires up my sleeve to do that.

Q. About alternate start/finish lines:
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Sorry, but I think that the alternate start-finish line, I probably don’t agree with it. I think it should just be the start-finish line. I said that before; it happened at Portland a couple times, and I caught Grosjean — Romain in a peculiar spot. I feel like coming around a blind corner, everyone is trying to get a lap started. That’s the only point we can really start our lap to get a good run. It does choke up there and it’s just — you don’t see. Unless we get a flag, you don’t see.
I’m probably a big fan of probably moving the line depending on what track we go to. That’s just my personal opinion.

Q. They do that at Long Beach, I think, or somewhere else?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know.

THE MODERATOR: We have an alternate at Long Beach, as well.

Q. Scott, for you, you joked about it that you haven’t started an INDYCAR race before and usually you’re behind guys braking. Now you’re leading them and you said, I don’t want to be an idiot and overshoot it. How long has it been since — you’re an accomplished guy. I know you did a lot in Supercars, but are you going to go back and watch video? Are you going to talk to people? How do you get yourself in the frame of mind that I am starting this race?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it’s 12 years since I led a rolling startaway because of go-karting. It’s a standing start in Supercars. Yeah, just hopefully I’m not an idiot. I’ll come out of 2 and I’ll be all right.
WILL POWER: Just keep the throttle down.

Q. Just for Will, just to go on to the traffic situation, is there anything INDYCAR could do to help with traffic in these tight tracks for qualifying?
WILL POWER: I mean, we’re splitting the field, so everyone should be able to get a clean lap. It’s up to the guys to sort it out. You know when you’re leaving the pits in a line of cars that you’re going to have to give the guy a gap. I just think it’s ridiculous when some of these guys go out and try to pass the line of cars that are all trying to get their gap to start the lap.
Practice you’ve got the whole field, so you’ve got to try to sort it out. Sometimes it’s a bit rough, but that’s just the way it is. We don’t run on the longest tracks here. We have some short street courses, and yeah, it’s a game. Not much you can do about it. The only way you can fix that stuff is have less cars. But I don’t think anyone wants to split practice up.

Q. When you saw or heard that Scott grabbed pole, what did you think? Were you surprised?
WILL POWER: Very surprised.
Well, no, I wasn’t actually. Honestly if you saw what he did in practice and then throughout qualifying, it’s clearly going to be kind of a battle — you have three people there, Herta, myself and Scott. Yep, it was a good lap, man. I don’t think there’s much left in that.

Q. Scott, you’ve kind of touched on it a bit, but jumping on to the reds, just how committed were you and was there any close calls during that pole lap?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The pole lap was pretty good, but probably leading up to that lap. I knew I had the speed in the car just to get through to like Q3 and Q2, so it was about learning in those laps trying to figure out where I could get better and get worse. Whatever. My words are all jumbled.
Got to Q3 and felt like I could nail that, and yeah, it felt pretty good. I feel a lot more comfortable with the red tire now, and certainly feel like we can certainly have a good go moving forward in the season.

Q. Wanted to ask Will if he knows where — I think it’s 12 hundredths we’re missing. They said on INDYCAR Radio that you got a bit sideways at Turn 9. Or did everyone get sideways at Turn 9?
WILL POWER: Yeah, 9, that’s where on my first lap I lost time is out of 9. I probably lost a tenth down the back straight.
Yeah, apart from that it was a pretty good lap. That’s the only place where I overcharged the entry a little bit and didn’t get the ideal exit. Yeah.

Q. Scott, obviously massive congratulations on fulfilling the potential you showed last year. Do you feel that the Chevy is more drivable than it was last year, and do you think this also helps you feel more comfortable, especially on street tracks?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think it’s been an absolute massive step forward Chevy is taking with our drivability in particular, and it’s a lot of hard work from them and working with all the teams. So certainly feel a lot better, and we’re definitely some of the microsectors that we were slower in over the last couple of years were really good, and the drivability there is a lot nicer. To be honest, it’s starting to come into my liking a little bit not having to — yeah, I’m not going to into too much detail because there’s a Honda guy sitting next to me, but I feel a lot better, and certainly, I think, Will would say the same.

