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Newgarden Keeps Title Hopes Alive with Dramatic NTT P1 Award at Long Beach

Photo by Chris Owens. IMS Photo

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021) – One down, two to go: The miracle is still alive for Josef Newgarden.

Newgarden, who needs a perfect weekend in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to have any chance of winning his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, kept his narrow chances afloat in the shadow of the Queen Mary ocean liner by winning the NTT P1 Award for the season-ending race on the Streets of Long Beach. Newgarden entered this race 48 points behind leader Alex Palou and needed to win the pole today and win the race and lead the most laps Sunday to have any chance to hoist the Astor Challenge Cup.

Team Penske driver Newgarden led the Firestone Fast Six with a top lap of 1 minute, 8.2241 in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet to earn his series-leading fourth NTT P1 Award of the season. His best lap came on his final trip around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile street circuit.

The pole came after Newgarden qualified 18th on Sept. 14 at Portland and 17th last Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca despite showing impressive speed in practice.

“I was pretty much screaming that whole last lap,” Newgarden said. “I’m so happy. It’s been a little bit demoralizing the last couple of weekends with where we qualified. We’ve had really good cars. To start where we’ve started these last couple of races, it’s just taken the life out of me a little bit.

“I’m so pumped we were able to be quick here. I think we’ve got the package, for sure, with Team Chevy. We’ve accomplished our job for today. Now we have to go after tomorrow.”

Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute warmup starts at noon (ET), live on Peacock Premium.

Palou must finish 12th or better – or 13th or better if he leads a lap – to clinch his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He’ll start 10th on the grid after a dramatic end to the round of 12 in qualifying in which a handful of drivers, including Palou and closest title rival Pato O’Ward, on fast final laps were forced to slow due to a local yellow flag for an incident involving Will Power.

Newgarden’s only chance to win the title is to win and lead the most laps Sunday, with Palou finishing 25th or worse in the 28-car field.

“It’s very improbable for us to win this championship,” Newgarden said. “So, our goal is to win the race tomorrow. Let’s finish our season on a high note, and we’ll see what happens. I think it’s pretty unlikely, but you never say never in this sport.”

The other title contender, O’Ward, will start eighth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

O’Ward is second in the standings, 35 points behind Palou. Like Newgarden, O’Ward needs to win Sunday and have Palou finish 25th or lower. He also could claim his first title by finishing second and earning at least one bonus point for leading a lap, if Palou finishes 25th or lower.

Six-time and reigning series champion Scott Dixon will join Newgarden on the front row after qualifying second at 1:08.4422 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Helio Castroneves qualified third at 1:08.4827 in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, easily the best start of his partial season. Castroneves’ previous best start was eighth for the Indy 500, which he won. His best start in four previous road or street course races this season was 15th at Nashville.

Joining Castroneves on the second row will be 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud, whose best lap was 1:08,6514 in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.

Felix Rosenqvist qualified fifth at 1:08.7461 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, while rookie Romain Grosjean rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:08.7577 in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda.

Drama gripped the paddock and grandstands from the first round of NTT P1 Award qualifying and never relented.

Colton Herta, quickest in both practice sessions this weekend, was eliminated from the first round of qualifying and will start 14th. Herta hit the concrete retaining wall with the left side of his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda late in the second group while running on Firestone primary “black” tires. He came to the pits for a set of Firestone alternate “red” tires, but the toe link suspension piece bent by the earlier contact broke on his final flying lap on “reds,” and he was forced to abandon the run.

“It was a handful until it wasn’t bent anymore and just broke,” Herta said. “It was my fault, unfortunately. It will make for an interesting race, though. We’re starting 14th and have two sets of new reds. Could be a good thing, a charge to the front tomorrow.”

Another flashpoint came at the end of the Firestone Fast 12, when Power slowed to a stop in Turn 10 after clipping the wall in his No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, triggering a local yellow flag. O’Ward, Palou and a handful of other drivers on fast laps were forced by the rules to slow in that area, and Ed Jones lost his fast lap in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda that would have put him in the Firestone Fast Six after officials judged he didn’t slow for the local yellow.

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES – STREETS OF LONG BEACH-LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX-JOSEF NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVY ON POLE AT LONG BEACH

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
QUALIFYING RECAP-NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVY ON POLE
SEPT. 25, 2021

JOSEF NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVY ON POLE AT LONG BEACH
O’WARD AND NEWGARDEN TO BATTLE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ON SUNDAY

LONG BEACH, CALIF (Sept 25,2021) – Two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden came into the season’s final weekend knowing exactly what he had to do to keep his championship hopes alive sitting third in the standings 45 points down to the leader.

So far the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet is one-for-one. He progressed to the Firestone Fast Six and turned that into the pole with a lap of 1 minute 08.22411 seconds/103.846 mph.

For the fourth time this season and 15th time in his career, he will lead the field to the green flag and add another NTT P1 Award to his trophy case. With today’s pole, Newgarden stays in contention for the season-long NTT P1 Award.

Team Chevy drivers Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, and Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet joined Newgarden in the final round of knock-out qualifying. They will start Sunday’s race fourth and fifth respectively.

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, who came to Long Beach second in points, 35 points behind leader Alex Palou will start eighth tomorrow. Palou will roll off 10th.

Rookie-of-the-year contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 13th for the season finale.

Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Romain Grojean made up the remainder of the Firestone Fast Six, and will start second, third and sixth respectively.

NBCSN will telecast the 85-lap/167-mile race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26. The race will be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER STARTING POSITIONS:
No. 2 Josef Newgarden, Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified POLE
No. 22 Simon Pagenaud, Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 4th
No. 7 Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Qualified 5th
No. 5 Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, Qualified 8th
No.12 Will Power, Verizon5G Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 12th
No. 3 Scott McLaughlin, PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 13th
No. 77 Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 18th
No. 20 Conor Daly, U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 21st
No. 14 Sebastien Bourdais, ROKIT AJ Foyt Chevrolet, Qualified 22nd
No. 59 Max Chilton, Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, Qualified 23rd
No. 21 Rinus VeeKay, Sonax/AutoGeek Ed Carpenter Chevrolet, Qualified 24th
No. 4 Dalton Kellett, K-Line AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 26th

DRIVER QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER
YOU ARE FIRED-UP! THAT IS GREAT TO SEE. YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO
“There’s some guy roaming around Long Beach that has just been yelling all weekend and getting us fired-up (laughter), and I was pretty much screaming that whole last lap. He’s at the track somewhere. He’s just getting me hyped. He was getting all of us hyped. He needs to be in this pit box.

“I’m so happy. It’s been a little bit demoralizing the last couple of weekends where we’ve qualified. We’ve had really good cars. The team has been doing a phenomenal job, Gavin (Ward, Race Engineer) and all the boys. They’ve been killing it. To start where we’ve started these last couple of races has just taken the life out of me a little bit. So, I’m so pumped that we were able to be quick here. I think we’ve got the package, for sure, with Team Chevy. I wish we had more of a fight with Colton (Herta). He was going to be really tough to beat today. It’s a shame we didn’t get to fight him straight up, but you know what? We accomplished our job for today and now we have to go after it tomorrow.”

YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP. IT HAS TO GO REALLY BAD FOR ALEX PALOU. HOW DO YOU APPROACH TOMORROW? IT SEEMS PRETTY SIMPLE SINCE YOU CAN’T CONTROL THEM
“Yeah, I mean look, we’ve fought hard all year. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s very unprobeable for us to win this championship. So, I think our goal is to win the race tomorrow. Let’s finish our season on a high note. Everyone here deserves that. We’ll see what happens. I think it’s pretty unlikely, but you never say never in this sport.”

DOES SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATTER? IS THERE SIGNIFICANCE IN THAT IF YOU CAN GET PAST PATO O’WARD?
“Well, we always want to maximize our potential. If second is what we can do for the year, then we want to get that done. I know that’s what’s important to Roger (Penske) and the team and the same with me. So, we’re going to do everything we can to finish as high as possible and we’ll see where the chips fall at the end of the day.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP – QUALIFIED 5th
WALK US THROUGH ALL THE CONFUSION TO MAKE IT TO THE FAST 12, WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL AND EVERYONE SAYING YOU DIDN’T SLOW DOWN, YOU SAID YOU DID SLOW DOWN. WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?
“Man, I don’t know how they judged that because I’m happy I got through and we were fast enough to get through. But man, the car was standing there, and they kept the yellow for two or three laps and its qualifying. You have to push. But I wasn’t pushing. I was slowing down like three-tenths in that section, which I thought was safe. So yeah, I think we just have to be more clear on how the rule works. But anyway, I thought it was a good session. We ended up P-5. Maybe wanted a little bit more out of the Fast Six, but it was good qualifying again.”

TALK ABOUT THE SPEED IN YOUR CAR, BUT ALSO HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR TEAMMATE TOMORROW? THAT’S GOING TO BE THE FOCUS FOR THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AT ARROW MCLAREN SP
“Yeah, we haven’t talked a lot about it yet but I think tonight we’ll go through potential scenarios. The fact that we’re up there is helpful. I think that’s a really good thing that both cars are starting in the top – 10. It just gives you more window to play around with things, with strategy, and potential outcomes that can happen in the race. It’s INDYCAR and you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We kind of have to get through Turn 1 and then we’ll see where we are. I’ll just push and do my best race.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE – QUALIFIED 4th
YOU SAID IF YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT MORE OUT OF THE HAIRPIN, YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON THE POLE
“Yeah, I was on the lap and went hard in the hairpin and it was a little too much for the car. I may have lost second position there, but I tried. The goal was to go for pole position but Josef (Newgarden) sticked a really good one in. Great for Team Penske to be one and four. And tomorrow, we get to go racing. It’s my favorite track, so I’ve been enjoying the weekend.”

YOU’VE BEEN IN THESE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES. PATO O’WARD STARTING 8th AND ALEX PALOU STARTING 10th. HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THE GAME IF YOU WERE THOSE GUYS? AND ARE THEY NERVOUS TONIGHT STARTING MID-PACK LIKE THAT?
“Well, first of all, personally, and I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of drivers. But it’s awesome to be in the fight in the end. You’re doing this to be in the fight in the last race and Pato and Palou are in it. Man, Pato is in a tough situation. He’s starting mid-pack you know, and it’s been a mess, mid-pack, lately. So, I’m sure it won’t be easy, but he’s got cold blood. He’s really good. And Indy after the crash, he came back and finished second, so he’s strong. He’s going to be able to manage the pressure, I’m sure. But it is not an easy situation he’s in but first you’ve got go through all the mess.”

TAYLOR KEIL, PRESIDENT ARROW MCLAREN SP AND STRATEGIST FOR PATO O’WARD:
ON CONFUSION AT THE END OF FAST 12 SESSION:
“I think we should (be in the Firestone Fast Six). We’ve actually got some data on our own team – I’m surprised Felix is through – frankly, good for him. Two cars we know went through the local yellow, but the results are official, so we have to make the best with what we’ve got. It’s unfortunate when the stakes are so high at the moment.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 8th
I KNOW YOU CAN’T SEE WHAT THE OTHER CARS ARE DOING, BUT WHAT’S YOUR REACTION AND WHAT THE SITUATION IS WITH THIS RACE NOW IN NOT GETTING A CHANCE TO START IN THE FRONT COUPLE OF ROWS?
“Yeah, we should be in there. We were up on our last lap and I had eyes and I saw yellow flags and there were yellow flags until the end of the session. (Alex) Palou had to slow in front of me. I slowed up because that’s what you have to do whenever there are yellow flags. INDYCAR is never consistent with their calls. They need to review that because we should be in the Fast Six right now.”

