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Best AI Answering Solutions for Handling High Call Volumes

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SM
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Photo by depositphotos at https://depositphotos.com/

Why High Call Volume Requires an AI Answering Service

Businesses experiencing high call volumes often struggle to maintain consistent customer service. Long wait times, missed calls, and overwhelmed staff can negatively impact both customer satisfaction and revenue. This is exactly why investing in the best AI answering service becomes essential for handling large volumes of calls efficiently.

An AI answering service is designed to manage multiple calls simultaneously without delays. Unlike traditional call centers, AI-driven systems do not rely on human availability, making them highly scalable and reliable. For businesses looking to maintain service quality during peak hours, adopting an AI answering service is a strategic decision.

Key Features of the Best AI Answering Solutions

When searching for the best AI answering solutions for handling high call volumes, it’s important to focus on features that ensure performance and reliability. A top AI answering service offers intelligent call routing, allowing calls to be directed to the right department instantly. This reduces wait times and improves customer experience.

Another critical feature is natural language processing. Advanced AI answering services can understand and respond to customer queries in a conversational manner. This creates a seamless interaction that feels human-like while maintaining efficiency.

Scalability is also a major factor. The best AI answering service can handle thousands of calls at once without compromising quality. This makes it ideal for businesses in industries like e-commerce, healthcare, and real estate where call demand fluctuates frequently.

How to Choose the Right AI Answering Service

Selecting the right ai receptionist for mortgage brokers requires careful evaluation of your business needs. Start by analyzing your average call volume and peak traffic times. Then, compare different providers based on their ability to handle high loads without downtime.

Look for solutions that offer integration with CRM and helpdesk systems. This ensures that all customer interactions are recorded and can be used for future follow-ups. Additionally, choose an call answering service for law firms that provides analytics and reporting tools. These insights help you optimize performance and improve customer engagement.

Security and compliance should not be overlooked. A trustworthy AI answering service will protect customer data and adhere to industry regulations, enhancing your business credibility.

Benefits of Investing in a Top AI Answering Service

The best AI answering service delivers multiple benefits beyond just handling calls. It improves response time, ensuring that customers receive immediate assistance. This increases satisfaction and builds long-term loyalty.

Cost efficiency is another major advantage. Businesses can reduce the need for large call center teams while maintaining high service standards. This allows companies to allocate resources more effectively.

Moreover, AI answering services provide consistent performance. Every customer interaction is handled professionally, regardless of call volume. This consistency strengthens brand reputation and trust.

Take Action: Upgrade to the Best AI Answering Service

If your business is struggling with high call volumes, now is the time to invest in the best AI answering service. The right solution will ensure that no call goes unanswered, no lead is lost, and every customer receives prompt attention.

By choosing a reliable AI answering service, you position your business for growth, efficiency, and long-term success. Don’t let high call volumes limit your potential—upgrade to a top AI answering solution today and transform your customer communication strategy.

The AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway Outlook and Picks

By
SM Staff
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Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX. Last spring (May 10, 2025), Kyle Larson captured the pole with a lap of 183.730 mph (29.391 secs.), and Larson led a race-high of 221 of the 267 laps in a dominant NCS victory in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 11.

Track & Race Information for the AdventHealth 400

Season Race #: 09 of 36 (April 19, 2026)
Race Name: AdventHealth 400
Purse: $11,233,037
Track Size/Shape: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 17 to 20 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 17 to 20 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,685 feet
Backstretch Length: 2,207 feet

Length and Race Stages for the AdventHealth 400

Race Length: 267 laps / 400 miles
Stage 1 Length: 80 laps
Stage 2 Length: 85 laps (Ends Lap 165)
Final Stage Length: 102 laps (Ends Lap 267)

Who and what should you look out for at Kansas Speedway?

Nine of the 20 NCS winners at Kansas Speedway are active this weekend, and Denny Hamlin leads the NCS in wins with four. Chase Elliott is the youngest NCS winner at 22 years, 10 months, 23 days on October 21, 2018.

Active Kansas Race Winners (9)WinsSeasons
Denny Hamlin42023, 2020, 2019, 2012
Kyle Larson32025, 2024, 2021
Joey Logano32020, 2015, 2014
Chase Elliott22025, 2018
Kyle Busch22021, 2016
Brad Keselowski22019, 2011
Ross Chastain12024
Tyler Reddick12023
Bubba Wallace12022

The first starting position is the most proficient spot in the field, producing eight winners, more than any other starting position on the grid (a 20% winning percentage). The most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Kyle Larson in 2025.

Starting PositionWinsWinning %
1820.00%
225.00%
312.50%
4512.50%
5410.00%

Denny Hamlin leads the NCS active drivers in runner-up finishes with four (2015, 2022, 2023, 2025), and Hamlin also leads in top-five finishes with 15 top fives in 35 starts.

The Driver Picks for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway

  • Chase Elliott has two wins, eight top fives, 13 top 10s, and a series-best average finish of 9.900.
  • Denny Hamlin has four wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s, and an average finish of 12.571.
  • Kyle Larson has one pole, three wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s, and an average finish of 12.136.
  • Christopher Bell has four poles, four top fives, nine top 10s, and an average finish of 11.583.
  • Ryan Blaney has one pole, five top fives, nine top 10s, and an average finish of 15.182.

CORVETTE RACING AT IMOLA: TF Sport Aiming High

By
Official Release
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Pair of Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs complete Prologue testing ahead of WEC opener

IMOLA, Italy (April 14, 2026) – TF Sport and its two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for the official opening of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship following two sessions and nine hours of testing Tuesday at the Imola Circuit in the heart of Italy.

The goal was for the team and its set of six drivers to put the two Corvette GT3 racecars through their paces ahead of Sunday’s Six Hours of Imola and first round of the championship.

The two Corvettes combined to complete 302 laps for 921.10 miles around the 3.05-mile, 20-turn circuit nestled in the northern and central region of Italy. Mixed conditions with alternating dry- and wet-weather running was the order of the day with rain falling during most of the second session.

At the end of the day, Corvette Racing factory driver Charlie Eastwood was the quickest of the TF Sport drivers across the two sessions with a lap of 1:42.826 (106.814 mph) in the No. 34 Corvette during the afternoon session, good enough for fourth-fastest on the day.

He will drive the full season with Salih Yoluc and team newcomer Peter Dempsey in the Corvette running under the banner of Racing Team Turkey by TF.

TF teammate Jonny Edgar wasn’t far behind with a lap of 1:42.876 (106.752 mph) in the No. 33 Corvette that he will share with Corvette factory driver Nicky Catsburg and Blake McDonald, who is filling in for the injured Ben Keating.