Q. Scott, can you kind of talk us through what you and Ben worked on over the off-season as you guys sort of attempted to learn each other and see where you can grow coming into St. Pete?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Me and Ben sat down, we had like a three-, four-hour meeting, and we worked — we looked at every track throughout the year, and we looked at all my notes and the trends of my qualifying cars because I’ve always been reasonably quick in practice, and then we sort of just slowly worked on, all right, well maybe when we go qualifying we’re either adding too much front wing or we’re doing a few things that maybe we should just relax on going into qualifying. Then we went to the simulator, and thankfully Chevy has been working very hard on the simulator and got that very close, too, which has been fantastic, and I was able to really knuckle down along with Will and Josef, good baseline setup for this weekend and for the street courses and road courses, and that paid dividends when we went to that test. I felt like I had a really good baseline car, and then when I rocked up here at St. Pete, I felt really, really strong, and we have hardly touched the car since it’s rolled off the truck.
We’ve played with things. We’ve experimented with things and we experimented with things even in that qualifying session, but we somehow always come back to what we rolled out with, and that’s just been a lot of hard work between the two of us, and my performance engineer Malcolm Finch.
Yeah, very proud. Just iron out a few creases and working on where we can get better, and that’s what motorsport is all about and that’s why I enjoy it so much.

Q. Knowing what he accomplished with Simon, what was your level of excitement whenever you guys figured out that he was going to be your race engineer, and where did you think he could help you improve the most?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve known Ben for a long time now. He was actually the first guy that I’ve come over from Australia and worked on the simulator with to see if INDYCAR was somewhere that I wanted to go.
So we play a lot of golf together, so I was very excited to hang out and take this partnership into more of a business professional level, and yeah, look, what he’s done with Simon is a testament to those two and the 12-year partnership that they had.
I think he’s really invigorated with me, a new partnership, and we’re certainly working together well, and I’m excited for that.
Jonathan Diuguid who I had, like I said, big props to him. He was the guy that really got me up to speed, and then it was all about just polishing me off. Yep, feel okay, just got to keep this going.

Q. When was that when you first met Ben and came over and did the simulator? Do you know what year that was?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: 2019.
THE MODERATOR: Great way to start the weekend. Congratulations, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power. Thanks, guys.

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.

McLaughlin Grabs First Career NTT P1 Award in Last Second at St. Pete

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Official Release

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February 26, 2022

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022) – Scott McLaughlin targeted a main goal after his rookie season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2021 – improve his qualifying performances.

Consider that job done after just one race in 2022.

McLaughlin earned his first career NTT P1 Award by leading the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 59.4821 seconds Saturday afternoon in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, taking the top starting spot for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. The pole also came in his first race working with Team Penske engineer Ben Bretzman.

“I love qualifying, and you’ve got to put it all on the line,” McLaughlin said. “I’m working really well with Ben Bretzman. The DEX Imaging Chevy, the car is just phenomenal. I’m super proud of everyone. I just feel confident, and now I’m so happy.”

McLaughlin’s pole was part of a front-row lockout by Team Penske. Will Power – who has won the pole nine times for this event – qualified second at 59.6058 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, losing the top spot on McLaughlin’s final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit.

“That was two good laps I did,” Power said. “I could have done better on the first; I made a little mistake on the back straight. I think Scott got the most out of it. That was a solid lap.”

Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon (ET) Sunday on NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Three-time Australian V8 Supercars McLaughlin will lead the field of 26 cars to the green flag for the first time in his open-wheel career. His best start in 2021 was fifth for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, but that was his only single-digit qualifying performance on a street or road course all season.

“I’m a competitive bloke, so I hate starting at the back,” McLaughlin said. “At the end of the day, it’s a new thing for me, starting from the front and leading a group into the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me, so I’m going to have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be big.”

Colton Herta was the leading Honda-powered driver in qualifying, as he will start third after turning a top lap of 59.7104 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Rinus VeeKay qualified fourth at 59.8102 in the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet.

Romain Grosjean rebounded from an accident during practice Saturday morning to qualify fifth at 59.8116 in the No. 28 DHL Honda. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1 minute, .2041 of a second in the No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda.

