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Mercedes-AMG GT4 Wins First IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Race of 2021 with Murillo Racing and Co-Drivers Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss Saturday at Lime Rock Park

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Official Release
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LAKEVILLE, Connecticut – The No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 team and co-drivers Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss broke through for their first career IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class race win on Saturday, in a hot and hard-fought two-hour race at Lime Rock Park. The victory was also the first of the 2021 season for the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in Pilot Challenge competition and came after Mosing and Foss withstood high humidity, temperatures nearing 90 degrees and intense challenges from the competition.

Racing together for more than 10 years, Mosing, Foss and Murillo previously won both races and championships in lower-level Pilot Challenge classes, but Saturday’s victory was their first in the top-tier GS division after entering the class in 2018 with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing. The No. 56 team and drivers finished fifth at Lime Rock in 2018 and secured a third-place podium finish in 2019 before rising to secure Saturday’s victory. The 2020 IMSA race weekend at Lime Rock Park was not held in support of the fight against COVID-19.

Starting fifth after a season-best qualifying effort in Friday qualifying, Mosing moved up to fourth for the majority of his stint before pitting to hand the No. 56 over to Foss at the race’s 40-minute mark.

Foss continued the fight up front and soon moved into the top three as the race entered the final 30 minutes. He was third in a string of four Mercedes-AMG GT4 competitors for a race restart with 25 minutes remaining and made his move to the front as soon as the green flag waved.

Foss quickly moved up to second and then made what proved to be the winning pass on race leader Michael Hurczyn in the No. 11 FCP Euro Mercedes-AM GT4 in Turn 6 with just over 21 minutes remaining.

Foss led the race’s final 24 laps and crossed the finish line 9.925 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

Hurczyn led 20 laps in the FCP Euro No. 11, but he and co-driver Nate Vincent came up just short in a gamble to make it to the end on just one pit stop. Hurczyn was running sixth in GS on the final lap of the race when the No. 11 ran out of fuel two turns from the finish and coasted to a ninth-place finish.

After taking over from starting driver Bryce Ward, Alec Udell was running third with 10 minutes to go in the race in No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Udell moved alongside Hurczyn entering the narrow “No Name Straight” section of the track but slight and unintentional contact with the No. 11 knocked the No. 57 into the tire wall.

Udell managed to return to the race after a less than a minute delay but didn’t have enough time left to improve positions after dropping to 13th at the finish.

Ward and Udell finished one spot ahead of Winward’s sister No. 4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 co-driven by Ward’s son Russell Ward and Mikael Grenier in 14th.

Grenier was fourth in line behind the No. 11, No. 57 and No. 56 Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries for the final restart only to be hit by more than one competitor in the fight to the finish. One of the blows knocked Grenier off course and out of contention although the No. 4 was credited with leading one lap during the final pit stop cycle.

In total, the No. 56, No. 11 and No. 4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries combined to lead the race’s final 45 laps.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in IMSA competition is the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 5 – 8.

Jeff Mosing, Driver – No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “To be honest, we’re the drivers and we get in the car, and we do what we can do. But at the end of the day, when you say it’s a team effort, it really is, underscore and bold face. Once you taste that victory or championship, you keep wanting it and Murillo Racing has done everything they can do to get us here. Lime Rock has always been a good track for us, both on strategy and for our cars. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 was working really well today and so were the Michelin tires. In this kind of heat, I was waiting for the tires to fall off in my stint and they never really did. This is always a fun place to come to and race. It was disappointing last year when we couldn’t make it out, so it’s nice to come back with a bang.”

Eric Foss, Driver – No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4:

“Motorsports always takes a little bit of luck and preparation. Jeff did an awesome job in qualifying yesterday. I just knew he was going to be somewhere in the top five in qualifying, so I was really stoked about that. He did an awesome job in the race, and we were hounding him the whole time on the radio to just keep his pace up and keep up with the leaders. We got him out of the car right at the 40-minute mark, and knew it was going to be a two-stop race at that point. When we came in to do our final pit stop, the Murillo Racing guys were phenomenal. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 is such a great car, it’s super consistent, it’s very drivable and inspires a lot of confidence. We got lucky. We took the gamble on a two-tire stop and it paid off for us. It came down to the cars ahead of us not taking tires. We were the first of the cars that took tires and we got through the others kind of quickly.”