This will be the third WEC race at Imola for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R with a best showing of sixth a year ago. TF Sport and Corvette did, however, win the four-hour Imola round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series on their way to the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams titles.

The 2026 season is the fifth for Corvette Racing in the WEC. In that span, Corvettes have captured six victories plus the 2023 GTE Am championships. Two of those victories came via TF Sport in 2025 – one for each of its two entries – with the team looking for new heights in its third season as a Corvette Z06 GT3.R team.

Tuesday’s Prologue was a condensed version of the originally scheduled two-day test a month ago at Qatar. It moved to Imola with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Six Hours of Imola and opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is set for 7 a.m. ET / 1 p.m. CET on Sunday, April 19. Live streaming coverage plus timing and scoring is available through a subscription on FIA WEC Plus with additional live streaming on the HBO Max app in the U.S.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-PROLOGUE DRIVER QUOTES

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Honestly today went really good. Not many issues with the car, and we got more dry running than we expected. We were always kind of in the top-five, I would say. It’s nice working with Jonny, and I feel Blake has settled in really quick. So it’s been a positive day. There is a nice mood in the team and so far so good. It’s great for me to be back in WEC. The paddock is awesome and this track is really nice. I’ve missed driving here because it’s been a long time for me. But everything feels really good and it’s really nice to be back.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A good first day in WEC ahead of the first round. We thought it was going to be wet the whole day and pretty pointless. But we ended with mixed conditions and got plenty of dry running both in the morning and afternoon. Everyone on the team is up to speed. We look very competitive at this point so hopefully it stays that way.”

PETER DEMPSEY, NO. 34 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a good first day. This was my first time here driving the Corvette at Imola. Obviously I had to learn the track but got to drive in the wet, the damp and the dry! So I got every bit of experience needed to be as well-prepared as possible heading into the race weekend. I’m looking forward to Friday and FP1.”

CORVETTE RACING AT IMOLA & LONG BEACH: By the Numbers

  • 1: As in one manufacturer and one model of car for the 19th year at Long Beach: Chevrolet and the Corvette
  • 3: Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in competition at Long Beach this weekend – No. 13 of 13 Autosport, No. 36 of DXDT Racing and No. 81 of DragonSpeed
  • 5: Number of Corvettes competing this weekend around the world – the three at Long Beach and two in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Imola run by TF Sport
  • 8: Number of Long Beach victories for the Corvette Racing program
  • 10: Number of Long Beach sports car victories for Chevrolet. Throw in 12 IndyCar wins, and Chevrolet has claimed 22 victories in the event’s two premier races
  • 15: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
  • 17: Wins in 2025 for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R across six different series. Three came via TF Sport across the FIA WEC and ELMS
  • 33: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Fuji, Houston, Imola, Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
  • 40: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Tom Van Rompuy at Fuji in September for TF Sport
  • 73: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year
  • 84: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Steller Motorsport’s Dennis Lind, Lorenzo Fluxa Cross and Antonie Doquin joined the list at Paul Ricard in GT World Challenge Europe. TF Sport’s Peter Dempsey will make his first start in a Corvette at Imola
  • 154: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing starting the 2026 season – 118 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, five in the FIA WEC, 13 in GT World Challenge America, three in GT World Challenge Asia and GT America and two in the European Le Mans Series
  • 368: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
  • 4,630.68: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 17 previous trips to Long Beach. That represents 2,353 laps around the 1.968-mile street circuit… or 272.39 miles per year
  • 487,110.42: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. The program should surpass the half-million mile mark midway through this season

Corvette Racing at Imola

2024 – No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 7th in LMGT3

No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Dani Juncadella/Sebastien Baud/Hiroshi Koizumi – 8th in LMGT3

2025 – No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Dani Juncadella/Jonny Edgar/Ben Keating – 7th in LMGT3

No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 6th in LMGT3

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

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team, develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single-seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

Front Row Motorsports: Kansas Speedway NCS Race Advance (Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith)

By
Official Release
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Noah Gragson | Todd Gilliland | Zane Smith
Kansas Speedway NASCAR Cup Series Race Advance
Kansas Speedway 400
Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026
Event: Race 10 of 38
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway (1.5-miles)
#of Laps: 267
Time/TV/Radio: 2:00 PM ET on FOX/MRN/SiriusXM channel 90

FRM Points Standings:

Zane Smith (22nd)
Todd Gilliland (26th)
Noah Gragson (31st)

Noah Gragson Notes

Noah Gragson has found previous success at the Kansas Speedway, the next stop on the schedule, with a victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2022 and a victory in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2018. In seven starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at the mile-and-a-half oval located just outside of Kansas City, Gragson has a best finish of ninth, which occurred in the spring event in 2024, and an average finish of 18.4. The No. 4 team enters the event after a 26th place result at the Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. The team had a fast start to the weekend at Bristol, ranking towards the top of the charts in practice and qualifying 16th, a sign of a positive shift in momentum as we near the close of the first third of the season.

The familiar yellow, black and red Rush Truck Centers branding returns for Gragson and the No. 4 team at the Kansas Speedway, their third primary sponsorship event of the season. For over 60 years, Rush Truck Centers has provided premium products and services for the commercial vehicle market at over 150 dealerships across North America. Through their commitment to keeping customers up and running, Rush Truck Centers has also proudly served the area around the Kansas Speedway, with nearby locations in Olathe (Kan.), Kansas City (Mo.), Topeka (Kan.) and others throughout the region in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Each week, the Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse race cars are transported to the track behind the power of Peterbilt Model 579 tractors, provided and serviced exclusively by the team at Rush Truck Centers. To find the Rush Truck Centers location nearest to you, visit rushtruckcenters.com.

“We didn’t get the finish we thought we deserved at Bristol last week, but it was a move in the right direction, with the speed we showed throughout the weekend,” said Gragson. “We unloaded quick and that’s something I’m hoping we can do again at Kansas this weekend. Kansas is a fun track to race at, with the different grooves and ability to move around based on what fits your car best, so I’m looking forward to getting out there in our Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse and having a solid weekend to start to rebound in the standings.”
Road Crew

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Crew Chief: Grant Hutchens

Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska

Car Chief: Joey Forgette

Hometown: Iron Mountain, Michigan

Engineer: Dillon Silverman

Hometown: Chico, California

Engineer: Scott Bingham

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Tony Infinger

Hometown: Fort Valley, Georgia

Tire Specialist: Chris Aunspaw

Hometown: Zelienople, Pennsylvania

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Spotter: Adam Fournier

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Transporter Co-Driver: Ron Miske