THE CONSOLATION IS THAT ALEX PALOU IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU. WHAT CAN YOU MAKE HAPPEN TOMORROW? WHAT KIND OF STRATEGY OPTIONS DO YOU HAVE TO TRY TO WIN THE RACE AND MAYBE PUT HIM IN A BAD SITUATION?
“He’s not the only one we’re worrying about. There’s Josef (Newgarden), there’s Scott (Dixon) that are in there and we should be fighting against at least for pole. I don’t know if we quite had it for the pole, but we definitely had it to get into the Fast Six. It’s a crappy situation. A bummer. But we’ll see what we can do.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES POST QUALIFYING NEWS CONFERENCE
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up qualifying at Long Beach. Joined by Josef Newgarden, the fourth pole of the season, 15th career pole for Josef today. Also joined on the far end by Pato O’Ward, second in the championship. He will start eighth tomorrow.
Pato, championship still very much in play. The good news is you start in front of Alex tomorrow. How big of an advantage is that on a street course like Long Beach?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, our car has been good. I mean, we didn’t roll off the best, but I think we made some really good changes, just kept improving. We had enough for the Fast 6. Yeah, we should have been in the Fast 6, so…
Kind of sucks to get hosed by a very odd call. I’m still seeking for answers. But, yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden, congratulations on the pole position. Tell us about your qualifying session today.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I wish we didn’t lose that the last couple weekends. That would have been nice to have that mojo. It’s really what’s done our fate in for this weekend, is just not qualifying well. It’s nice to have that back.
We’ve had a fast car this weekend. Actually like we started a little bit slower. It’s been kind of the opposite the last two weekends where we started really quick, then for whatever reason we just fade and don’t get it right on the day when it counts.
Really proud of the team. Felt like our car was good from the start. Just needed the track grip to come up. The more grip we had, the better I felt our car was. Yeah, pretty happy for our whole team, especially Gavin, all the boys on the car, Hitachi, Team Chevy.
Got one goal accomplished for the weekend. Hopefully we can finish things off tomorrow and have a clean day. Staying alive, man, for now.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Josef, you got out of the car excited, a couple of expletives doing the photography stuff. How excited are you to cut the gap, even if it is just a bonus point?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You should hear Dixon, he’s way worse. They call him The Iceman, this guy. Dropping fire (laughter).
Yeah, I was pumped. We’ve had a guy roaming around here all weekend that’s just been yelling, like in excitement.
PATO O’WARD: White shirt? Redhead, beard?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Dude, he has jacked me up. I just heard him the entire qualifying session. I tried to embody him as I got out of the car. I think I successfully did that. I apologize if anyone heard any of that. But I was pretty excited.
It’s been a hard couple of weeks, like it said. The last couple qualifyings have been demoralizing. To bounce back and show our form is very gratifying. Very pleased for our team and that’s what we saw.
Q. What did he yell?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: What does he yell, Pato?
PATO O’WARD: No, I’m going to get in trouble (laughter).
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s so loud. You can’t miss this person. He’s great. I wanted him in our pit box. I meant to tell him that. I forgot to tell him before qualifying.
He’s awesome, though. Don’t get rid of him.
Q. Is he an INDYCAR fan?
PATO O’WARD: Some guy just goes around screaming.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s knowledgeable. The guy is a fan. He’s not just some crazy person that lives around here. He’s a real fan.
PATO O’WARD: I think he’s had a tattoo of Will Power on his forearm.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: 07 Will Power race car on his forearm, massive. He loves it. Will took a video of him earlier in the week. You have to find this guy.
Q. Have you seen him previously at Long Beach?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t remember him. I’ll remember it now.
Q. This race being in September for the first time, two days to absorb it, how does it feel? Different from the April race?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, not to me. It’s great to be back. I don’t know, now that you’re here in the space, it feels like normal Long Beach in a lot of ways. Definitely missed this track, missed the crowd, missed the energy. Feels like it hasn’t really dipped, to be quite honest, coming back two years later, which is really great to see.
Excited to be here. Excited that hopefully we’ll be back in April, no problems as well next year. It’s just a classic. You can’t not go to Long Beach on the year. It’s something you’d miss if we weren’t here. It’s nice to be here.
Q. Would it make sense for INDYCAR to look at street races to finish things out?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I would agree. Also just being in L.A., it’s a great market to end the year. I think that adds an element to it that should probably be talked about.
There’s a lot that goes into it, right? There’s so many other logistics, other variables to consider. Yeah, if you’re looking at it from a pure excitement standpoint, to Scott’s point, it’s interesting. It adds an element of chaos sometimes which can be very exhilarating.
It can probably be worrisome if you’re leading the points, like if you’re an Alex in this situation it’s tough. If you’re a Pato in this situation, it’s encouraging because something maybe can happen, right, that you can’t plan for. I like it from that standpoint.
I would also agree, an oval is fun, too. Iowa would be super crazy, but probably not the right place to end the year.
Q. (No microphone.)
PATO O’WARD: I love Iowa. I’m so excited we’re going back.
Q. Pato, obviously you were able to see Felix’s data. What is the explanation you’ve had for the reason why the other cars weren’t penalized and Ed was the only one?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I mean, really, really happy for Felix, that he went into the Fast 6. I mean, we’re in the same team and we have literal data that shows that at least two of the cars that didn’t get penalized kept going quickly in the yellow flag. I don’t know. Maybe rules don’t apply the last race of the season when everything’s at stake.
It just sucks. Sucks that we’re stuck there because we should have transferred. We had the car to fight it. I don’t know if for pole, but we definitely had a car to be in the Fast 6 and start within the first two rows.
Q. You’ve not been given an explanation?
PATO O’WARD: I’m still waiting on the explanation, just like you and everybody else. But doubt I’ll get an explanation.
Q. Pato, we’ve seen a few people have trouble getting into the walls, trouble staying on track. You brushed against the wall once. How do you balance risk versus reward on a tough track like this?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I don’t know. I think you can’t get too greedy because it will bite. It will for sure bite you. I think as we saw today, not sure where Colton was, but for me he was the guy to beat for sure for pole. Yeah, like I said, when you get too greedy in places like this, they will bite. You just have to kind of find the fine line without damaging your car too bad, I guess.
Q. You didn’t get any damage?
PATO O’WARD: No, yeah, I gave an exit of turn four a little smooch. I just bent the tow link, then they fix.
Q. Is pole more important here than at some other tracks? Does that help you stay out of trouble?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, it never hurts, right? I think they’re important at all tracks just from that standpoint. It puts you in the best position to kind of control the start in the race, stay out of any mishaps.
But INDYCAR these days is unpredictable. You can start up front and it can flip pretty quickly. We haven’t seen as much of that this year. Looking at the statistics, probably starting up front is good.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I just jinxed it. It will flip now (laughter).
I hope it doesn’t. So far this year starting up front has been what looks like pretty important. Yeah, hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow.
Q. Josef, you said it’s been a tough couple of quallies. Does your race engineer Gavin give you any words of inspiration from qualifying or the start of the Fast 6?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We have these fun things that we do. He’s got a pre-event report that he always does, and I love to read it. He puts inspirational quotes at the top page. In this case he just put three pole winning photos. I was laughing with him on Friday. I was like, Well, at least we know how to do it, right? Literally it feels like we forgot how to do our job the last couple weeks.
Yeah, that’s the inspiration he gave me, was let’s just go do what we normally do. Somehow it worked out. Pretty pumped on that.
Q. When the Fast 6 got started, did you know Pato and Alex were out? How did that play into your mindset?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I saw where they were. I was kind of hoping they’d be a little further back. They got well within the top 10 there. It’s good, but they weren’t in the Fast 6, which is positive for our outlook. But we still had a job to do so I was just kind of focused on what we were going to do in the Fast 6.
Q. Pato, you said last weekend in Laguna after the race that you were in the championship hunt but you never felt like you had the car to beat the whole weekend. Do you feel like you have a really good car this weekend? Seeing how you were angry about not being in the Fast 6, seems like you have a pretty good shot at it.
PATO O’WARD: We definitely have a better car than what we’ve had, at least last weekend. Yeah, happy about that. I think the guys have done a great job in being efficient with changes, just working together to make everything just go a little bit better.
But, yeah, I mean, it’s hard to say. There’s a lot of really quick cars out there. We’ve got champions in the front, people that know how to win races, people that know how to win championships.
Yeah, it won’t be easy. But we’re definitely going to send it tomorrow.
Q. Seeing how St. Pete went last year, do you feel we can have the same thing tomorrow in Long Beach? Does it give you a good feeling?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s impossible to predict honestly. You try and predict these races and it does the opposite, to Scott’s point a second ago, saying I might have jinxed it. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I really don’t.
Alex has been extremely strong. I think if he sticks to his program, he should be in good shape. He’s been very resilient this year and done a tremendous job. Really the same with Pato. I don’t see him make a lot of mistakes, he’s always a charger.
If they have a normal day, I don’t expect too much craziness to happen. But like I said, it’s unpredictable. You just don’t know in these events. We’ll see what we get tomorrow.
Q. You’ve always expressed a great deal of confidence with the Arrow McLaren SP team since you first joined them. Did you know all along this season that you would end up in the top three for the championship?
PATO O’WARD: For sure that was the goal. Last year we finished fourth, so the goal just starting off on the season was definitely to not be fourth, to be at least third, then maybe a bit better.
Yeah, I mean, we can still finish there. We’re sitting second right now. At least from where I’m at, it’s really tight. We need to have a good race tomorrow to try to secure second. We just need to monitor where Alex is and see if we should really risk it to go for a win or not if we have a chance, or just try and save second, which is where we are.
Q. Josef , there’s three Chevys and three Hondas in the top six. Talk about how important it is at this race to get that win. Have you noticed, is there a difference in drivability off the corner at top speed or something you’ve seen where you have a bit of an advantage?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We all want to have a good end to our championship regardless. As a team, as a manufacturer, as a competitor, you want to end the year on a high note. We’re all pushing for a good result tomorrow.
There’s definitely differences I think between the two brands. I think for us, very pleased with our reliability, our fuel mileage, certainly our power that we’re able to create.
I think there’s definitely differences between the two, the way the cars get off the corner, you can see visual differences between the two manufacturers. I’m happy to be a Chevy guy. I think they’ve backed every one of my wins in INDYCAR, have been still doing a stellar job for us this year.
Q. For the Firestone reds, what do you think is going to be the dropoff?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’ll do what he does. See what happens.
Q. Josef, you have a big mountain to climb to winning the championship. Is it liberating to know the only way you can get this thing if you get all the points, bonus points, win the race, not worry about anything anybody else does?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I feel like I’m nearly dead. Just put me out of my misery at this point.
But we’re, like, clinging to life. It’s a little bit, I don’t know, a hard place to be. We were in a similar situation last year. I just wish we were in a closer striking distance to Scott. We’re even worse than that this season. We’re just in it.
Not much more to think about than trying to just go win the race. We did that last year at St. Pete. We approached it with let’s focus on ourselves, try to win the race, see what happens. We’ll do the same tomorrow and see where everything lands at the end of the day.
Q. Josef, can you go into a little bit of detail about what went wrong in the last three qualifyings. Was it the same thing each time?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No. Laguna was probably the most confusing. I felt like we had the car to beat going into Laguna. It just unraveled oddly on Saturday morning when we put red tires on. Not a hundred percent sure what took place there.
I think Portland we just got behind. It was sort of self-inflicting. We made, yeah — just didn’t keep up with the track, didn’t put it together. That happens at Portland. It’s so tight there, if you do that, you can get bounced out pretty quickly. That was more easy to understand, but no less difficult to realize.
I think it was probably a combination of things at the GP weekend. But you just can’t have that. When you have 28 cars in the championship now, I mean, you can’t start back in 17th, 18th. It’s going to kill your day, especially when there’s nothing that happens in the race to help you. You’re really banking on at least some help somewhere to vault you to the top three.
We can fight to fifth or seventh, that’s what we did, but to do much more than that you have to have an extraordinary day. Those are just really hard to come by nowadays with the parity in the series.
Yeah, I don’t know. The last two weekends were really, really odd. I’m so pleased to go into this off-season with something more normal and just feeling a little bit better about going into ’22.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 2012
2021 ­– 6 wins, 7 poles in 15 races
Wins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio); Will Power (St. Louis).
2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 races
Wins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)
2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 races
Driver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)
2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 races
Indianapolis 500 win (Will Power)
2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)
2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)
2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);
Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 2012
2014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)
2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)
2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)
Total – 95 wins, 106 earned poles in 164 races