In the second qualifying session, Power turned a top lap of 59.3466 to set the track record. The previous mark was 1:00.0476 by Jordan King in 2018.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES action will start at 8:45 a.m. (ET) Sunday with a 30-minute final practice, with live coverage on Peacock Premium.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding Qualifying Results

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Qualifying Saturday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.8-mile Streets of St. Petersburg circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

(3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 59.4821 (108.940 mph)
(12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 59.6058 (108.714)
(26) Colton Herta, Honda, 59.7104 (108.524)
(21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 59.8102 (108.343)
(28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 59.8116 (108.340)
(60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 1:00.2041 (107.634)
(9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 59.7579 (108.438)
(8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 59.8241 (108.318)
(2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 59.8862 (108.205)
(10) Alex Palou, Honda, 59.9584 (108.075)
(15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 59.9870 (108.023)
(14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 1:00.2616 (107.531)
(27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 59.9931 (108.012)
(4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 59.9521 (108.086)
(30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 1:00.0276 (107.950)
(5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 1:00.0021 (107.996)
(06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 1:00.1426 (107.744)
(29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 1:00.0850 (107.847)
(77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 1:00.2121 (107.620)
(20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 1:00.1921 (107.655)
(7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 1:00.3918 (107.299)
(51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 1:00.2930 (107.475)
(45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 1:00.5333 (107.049)
(18) David Malukas, Honda, 1:00.4601 (107.178)
(11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 1:00.9391 (106.336)
(48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 1:01.0273 (106.182)

Rollan Survives Wild St. Petersburg Race for First Mazda MX-5 Cup Win of 2022

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Official Release

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February 26, 2022

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 26, 2022) – Starting from seventh on the grid at his favorite track, Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) kept his nose clean and his brakes cool to win his first Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires race of the season. He was followed closely across the line by his teammate, Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports).

The tight and unforgiving nature of street course racing can sometimes lead to an increase in on-track incidents. That was certainly true Saturday at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where Round Four of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup was in a full-course yellow situation before the entire field even made it through Turn One.

Too many cars going for the same piece of real estate at the start resulted in Woody Heimann (No. 82 JTR Motorsports Engineering) on his roof. Thankfully the safety team was on the scene within seconds and Heimann was able to exit the vehicle and walk away.

When the race restarted, Daytona race winner Tyler Gonzalez (No. 51 Copeland Motorsports) led the field to the green flag, having passed polesitter Glenn McGee (No. 23 JTR Motorsports Engineering) at the initial race start.

This time, in Turn One, it was Friday’s race winner Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) getting together with McGee. McGee got the worst of it, spinning around and unable to get going until the full field was past. Thomas was issued a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility but went on to finish seventh.

Rollan was using all of this to his advantage and was up to third by lap six.

The field had eight more laps of green before the next full-course caution came out for rookies Dante Tornello (No. 27 Hixon Motor Sports) and Aidan Fassnacht (No. 15 McCumbee McAleer Racing) colliding in Turn 10. Both cars were unable to continue.

During those eight green laps, defending champion Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) took over the lead from Gonzales.

On the second restart, Rollan was able to grab the lead after Gonzalez went straight into the Turn 10 runoff with a mechanical problem.

The race remained green to the finish and Rollan held the lead the whole way.

“Those were some crazy opening laps and really busy for the starts and restarts,” Rollan said. “But there isn’t much give and take—you have to take whatever you can get here. Tyler [Gonzalez] was strong but I think had an issue. I’m so happy to win the race here at St. Pete again. It’s been a little while since the last win so it feels great. I’m also ecstatic that Connor [Zilisch] was in second. He was making me a little nervous at the end, but I think he had the drive of the race, 20th to 2nd, and I’m really happy for him. Really a great day for Hixon Motor Sports and the Austin Hatcher Foundation car, it looked awesome and it’s great to have this result for the points.”

Zilisch began to catch Rollan toward the end and tried to draft past his teammate down the front straight but came up 0.061-second short. Remarkably, Zilisch started the race from 20th and his drive to second earned him the Hard Charger Award in addition to his first Mazda MX-5 Cup podium.

“I could not have done it without the Hixon team,” Zilisch said. “The car was just awesome and I could put it where I needed to put it. It’s been a rocky start for the team this year so I’m proud to be part of this 1-2 finish and to be on the podium with my teammate Selin. It was an awesome race. I just needed a 48-minute race rather than a 45-minute one! But I’m happy to take second and move on to Mid-Ohio and hopefully get on the top step there.”