Hometown: Fairfield, Connecticut

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Tafton Hensley

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Justin Fox

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Drew Baum

Hometown: Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania

Jackman: Graham Stoddard

Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

Fueler: Blake Baker

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Todd Gilliland Notes

Coming off of a season-best sixth-place finish at the Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, Todd Gilliland and the No. 34 team fly into Kansas City, Kansas with momentum to take on the Kansas Speedway this Sunday. Gilliland has a career best finish of 12th at the track in the Cup Series, a result he has achieved twice, in both 2025 season events. In five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Kansas, Gilliland has one top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Love’s Travel Stops returns with Gilliland and the No. 34 team for Sunday’s race. Love’s Travel Stops rolls out a major update to the Love’s App, introducing a unified Love’s Rewards program that now benefits every customer who stops at Love’s. Whether fueling up, grabbing a snack or stocking up on Love’s-branded products, customers can now save and earn points at every turn simply by scanning the Love’s App in-store or at the pump. The new Love’s Rewards program focuses on delivering meaningful value at every stop and aims to make Love’s the first stop drivers think of on the road. Love’s Rewards App users can also save 10¢ per gallon on gas and up to 25¢ per gallon on auto diesel. Fans can download the app from Google Play and the Apple App Store. To explore all the new benefits of the Love’s Rewards program, visit www.loves.com/loves-rewards.

“I’m really proud of our performance at Bristol; we needed that confidence booster,” said Gilliland. “We still have a long way to go in terms of qualifying, and a lot of that has to do with me, but I have a good feeling about Kansas. Momentum is everything in this sport and this group has a lot of it. Hopefully I can make them proud with another good result and chip away at the points standings.”
Road Crew

Driver: Todd Gilliland

Hometown: Sherrills Ford, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Chris Lawson

Hometown: Medway, Ohio

Car Chief: Joe Marra

Hometown: Somers, New York

Engineer: Marc Rullo

Hometown: Ringwood, New Jersey

Engineer: Kevyn Rebolledo

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Spotter: Brit Andersen

Hometown: Branford, Connecticut

Mechanic: Michael Brookes

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

Interior Specialist: Ethan Deguevara

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Tire Specialist: Billy John

Hometown: Pitman, New Jersey

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Kyle Moon

Hometown: Troy, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Randy Bernier

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Grissom

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Danny Olszowy

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Paul Steele

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas

Jackman: Ryan Selig

Hometown: Lindenhurst, Illinois

Fueler: Zeke Nance

Hometown: Calhoun, Georgia

Zane Smith Notes

Zane Smith is set to make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at the Kansas Speedway this Sunday. The mile-and-a-half track is Smith’s favorite on the Cup Series schedule, having earned one win, five top-five, and eight top-10 finishes in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Smith also has two top-16 finishes in the Cup Series, with his best finish coming in 2024 where he started 15th and finished 10th.

Speedy Cash will return as the primary partner of Zane Smith and the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team. This will be Speedy Cash’s second primary race of the 2026 season with Smith. For more information about Speedy Cash, visit www.speedycash.com.

“Kansas is by far my favorite track on the circuit,” said Smith. “It’s one of those places I just feel comfortable at and hold a lot of memories from. While the result wasn’t what we wanted, Bristol showed a lot of promise. Ryan (Bergenty) and the team brought a fast Ford which helped us in qualifying. We need to clean up a few things, but I have a lot of confidence heading into the weekend.”
Road Crew

Driver: Zane Smith

Hometown: Huntington Beach, California

Crew Chief: Ryan Bergenty

Hometown: Plainville, Connecticut

Car Chief: Will Norris

Hometown: Bells, Tennessee

Engineer: Jacob Clamme

Hometown: Hartford City, Indiana

Engineer: Chris Yerges

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Steve Godfrey

Hometown: West Haven, Connecticut

Interior Specialist: Matt Fowler

Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Mechanic: Austin Bloom

Hometown: Lowell, Oregon

Spotter: Ryan Blanchard

Hometown: Bethlehem, Connecticut

Transport Co-Driver: Bryan Whitman

Hometown: Newton, North Carolina

Transport Co-Driver: Shawn Sellew

Hometown: Stafford Springs, Connecticut

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Michael Louria

Hometown: Gibraltar, Michigan

Rear Tire Changer: Adam Riley

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Tire Carrier: Jarren Davis

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida

Jackman: Nate McBride

Hometown: Vidalia, Georgia

Fueler: Ray Hernandez

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

ABOUT RUSH TRUCK CENTERS

More than a dealer network, Rush Truck Centers is the premier solutions provider for the commercial vehicle industry. With more than 150 Rush Truck Centers dealerships across the U.S. and Eastern Canada, no one can match our network reach and scale. We provide our customers an integrated, one-stop approach to the service and sales of new and used trucks and commercial vehicles, aftermarket parts, service and collision repair capabilities, alternative fuel systems, vehicle technology solutions, and a range of financial services including financing, insurance, and leasing and rental options. Since 1965, we’ve earned our reputation for excellence, fairness, positive attitude and solutions that exceed customer expectations. That’s why we can say with confidence; when it comes to trucking, no one offers you more. Visit rushtruckcenters.com or follow us on social media: X @rushtruckcenters, Instagram @rush_truck_centers and facebook.com/rushtruckcenters.

ABOUT LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS

Love’s has been fueling customers’ journeys since 1964. Innovation and perseverance continue to lead the way for the family-owned and -operated business headquartered in Oklahoma City with more than 40,000 team members in North America and Europe. The company’s core business is travel stops and convenience stores with 640 locations in 42 states. Love’s continues its commitment to offer products and services that provide value for professional drivers, fleets, four-wheel customers, RVers, alternative fuel and wholesale fuel customers. Giving back to communities Love’s serves and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workplace are hallmarks of the company’s award-winning culture.

ABOUT SPEEDY CASH

Speedy Cash is an omni-channel lender that specializes in short-term and medium-term secured and unsecured loan products. Speedy Cash is part of the Community Choice Financial Family of Brands.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, FRM has earned top honors including a 2021 Daytona 500 victory and the 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship. Based in Mooresville, N.C., FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and No. 38 entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, along with the No. 34 and No. 38 teams in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. For more information, visit FrontRowMotorsports.com and follow Front Row Motorsports on social media — X: @Team_FRM, Instagram: @teamfrm, Tik Tok: @Team_FRM, YouTube: @FrontRowNASCAR, and Facebook: facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Spire Motorsports AdventHealth 400 Race Advance

