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Unibet Racing: Kevin Harvick Indianapolis Road Course Advance

By
Official Release
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KEVIN HARVICK
Indianapolis Road Course Advance
No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview
● Event: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Round 24 of 36)
● Time/Date: 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 15
● Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
● Layout: 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 82 laps / 200 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 20 laps / Final Stage: 47 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / IMS Radio Network / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard marks the debut of Unibet as a primary sponsor of driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team of Stewart-Haas Racing. Unibet is a part of the Kindred Group, one of the top online gambling operators with business across Europe, the U.S. and Australia. The Unibet brand is building on its years of European experience in the responsible gambling and player sustainability field and extending that mindset to its U.S. operations, with motorsports being a key platform. Unibet will return to the No. 4 car as a primary partner Oct. 31 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

● Unibet is doubling down on Harvick at Indianapolis by also sponsoring him in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. Harvick is making his third and final Xfinity Series start of 2021 and he will again drive for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in the No. 99 Unibet Ford Mustang. Of Harvick’s 348 career Xfinity Series starts, 13 have come on road courses. He has finished in the top-10 every time. In fact, his worst finish is merely a seventh-place drive at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Aug. 12, 2006, and in that race, Harvick still managed to lead 19 laps. He has 10 top-five finishes highlighted by two wins – Aug. 4, 2007 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Aug. 11, 2007 at Watkins Glen.

● The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is the sixth of a ground-breaking seven Cup Series races to be held on road courses in 2021. From 1988 to 2017, there were only two road courses on the schedule – Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and Watkins Glen. The Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval was added in 2018, giving the series just three road-course venues. The initial 2021 schedule doubled that tally with Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course all being added. And when COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of the series’ planned stop earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the road course at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway was put in its place, serving as the series’ second race of 2021.

● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, has made a total of 47 NASCAR Cup Series starts on road courses. He has 20 starts at Sonoma, 20 at Watkins Glen, three at the Charlotte Roval, two on the Daytona road course, one at COTA and one at Road America. He has scored two wins – Watkins Glen in 2006 and Sonoma in 2017 – along with 10 top-fives and 24 top-10s with 195 laps led.

● When Harvick scored his first road-course victory at Watkins Glen in 2006, he had to beat his current team owner to do it. Tony Stewart – the “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing – had won the past two NASCAR Cup Series races at the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course and was poised to capture a third straight win as he was leading Harvick with four laps to go in the 90-lap race. But Harvick, who had already led once for 24 laps, passed Stewart on lap 87 as the two drag-raced down the frontstretch and into turn one. Harvick held onto the lead despite Stewart in his rearview mirror, earning a margin of victory of .892 of a second.

● Harvick’s second career road-course win also had a connection to Stewart. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he gave Stewart-Haas Racing its second straight victory at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course. The winner in 2016? None other than Stewart. It ended up being his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory as Stewart retired from NASCAR racing at the conclusion of the season.

● Harvick’s last road-course win was his first in a Ford. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he became the 83rd different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race behind the wheel of a Ford. Harvick has now won 23 Cup Series races with Ford, which makes him one of only 13 drivers to win 20 or more races with the manufacturer. He is currently tied with Rusty Wallace and Carl Edwards for 11th on the all-time Ford win list.

● Harvick has four road-course wins outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. Two came in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2007 – and two were in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – Sonoma in 1998 and Sonoma in 2017. Harvick’s K&N Series win at Sonoma in 1998 was three years before his Cup Series debut on Feb. 26, 2001 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang

For 20 years you’ve driven through the tunnel and into Indianapolis Motor Speedway knowing that you would be racing on the oval. This year when you arrive at Indy, you’ll be racing on the road course. What will that be like?

“For me, driving through that tunnel and understanding the history and everything that comes with racing on the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is something that I always look forward to. I can’t imagine driving backward on the frontstretch and driving the road course in the infield. It’s an oval thing for me. When you look at the oval and you look at the history of the racetrack and everything that comes with that – some guys may not have grown up like that, so some people will have a much different opinion – but for me the oval just holds a huge place in racing and it holds a huge place in the things that I look forward to every year. I remember the first time I pulled in there for a test in 2001 and you roll into the racetrack and you think, ‘Man, I just accomplished everything in my childhood dreams, rolling into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.’ Getting to go out on that racetrack and hearing the echoes of the cars through the grandstand is something that I’ll never forget, standing there on the front straightaway. I’m sure I’ll get over it as we start to get into practice and realize it’s just another race but, for me, it’s going to be a difficult hurdle to overcome.”

You might prefer the oval over the road course, but at least this year’s race has fans back in the grandstands.

“Our sport has done a phenomenal job navigating the whole COVID situation. As we’ve gone through a better part of this year having fans back at the racetracks with some sense of normalcy – that’s been a lot of fun. To see the enthusiasm from the sponsors to the fans and everybody else being back at the racetracks – it’s fun to see people’s faces again, and you can see who they are, and to have a conversation and stand around and talk and not have to be in a designated area to do this or that has been a relief. We’ve had some great crowds and our sport’s done just a great job in navigating everything.”

The Indy road course is one of seven road-course races this year. What are your thoughts on having so many road courses on the schedule?

“I’m good with the road courses. I think when you look at Road America, it was a huge success. That’s a great facility with a permanent road course that’s been there a long time. I grew up a Rick Mears fan wanting to race in the Indy 500, so not racing on the oval for me is a gut check. As a kid, that’s where I wanted to race and that was my dream – to race on the oval. As you look at road-course racing in general, it has become a part of our sport, and a very good part of our sport because of the fact that it gives us other opportunities to go to other facilities. When you look at COTA and you look at Road America, I think those were great additions to the schedule. Road-course racing is going to be a part of the Cup Series for a long time.”

How do you prepare for the road course at Indy?