The 2021 MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year, Sam Paley (No. 28 McCumbee McAleer Racing), did well to finish third considering he spent his race in some of the toughest fights of the day.

“The car was really good,” Paley said. “I had some contact early on and got unlucky on some of the restarts. The race was pretty crazy in the beginning and I got caught out a couple of times. At the end, I had good pace but with the damage to the car it wasn’t enough to catch Conner. I was a little lucky with some of the guys ahead of me getting penalties, but I’m happy with the podium, especially with everything that went on in the race.”

Chris Nunes (No. 32 Formidable Racing) narrowly beat Paley to the line but had to settle for fourth. Justin Piscitell (No. 89 McCumbee McAleer Racing) completed the top five.

MX-5 Cup has a bit of a break before it resumes for Rounds Five and Six at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, May 13 – 15. All races are streamed live and archived on the RACER magazine YouTube channel.

About: The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup champion is awarded $250,000 as the top rookie nets $80,000.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

The NASCAR Foundation and Kaulig Racing Kick Off Partnership for Speediatrics Fun Day Festival Program

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Official Release

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February 26, 2022

Program Aimed at Inspiring Children to Live Healthy Lifestyles Expands to Nine Markets in 2022

Daytona Beach, FL (February 26, 2022) – The NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival powered by Kaulig Racing kicked off the season on Friday, February 25 at Auto Club Speedway. This season, the partnership between the Foundation and Matt Kaulig’s multi-car NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series organization expands to nine race markets, bringing healthy living programming to children across the country.

The NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival powered by Kaulig Racing will bring the sport of NASCAR to life for kids ages 7 – 12 through a specialized curriculum and a NASCAR-themed at-track festival before NASCAR race weekends at Auto Club Speedway, Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“The Speediatrics Fun Day Festival has continued to grow over the last six years into a meaningful program that introduces kids to the sport of NASCAR while inspiring them to live a healthy lifestyle,” said Mike Helton, NASCAR Foundation Chairman. “Thanks to Matt Kaulig and Kaulig Racing, we’re able to elevate our efforts with this program to a level that will provide even more momentum for future growth.”

As part of the partnership, and to enhance the curriculum provided to the Foundation’s community partners, Kaulig Media has produced six new videos featuring Kaulig, members of his race team, including NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley, Motor Racing Network reporter Kim Coon and Executive Director of The NASCAR Foundation Nichole Krieger. The videos complement an activity book provided to participants and introduces them to healthy living concepts through the sport of NASCAR. The week-long program leads up to the main event the Speediatrics Fun Day Festival happening on track property.

“We are proud to team up with The NASCAR Foundation again and help provide an influential program for kids who are impacted by the Foundation’s Speediatrics Children’s Fund,” said Matt Kaulig, team owner of Kaulig Racing and founder of Kaulig Giving. “Our partnership with The NASCAR Foundation is a natural fit for us as both of our organizations look to improve lives beyond the track. We look forward to continuing to impact local communities by helping children live a healthier lifestyle and provide them with new opportunities.”

The partnership between The NASCAR Foundation and Kaulig Racing is facilitated by Kaulig Giving, the philanthropic arm of Kaulig Companies. As Kaulig’s community impact organization, Kaulig Giving supports the well-being of children and families and develops partnerships with like-minded nonprofits especially in Northeast Ohio.

The NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival powered Kaulig Racing is a program of the Foundation’s Speediatrics Children’s Fund, which supports needs expressed by hospitals, specialty clinics, camps and other organizations providing children’s medical and healthcare services.

Since 2017, The NASCAR Foundation has encouraged nearly 3,500 children to live a healthy lifestyle through the Speediatrics Fun Day Festival program. In addition, the Foundation also provides a charitable donation to the community partner in each market to help support ongoing healthy living programs long after the festival is over.

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About The NASCAR Foundation

The NASCAR Foundation is a leading charity that works to improve the lives of children who need it most in NASCAR racing communities through the Speediatrics Children’s Fund and the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Since 2006, The NASCAR Foundation has contributed more than $41 Million to impact the lives of more than 1.5 million children across the country.