By
Official Release
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  • In 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-10 and five top-20 finishes. Zane Smith owns the team’s best finish, a 10th-place effort earned in September 2024. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
  • The AdventHealth 400 will be televised live on FOX Sunday, April 19 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The ninth of 36 points-paying races on the 2026 Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Daniel Suárez will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
  • Suárez has made 18 Cup Series starts at Kansas, earning two top-10 and 10 top-20 results with 32 laps led. He carries an average starting position of 17.7 and a 20.9 finishing position at the 1.5 mile tri-oval. His series/venue-best effort came in 2017, where he finished seventh.
  • Last spring at Kansas, the 34-year-old driver started eighth but was caught up in an on-track incident, bringing his race to an early end, ultimately leaving him 34th in the final rundown.
  • Out of Suárez’s 330 Cup Series starts, 159 have come on intermediate tracks. Over those races, he earned one win at Atlanta (2024), 11 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes while leading 387 laps. This season, at venues generally considered as intermediate-style tracks, Suárez finished fifth at Atlanta, 30th at Phoenix, 18th at Las Vegas and seventh at Darlington.
  • In NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, Suárez has recorded a pair of starts at Kansas Speedway where he earned one top three and two top 10s, and led six laps. He finished third in the 2016 Kansas Lottery 300.
  • The two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner sits 15th in the division’s driver point standings after the first eight races of the season, the second highest of Spire Motorsports’ three NASCAR Cup Series entries. The Monterrey, Mexico native has earned one top five, two top 10s and led 15 laps. Through the first eight races of the 2026 campaign, Suárez is averaging a 16.3 finish, four positions better than his average at this point last season.
  • NationsGuard is an innovator in the Automotive F&I space. Its programs are designed to maximize sales, profit, CSI and customer retention. NationsGuard delivers consistent, measurable results through disciplined monitoring and continuous improvement. The process measures every key element of a dealer’s program – from vehicle inspection efficiency to service advisor performance. NationsGuard targets and eliminates waste and inefficiency wherever it’s found, maintaining process improvements, making changes where necessary and relentlessly pursuing perfection.

Daniel Suárez Quote
As you head into Kansas this weekend, what’s your outlook for the race?
“I really enjoy racing at Kansas. It’s a great track with multiple grooves, which gives you a lot of options during a run. You can run the bottom, middle, or top depending on how the car is handling. I’ve been watching the weather for qualifying and there’s a chance of rain. If that happens and qualifying gets washed out, we’d line up 13th for the race. Track position is important at Kansas, so that wouldn’t be a bad place to start.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

  • Ryan Sparks has called 210 NASCAR Cup Series races, earning five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes since making his Cup Series debut atop the pit box in 2020.
  • The Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s best finish at Kansas came in September 2025, where he earned an 18th-place finish with driver Justin Haley. Sparks has called 12 races at Kansas and overall, has led the charge in 100 races on intermediate-style tracks, earning two top-five and four top-10 finishes.
  • Sparks joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, where he served as both Crew Chief and Competition Director, leading the organization’s competitive and technical efforts. In 2026, Sparks serves in a singular role as crew chief for Daniel Suárez.
  • Sparks brings more than a decade of experience across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series, highlighted by 13 seasons at Richard Childress Racing and contributions to title-winning campaigns in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life/Triad Partners Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
  • In 29 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, McDowell has posted an average starting position of 24.7 and an average finish of 26.3. Over his last five starts, he has a 13.6 average start, including two top-10 qualifying efforts, and a 20.4 average finish. He scored a top 10 in May 2024 and a top 15 last September.
  • The No. 71 Chevrolet will return to its traditional Delaware Life livery for Sunday’s 400 miler, with the addition of Triad Partners, headquartered in Lawrence, Kan., being featured on the No. 71 Chevrolet’s hood.
  • McDowell’s front tire changer, Max Marsh, spent his college years playing football at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Marsh earned varsity letters in all four seasons, finding a home as the team’s backup safety and on special teams before shifting gears for his pit-road duties on NASCAR’s senior circuit.
  • Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, McDowell qualified 19th and struggled to regain track position following two penalties and contact with another competitor during Sunday afternoon’s Food City 500 where he ultimately finished 24th.
  • After eight races, the 41-year-old racer sits 19th in points, just seven points below the cutline following last Sunday’s race.
  • McDowell qualified 21st for last September’s Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and raced his way to a respectable 14th-place finish.
  • The 19-year Cup Series veteran has made two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts and one ARCA Menards Series start at Kansas Speedway, highlighted by an 11th-place finish in the fifth race of the 2007 ARCA season.
  • The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame announced McDowell has been listed as a first-time nominee where voting is scheduled to begin May 21.
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Michael McDowell Quote
What makes Kansas different from the other traditional mile-and-a-halves?
“I think a big part of it is that Kansas is one of the easiest tracks to get multiple lanes going right away. Even on the first lap of practice, you can run the top, where at places like Charlotte, Texas, or other 1.5-mile tracks, you really have to build up to that. Kansas has multiple lanes and grooves, and everything comes together fairly early in a run, which usually leads to a pretty good race because you’re able to move around. It’s always been a great track and everyone eventually migrates toward the wall, so it gets intense. The track changes a lot throughout the weekend. It typically starts out really fast, then by race time it drops off, forcing you to slide more and search for grip. It’s been a strong track for us in the past, but it can be tough to hit it just right. The speed we’ve shown at tracks like Vegas and Texas last year gives us a solid baseline, so I feel good with what we have and hopefully we can maximize our day in Kansas.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

  • Across six Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, McDowell’s crew chief, Travis Peterson, has led his driver to a 15.2 average start paired with a 21.3 average finish.
  • As a race engineer at JR Motorsports, the West Bend, Wis., native played a key role in Regan Smith’s third-place result in 2013. After qualifying fifth, the team dominated the race and led 81 of the 200 laps en route to his seventh of eight top-five finishes during the 2013 season.
  • Prior to his time as a crew chief, the 34-year-old worked as a race engineer for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., at Hendrick Motorsports where he recorded a third-place result at Kansas Speedway in 2015.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chili’s Ride The ‘Dente Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, marking his sixth start in NASCAR’s premier division at the 1.5-mile oval. Hocevar will Ride the ‘Dente Again’te in a rhinestone-studded livery and firesuit inspired by Nudie Cohn, the original “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
  • Through eight races, the No. 77 team is 13th in the series’ point standings, 21 points out of 10th. Hocevar’s two top fives, three top 10s, 209 points scored, average starting position of 11.5 and 15.8 average finish are all career highs through the first eight points-paying races of the season. The team’s average starting position thus far is seven positions higher than this point in 2025, and its average finish is nine positions higher.
  • Last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 23-year-old driver was in position to secure his third top-five finish of the season until a caution flag waved on Lap 478. While most of the drivers on the lead lap ducked to pit road for fresh Goodyear Racing Eagles, the No. 77 team made the decision to remain on the track and restart second. Unfortunately, Hocevar was unable to hold off his challengers on fresher tires but still managed to hang on for his third top 10 of the season.
  • The Portage, Mich., native put on a statistical showcase last Sunday by converting the most quality passes in the field while tallying an average running position of 6.13. He was also one of four drivers to spend all 505 laps inside the top 15.
  • The No. 77 pit crew backed up Hocevar’s performance with the third-fastest average four-tire pit stop time at Bristol (8.45 seconds).
  • The 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year collected a venue-best 20th-place finish in Sept. 2023, his first of five starts at Kansas and third series appearance.
  • Last May, Hocevar took the checkered flag in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway driving for the Brian Pattie-led No. 7 Spire Motorsports team. He led 75 of the event’s 134 laps and survived last-lap contact with another competitor to earn his fifth victory in the series and first aboard a Spire-prepared Chevy Silverado. Hocevar owns six CRAFTSMAN Truck starts at Kansas, tallying one win, two top fives and three top 10s. His 135 laps led at the venue are a career mark across all tracks.
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Carson Hocevar Quotes
What stands out about Kansas?
“It is a fun track. You can move around a lot for sure, but the top lane has by far been the fastest the last couple years, especially when it’s really warm. You want to get as close to the wall as you can without putting yourself in the fence, just like at Darlington and Homestead. The track has gotten abrasive, so managing your tires is important. Then to top it all off, the restarts are crazy with the runs you can build and the ability to run three wide through the corner.