“For us and our Unibet Ford Mustang, it’s drastically different preparation and, for me, it’s learning a new track, trying to make sure that before you go there you have everything memorized and doing the things it takes to be able to know where you’re going when you get on the racetrack. You just don’t have much practice in order to get everything figured out. All the transmission ratios and stuff are all locked in before you get there. So, hopefully, our simulator is working well and we get the lap times close and can get all the gear ratios and things like that figured out before we get there. But it’s a fair amount of preparation just because of the fact that you have to memorize the facility and you’re having to lock some stuff in before you even get to make a lap of practice on the racetrack. So, it’ll be interesting.”

One of the things that we used to see a lot of when NASCAR raced at road courses were ringers – road-course specialists brought in specifically for that race – but that’s really gone away in the last 10 years. Why?

“When I first came into this series, nobody wanted to go to Watkins Glen and nobody wanted to go to Sonoma, and then road-course racing became cool somewhere along the line. And I think as drivers – I know for me in 2003 – we really decided to put a lot of effort into our road-racing program and we were able to get much better at it than what we had been the previous two years. And as that progression happened, everybody started to get better at it, and the benefit of the road-race ringer kind of went away. It was more equal, and that little bit that the road-race guys had in road-race knowledge, they lost in car knowledge – not having the familiarity with the Cup car and how unique they are to drive.”

No. 4 Unibet Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Stan Doolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

Idemitsu No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi Takes Second at Road America

By
Official Release
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ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The weather was changing by the hour at Road America for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend, but the Idemitsu-sponsored No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi RT24-P tandem of Harry Tincknell and Oliver Jarvis stayed consistent on race day to finish second and return to the podium.

Consistency was the key. The No. 55 Mazda was quickest in a rain-soaked practice session Friday, then qualified Q3 on Saturday. Then, the two-hour and 40-minute sprint race around historic Road America was much like a Sunday drive. The team stayed in the top four during the race, running third in the waning laps. With just over three minutes to go, and rain drops starting to fall again on the 4.048-mile high-speed track, Tincknell muscled into the second position and cruised to the podium barely a second and a half behind the race winner.

Tincknell shared his excitement on social media after the race. “P2 at Road America! In the mix for the win until the end. Mega job by Olly (Jarvis) in the first half. Got out on the track in 4th and managed to move up two more spots before the checkered. Sweet result for the championship as well.”

The next stop for Idemitsu and Mazda is the IMSA Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship, September 10-12, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

About Idemitsu and Contact info:

Idemitsu Lubricants America is the Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) official factory-fill lubricants partner and the bulk oil program supplier for the Genuine Mazda Premium Oil Program, as well as a primary Mazda Motorsports USA sponsor.

About Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. Founded in 1911, Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (IKC) is a Japanese petroleum company and the second-largest refiner and lubricants supplier in Japan. In order to evolve into a resilient business entity, Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. will continue to, both domestically and abroad, operate and expand in the following five business segments: Petroleum Products, Basic Chemicals, Functional Materials, Electricity & Renewable Energy, and Resources. The company’s Functional Materials segment covers the production and sale of fuel oil and lubricants.

About Idemitsu Lubricants America Corporation Idemitsu Lubricants America Corporation (ILAC) is a premier lubricants manufacturer and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., committed to providing quality, innovation, and service to customers across North America. ILAC offers unmatched production quality, ensuring peak operating performance from a full range of lubricants for the automotive and industrial sectors. Idemitsu Lubricants America Corporation provides environmentally-friendly, cost-effective lubricant solutions that help maximize performance efficiencies and minimize cost.

About Mazda North American Operations Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees Mazda vehicles’ sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Mazda Motor de Mexico manages operations in Mexico in Mexico City.

Are You Managing a Vacation Rental? Here’s All the Know-How to Succeed

By
SM
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Photo by Marko Kelecevic on Unsplash

Vacation rentals offer a vacation experience to guests that allow them to stay in vacation homes, condos, or apartments. These units can be rented by the day, week, or month and may come with amenities like pools and hot tubs. The advantages of vacation rentals like Tuscany Villas include the ability to rent anywhere in the world at any time of year, as well as being able to employ various professionals, from housekeepers and maintenance staff to concierge services. For example, yacht care services are essential if you own one and rent it out to people.

However, managing a vacation rental can be very challenging because you are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the home while your house is being rented out, and you should consider a cleaning service to take the stress away from cleaning so that you can deal with other issues that may arise during the stay of your guests.

This article will give you all the know-how to effectively manage a vacation rental business so that you can maximize its profitability without compromising on quality or service. It can also help if you own Serviced Apartments in Tay Ho (West Lake) and want to manage your rental business.

Managing a Vacation Rental Properly

Vacation rentals are a great way to make some extra money. They also provide an opportunity for homeowners to share their property with others and earn some extra income during the off-season. However, managing a vacation rental can be very challenging because you are responsible for cleaning, maintaining your home while it’s being rented out, and dealing with issues that may arise during the stay of your guests. Below are the challenges in managing a vacation rental business:

– High turnover rates of vacation rental guests: This can be challenging because you may have to clean and prepare the vacation rental for each new guest, which is time-consuming. In addition to this, you have to spend money on cleaning and maintenance to make sure that your vacation rental is in good condition for guests. Vacation rentals are a lot of work, so you may not be able to run this as your full-time job because it can quickly become overwhelming with all the responsibilities that come from managing a vacation rental. If you decide to use vacation rentals as your full-time job, you’ll need to prepare for the high turnover rate.

– High turnover rates of vacation rental guests: This can be challenging because you may have to clean and prepare the vacation rental for each new guest, which is time-consuming. Turning to a cleaning service Houston or a cleaning company in your area could be the answer to this problem. They will make your life easier by taking over the cleaning tasks and relieving you of unwanted stress and anxiety. In addition to this, you have to spend money on general upkeep and maintenance to make sure that your vacation rental is in good condition for guests. Vacation rentals are a lot of work, so you may not be able to run this as your full-time job because it can quickly become overwhelming with all the responsibilities that come from managing a vacation rental. If you decide to use vacation rentals as your full-time job, you’ll need to prepare for the high turnover rate.