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.

Daniel Hemric to Drive for Kaulig Racing in 2022

Hemric to Pilot the No. 11 Chevrolet for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship

LEXINGTON, N.C. (September 25, 2021) – Kaulig Racing announced today the addition of Daniel Hemric to its 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) lineup.

Hemric, who has made 113 starts in the NXS and earned 39 top five and 66 top-10 finishes, has signed on to pilot the team’s flagship No. 11 Chevrolet full-time to compete for the 2022 NXS championship.

“The belief that Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice have in me to come drive their notable, No. 11 car means the world to me,” said Hemric. “Equally, I believe in their program, their vision, and what they’re building at Kaulig Racing. It’s impressive to see how they’ve become an elite, multi-car Xfinity Series program in such a short period of time. I’m just incredibly thankful for the opportunity to drive for them next year, and I’m ready to put in the work to continue building on the team’s success.”

Hemric, also in contention for the 2021 NXS championship, made the Championship 4 round of the NXS playoffs in both 2017 and 2018 with Richard Childress Racing (RCR).

Beginning in 2016, Kaulig Racing entered its first, full-time NXS season with the No. 11 Chevy. 2021 marked the first season Kaulig Racing has fielded three, full-time entries in the NXS. All three Kaulig Racing drivers are set to race for the 2021 NXS championship, beginning with the first playoff race on September 25.

“We’re excited to welcome Daniel to our Kaulig Racing family,” said Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing. “Daniel is a strong competitor, and we think he will make a great addition to our Xfinity Series program. Statistically, Daniel ranks right among the Kaulig Racing cars each week on the racetrack, so it’s fitting that we bring in someone who will only continue to make us better.”

Cementing itself as a powerhouse team in the NXS, Kaulig Racing earned the 2021 NXS regular-season championship with AJ Allmendinger, as well as the title of second-fastest team to win a race in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), with Allmendinger winning the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the infamous Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this year.

“Kaulig Racing has come a long way in just a few short years, and that’s something I’m truly proud of,” said Matt Kaulig, Kaulig Racing team owner. “This year, we stepped it up by having three, full-time entries in the Xfinity Series and competing in the Cup Series part-time. We blew all expectations out of the water when we won our first Cup race with AJ Allmendinger, won the regular-season championship in the Xfinity Series, and got all three of our full-time drivers into the playoffs. We think Daniel is a great pick to help us elevate our program.”

Kaulig Racing will continue its momentous season beginning this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first round of the NXS playoffs. Partnership announcements for Hemric and the No. 11 Chevrolet will come at a later date.

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car 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 for the first time in 2020. Kaulig Racing fields three, full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Jeb Burton, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, 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 has made multiple starts in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) in 2021, including the Daytona 500 with Kaz Grala. In the team’s seventh-ever NCS start, AJ Allmendinger won at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.The team has acquired two charters for the 2022 season, with plans to begin full-time competition in the NCS. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

MAXIMUM EFFORT FROM WMI DRIVERS AT DELAWARE

JR Fitzpatrick in the #64 Leland Industries / RGC Sports / NTN Chevrolet. Credit: Matthew Manor

(September 24, 2021) Wight Motorsports Inc (WMI) had a last-minute driver change and other challenges to deal with during round eight of the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario on Friday evening. Due to an injury Mark Dilley was unable to participate so JR Fitzpatrick took over the #64 car. Fitzpatrick joined Brandon Watson, Donald Theetge and TJ Rinomato for the 125-lap race.

Fitzpatrick and Watson were fifth and sixth quickest respectively during the afternoon practice session and after qualifying lined up fourth and seventh for the race. Theetge would start 13th and Rinomato 20th.