“I really enjoy the mile-and-a-half tracks, and we have shown we can run up front at the intermediates over the past year. We’ve shown speed the last few weeks, and I know we can continue that this week.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

  • Crew chief Luke Lambert enters his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with Carson Hocevar. The duo has logged one pole award, five top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 88 races together.
  • The 16-year veteran crew chief has called 24 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas, earning three top 10s and eight top 15s, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in Oct. 2014 with Ryan Newman. He also helped Daniel Hemric to his first-career pole position during his rookie campaign in 2019.
  • The Mount Airy, N.C., native has called two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races in America’s heartland, securing a victory with Noah Gragson in 2022. While the event was paused just after Stage 2 and eventually called 103 laps prior to the scheduled distance due to inclement weather, the win marked the second of four consecutive series victories by the Lambert-Gragson duo (Darlington Raceway, Sept. 3; Kansas, Sept. 10; Bristol, Sept. 16; Texas Motor Speedway, Sept. 24).

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.

The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.

Gilliland Looking to Build on Strong Bristol Run This Weekend in Kansas

By
Official Release
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Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ford Racing Media Zoom Call
Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports, is coming off a season-best sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. As the series prepared for an intermediate track in Kansas this weekend, Gilliland spoke about gaining momentum through the spring and summer months.

TODD GILLILAND, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID THAT RUN ON SUNDAY DO FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM? “We were talking with our team owner and everyone about how it was a much-needed good run. One good run can really help carry momentum for quite a while, so we feel good about these next few races coming up. Honestly, Bristol has never been my best track, so to get out of there with a top 10 and, honestly, just to run really competitively the second half of that race felt really good. I think we’re all on the same page and pulling the rope in the same direction and really excited for these next few races.”

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO THAT HAS YOU IN A SPOT WHERE YOU’RE CHALLENGING FOR TOP 10 FINISHES? “This sport is full of ups and downs, especially in the Cup Series and for our team it seems like there are streaks of good runs and then it seems like we’re in a little bit of a down period where we’re just not bringing speed and not running how we want to. I think last year is a good example of that. I feel like we got off to a good start and then through the summer stretch we were not great at all, and then felt like we finished the year extremely strong. So, all of that brought a lot of confidence coming into this year. Hopefully, we can hit our stride earlier and just bring some speed throughout the whole summer. So far, this year has been the opposite. We did not get off to a good start through the first few superspeedways, just all those different racetracks that you start the series with, so I’m excited about it. It does take some time to get the whole team gelled together, and, like I said, I think how we ended last year should definitely change our expectations and hopefully have more top 10 runs.”

WATKINS GLEN IS COMING UP. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THERE WITH THE NEW PACKAGE? “I’m excited for Watkins Glen. Obviously, going there earlier in the year is gonna be different, and then with the new horsepower and downforce package, I guess this is the first time I’ve really thought about it, but going up through the esses when you’re already right on the edge. You’re loose one direction and loose the other and you’re almost wide-open, where now I think you’ll see a lot more movement in cars and there will be some cars that are better through there than others. In my opinion, it might open up passing into the bus stop more, where in year’s past once you got out of turn one, you kind of settled in a line going to the esses, like you’re so much on-throttle time that it’s kind of hard to get a good run on guys into the bus stop, so I think that will be an improvement for the racing at Watkins Glen, and then as the tires wear out you’ve got to be smooth and at least keep the tire wear in the back of your mind all day.”

THE ALL-STAR WEEKEND IS AT DOVER THIS YEAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? “I love switching around the All-Star Race. I think that’s a good opportunity to try stuff and other racetracks. I don’t know that necessarily Dover is a place that is gonna keep the All-Star Race forever, but I think there are tons of other really cool short tracks or different racetracks that NASCAR wants to try out, the fans are always pushing one direction or another and all of these different racetracks, so I think that’s a great place to really try out anywhere around the country. Let’s give something new a try, for sure.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF STARTING OFF THIS SEASON? “Getting through Daytona and Atlanta I think I wrecked five times in those two races, and you know that can happen going into those two races and we were literally last in points after those. Obviously, we could have had great weeks and been on the top coming out of those, so I think that was just a tough place to start. It kind of beats you down for the first few races, but, to be honest, we really haven’t had great speed. Even going to a place like Martinsville, where I feel that’s more so where we should run inside the top 10 than a place like Bristol, and we just ran in the back half of the twenties all day. So, I don’t know. Our speed just really hasn’t been there. My team and everyone is working super hard. We’ve seen speed from teammates at times, so we’re trying to get all of those things together. This is an always moving target, especially with this new downforce and horsepower package. We got to a point where we have a lot of notes and you still can go off those notes to some extent, but, at the same time, things are a little bit different. I think we’re just barely missing it with these new targets we’re shooting for and with how tight the fields are now, it hasn’t been equating to great speed.”

CAN YOU DIAL BACK YOUR MEMORY TO THE LAST KANSAS RACE WITH THE TIRE AND DO YOU STILL LIKE THE DIRECTION THINGS ARE GOING FOR INTERMEDIATE TRACKS? “Yeah, absolutely. I think all the work Goodyear has been doing has been super helpful. The last four years now it’s been just a continuous progression of all that stuff. We put them in a really tough spot at these mile-and-a-halves, going as low as possible on air and probably even a half-pound lower at times, just because you have to get every ounce of speed you can out of the car and the tires. That puts them in a tough box, but it’s hard to remember honestly. We just started watching some Kansas stuff, but it’s gonna be cooler this weekend. Speeds are gonna be up. I don’t think we had a ton of tire issues on the right sides, so I’m sure teams will keep pushing it, but the more the tires have been wearing out, it seems like these places it becomes easier to pass. A place like Kansas is very wide, so it makes the racing more fun and I’m looking forward to it.”