– Repairs on your property: It can be challenging because you’ll need to maintain your vacation rental, as well as address any issues that might arise during the stay of guests in your vacation rental. This could include plumbing problems or other emergencies such as broken appliances. You need to deal with all of these to guarantee that your vacation rental is always in pristine condition.

– Potential guests: You will need to keep up with any potential vacation rental guests by being attentive to reviews, calls, and messages from them. This means you’ll have to be open 24/hours a day for the duration of your vacation rental business period to respond quickly when they contact you about booking their stay at your vacation rental and to answer their vacation rental-related questions.

– Income: You will need to be mindful of how much income you generate from your vacation rental business because this is the source of your revenue that can cover all expenses throughout the year. When guests stay at your vacation rental, they pay for a percentage of what it would cost them to book and stay at a hotel.

– Managing the property when it’s not rented out: This is also challenging because vacation rental businesses need to be competitive with other vacation rentals in the area. With a vacation rental business, you can maximize your revenue by managing it as often as possible and deciding whether you want to have your property professionally managed when it’s not rented out for guests during any given year.

The Advantages of Running a Vacation Rental Business

Of course, there are also advantages to running a vacation rental business such as:

– The vacation rental business can be a very lucrative opportunity.

– There are many opportunities for tax breaks and other incentives to help you offset the costs of running it.

– You have flexibility with your pricing, which means that when there is less demand during off-seasons, you’ll still make money.

– You’ll be able to turn your vacation property into a “little money-making machine” and also save up for the future.

Managing Your Business Properly Is Essential

Since you are running a business, you need to make sure that you are doing everything properly. You need to make sure that you have a vacation rental website and social media account so potential clients can find your listing easily. Check the local zoning ordinances for vacation rentals in the area you’re staying in because they might not be allowed in all areas, or there may be restrictions on how many vacation rentals can be in one area.

By managing your business properly, you will overcome all the challenges and maximize the benefits. This is a good way to earn yourself a good profit to help you save for your future.

J-F DUMOULIN: THE DRIVER AND TEAM MANAGER ARE READY FOR THE GRAND PRIX DE TROIS-RIVIERES

By
Official Release
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Photo Credit: Matthew Manor CSCG

Three Dumoulin Competition cars on-track – NASCAR Pinty’s Series – August 13 to 15, 2021

EventGrand Prix de Trois-Rivieres – 60 laps
TrackGrand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec)
Date / TV               AvertissementLIVE on RDS2 – Sunday, August 15, 2:18 pm | Tape-delayed on TSN – Sunday, August 22, 1:00 pm
Schedule / Race CenterSaturday, August 14: Practice 11:50 am | Qualifying 4:10 pm |– Sunday, August 15:  Race 2:18 pm Canada: TSN.ca and the TSN application | United States: TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold | Live Timing: nascar.ca/race-center/

Trois-Rivieres (Quebec, Canada), August 10, 2021 – Jean-François Dumoulin and his #04 Groupe Bellemare | Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi | Omnifab | Bernier Crépeau Chrysler Fiat team are excited to be returning to the track, especially since the veteran driver had skipped the races presented by Pinty’s in 2020 to focus on his professional commitments as a driving instructor and General Manager of Dumoulin Competition. With his historic third place finish at the 50th edition of the Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix in 2019, Jean-François Dumoulin has every intention of reaching the podium again this year.

“You can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to returning to the track!” said Jean-François Dumoulin.

“With our partners still with us after all these years, plus our family, friends and fans, Trois-Rivieres is our most important event of the season. We have optimized the #04 Groupe Bellemare | Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi | Omnifab | Bernier Crépeau Chrysler Fiat car to make it even better than in 2019 and we expect a lot from the improvements. We are coming to the Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix to fight at the front of the lead pack.”

A 60-lap Race

The 10 laps added compared to 2019 will have an impact on the race strategy and the race flow. The officials have also added a mandatory stop to ensure that everyone will have enough fuel to cover the extra race distance. Teams will also have an opportunity to change tires as per their strategy and position in the race. Drivers will also be more attentive to the management of their brakes and tires to ensure that they will still have a strong car at the end of the race and be in the lead pack with a real opportunity for victory.

Car Preparation for Louis-Philippe Montour

Since 2018, Jean-François Dumoulin has excelled in his role of managing the preparation of Dumoulin Competition cars and those rented out to other drivers. He will be very busy this weekend with Louis-Philippe Montour joining the team at the wheel of the #07 Kamloop car.

Founded in 2009, Dumoulin Competition has always had the goal of preparing top-line cars for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, and It was thus logical to bring that preparation work and manage quality in-house in 2016. Over the seasons, Dumoulin Competition has made great strides in order to better control and execute the preparation of the cars. They decided to perform the work in-house starting in 2018, and making big steps forward each season in quality of the work, reliability and competitiveness of their services. This positive development led after only three years of operation to a second Pinty’s championship for Louis-Philippe Dumoulin in 2018.

Dumoulin Competition Continues to Cooperate in the Development of the Next Generation of Drivers.

On May 4, 2019, Dumoulin Competition announced its commitment to the next generation in motorsports with the “Dumoulin Compétition Partenaire de la relève” trophy, awarded annually to the champion of the Mini Sportsman Québec series. Dumoulin Competition is also a partner in the Festidrag Development program, a new-talent development initiative led by Karine Albert and Martin D’Anjou.

“Passion – Performance – Partnerships”

ABOUT PARTNERS

Groupe Bellemare is a 3rd generation family business that has been serving clients since 1959. Today, the company has more than 500 employees and provides them with an innovative work environment facilitating work-family balance and a healthy and safe quality of life. With over a half century of experience and its sustained R&D efforts, the Company offers high-quality products and services in areas as diverse as concrete, abrasives and minerals, dimensional load transportation, and recycling. Groupe Bellemare is also very involved in its industry and attaches great importance to its social and environmental role as a member of the business community. Groupe Bellemare makes a positive contribution to the quality of life of citizens in the communities it serves by supporting numerous social causes and promoting local purchasing through its responsible procurement practices (groupebellemare.com).

Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi is proud to be one of the first Mitsubishi dealers in Canada (opening in 2002). The commitment from Mitsubishi is defined by the quality, reliability and durability of its vehicles, notably with their 10-year warranty, the best in the industry! Pride, integrity and respect are the values of the Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi team (troisrivieresmitsubishi.com).

Omnifab. Since it was founded in the 90s in Louiseville, Omnifab has continuously improved and reinvented itself to better serve its customers. This is essential in a sector such as industrial mechanics, where technologies and needs are constantly evolving. However, some things should stay the same. Our products and services have continued to meet high quality standards because we stay true to our vision and values and share them with our employees (omnifab.ca/en/).

MIA – Motorsports In Action: With over 50 years of combined Motorsport experience, MIA is making a name for itself in the industry in “La Belle Province”. Being trackside, situated at Autodrome St-Eustache, gives our clients “real time” results, testing their vehicles. One stop shopping is our strength, from high-end mechanics, exotic automotive maintenance, complete race car building and design to prestige paint and meticulous detailing. “Leave it, then enjoy it!” (motorsportsinaction.com).

Bernier Crepeau Chrysler Fiat: With 25 years of experience, the family business has built an enviable reputation in the field of vehicle acquisition. If the future of this company is linked to the loyalty of its customers, it is also held by the reliability and strong communication of its team. This team is at your disposal, ready to listen to you, to hear you. Passion, care, and determination. A team willing to go the extra mile, with its ears wide open (berniercrepeau.com).

Dumoulin Competition: Jean-François and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin founded the Dumoulin Competition Race Team in 2009. Working with financial, marketing, logistics and sports management experts, they built up a solid business structure. Dumoulin Competition prepares its on race cars in-house since 2016. Their motto: “Passion – Performance – Partnerships” expresses their will to perform on the track and offer their partners maximum visibility and profitability in return for their commitment. Their vision: To become Canada’s leader in motorsports through track performance, entrepreneurial and human values (dumoulincompetition.com).

Summary – Highlights in Jean-François Dumoulin’s career

·       2019 Season – NASCAR Pinty’s Series two podiums, one top-5 & and a sixth-place finish in four road races.

·       2018 Season – NASCAR Pinty’s Series one podium, three top-5 & five top-10 on 10 races. First championship with cars entirely prepared by Dumoulin Competition;

·       2018: First Canadian to participate in the NASCAR Whelen Euro series at the Zolder finals (Belgium);

·      First podium in the NASCAR Canadian Tire series on May 17, 2015 (3rd place – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park);

·      NASCAR Pinty’s Series Championship since 2015;

·      The first Quebec-born driver to win twice the Rolex 24 in Daytona; 2004 (SGS and 2007 (GT);

·      Caught the attention of the renowned Player’s Driver Development Program scout (Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic), became one of the youngest drivers ever to be recruited, and was touted as a strong contender for the championship title in Formula Ford (1996 and 1997 seasons);

·      Champion of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS, USA in 2003 (9 podiums);

·      Champion of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sport Car Challenge ST, USA in 2002 (5 podiums);

·      In Montreal’s 2009 edition of NASCAR Nationwide, he finished his first race in 7th position aboard a badly damaged car and won the hearts of numerous fans and reporters;

·      In 2000, he was the Motorola Cup Series Vice-Champion, during a season that included a 1st place podium finish after having begun the race in 52nd position at theMolson Indy event in Ontario, Canada.

WEBSITES:

Groupe Bellemare: groupebellemare.com

Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi: troisrivieresmitsubishi.ca

Omnifab: omnifab.ca/en/

MIA – Motorsports In Action: motorsportsinaction.com

Bernier Crépeau Chrysler Fiat: berniercrepeau.com

Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières: gp3r.com

Quebec Cancer Foundation: fqc.qc.ca

Gilles-Villeneuve Museum: museegillesvilleneuve.com

Dumoulin Competition: dumoulincompetition.com

NASCAR Pinty’s Series: hometracks.nascar.com/series/pintys-series

Facebook: facebook.com/dumoulincompetition

Twitter: @DumoulinDC / @jf_dumoulin / @DumoulinLP

Youtube: youtube.com/user/dumoulincompetition

Instagram: @dumoulincompetition

Winward Racing and RENNtech Motorsports Secure Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Team Podium Sweep at Road America and a Class Victory at Nashville

By
Official Release
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ATLANTA – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing competitors secured a team podium sweep and a class victory in dual IMSA and SRO America events Saturday and Sunday, at the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America in Wisconsin and the SRO GT America powered by AWS doubleheader on the streets of Nashville. Mercedes-AMG GT4 team Winward Racing secured both second and third place IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge finishes on Saturday at Road America, while RENNtech Motorsports stepped up for the victory with the Mercedes-AMG GT4 on Sunday in Nashville.

A combined entry of 13 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams across three racing series competed during the IMSA SportsCar Weekend and the Music City Grand Prix. At the same time eight IMSA Mercedes-AMG customer teams were competing in Wisconsin, five other Mercedes-AMG customer entries were racing in Nashville.

Winward, with its pair of Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries, was the first Mercedes-AMG customer team to deliver results this weekend in Saturday’s wet and wild two-hour race at Road America.

Russell Ward and co-driver Indy Dontje co-drove the No. 4 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 while Ward’s father, Bryce Ward, shared the sister No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Alec Udell.

Russell Ward, who was the top starting Mercedes-AMG GT4 competitor at fourth on the grid, battled in the lead pack throughout his race opening stint. Charging from the drop of the green flag, his quick pace produced the fastest Grand Sport (GS) class lap of the race.

Bryce Ward started in the No. 57 and was making a move of his own to the front in the race’s first hour. He was a race-high fourth place when he pitted at mid-race to hand off to Udell.

Russell Ward pitted the No. 4 at the same time the No. 57 was brought in, and some quick work by the Winward crew put co-driver Indy Dontje back in the race in the lead.

Winward made a strategy call to not switch tires on either of its cars–the gamble proved to be a smart one as a consistent rain started to fall in the race’s final hour.