Some tough racing luck would hamper both Fitzpatrick and Watson during the race. A flat right rear tire took a sure top-ten finish away from Watson and JR battled handling issues late in the race that necessitated pit stops for adjustments.

In the early going Donald Theetge got turned around and lost positions but battled back as the race went on. TJ Rinomato continues to make progress and picked up two spots during the race.

Quotes from David Wight, WMI Principal
“We definitely showed that we’ve got some fast and competitive racecars”. Great showing by JR to jump in at the last minute for Mark. Brandon was having another very solid day until that tire issue set him back”.

“Tough luck for Donald too with that early incident, he did well to climb back as far as he did. Another steady run for TJ as well”

“We’ll be busy at the shop on Saturday, prepping the cars for the two races on Sunday. It’s been great working with Brandon and we’re also looking forward to seeing what Glenn Styres will be able to accomplish when he takes over the #19 on Sunday”.

WEEKEND PERFORMANCE

DRIVERSTARTEDFINISHED
#19 Brandon Watson716
#80 Donald Theetge1313
#64 JR Fitzpatrick49
#2 TJ Rinomato2018

Up next: The WMI team is back in action Sunday, September 26th at Delaware Speedway with two more races to close out the 2021 season with the Qwick Wick 125 and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl.

Live Stream
Watch the live stream on the TSN app, TSN.ca or through Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold in the US. The Qwick Wick 125 begins at 3:55PM and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl will go green at approximately 5:20PM

Television
You can watch the Canadian Tire 125 on TSN Saturday October 2nd, at 2:30PM, RDS2 TBD. The Qwick Wick 125 on TSN airs Sunday October 3rd at 12:30PM, RDS2 is TBD, and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl is on TSN Saturday October 9th at 1:30PM, RDS2 is TBD.

Race fans can get the latest information regarding WMI and the drivers on these social media channels:

Wight Motorsports Inc Twitter @Wightmotorsport Instagram @wightmotorsport

Donald Theetge: Twitter @DonaldTheetge

Brandon Watson: Instagram brandonwatson_9
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BrandonWatsonRacing/

Mark Dilley: Twitter @MarkDilley9 Instagram @markdilley

TJ Rinomato: Twitter TJ_Rinomato Instagram @tjrinomato

Glenn Styres: Twitter @GlennStyres Instagram @glennstyres
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/styres.racing/

GMS Racing NCWTS Las Vegas Motor Speedway II Recap

Sheldon Creed, No. 2 LiftKits4Less Chevrolet Silverado

START: 9th
FINISH: 36th
POINTS: 5th

  • Sheldon Creed began the Round of 8 with high hopes of securing maximum points after riding a wave of momentum throughout a dominant opening of the Round of 10 in which he scored two wins.
  • Creed started ninth due to a disappointing finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, but gained a spot early on to finish eighth in Stage 1. As the race progressed, the No. 2 LiftKits4Less Silverado drove into the Top 5, gaining valuable stage points to finish 5th in Stage 2.
  • Disaster struck on lap 71 of 134, when Creed was involved in a multi-truck crash off turn two, ending his night early with a huge hit that led to a fire. Thankfully, Sheldon walked away from the crash uninjured, but the end result was a dismal 36th place finish. Not the way that the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion hoped to open up the Round of 8.

#Back2Back: Sheldon Creed finds himself on the outside looking in as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway, currently scored in fifth place, five points below the cutline. The No. 2 crew will have to rally back in the next two races in order to advance to the season finale in Phoenix.

Quote: “Man, restarts were a lot of fun all night, I had a lot of fun on the restarts early but we got shuffled back when we didn’t pit there. I just wasn’t able to see the 18 truck through the wreck and destroyed both of our trucks. We didn’t have a great truck, but I thought we had a top 8 truck. Unfortunate, but it’ll make Talladega interesting and fun.”

Zane Smith, No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet Silverado

START: 4th
FINISH: 29th
POINTS: 7th

  • After narrowly advancing into the Round of 8 via a clutch late race rally at Bristol Motor Speedway, Zane Smith began the Round of 8 in fourth place above the cutline after the points reset. Smith would start the Victoria’s Voice 200 from the fourth position, eyeing a good points night in Sin City.
  • The No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet showed speed early on, contending for the lead and finishing sixth in Stage 1. Just as it appeared that Smith would turn his luck around and have a good finish, contact from another competitor early on in Stage 2 cut his left rear tire down, shredding debris down the back straightaway and ripping out battery terminal cables.
  • Smith’s crew feverishly went to work to repair the damage and replace the battery, but the No. 21 Silverado would lose many laps behind the wall, effectively knocking the team out of contention. Zane completed the race with a disappointing 29th place finish.

#21in21: Zane Smith now finds himself below the cutline ahead of the next race at Talladega Superspeedway, 19 points out. Driver No. 21 has to climb out of a sizable hole in order to compete in the Championship 4 round, but make no mistake, the team is ready to overcome adversity once again.

Quote: “Man, it would be nice if things could go our way in one of these races. My guys brought me a fast No. 21 Allegiant Silverado tonight, we fired off pretty loose but I thought that as the night went on that we were going to be in good shape. I did everything I could to hold onto it as my left rear tire got cut down, but we just lost too much time trying to fix it. Hopefully Talladega will be nicer to us next weekend.”

Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado

START: 19th
FINISH: 13th
POINTS: 19th

  • Chase Purdy made his third career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night, a track that hadn’t quite been to kind to the rookie in his previous starts, with a best finish of 23rd earlier this season in March.
  • Purdy started from the 19th position but had to overcome early adversity on a restart, finishing 22nd in Stage 1. The No. 23 driver gained some spots in Stage 2, where he finished 18th. As the race progressed, Purdy was able to avoid others’ misfortunes as he climbed the leaderboard.
  • The rookie continued to pass trucks late in the race and came home with a 13th place finish in Las Vegas, the top-finishing GMS Racing driver on the evening. The run was Purdy’s second-highest finish of the season.

Quote: “Really crazy night. We got put behind early with nose damage on an early restart, but somehow survived the wrecks and fought hard. I’m proud of my No. 23 guys’ efforts and for never giving up. It’s not the finish we wanted but we will take it with all things considered that happened to us tonight.”

Jack Wood, No. 24 Martin Auto Color Chevrolet Silverado

START: 20th
FINISH: 30th
POINTS: 30th

  • Jack Wood had high hopes of welcoming new sponsor Martin Auto Color to the sport with a bang, as the 21-year-old rookie made his first start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Qualifying 20th, Jack would stay consistent throughout Stage 1, where he crossed the line in 20th as he continued to adapt to the track. Pit strategy towards the latter part of Stage 2 had the No. 24 Silverado running as high as fifth as the laps wound down, and Wood finished 13th.
  • Wood continued to gain track position through the final laps of the race, dodging large crashes and passing other trucks on merit. Unfortunately, with just over twenty laps to go, Jack was involved in a crash with another competitor, cutting down his right front tire and sustaining heavy right side damage. The No. 24 team tried to fix the damage, but ultimately he had to park with a disappointing 30th place finish.