About Kaulig Giving

Since 2018, Kaulig Giving has partnered with more than 150 non-profit organizations in Northeast Ohio and beyond to create a lasting impact for children and families. As an integral part of the Kaulig Companies Charitable Giving Programs, Kaulig Giving continues to help support the well-being of children and families through direct giving, community involvement, and partnerships with like-minded organizations. To learn more about Kaulig Giving and its current partners and projects, visit kauliggiving.com.

About Kaulig Racing™

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and made the Championship 4 round in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They will continue fielding three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger. With multiple wins, Kaulig Racing has come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. The team made multiple starts in the NCS in 2021 and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young team has acquired two charters for the 2022 NCS season, with Justin Haley competing as its first, full-time driver in the series. The team’s second entry will be shared by part-time teammates AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

CHEVY NCS AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: Kyle Larson Press Conference Transcript

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Official Release

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February 26, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
WISE POWER 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 26, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Auto Club Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

WHAT ARE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS OF THE NEXT GEN CAR? WE’VE HAD IT ON THE SHORTEST TRACK AND THE LONGEST TRACK; OBVIOUSLY TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. HERE, WE’RE KIND OF GOING INTO THE MORE NATURAL FLOW OF THINGS WITH THE PACKAGE THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE RUNNING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. DO YOU HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS; OR IS WHEN THE GREEN FLAG WAVES, IT’S PUTTING ON THE LEARNERS HAT AND LEARNING AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AS QUICK AS YOU CAN?
“I don’t know what to expect. I didn’t have much experience in the car this off season, so I was learning a lot when I got to the Clash and even Daytona. I thought it was a fairly similar feeling to the other cars. It has its little bit of differences, but those tracks are so unique that I don’t think we’re really getting an idea of what the differences are and what stands out until we get out on track today and really through this west coast swing. I think it’s a good test for what we’ll feel and what it’ll be like throughout the rest of the year. We’re at a 2-mile track this week, 1.5-mile next and a short track following that. So, once we get through the west coast swing, I think we’ll have a good idea of the differences and who’s learning quickly and who’s not.”

DAYTONA IS A WILD CARD FACTOR, BUT HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET BACK ON TRACK AND PUT UP GOOD FINISHES RIGHT AFTER?
“Yeah, definitely. We had a DNF, so we need to come here, have a good run and makeup on the points that we lost out on there. It’s definitely an important weekend to go out there, qualify good and race well tomorrow. I’m excited about it. I love this place. I’ve had some good runs here in the past, so we’ll try and get another one tomorrow.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE IF YOU’LL BE ABLE TO RUN THE HIGH LINE HERE?
“Yeah, I’m not sure. Watching a little bit of the Xfinity practice, it doesn’t look way different. Guys are still moving around; the pace falls off a lot. So, it doesn’t seem too different. I haven’t talked to anybody if the grip feels different or whatnot with the resin anyways. With the new car, I don’t know if we’ll be able to run the fence like we did before. I guarantee (Tyler) Reddick will probably be one of the first ones to try it, so we’ll all keep an eye on him. If he’s making speed up there, then yeah, we’ll try it. I just feel like with the aerodynamics of this car, it might be a little tougher to pack air against it and go really fast. But hopefully our car is good enough that we don’t have to rely on that.”

WE’RE HERE BACK IN CALIFORNIA, YOUR HOME STATE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE HERE IN FRONT OF A HOME STATE CROWD?
“Yeah, it’s great. I feel like we’re spending a lot of time out here in California to start the year, so that’s good. It’s just a fun place. It doesn’t matter to me I guess that it’s in California or not, I just love this race track and love coming here. I’m probably biased to it for sure, but I feel like the west coast fans are the best. This infield, to me, is the best in the sport. Just a lot of fun throughout there. Everybody riding their bicycles around with their wheels lit up; parties throughout different campsites and stuff. They enjoy it and it helps us all enjoy it too. And then you get to go out there and compete on a really fun, worn out racetrack.

“I love being out there. Southern California is a lot different, so it doesn’t feel like home to me like Northern California. But either way, you get to come out here, eat some good food and enjoy some great weather.”

THIS WEEK, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT YOU’RE PROMOTING AN EVENT AT BULLS GAP SPEEDWAY PRIOR TO BRISTOL. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS? HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO THE EMPIRE, IF YOU WILL?
“It kind of came together late. Just through my relationship with Flo Racing – initially the idea of it started because I want to someday, somehow, bring back something similar to the Prelude to the Dream. So, I got talking with Michael Rigsby about that. That kind of turned into – well there’s no race at Bristol leading up to the Cup race like they had last year where a lot of the Cup guys went and ran. So then, Bulls Gap kind of got thrown around and we ended up putting on that event. It should be a lot of fun.