The team also went into fuel conservation mode in the second hour in what turned out to be a successful attempt at avoiding a late “splash and go” pit stop for fuel. Udell and Dontje were fourth and fifth with less than 15 minutes to go, but soon moved into the top three as competitors in front were forced to pit for fuel.

Along with the eventual race winner, Udell and Dontje saved fuel while keeping up just enough pace to maintain their positions to the finish. Udell crossed the line in second and was followed less than five seconds later by Dontje in third.

Winward’s dual podiums anchored a solid result of four Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams in the top-10. Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss recovered from a spin to finish seventh in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 while their teammates Brent Mosing and Kenny Murillo finished 10th in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Winward’s victory lane visit was the second of the IMSA GS season for the team following a third-place finish by Bryce Ward and Udell in the No. 57 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May.

It was also the second time Winward secured dual podium finishes in the same race. In 2020’s season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, Bryce Ward and Philip Ellis finished second in the No. 57 and Russell Ward and Dontje were third in the No. 4. Those results were part of that race’s record top-three Mercedes-AMG GT4 sweep that included the race-winning No. 35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4.

A Mercedes-AMG GT4 competitor also secured the best Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer team result of the Nashville weekend on Sunday, when first-year SRO GT America driver Chris Cagnazzi won the GT4 class race in his No. 39 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. The victory was the first for Cagnazzi in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 in just his third weekend of SRO America series competition.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 competitors endured more challenges at Road America and Nashville than the Mercedes-AMG GT4 contingent. A top-four overall and third-place SRO3-class finish by George Kurtz in the No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Sunday in Nashville was the best result of the weekend.

Kurtz drove one of three Mercedes-AMG GT3 DXDT entries at Nashville while the new Gilbert Korthoff team carried Mercedes-AMG GT3 honors at Road America in just the team’s second race. After a race-opening double stint by starting driver Shane Lewis, co-driver Guy Cosmo was at the wheel of the No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Mercedes-AMG GT3 late in the race when the entry was retired with a minor suspension issue.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in IMSA competition is the Monterey Grand Prix at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, September 10 – 12.

The next race for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams in SRO America competition is a full weekend event at Road America, August 27 – 29.

Bryce Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “That was one of the funnest races of my life. I really had a great time. I started ninth and turned it over in fourth. I’m just so excited and want to give it up to the team and the other drivers for doing a fantastic job. I’m really proud of the whole team. Russell, Alec, the whole team. They did a great job. The pit stops were amazing and got us out there. They were just awesome.”

Alec Udell, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We had a great strategy. A couple of times the calls in the races have not gone our way, but this one did. It was a great call from the pits. We did the entire race on one set of tires, which was great. A bunch of other cars took tires, but we were able to do it all the way to the end on one set. We had a good battle with Indy and then we were able to sort it out and get moving forward. We just kept picking cars off, one by one, and it was a matter of not making mistakes, which a lot of people did. Bryce had a great first stint, kept making up spots and forcing mistakes on other people just because he was there, filling their mirrors and putting pressure on. He made some great passes as well. It was a really fun race, and it is super exciting to be a part of the Winward Racing team.”

Indy Dontje, Driver – No. 4 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “In the four years or so I have been racing with Winward this is definitely the hardest race I have had. It was pretty tense, particularly at the end when we had to push so hard in the heaviest rain of the race without knowing if we had fuel to make it to the end. Going up the big hill on the front straight before the finish line was really stressful. On the last lap when I made it, I just screamed on the radio to the guys “I am up the hill!” Then on the cool-down lap I was going up the hill in the pits and that was it. The car was empty, and we couldn’t have gone another lap!”

Chris Cagnazzi, Driver – No. 39 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It was a great ending to an amazing weekend. It feels great to know that the effort the team and I are putting in is paying off. And to win at an inaugural event like the Music City Grand Prix on a street course that had never been raced on – you couldn’t even practice on – for me was really the pinnacle of the weekend. I set the fastest race lap on Saturday, so I started from the pole on Sunday. It was a good pace and a good clean race to the finish. Saturday was a bit of a disappointment. I was second nearly the entire time and for some reason the field was stopped under caution in a really tight section just over the bridge where we had gone through at speed at least five or six laps before. I got a little jammed up in the wall avoiding hitting the race leader, but what really threw me off was getting the car restarted. After I got going again, I was picking up about a half-a-second a lap, but it was too late to get back on the podium. So, getting pole and a first-place finish Sunday was a great way to turn around the weekend. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 was amazing on all three of the surfaces on the track. From the old asphalt to the new asphalt to the grooved concrete over the bridge. The car felt very, very comfortable, it adapted really well to the track and the RENNtech team did a great job setting it up. It was compliant but not soft enough to hop and bounce like some of the other cars were doing.”

Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I’ve driven in damp conditions, but this was a first for me driving in the rain. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 is definitely the car to have in conditions like this, with the long wheel-base and the top German engineering that’s gone into the car. It made it really easy for me to find the grip and use it, and you can tell that the Mercedes-AMG GT4 is definitely one of the strongest cars in the rain, especially coming off the corner. It is just an absolute dream. This was also my first-time driving Road America. I just took it as an opportunity to learn as much as we can. When you get these opportunities from Brent and Tim Probert to drive this Mercedes-AMG GT4, you just have to take it all in and make sure you walk away with a lot of experience. I’m really happy with the weekend. Murillo Racing did an amazing job. I can’t thank those guys enough. We were fastest in the second practice session of the weekend and that was a big highlight for everybody. Of course, there might have been some game playing by everybody else during that session, but we’ll take it. I’m incredibly happy about the whole weekend and looking forward to the next one.”