Quote: “Definitely not the way that I was looking to end my night here in Las Vegas. I felt that we were able to gain speed throughout the night, whether it was adjustments in the pits or myself as a driver. As we headed into the final stage, I thought that we were going to be in good shape, but unfortunately we got involved and weren’t able to finish. Onto Talladega next weekend.”

Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado

START: 16th
FINISH: 34th
POINTS: 15th

  • Tyler Ankrum raced his heart out at Darlington, starting deep in the field in 25th. As the No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet passed several trucks through the pack, it appeared as if Ankrum was going to have a good finish.
  • Early on, Ankrum found out pretty quickly why the track is labeled “Too Tough to Tame”, as he made contact with the wall in turn 3 and earned his first Darlington stripe. The damage was enough to hinder Ankrum’s Silverado in a significant way, as he was not able to recover. Stage 1 had the No. 26 positioned in 16th, but by Stage 2, he had dropped to 19th.
  • Officially, Ankrum was scored with an 18th place finish. Not the finish that he was looking for, but with all things considered, it could have been worse. The team will try to rebound in the series’ next outing at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Quote: “I was racing the 22 truck there, and he faded high and I was going to try and grab his right rear quarter panel, but I got up in the marbles and lost it. I know Sheldon was involved in that wreck, so I want to apologize to him, he’s in the Playoffs and I’m not, so it sucks. We had a pretty fast truck, but will just have to go to the next race.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Chase Purdy and Jack Wood. The team also competes in the ARCA Menards Series with Daniel Dye. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks Championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championship. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net

SOCIAL MEDIA:

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

DGR – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Recap: Las Vegas II

Friday, September 24
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 19 of 22
Event: Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 (134 laps, 201 miles)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Craftsman Ford F-150

Start: 17th
Finish: 31st

  • Early in Stage 1, Deegan reported her Craftsman truck could stand to be a little looser while running in the top-20. Throughout the stage, the California native continued to work her way forward. She finished the opening stage 14th and was looking for adjustments to loosen up her truck a little bit. Deegan pitted for service during the break but slid through her pit box which resulted in a lengthy pit stop.
  • Deegan started Stage 2 from the 27th position. She once again began working her way up through the field and into the top-20. Under caution on lap 52, the Ford driver pitted from 19th after relaying she needed her F-150 to be loosened up more. After the race returned to green, Deegan continued to advance her track position and completed the stage in 16th on lap 60.
  • After staying out during the stage break, Deegan moved up to start the stage from eighth. Early in the stage on lap 71, Deegan received damage from a multi-truck accident after a truck made contact with her No. 1 Ford as she was trying to avoid the melee. She came down pit road from the 14th position for repairs to her truck. She spent multiple laps on pit road for repairs and returned to the track. Deegan pitted several more times for repairs before taking the Craftsman Ford to the garage before the checkered flag flew due to the accident damage. She ended the event in the 31st position.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

Start: 29th
Finish: 23rd

  • Gray was quick to work his way forward from his 29th starting spot. The Ford driver was 21st when the first caution came out on lap five. With 10 laps to go in Stage 1, Gray was up to 14th and ended it in 11th. Gray pitted during the break for four tires, fuel and adjustments to help his entry which was a little loose.
  • The Ford Performance driver started the second stage from the eighth position. Under caution on lap 52, Gray was in the ninth position and reported his truck needed to be freed up a little bit. He visited pit road and the race returned to green with just a few laps remaining in the stage. Gray managed a great restart and he concluded the stage in the sixth spot.
  • With a truck that felt pretty neutral, Gray did not pit during the stage break which allowed him to start the final stage in second. Throughout several early stage cautions, the young driver maintained a top-five position. Under caution on lap 117, Gray visited pit road for service and restarted 10th. Shortly after the green flag, Gray experienced a flat tire which forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop and put him two laps down. The Ford Performance driver finished 23rd in the event.

Next event: Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama on October 2 at 1 p.m. ET.

KENNINGTON GRABS THE WIN IN CASTROL EDGE DODGE AT DELAWARE

DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in victory lane. Credit: Matthew Manor/Todd Lewis

September 24, 2021. It was a return to familiar territory for DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team for round eight of the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series on Friday night. Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario has been the sight of many victories for the St Thomas, Ontario racer. On this night Kennington made a bold, last lap pass to snag another win at his home track.

Kennington recorded the quickest lap time in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge during the afternoon practice session and qualified on the outside of the front row. Kennington would take over top spot in the race on lap 13 following an early caution period.

Though he did surrender top spot after the midway point of the race, the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge was never far from the leader. With only 12 laps remaining, once again the caution flag waved setting up a dash to the finish. On the final race lap Kennington was poised for action if an opportunity to take the top spot was available.

As the field approached corner three, the leader left an opening on the bottom of the track and Kennington seized the moment and charged his #17 Castrol Edge Dodge up the inside and into the lead and take his first checkered flag of the season.

DJ Kennington quotes
“He left an opening at the bottom, and I took it. It’s the last lap, everybody is racing hard, and that’s how it goes. I’m never going to wreck somebody for the win, but when that gap opened up, that’s fair game”.

“We’ve been close a couple of times this year and it’s great to get a win here at Delaware in front of these great fans. Huge thanks to the Castrol team for all the work, the car was great all day. All our partners that help us do what we love, we couldn’t do it without you. And we’ll have two more chances to do it again on Sunday”.

Next up DJ Kennington and the Castrol Edge Dodge team are back in action Sunday afternoon, September 26th for two more races at Delaware Speedway to close out the 2021 season, the Qwick Wick 125 and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl.

Live Stream
Watch the live stream on the TSN app, TSN.ca or through Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold in the US. The Qwick Wick 125 begins at 3:55PM and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl will go green at approximately 5:20PM

Television
You can watch the Canadian Tire 125 on TSN Saturday October 2nd, at 2:30PM, RDS2 TBD. The Qwick Wick 125 on TSN airs Sunday October 3rd at 12:30PM, RDS2 is TBD, and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl is on TSN Saturday October 9th at 1:30PM, RDS2 is TBD.

Race fans can follow DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team on their official social media platforms:

Twitter www.twitter.com/@djkracing
Instagram www.instagram.com/djkracing
Website www.djkracing.ca
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DJKenningtonRacing/

GRANT SEXTON RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS IN LUCAS OIL POWRi SOUTHWEST LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES AT BARONA SPEEDWAY

Winner Grant Sexton with second-place Braden Chiaramonte and third-place Brent Sexton. SWLS Photo.

(Lakeside, CA, September 24, 2021) After two races of looking in from the outside, Lakeside’s Grant Sexton returned to victory circle for the fourth time in the Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series last Saturday at the Barona Speedway. The victory allowed the teenage racer to increase his lead by 99-points over teammate David Bezio in the championship standings with only three races to go in the 2021 season.