THE CRASH YOU WERE INVOLVED IN AT BRISTOL, THINGS HAPPEN SO FAST THERE, BUT WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THE TEAM’S RESILIENCE TO FIGHT BACK FROM THAT? “To be honest with you, it definitely felt like ‘here we go again.’ You don’t ever want to feel like that, but starting out the race as poorly as we did, getting down a lap within 30 laps it felt like, getting the wave around, getting the lucky dog. Just before we got in that wreck, I gained a lot of spots. I feel like we were just making some good speed on the top lane and then we get in a wreck and you never really know. That’s the hard part. It gives you five minutes of that caution period to kind of feel everything out, but you’re not always 100 percent sure if things are good or bad. We went to the back again and just kind of rallied from there. It all went super smooth from that point on, but things happen extremely fast at Bristol, too. I was right behind the 48. I couldn’t even see the 97 whatsoever, and then everyone was just stopped. That stuff is unfortunate. It seems like it’s been happening right in our lap, but, at the same time, we’re kind of running right in the hornet’s nest where that stuff happens, so that’s how it goes sometimes.”

YOUR DAD WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO YOUR CAR AFTER THE RACE ON SUNDAY WAS YOUR DAD. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM LIKE THAT? “It’s massive. I think first and foremost he’s always just supporting me no matter what, even if I went and qualified 35th which I did on Saturday. He’ll always text me or call me to see what’s going on one way or the other. This sport has a lot of ups and downs no matter who you are. We’ve seen the best of the best have off weeks, so it’s a very challenging sport and I think he realized how down in the dumps I was on Saturday night and for our whole team everyone really was. It’s hard as humans not to be a little bit disappointed and you carry that into the next day even if you don’t want to, so I think the recovery from that – the mental side of it and all of that from my whole team. I think him being around it for so long, he recognizes when that stuff is going on, for sure.”

WHAT KIND OF RACE DO YOU EXPECT AT KANSAS? IT HAS PUT ON SOME GREAT RACES AND GREAT FINISHES. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS? “My expectations are the same as what you just said, great racing, crazy restarts. I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re always focused on is qualifying well to get some good track position for the first stage, and set yourself up well for the race, and then just good restarts. The rest of it is you want to have good pit stops, gain yourself spots and just parlay that all day into gaining spots. As a driver and what I can control, restarts are definitely big. There are so many options. Even sometimes if you go to the bottom it’s a short-term gain, but once you get to the backstretch five cars pass you, so it’s about thinking further ahead. It’s hard to do sometimes, but at least have a plan going in and trying to execute that plan.”

YOU, NOAH AND ZANE SEEM TO WORK WELL TOGETHER ON AND OFF THE TRACK. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH THOSE GUYS AND HOW IS THE GOLF GAME GOING? “I’ve got a big golf game this afternoon, so I’m hoping it’s good. But, yeah, my relationship with my teammates I think is the best friendship as teammates I’ve ever had by far because I’ve known these guys forever, and we have a lot of fun. To me, I think that really brings our teams closer together as well. If you see your drivers getting along and hanging out, I think it just makes all of the communication around the shop a little bit better. Obviously, I don’t know that it equates to results because we haven’t been running great, but I would like to think it helps just for the whole camaraderie of our shop. All of us being young, we definitely need to lean on each other as we lack a little bit of experience as a whole. Just our communication and all that stuff needs to make up for it in a different way, so it’s been fun. I feel like I know these guys as good as anyone else on the racetrack and it’s definitely been great to be teammates with these guys.”

PATRICK EMERLING INTRODUCES TESLONG TO NASCAR IN MULTI-RACE PARTNERSHIP

By
Official Release
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MOORESVILLE, NC, April 14, 2026 – NASCAR driver Patrick Emerling today announced that Teslong is joining him for a multi-race partnership in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series starting with the spring O’Reilly Auto Parts race at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce Teslong’s new brand partnership with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), alongside driver Patrick Emerling and his race team. This collaboration reflects our deepening commitment to the automotive industry and aligns us with teams and drivers who demand precision, reliability, and performance — the same standards that define Teslong products,” said James Sun, CEO of Teslong.

Teslong was founded in 2010, as a manufacturer of innovative digital products that solve problems for consumers. Since then, they have expanded their product range utilizing a R&D center with more than 40 engineers, designers, and developers. Teslong is very proud of their state-of-the-art assembly lines, rapid R&D, and innovative products. Their product line started with industrial endoscopes followed by otoscopes, but has expanded with rifle borescopes, and now their infrared sensor products in their thermal camera line. Their customers include HVAC specialists, construction workers, engineers, mechanics, plumbers, hunters, gunsmiths, military veterans, local and state law enforcement, and more.

“As we expand our footprint in motorsports, we’re also entering an exciting new chapter as a company,” said Sun. “The launch of our all-new power tool line represents a significant evolution for Teslong, adding an entirely new suite of products designed to deliver more complete, solution-based offerings to our customers. By expanding beyond our trusted inspection cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and borescopes, we’re building a more comprehensive product portfolio that empowers professionals and DIY enthusiasts alike with the tools they need — from diagnostics to real-world applications — all backed by the performance and reliability Teslong is known for.”

“I’m really excited to partner with Teslong,” said Emerling. “My modified team has been using their products – specifically the borescopes and thermal cameras – this season and we’ve been very impressed with them. We’re looking forward to the release of their new power tool line.”

For more information on Patrick Emerling, visit https://www.patrickemerlingracing.com/ or follow him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PatrickEmerling07), X (https://twitter.com/PatrickEmerling) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/patrickemerling/). 

For more information on Teslong, visit them at https://teslong.com/ or follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TeslongInc), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/teslongusa/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@teslongusa).  

Ford Racing NASCAR – Kansas 1 Advance

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Official Release
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KANSAS 1

Saturday, April 18 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 7 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, April 19– NASCAR Cup Series, 2 p.m. ET (FOX)

Kansas Speedway will host a doubleheader this weekend, highlighted by Sunday’s AdventHealth 400. Ford Racing goes into the event with 749 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories, which includes nine wins at the mile-and-a-half facility. Joey Logano leads all Ford drivers with three wins while Greg Biffle is next with two.