Guy Cosmo, Driver – No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Mercedes-AMG GT3: “With any team in the early stages like we are, there are so many things that we are learning about. It’s not just about how we run our Mercedes-AMG GT3 and what we learn about making it fast, it’s what we learn about how we function as a team and what needs to be improved. There’s so much that just being at these events is teaching us. There’s only one place to go from here and that’s to improve and move forward. We had a lot of setbacks this week that were unexpected, but just like anyone learning anything, you’re not going to learn unless you have a couple of failures. We had a few of them this weekend and we know what we need to come back better and stronger.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: Ford Seeking Fourth Straight Cup Win at IMS

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Official Release
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FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: INDIANAPOLIS NOTES

The NASCAR Cup Series will experience something new this weekend as drivers compete on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course for the first time. Last season, the NASCAR XFINITY Series ran the debut race on the course and Chase Briscoe came away with the victory. Here’s a look at how Ford has done at IMS since the circuit began racing there in 1994.

This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, August 14 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 4 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, August 15 – NASCAR Cup Series, 1 p.m. (NBC)

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT IMS

  • Ford has 6 all-time series wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  • Ford has won the last 3 Cup races.
  • Dale Jarrett and Kevin Harvick have two Ford victories each at the track.

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT IMS

  • Ford is looking for its second straight series win at the IMS road course.
  • Chase Briscoe won last year’s inaugural event.
  • Team Penske has one series win at the track (2012).

FORD GOING FOR FOUR IN A ROW

Ford comes into this weekend’s event having won the last three NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski started the streak by winning the regular-season finale in 2018 while Kevin Harvick has posted back-to-back victories in 2019 and 2020. Ford is coming of a weekend sweep last season when Chase Briscoe won the first race on the IMS road course and Harvick followed with his third career Brickyard victory on the oval.

FORD’S ACTIVE ROAD COURSE CUP WINNERS

There are three current drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series race on a road course with Ford. The most recent winner was Ryan Blaney, who captured the inaugural event at the Charlotte Roval in 2018. Kevin Harvick, who goes into this weekend with 23 career Ford victories in just over four years, got his first with the Blue Oval in 2017 when he won at Sonoma. Joey Logano scored his Cup victory at Watkins Glen International in 2015, which completed a weekend sweep after he won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race one day earlier.

OTHER FORD ROAD COURSE CUP WINNERS

Besides the drivers mentioned above, Ford has five other competitors who have won on a road course in either the NASCAR Cup or NASCAR XFINITY Series. Ryan Newman (Watkins Glen NXS, 2005); Brad Keselowski (Watkins Glen NXS with Ford, 2013); Chris Buescher (Mid-Ohio NXS with Ford, 2014); Michael McDowell (Road America NXS, 2016); and Austin Cindric (Watkins Glen, 2019; Mid-Ohio, 2019; Road America and Daytona, 2020 with Ford).

FORD ROAD COURSE CUP WINS IN THE MODERN ERA (1972-Present)

Indianapolis will represent the eighth different road course the NASCAR Cup Series has competed on in the modern era, joining Riverside International Raceway (1958-88), Watkins Glen International (1957-Present), Sonoma Raceway (1989-Present), Charlotte Motor Speedway (2018-Present), Daytona International Speedway (2020-Present), Circuit of the Americas (2021) and Road America (2021). Ford has produced a total of 19 combined wins at those facilities from 1972-Present. Mark Martin leads the way with four victories, including three straight years at Watkins Glen, while Ricky Rudd, Marcos Ambrose and Geoffrey Bodine have two each.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT THE BRICKYARD

1996 – Dale Jarrett (Oval)
1997 – Ricky Rudd (Oval)
1999 – Dale Jarrett (Oval)
2018 – Brad Keselowski (Oval)
2019 – Kevin Harvick (Oval)
2020 – Kevin Harvick (Oval)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT THE BRICKYARD

2020 – Chase Briscoe (Road Course)

Ellliott’s Custom Trailers and Motorcoaches Joins Front Row Motorsports

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Official Release
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Company to Launch New Motorcoaches Line with Help from Anthony Alfredo

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 10, 2021) – Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is proud to welcome Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts, an authorized inTech, United, Featherlite, ATC, Alumitech, Haulmark, and EZ Go dealership, to the organization as the “Official Custom Trailer of Front Row Motorsports.”

The partnership will be highlighted by the introduction of a new line of custom motorcoaches offered by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Motorcoaches. The new logo will be featured on the No. 38 Ford Mustang driven by Anthony Alfredo during this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway- a home track of the Warsaw-based company.

“We are proud to partner with Front Row Motorsports and Anthony Alfredo during this historic weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Cindy Elliott, Owner, Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Motorcoaches. “The debut of our custom motorcoaches is something that we’re very excited to announce and share. Just as we pride ourselves in our custom trailers and carts, we’ve worked hard to provide race families and fans with the best option for a customized motorcoach. There is no better place to launch the line than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

In addition to the launch and promotion of the new line of motorcoaches, Elliott’s Custom Trailers will become an integral part of FRM for years to come. FRM will now utilize a new 32-foot Featherlite car hauler to transport its race vehicles throughout the areas of Mooresville, N.C. The new trailer will be critical in getting cars to and from the fabrication shop and other locations.

“In racing, transportation and logistics are a large part of what we do to maintain our race program,” said Jerry Freeze, General Manager, Front Row Motorsports. “Our shop trailer is consistently on the road delivering race cars and trucks to-and-from our fabrication shop and other places. We can now depend on Elliott’s Custom Trailers with a brand new Featherlite car hauler to ensure we are always operating at our best.”

Alfredo is ready to get to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on the road course with Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Motorcoaches this weekend.

“So many race fans, especially in the Midwest, are familiar with the Elliott racing family and Elliott’s Custom Trailers,” said Alfredo. “They have played such an integral part in supporting USAC, sprint car and other forms of racing, in ways that keep racing families moving forward. It’s an honor for them to join FRM and help us carry on their tradition of quality products and service. We know their new line of custom motorcoaches will only be the best. I’m proud to carry their colors this weekend.”

For more information about Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Motorcoaches visit, www.elliottscustomtrailers.com.