Seventeen SWLS cars converged on the San Diego County quarter mile for a night of wingless racing. Before the main event, three, eight-lap heat races took place. Lakeside’s Brent Sexton, who has two main event wins in 2021, copped the first heat over San Diegans Bezio and Jason Arnolde. Just like his dad in heat race #1, Grant Sexton bested the competition in the second heat. Norco’s Rudy Padilla and veteran Jon Squire of El Cajon placed second and third. The third heat matched the two leading rookies in the series, Braden Chiaramonte of El Cajon and Alpine’s Matt Sotomayor. Chiaramonte claimed the victory with Sotomayor second and Alpine’s Peter Benker third.

Padilla found himself on the pole for the 20-lap main event with Benker next to him. Row two featured Grant Sexton on the inside of Sotomayor. Chiaramonte and Brent Sexton, who won the last race at Barona on August 21st, were in row three with Bezio and Jon Squire making up row four.

Padilla rocketed into the lead at the start with Grant Sexton, Benker and Chiaramonte in tow. Chiaramonte got by Sexton and dove to the inside in turn one on the second circuit and took the lead. However, he did not stay there long. Benker banged wheels with another car in turn two and slid to a stop. Past kart racer Cody Griggs of Lakeside had nowhere to go and caught a piece of Benker. That brought out the first of three yellow flags in the race and set scoring back to the last completed lap. Padilla was placed back in first with Chiaramonte second. Benker was able to rejoin at the back, but Griggs was done for the night.

The second try to get the race going did not go much better. One more time when Chiaramonte relieved Padilla of the lead, the caution flew, and he was pushed back to second again without ever being passed by another car. Extra entertainment during this yellow flag period came when a brief, large fire broke out on the hills behind the front straight.

Finally, when the green light came back on, the drivers were able to string some laps together. Padilla did not get a good restart and Chiaramonte immediately commandeered the top spot. Grant Sexton also got by Padilla, but Chiaramonte was building a good size lead. By the end of the fifth lap, the series leading rookie had increased his advantage to about 10-lengths. However, that lead quickly dissipated in less than a lap when Grant Sexton closed in dramatically. One lap later the point leader knifed his way to the inside and took over the top spot.

Chiaramonte did not let Grant Sexton run away. He kept him in his sights and hoped to find an opening when they got into lapped traffic. The two teenagers up front reached the lappers on the 11th time around the ¼ mile oval, but that proved to be no problem for Sexton. He worked his way past the lappers and finally began to pull away. By the 15th lap, the youngest of the SGR clan had extended his advantage to close to a half straight.

It seemed like the race was over, but there was one more thing for Grant Sexton to attack before the checkered flag. That was a massive gaggle of lapped cars he caught up to with two laps to go. If the kid slowed down, he could have been a sitting duck. So, he did what he had to do and attacked the big group of lappers. In turn four, he almost got bit! He was nearly alongside Benker when the latter flipped bringing out the red flag.

Once that mess was cleaned up, there were only two laps to go in the race. Lapped cars would not be a factor again. Two quick laps gave Sexton, in his Sexton Fire Protection/BK Wings/Troy Dirt/Victory Graphix/Swift Powdercoat/Maxima Oil/Infiniti Shocks/Scotty and Jimmy Keys #3, his series leading fourth win of the year and extended his point lead. Chiaramonte took a hard fought second. Brent Sexton, Sotomayor and Bezio finished in spots three through five. Jim Squire III of Lakeside was the “Hard Charger” after starting 15th and finishing seventh.

Young Sexton will carry a 99-point lead over Bezio into the October 2nd race at Barona. Chiaramonte is third, only 27-points behind Bezio and he is 83 points ahead of fourth-place Sotomayor. Padilla is fifth.

The SWLS will return to Barona one last time in 2021 on October 2nd. After that, the series will close its season in the “1st Annual Lettuce Bowl” at the Imperial Valley Raceway on the first weekend in December.

The Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series would like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2021 season possible. Lucas Oil, Sexton Fire Protection, RTL Traffic Control & Equipment, Victory Graphix, United Cleaning Company, BK Wing, and A.M. Ortega Construction Inc. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, please contact Brent Sexton at (619) 454-6945 or mailto:sextonfire@cox.net

For up to the minute updates on the Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series, please visit the series website at raceswls.com or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Southwest-Lightning-Sprints-101419131399196

Barona Speedway Wingless Main Event Results (with starting positions)

  1. Grant Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 3rd
  2. Braden Chiaramonte – El Cajon, CA – 5th
  3. Brent Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 6th
  4. Matt Sotomayor – Alpine, CA – 4th
  5. David Bezio – San Diego, CA – 7th
  6. Jeremy Queener – Norwalk, CA – 10th
  7. Rudy Padilla – Norwalk, CA – 1st
  8. Jim Squire III – Lakeside, CA – 15th
  9. Jason Arnolde – San Diego, CA – 9th
  10. Brent Horn – El Cajon, CA – 12th
  11. Jon Squire – El Cajon, CA – 8th
  12. D.J. Dumas – El Cajon, CA – 13th
  13. Robert Early – Riverside, CA – 11th
  14. Ryan Dumas – San Diego, CA – 14th
  15. Dalton Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 16th
  16. Peter Benker – Alpine, CA – 2nd
  17. Cody Griggs – Lakeside, CA – 17th

Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Point Standings

  1. Grant Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 1215
  2. David Bezio – San Diego, CA – 1116
  3. Brandon Chiaramonte ® – El Cajon, CA – 1089
  4. Matt Sotomayor ® – Alpine, CA – 1006
  5. Rudy Padilla – Norco, CA – 788
  6. Parker Dumas – San Diego, CA – 734
  7. D.J. Dumas – El Cajon, CA – 718
  8. Peter Benker – Alpine, CA – 665
  9. Jim Squire III – El Cajon, CA – 576
  10. Dalton Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 591

2021 Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Schedule

March 26 Mohave Valley Raceway (Winged) – James Turnbull

March 27 Mojave Valley Raceway (Winged) – Brent Sexton

April 3 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Parker Dumas

April 17 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Dalton Sexton

May 1 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Grant Sexton

May 15 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Grant Sexton

June 12 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Grant Sexton

August 7 Barona Speedway (Winged) – David Bezio

August 21 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Brent Sexton

September 18 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Grant Sexton

October 2 Barona Speedway (Winged)

December 4 Imperial Valley Speedway w/WMR Midgets

December 5 Imperial Valley Speedway w/WMR Midgets

CORVETTE RACING AT LONG BEACH: GTLM Pole for Taylor, No. 3 C8.R

Another close battle with Milner second in GTLM with No. 4 Corvette

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2021) – Corvette Racing continued its perfect run of pole positions in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as Jordan Taylor earned fastest-qualifier honors Friday ahead of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Taylor, in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, set a time of 1:16.801 (92.248 mph) around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street course in Southern California. It’s his fifth consecutive pole position in GT Le Mans (GTLM) this season ahead of Saturday’s 100-minute race.

Taylor and teammate Antonio Garcia enter Saturday leading the GTLM Drivers Championship on the strength of four wins and six pole positions this year. The No. 3 Corvette C8.R duo also won five races in 2020 en route to the class title.

Taylor was 0.297 seconds clear of teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. He and Nick Tandy were winners in the most recent GTLM race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca two weeks ago.