LOGANO’S KANSAS SUCCESS

Joey Logano has three career NASCAR Cup Series wins at Kansas Speedway, one of five tracks currently on the circuit where he has three or more. The others are Las Vegas (4), Phoenix (4), Michigan (3) and Talladega (3). Qualifying has been a particularly strong suit for the Connecticut native as he’s started first or second on seven occasions and been among the top 10 in 19 of his 33 starts.

KESELOWSKI AND KANSAS

Brad Keselowski has won at 17 different racetracks during his NASCAR Cup Series career, including twice at Kansas Speedway. In 32 career Cup Series starts, the Michigan native has a pair of victories (2011 and 2019), seven top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes. He’s led at least one lap in four of the last five events and is coming off an eighth-place effort the last time the series visited in September.

BLANEY RETURNING TO SITE OF CUP DEBUT

Ryan Blaney made his NASCAR Cup Series debut on May 10, 2014 and it came at Kansas Speedway driving the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske. That marked the first of two starts for Blaney, who started 21st and finished 27th that day. He also ran the fall race at Talladega that season and finished 22nd. Overall, Blaney is still looking for his first Cup win at the intermediate track, but he’s had a pair of top-five runs in the last three races.

GRAGSON TRYING TO COMPLETE KANSAS TRIFECTA

Noah Gragson is still searching for the first NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career and if you’re looking for a place where that could happen, look no further than Kansas Speedway. That’s because the Las Vegas native has posted wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2018) and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2022). A Cup win on Sunday would make Gragson the second driver to complete the Kansas trifecta, joining Kyle Busch.

SITTING ON 749

The next Ford win will be its 750th all-time in NASCAR’s top series. Ned Jarrett is Ford’s win leader with 43 while Bill Elliott is second with 40. Shirtless Jimmy Florian scored the Blue Oval’s first series victory when he upset the likes of Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly at Dayton Speedway on June 25, 1950. Florian earned his nickname after getting out of his 1950 flathead Ford without a shirt. Overall, 91 drivers have won at least one series race with Ford, including notable drivers Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.

CHRIS BUESCHER: “It’s been a really good racetrack. I love the fact that we have different lines. It moves around. Most of our mile-and-a-halves at this point have gotten to the point where we can run bottom, middle, top and have different lines and different opportunities to make speed. With that, I think that it’s gonna be a really good measure for us. We’re really optimistic about that one, just knowing how well Vegas went for us and knowing what our program looked like at those style of racetracks last season.”

RACING IN THE DARK

A couple of rain delays and impending darkness couldn’t keep Greg Biffle from winning a shortened Lifelock 400 on Sept. 30, 2007. The race was delayed for more than three hours and NASCAR decided to shorten the distance from 267 laps to 210 laps when it became evident there wouldn’t be enough daylight to finish the event. Biffle passed Kevin Harvick on lap 274, but when Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire to bring out the caution with four laps to go it appeared he would have to survive a green-white-checker finish in order to win. NASCAR, however, decided to end the race under caution due to darkness. The win was Biffle’s first of the season and snapped a 32-race winless drought.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS

AT KANSAS

2005 – Mark Martin

2007 – Greg Biffle

2010 – Greg Biffle

2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)

2014 – Joey Logano (2)

2015 – Joey Logano (2)

2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)

2019 – Brad Keselowski (1)

2020 – Joey Logano (2)

FORD NOAPS WINNERS AT KANSAS

2001 – Jeff Green

2002 – Jeff Burton

2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2020 – Chase Briscoe

The Ford Mustang is the world’s best selling sports car and one of its most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke regional one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 28 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more about Mustang at www.FordRacing.com .

Cadillac aims for victory in 100-minute Long Beach sprint race

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Official Release
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DETROIT (April 14, 2026) – After two races that lasted 36 hours total (the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring), Cadilliac Racing now heads to Long Beach, California for a 100-minute sprint race.

It’s like a runner competing in a marathon, a half marathon and then doing a 100-meter dash.

But it is still competition, and it’s race three of the IMSA season as both Action Express Racing and Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing are looking for wins and points for the season-long championship.

Last year, the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finished fourth with Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, while Cadillac Wayne Taylor finished sixth (No. 10 Ricky Tayor and Filipe Albuquerque) and seventh (No. 40 Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz).

Bamber will be overseas competing in the World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Imola for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota, so it will be Aitken and Fredrick Vesti in the No. 31, while the No. 10 and No. 40 cars have the same drivers as last year.

All three teams are looking for a win or a podium in the historic Long Beach Grand Prix. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R has had four consecutive podium finishes including two wins coming last fall at Indianapolis and Road Atlanta. They finished second in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and then third last month at Sebring.

Brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor won the 2017 IMSA race from the pole – one in the streak of five consecutive victories to start the season that culminated in the manufacturer and drivers’ championships. Current teammate Filipe Albuquerque co-drove to victory in the 2018 and 2019 races in the Cadillac DPi-V.R.

In April 2024, Cadillac Racing finished 1-2, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R edging the pole-sitting No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R by 0.564 of a second. Opting not to change Michelin tires during the lone service stop and mandatory driver change, the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R drove to the front of the field and led the final 34 laps.

The 1-2 finish was the third for Cadillac Racing’s prototype program at Long Beach, which includes victories in 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2017. There was no race in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, Cadillac Racing has nine victories at Long Beach.

Sports car racing returned to the oceanside community in 2006 after a 15-year absence, with Ron Fellows driving the No. 16 Cadillac CTS-V to the victory in the Speed World Challenge GT race.

Also at Long Beach, Andy Pilgrim won the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge GT race in the No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe that led to the series’ manufacturer title and 1-2 in the driver championship (Johnny O’Connell and Pilgrim) for the brand. O’Connell drove the No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V to victory in the 2014 GT race on the way to earning his third consecutive drivers’ title and the third successive manufacturer title for Cadillac.

What they’re saying:

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R

Filipe Albuquerque: “I have great memories at Long Beach with Cadillac. My two wins at Long Beach from the first three years I drove there are with Cadillac. Cadillac has been running really well; it draws strong speed and pace. I am motivated with our Cadillac WTR team and with Ricky Taylor. I think we are doing a good job and besides the end results that we are getting, the pace is there and we have evolved a lot from last year. So, let’s hope that we have a breakthrough in Long Beach.”

Ricky Taylor: “We get back to our normal race weekend routine at Long Beach, focusing on the small details to execute the whole weekend as well as we can. Everything in Long Beach is important, starting from Practice 1. Everything has to be right from practice through the race. No flat spots in practice, good qual prep, good qualifying, perfect pit stop/driver change. There is no room for any errors if we are going to win this race.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “It’s always a favorite in the calendar for me, because street circuits are just that bit more thrilling than normal tracks. We’ve generally gone well there in the past, but we will be pushing hard to keep our podium streak going. That means a good qualifying and a good stop here.”