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

M&M’S MIX Racing: Kyle Busch Indianapolis Road Course Advance

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Official Release
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KYLE BUSCH
Indy with a ‘Twist’

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Aug. 10, 2021) – Kyle Busch, the two-time Brickyard 400 winner in his 17th season in the NASCAR Cup Series, will be relegated from veteran to rookie status, of sorts, for Sunday’s Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Busch won back-to-back Brickyard 400s in 2015 and 2016 among his five top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 16 career starts on the historic 2.5-mile oval, but when the series makes its return this weekend, competitors will literally experience a twist on tradition as they’ll race on the facility’s 2.534-mile, 13-turn road course for the first time.

Last season, NASCAR Xfinity Series competitors got a head start on their Cup Series counterparts as they raced for the first time on the road course circuit with Chase Briscoe finding victory lane. Briscoe has graduated to fulltime Cup Series competitor and, with expected entries from AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric, will be one of only three racers in the Cup Series field who drove last season’s Xfinity Series race.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s MIX Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has fared well on both of the previous two new road-course events added to this year’s schedule. He led 12 laps with a top-10 finish in May at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, and he finished third July 4 weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

With Busch’s proficiency on the road courses, there’s no doubt he’ll be a contender this weekend in his first shot at the Indianapolis circuit. In the five road-course races contested so far this year, Busch has three top-fives and four top-10s, including the third-place finish at Road America and a fourth-place run last weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Busch will take on the new challenge of the Indianapolis road course with the return of the M&M’S MIX scheme this weekend. M&M’S MIX combines three different flavors of M&M’S in one bag. There are two different types: Classic Mix, which features Milk Chocolate, Peanut and Peanut Butter, and the Peanut MIX, which combines Milk Chocolate Peanut, Dark Chocolate Peanut and White Chocolate Peanut. Race fans can pick up M&M’S MIX at local retailers. The scheme has already gone to victory lane this season at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

So as Busch heads to the Indianapolis road course for the first time, he’ll hope that Indy with a twist will be just a successful as the historic oval as he looks to add to the win column Sunday in his M&M’S MIX Camry.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S MIX Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What does it mean to the prestige of NASCAR Cup Series racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway now that it will be contested on the road course instead of the 2.5-mile oval?

“It’s definitely not what the oval is, certainly not the Indy 500 or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was always known for being the 2.5-mile oval and all the history that came along with that from the 500 to the Brickyard 400 over the years, as well. To me, it’s going to be the same, but it is what it is. It’s another racetrack where it’s a different racetrack at the same venue. So we have to go out there and figure it out. I saw clips of last year’s Xfinity Series race there and it looked pretty fun. We’ve been spending more time learning more about it and we are going to put the same effort into that race as any other. And we’ll try to bring home another win there, this time on the road course, with our M&M’S MIX Camry, just like we did there a few times on the oval.”

How hard has it been adapting to all the changes this past year?

“Obviously, it’s adapting, but last year there were guys that were good that won a lot of races and they were fast, and this year those guys aren’t winning, and now you’ve got different guys that are kind of winning. It’s just mixed up, it’s weird, it’s different. It doesn’t matter which form or fashion you come to the racetrack in, you always want to be fast, you want to be good, you want to be winning. Honestly, with as easy as everything is with just showing up and racing, it’s the perfect storm for anyone as long as you’re good. When you’re winning, it’s like it doesn’t matter, we’re good.”

Is road-course racing something that comes naturally to you, or is it something you had to work on?

“It’s definitely something you have to work on. With rule changes and tire changes, it’s something you work on every year. There’s always change that you have to work on to be competitive. When I was a kid back in Las Vegas in Legends cars, that’s where I was able to learn about shifting and turning left and turning right. I had the natural instincts for it and won a couple of championships in the winter series we had out there. We actually went out to Sonoma back then and ran the national championship races two years in a row and finished third both times, so I had a little bit of experience on road courses as I came up through the ranks. Certainly the game has changed as far as road course racing this year, with several more races than we used to have, so you have to adapt and adjust. We’ve run well at the majority of the road courses so far this year and I’m hoping we can keep it going this weekend in our M&M’S MIX Camry.”

What is it that you like about racing on the road courses?

“Just enjoy road racing. You used to only have two a year and you kind of treated them like an off weekend – come in, have fun and try to run hard and what not. Now, there’s four, five, six of them or whatever it is so there’s a bit more work involved to it, but still feel as though it’s fun. I’ve always been fast most times on the natural road courses. It’s nice when you have a shot to come up to a track that you know you can get up in the top-three or four and go shoot for a race win.”

Is Indy still Indy without running on the oval track?

“For my opinion and my perception, I don’t view it as Indy, no. Indy is the oval. That’s what makes the allure of Indy and that’s the prestige of the place and being around since 1900. It’s been there forever, it has a lot of history there. Spin and win with (Danny) Sullivan, and (Rick) Mears and A.J. Foyt and the Unser story and all that stuff for years. The Andretti story – all of that is IndyCar, obviously, but then it all started in 1994 with NASCAR going there and Jeff Gordon winning five times and (Dale) Earnhardt winning and Dale Jarrett winning, Bobby Labonte winning. It’s like the who’s who has won the Brickyard 400. I don’t foresee that being the same allure being on the road course. That doesn’t mean we won’t dig hard and go try to win what we have in front of us, though.”

Event Overview:

● Event: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
● Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 14
● Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
● Layout: 2.534-mile, 13-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 82 laps, 200 miles
● Format: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 20 laps / Final Stage: 47 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / IMS Radio Network / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Meet the No. 18 M&M’S MIX / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Blake Houston
Hometown: Enochville, North Carolina

Jackman: T.J. Ford
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Joe Crossen
Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Jeff Cordero
Hometown: Salem, Connecticut

Road Crew Members:

Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York

Truck Driver: Tom McCrimmon
Hometown: Spicer, Minnesota

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Notes of Interest:

● Playoff Points: Busch has racked up 14 important playoff points he can take with him through each round. Busch sits third in the standings with 16 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s with just three regular-season races remaining before the playoffs begin.

● Road-Course Ringer: Busch scored his fourth career Cup Series road-course win in June 2015 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and he heads to the Indianapolis road course with 14 top-five finishes and 23-top-10s at the new and traditional road-course stops on the schedule with 39 combined starts at Sonoma, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course, the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

● Alone in Ninth: With Busch’s win at Pocono in June, the two-time Cup Series champion scored his 59th career win in NASCAR’s top series as he moved past Kevin Harvick into sole possession of ninth on the all-time win list. Next up on the win list is Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer who won 76 races during his storied career.