“For me, I just hope people pay attention to it; a lot of fans come out and experience a new style of racing that maybe they’ve never seen in person. It’s only 45 minutes or so from Bristol and it’s the night before we’re on track there. So hopefully, we get a lot of fans there. But then, in the future, I would love to get an event going like Tony (Stewart) and Eldora (Speedway) had with the Prelude. There’s obviously a totally new generation of drivers out there. I never got to compete in the Prelude to the Dream. It ended right when I got to NASCAR, so I would love to do that and would love to bring it back someday. To me, this is kind of the beginning of that or moving towards that. Like I said, hopefully someday we can do it.”

YOU SAID YOU REALLY ENJOY THIS TRACK AND YOU’VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS HERE. WHILE THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS TRACK GETTING CONVERTED TO A HALF-MILE IS ALWAYS STILL THERE, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? IF IT WERE CONVERTED, WOULD YOU MISS THE WAY THE TRACK IS RIGHT NOW?
“Yeah, I mean I would miss it. I love this style of track and the way the surface is wore out. But as much as I love these intermediate-style tracks – and we saw it at the Clash – that short tracks are what makes this sport, to me, exciting. I’m for more short tracks. They don’t suit me very well, but I still think for the betterment of the sport, that we need more of them. I would like to see it. I know that it’s a big undertaking and I’m sure budgets and stuff have changed since COVID. So, that may be why it hasn’t happened to this point yet. But yeah, I think it would get a lot of people even more excited about this event.”

WITH THE REINTRODUCTION TO QUALIFYING AND A VERY CONDENSED VERSION OF PRACTICE, LAST YEAR IT WAS A SOLID YEAR FOR YOU. YOU WERE STARTING UPFRONT BECAUSE YOU WERE FINISHING GREAT. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE ALL OF THIS COMING BACK THIS YEAR?
“Yeah, I think it’ll be interesting. There’s really no time to work on your car. Especially here in the early portions of the season, with me, I don’t know what to expect when I got into turn one at any of these racetracks until we get a few races in and all that. I don’t know – it’s a cool opportunity to get some track time and kind of shake the order of the starting lineup up a little bit. Last year, we started upfront a lot because we were upfront in points, were running fast laps and finished up front. Which was awesome and I think our car was fast enough that we probably could have qualified on the pole as often as we earned the pole with the criteria that they had.

“But yeah, at least we’ll get some sort of competitiveness to try and go out there and help our weekends out. Especially too, like for us, with last week at Daytona and having a bad race, we would have started in the 30’s here. So, now we have an opportunity to go out there and start on the pole, which is great. Not a lot of track time to learn and really get an idea, but it should be fun.”

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF THESE 15-MINUTES OF PRACTICE?
“Just get comfortable with the car, really. Like I said, I don’t think there’s enough time to adjust on your car at all. And two, with the surface and how quickly it wears your tires out, I think making two or three-lap runs and coming in and trying to make an adjustment – unless your car is way off – will only hurt you. We’ll try and go out there; run as long as I can and just get familiar with things. Just get comfortable. We haven’t been here in a couple of years. I haven’t run this car on a track like this, so just try and get comfortable and confidence before qualifying.”

DENNY HAMLIN’S CREW CHIEF SAID THIS TRACK IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST TRACK FOR ROOKIES OR FOR YOUNG DRIVERS. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT AND DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE THE VETERANS EXCELING HERE BECAUSE IT’S JUST SUCH A TOUGH TRACK FOR THE YOUNG, TALENTED DRIVERS?
“It’s definitely a tough track, but I think everybody is really talented. And for like Chase Briscoe, for instance, I feel like he does really well on tracks like this. This place kind of reminds me of a dirt track, just because of the seams, patches and little marks that you have to try and hit to get grip.

“Yeah, I mean I think there’s that part where the veterans know those areas that allow their car to go a little bit faster. I think veterans will have the edge for a little while; but like I said, everybody’s talented, so they’ll figure it out. If your car is good, your car is good and you’ll go fast.”

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

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

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