Saturday’s race will be the first at Long Beach for the mid-engine Corvette C8.R as the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled last year’s race and delayed this year’s running from April.

All four drivers have previous victories at Long Beach. Milner and Taylor each of three while Garcia and Tandy have one each.

Corvette Racing will contest the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday from the Long Beach Street Circuit in Long Beach, Calif. Live television coverage will air live on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “Track position obviously is crucial here. It’s nice to for us to be on pole and have another 1-2 for Corvette Racing. It’s the first time we’ve brought the C8.R here. It suited the track really well. We rolled off the truck strong, so preparation-wise the guys did a good job. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it’s always a one-stop race so it’s all about execution in that one stop and maintaining track position. You always put an emphasis on qualifying to try to get the pole and get a good run into Turn One. Hopefully we can control the race from there and make a good call on when to make that stop. It seems like we had a couple of yellows throughout the practices so we might be able to count on one of those at some point. Obviously I couldn’t be happier to get another pole this year.”

SECRET TO QUALIFYING? “I think we just made good decisions. Setup-wise, we’ve had a different setup for qualifying than the race. We put a big emphasis on that knowing where the car needs to go in the race. We spent Practice Two adjusting for race conditions and had in the back of our mind what we wanted to do in order to extract the most laptime when the tires are fresh. We did a long run at the end of Practice Two, and we’re pretty happy with things.”

INFLUENCE OF SIMULATOR WORK: “It’s tough to know where the track is going to go. IndyCar only had one session today and they’ll do more running tomorrow. The track was a bit different when we went back out on it this evening. It will go in another different direction, I’m sure. It makes it that much more stressful. The street courses are great, and we love coming to them. But as a driver it’s very stressful when you have to get the maximum out of the car in a session like qualifying. It’s always nice to get through unscathed. We’re in a good spot. We’ve done a lot of sim work to understand what the car will do over a long run. We made those adjustments in practice to confirm what we learned in the simulator.”

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING DETROIT AND LONG BEACH AND DIFFERENT TIRE RUBBER: “We did. It was our first street course race with this car. It was good and bad, I’d say. It was stressful, like I said earlier, but it was even worse when you’re racing for no points and there’s no real incentive be pushing! But you want to push to learn lessons about the car, be on the limit of it to understand how the tire works, how it degrades and what we want from setup and development points of view. It was crucial for us to understand that. Every race we go to, we have multiple tire compounds to pick from so understanding how that comes into play with different rubber on the track and what will suit the car best… Corvette Racing does a great job on the engineering side to log data, make notes, study it and take those notes to the simulator to confirm things. It makes our jobs as drivers a lot easier when we go to a track like this where we’ve not been to with this car. We’re not fighting with the car in the first session; we know we can go in confidently that the car is going to be pretty well-suited already so we only need to make fine adjustments. Honestly this is probably the best car I’ve ever had at Long Beach. I’ve been here a few times before, and this was the nicest car I’ve driven here. It was stressful to drive but it was probably one of the easier cars I’ve driven, and it was still quick. That speaks a lot to the car setup.”

CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK: “We’re in a good position. I think the 4 car and the 79 are close on points. So trying to build their gap will be more important. Looking at the way the BoP has gone and you compare it from this year to last year of where Porsche is, they should have a decent jump. These sprint races suit us. We’re pushing the whole time. But when you get to an event like Petit Le Mans where you have 10 hours of racing, that’s where you can see their advantage grow. At the same time, we’ve seen races won by the slowest car on track. So we’ll never give up.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “Realistically, I’m not completely happy. I haven’t qualified a lot in my career but have had some good race cars. Getting beaten by your teammate isn’t ideal, but they’re the best comparison you can possibly make. Those guys are doing a great job and you can’t take anything away from them. Our guys are pushing super-hard and I’m trying super-hard. I probably threw away my last lap locking up the right-front tire on the backstretch. That’s unfortunate but the name of the game when you’re trying for every last little bit. I think we have a good Corvette. We were fast right away in the first practice. We can tweak on it a little bit but I think we fundamentally have a good race car. For the entire lifetime of this C8.R, we show up to the track and the cars are really good and we’re never lost. It gives us the chance to find every last little bit. Awesome job by Jordan but hopefully we can switch it around tomorrow again.”

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.

Seek help from personal injury lawyers to ensure maximum compensation after motorcar accident

Photo by Michael Jin on Unsplash

Any injury is either due to accident or assault. But when the accident happens, there is one victim and one culprit (intentional or unintentional), and anyone who encounters a personal injury or damage from an accident has the right to claim compensation. When you are clueless about claiming monetary compensation for the accident and bearing the colossal hospital bills, you must seek professional help.

You go online and find a personal injury lawyer you can support with all the paperwork and get you justice. Don’t sit and prude longer; act promptly in speaking to the New Port Richey law firm for accidents to ensure maximum claims.

Types of accidents eligible for compensation

Pedestrian accidents: The simple definition of a pedestrian is an individual who is walking or running. However, in some states, the description is a little different. It includes people on skateboards, scooters, and roller skates. Another vital addition is bicycle riders, tricycle users, and people on wheelchairs. When the pedestrian encounters an accident with the motorist or car, it is a pedestrian accident.

There are specific legal duties that you must follow as a pedestrian. Running on the roads, jaywalking, trying to cross when the traffic signal is red, darting out to cross the street in a hurry are all against the law. If you are doing any of these, you are not eligible for any compensation if there is an accident. Responsible walking, the crossing of streets and freeways are essential to staying away from any unfortunate incident. 

It is important that you consult a firm that has a track record of actually trying cases such as the accident lawyers in Oakland and hire a firm that will follow through with your case even if they cannot obtain a settlement right away.

Slip and fall accidents: Slip and fall accidents are prevalent in workplaces and construction sites. When you slip and incur injury or fall and damage your property, you are eligible for accident compensation. Here, the term slip and fall is very tricky and requires fulfillment of certain conditions. The injury must happen due to dangerous conditions like poor lighting, broken stairs, bad floorings, or improper safety gear at the workplace. 

When you encounter an accident, you must produce sufficient evidence to prove that the injury happened on the premises. Some of the common causes of slip & fall accidents are:

  • Structural defects: When there is a major building defect that is not from regular wear and tear that possesses personal injury, it is a structural defect—for example, a Poor staircase, missing handrails, cracked sidewalks or broken pipes, and open electrical wires.
  • Trip hazard: When the circumstance of the property resulting in the trip and fall of any person, then it is a trip hazard. For example, untucked electrical cords, poor floorings, and insufficient lighting.
  • Weather hazard: When there is the threat of slip and fall due to harsh weather conditions as the property is not suitable for handling weather damages, it is a weather-related hazard. For example, a person shovels ice on the sidewalks after a snowfall, resulting in an accident. 

Other types of personal injuries from accidents are motor vehicle accidents, animal attacks, boat accidents, damage from defective products, dog bites, collisions with trucks, and brain injuries.

You can contact the legal team to avail of maximum compensation and ask for the first free consultation.