● 222 and Counting: Busch will be aiming to add to his record 222 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. In addition to his 59 Cup Series wins and 102 in the Xfinity Series, Busch has 61 wins in the Camping World Truck Series.

Should You Restore Your Vintage Ford Truck? 4 Things to Consider

By
SM
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Photo by Maria Soledad on Unsplash

If you have an old Ford truck in your garage, you may wonder whether it’s worth restoring or not. Finding the right parts takes a while, and some can be expensive. Plus, restoring the truck can be a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Is it safe to assume you’re going to drive the truck? If so, you will need insurance. This can be tricky, but since you can compare auto insurance policies online, you have a wealth of options right at your fingertips. All in all, despite the prospect of these challenges, there are vintage Ford trucks that truly deserve to be restored. If you consider that your old truck has financial or sentimental value, restoration may be worth it.

So, should you restore your vintage Ford truck? Here are a few essential things to consider. 

  1. How Rare or Expensive Are the Parts? 

When restoring an old vehicle, the biggest challenge is finding replacement parts. To decide if restoration is even possible, visit auto parts dealers in your area or browse online listings. If you have a classic F100 pickup truck, you are in luck because 1972 ford truck parts are readily available. Due to the popularity of the F-series, you can still find obsolete parts for almost all the vintage trucks in the series. Look at prices and compare offers to determine whether the restoration costs look reasonable to you. Importantly, create a list of the broken or missing parts and search for each of them individually. Learn which of them are easy to find and which are not available on the market. 

  1. What Are Your Plans for the Truck? 

To determine whether restoration is worth the effort, ask yourself what your final goal is. What are your plans for the truck once it will regain its functionality and look? Do you plan to keep it as a personal vehicle? Do you intend to sell it? If you’re considering selling your restored vintage truck, it’s important to know that this plan might not work as expected. The explanation is simple: restoration costs can highly surpass the offer you may get from a potential buyer. Making money off a classic truck restoration is not a realistic goal due to the massive time investment and the range of resources that the restoration process entails. However, if you still like the idea of bringing your old truck to life, it can be helpful to know that you may find the experience rewarding in other ways. For example, you can take your vehicle to antique truck shows and meet other Ford enthusiasts. 

  1. Do You Have the Skills or the Time? 

To restore a vintage truck, you need to dedicate a lot of time to the project. As you start working on the vehicle, you may discover additional problems. Some will be easy to fix. Others will be very challenging. Thus, you need time to find all the right auto parts, gather the right tools, and order special pieces. Moreover, the actual work of replacing parts and painting materials can also be time-consuming. Do you have time to devote to this restoration project? Are you a great mechanic? If not, do you know someone who is? Labor and expertise can be just as costly as the physical components. If you have no experience with restoration, it can be helpful to ask someone qualified to share an opinion about the state and potential of your vintage Ford truck. 

  1. Is the Truck Affordable to Buy? 

If the same vintage truck model is available for sale at an affordable price, restoring the one in your garage may not be worth your time and money. However, finding a classic truck in a decent condition is not easy because many listings don’t accurately describe the vehicle’s problems. There’s always some risk involved when purchasing an old vehicle. In some cases, it’s more cost-effective to restore your old truck and thus have the guarantee that it will run smoothly. The situation can vary from model to model. You can find some Ford models in perfect condition at a reasonable price, but you can also find some expensive vintage models. Therefore, the rarity of your Ford truck model matters. 

Final Words 

Before restoring a vintage Ford truck, it is important to look at all the details that go into the process. If you’re a seasoned mechanic with a passion for vintage vehicles, you may find a lot of joy in restoring your truck, despite the challenges. Maybe your vintage Ford is the vehicle that suits you best. However, if you have neither the necessary skills nor the time to learn, consider the potential challenges carefully. Try to build a reliable team that can do the work for you. Factors such as truck model, rarity, current condition, and availability of replacement parts should play a role in your final decision. 

Is NASCAR’s Crash Culture Healthy?

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SM
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Daytona 500 by Matt Beamer for Speedwaymedia.com

As one of the premier motorsports in the world, NASCAR annually brings in a huge amount of viewership and cements itself at the top with other motorsports big names such as Formula 1 and MotoGP. The biggest races such as Daytona can also compete with big events for punters around the world and other big offers like Melbourne Cup offers to bet on the race. With just twelve races remaining, the majority of the 2021 NASCAR season is behind us, but big crashes is a question that is often asked every year and is not any fault of NASCAR. 

If you’ve been a viewer for any period of time, stock car crashes are quite common. They do get an uproar from the fans, for the most part, depending on the situation and/or the drivers involved. Crashes are most commonly a small tap into the barrier or a spin, but much of the fans interest is still pointed towards what is called “The Big One”, or the part of a race that leads to a pile-up of race cars taking many drivers out of the race. It can first appear that there’s a lot of carnage and destruction, it’s also important to remember that these cars are designed to break apart to minimize any serious injuries to the drivers involved.

It comes after a number of big accidents across other motorsports, but it’s all part of the risk of racing. In recent years there have been greater measures taken to ensure that if accidents do happen that the risk is minimized as much as possible. In most motorsports, if an accident does happen it is taken seriously, particularly those at higher speeds. NASCAR is one of the few motorsports events where big crashes are still widely common, but with all of the great safety measures in place, they are usually not serious crashes.

Ultimately as long as the drivers feel safe and are safe, it may not be too important if the crash culture is healthy and celebrated since it is a form of entertainment after all. But that doesn’t mean there may not be pressure coming from other angles in light of some of these big recent crashes to ensure that not only NASCAR, but all motorsports are taking driver safety seriously. These cars are only going to get faster and more powerful over time, which may only lead to bigger and more destructive crashes in the future. This could make the risks go higher for the drivers and teams involved.

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