Frederik Vesti: “Ever since I was notified of Long Beach, I’ve been extremely excited. It’s a very, very cool historical racetrack with barriers all around. It’s an awesome location. It’ll be my first time in LA. I’ve driven this track for at least eight years on the simulator so to try it out in real life with the Action Express Whelen Cadillac 31 will be very very special. And doing my second sprint race in IMSA is still a challenge and something that we will need to see and work on, obviously it’s 100 minutes and it’s a very intense race with the tight GT traffic as well. So yeah I’m looking very much forward to the challenge and hopefully we can make Earl (Bamber) proud across the world and make Cadillac proud as well. I went to Belgium with Jack to do a bike race 100-mile bike race called Tour of Flanders, which was good fun. A bit of a relaxing weekend if you can see that about 100-mile race.”

No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R

Louis Deletraz: “I’m really excited for Long Beach, it’s always a great event. It’s very short, only two days. Friday is always very busy with all of the practices and qualifying. Obviously, it’s a different approach from Daytona and Sebring where we were fast but in endurance races you need to survive the first hours and race towards the end, but here at Long Beach it’s a full sprint. You want to be up front and stay up front. It’s really a full push. I think a crucial aspect of the weekend will be pure pace and racing hard. It’s street race, the surface is different and bumpy – the walls are everywhere and doesn’t forgive mistakes. So, it’s always exciting and I’m sure Cadillac will do great; it’s always strong on street tracks and bumpy tracks. I’m looking forward to driving the V-Series.R around the streets of California.”

Jordan Taylor: “The Cadillac V-Series.R always seems to suit street courses well. Over the past few years, it has always been strong at Long Beach and Detroit. We’ve made some big gains on setup and systems since this time last year, so I’m excited to see how we go this weekend.”

Cadillac Racing Long Beach results 2017-2025

2025: Fourth (No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) start seventh – Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber

       Sixth (No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R) start eighth – Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque

       Seventh (No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R) start 10th – Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz

2024: Overall winner (No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R) start third – Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande

      Second (No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) start first – Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken

2023: Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) start seventh – Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims

     Eighth (No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R) start third – Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande

2022: Overall winner (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais

      Second (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

      Third (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook

      Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez

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

     Second (No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen

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

2019: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

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

     Sixth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

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

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

2018: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth — Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

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

    Seventh (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran

2017: Overall winner (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor

    29th overall, seventh in class (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi

    32nd overall, eighth in class (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Eric Curran, Dane Cameron

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

How to Protect Your Rights After a Motorcycle Accident

By
SM
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Photo by depositphotos at https://depositphotos.com/

The moments following a motorcycle accident are often chaotic and disorienting. Injuries may not be immediately apparent, adrenaline can mask pain, and the confusion makes it difficult to think clearly about what steps to take next. However, the decisions made in the hours and days after a collision can have a significant impact on a victim’s ability to recover compensation.

California law establishes specific obligations and timelines that motorcycle accident victims must follow to preserve their claims. A Los Angeles motorcycle accident lawyer can guide victims through this process, ensuring that critical deadlines are met and that no detail is overlooked during a vulnerable and stressful period.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately

Motorcyclists are particularly susceptible to injuries such as concussions, internal bleeding, spinal trauma, and soft tissue damage, all of which may not present symptoms for hours or even days after the impact.

Prompt medical documentation serves two essential purposes. First, it protects the victim’s health by identifying conditions that could worsen without treatment. Second, it creates a medical record that directly links injuries to the accident. Under California’s delayed discovery rule, certain injuries that are not immediately apparent may still be actionable if the victim sought medical care within a reasonable time after symptoms appeared.

Report the Accident to Law Enforcement

California law requires that any accident involving injury or death be reported to local law enforcement or the California Highway Patrol within 24 hours. Additionally, any accident resulting in injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000 must be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days using an SR-1 form.

The responding officers will prepare a traffic collision report that documents the positions of the vehicles, road and weather conditions, witness statements, and any citations issued. This report often becomes a central piece of evidence in establishing fault.

Document the Scene Thoroughly

Take photographs of the vehicles involved, the point of impact, road conditions, traffic signals, skid marks, and visible injuries from multiple angles. Contact information from witnesses should also be collected, as their accounts may corroborate the victim’s version of events.

Victims should also note details that may not be obvious in photographs, such as the direction of travel for each vehicle, approximate speeds, and any unusual conditions like construction zones or malfunctioning traffic signals. These observations can assist accident reconstruction experts in piecing together how the collision occurred.

Preserve All Relevant Evidence

Once litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable, all parties have a legal duty to preserve relevant evidence. For victims, this means keeping the damaged motorcycle in its post-accident condition, retaining all medical records and bills, saving receipts for any accident-related expenses, and preserving digital evidence such as ride data or helmet camera footage.

An attorney can send a formal spoliation letter to the at-fault party and their insurer, putting them on notice that relevant evidence must not be destroyed or altered. Under California law, if a party destroys evidence after this duty attaches, the court may impose sanctions or issue an adverse inference instruction, allowing jurors to presume the lost evidence was unfavorable to the party responsible for its destruction.

Exercise Caution With Insurance Communications

Following a motorcycle accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will likely reach out to the victim, sometimes within hours of the incident. Adjusters may ask for recorded statements, request broad medical authorizations, or present early settlement offers that fall far short of the claim’s actual value.

Victims are under no obligation to provide recorded statements to the opposing insurer, and doing so without legal counsel can significantly damage a claim. Any information shared during these communications can be used to challenge the extent of injuries or to argue comparative fault, which can reduce the amount of compensation.

Understand Applicable Deadlines

Motorcycle accident claims in California are subject to strict filing deadlines that, if missed, can permanently eliminate the right to compensation.

  • The statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of the accident.
  • Property damage claims must be filed within three years.
  • If the accident involved a government entity, the victim must file an administrative tort claim within six months.

These deadlines apply regardless of the strength of the evidence or the severity of the injuries.

Account for the Full Scope of Losses

Motorcycle accidents frequently result in injuries that require extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and time away from work. Victims are entitled to pursue compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages include quantifiable losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, and motorcycle repair or replacement costs. Non-economic damages encompass pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Medical and economic experts can project these figures to ensure that a settlement or verdict accounts for the full financial impact of the injuries, not just the costs incurred to date.

Conclusion

Protecting legal rights after a motorcycle accident requires prompt action, evidence preservation, and a thorough understanding of California’s reporting requirements and filing deadlines. Each step taken in the aftermath of a collision contributes directly to the strength of a claim. Victims who take these measures position themselves to pursue fair compensation and to hold negligent parties accountable for the harm they have caused.

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