Michael Hurczyn, Driver – No. 11 FCP Euro Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It was a great team effort. We had a strong strategy. I went into the car just after 40 minutes when the yellow came out. We tried to go to the end on the same tires and with a fuel-saving strategy. I almost got creamed at the crest of the uphill on the last lap because we ran out of fuel just that close to the finish. I can’t thank the team enough for the great strategy, the great car and it’s just awesome to put on a great show in front of all of our families and employees. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 didn’t miss a beat for two hours and was fast. We’re learning something every single race. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 is getting better, and the team is getting better. We’re still only four races in with this car. We’ll figure it out. Road America is going to be a strong track for us so hopefully we can get at top five there.”

Nate Vincent, Driver – No. 11 FCP Euro Mercedes-AMG GT4: “The end of the race was a pure nail biter. We didn’t think we could make it on fuel. We kept going back and forth on strategy and finally decided to just send it and try to make it on fuel. It was absolutely fuel conserve mode. We’re talking sixth gear, just pedalling around the track and not touching the brakes under yellow, but we were a half a lap short. But all credit to Michael for keeping a lot of fast guys behind him on old tires in a car that was showing the wear, but even when the Mercedes-AMG GT4 was falling off, it wasn’t falling off as much as the other cars out there. That allowed Michael to run a car longer than anyone else out there on the same tires and keep up the needed pace. We’re really happy with the Mercedes-AMG right now, looking forward to the future, pushing the boundaries and hopefully reaching the podium soon.”

Alec Udell, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We had a really good strategy. We came out and pitted pretty early and tried to get our fuel strategy set so we were good to the end. The Winward Racing team did awesome on that, and I’m a bit frustrated to not take it all the way to the end. I think we had a really Mercedes-AMG GT4, even without not taking tires. Bryce drove a great stint early on and we had an opportunity to be up at the front. I went for it, but it just didn’t quite pan out. We lost a lot of time on track. It’s frustrating personally because you always want to take the opportunities that you can, and there’s a whole lot of risk and reward that goes through your mind out on track. Today it maybe wasn’t the right moment. It’s frustrating because I don’t like making errors, especially when there’s a podium on the line.”

Drissi Leads Brainerd Qualifying for Fourth Motul Pole Award of 2021

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Official Release
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Grid penalty moves Thwaits to head of grid for combined race

BRAINERD, Minn. (17 July 2021) – Tomy Drissi captured his fourth Motul Pole Award of the 2021 season in Saturday’s qualifying for the Ryan Companies US presents the Jed Copham Tribute Weekend, garnering the 11th pole of his Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli career.

Drissi turned a fast lap of 1:26.755-seconds in Burtin Racing’s No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro, beating out championship rival Chris Dyson, who ran 1:27.325-seconds in the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang. (VIDEO: Drissi Takes Pole at Brainerd)

“Brainerd is a really tricky track,” Drissi said. “There’s some amazing fast aspects of the track, and all of a sudden it goes from balls out to technical. You can’t over drive it because if you make a mistake in one corner you pay for it the next three. I went out there and it’s been so hot, so we knew it would be a little greasy and dusty. We made little changes to the car and we got the pole award and the extra championship points.”

It will be a short-lived honor, though, as neither Drissi nor Dyson will be on point for Sunday’s all-class race. Drissi was penalized four grid positions for jumping a restart in the most recent race at Road America, while Dyson will go back a similar number of places for jumping the initial green flag in that event.

That moves Ken Thwaits to start on the pole for Sunday’s combined feature race. He turned a lap of 1:28.904-seconds in the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Ford Mustang. Thwaits won four poles last year en route to the XGT championship, including Brainerd.

“I am pretty excited to start on pole,” said Thwaits. “It’s like the Twilight Zone out here. Things change and I never expected to be on the front row let alone the pole. It’s my first pole start in a TA car, it’s our maiden season in the class, and that good of a start came a lot quicker than I thought. We are pretty excited about it.”

Last season, Thwaits ran his best race of the year at Brainerd, finishing fifth overall and first in the XGT class piloting an Audi R8.

“The Audi has a completely different driving style than the TA car,” Thwaits explained. “There’s lots of aero and downforce in the Audi, and much lower horsepower. The TA is a completely different animal, I just have to guide this missile and send it down the road. It took me awhile to get used to this type of car, but I feel pretty good behind the wheel of it now. We are getting faster every single race and we are so happy about this weekend.”

Dyson enters the event leading Drissi by 22 points, 177-155. Dyson waited until midway through the session before posting a time.

“We wanted to see where the pace was going to be, and just get an assessment of how hard the guys in front of us were pushing before we went out,” explained Dyson. “We weren’t sure how much the track backed up since the morning based on the TA2 times. When we started to see Tomy (Drissi) roll some laps that’s when we got out and gave it our best. Qualifying went exactly as planned for us, and we have a great race car for tomorrow.

“We are going to try and get to the front early and stay out of trouble,” continued Dyson. “We are going to stay clear of the TA2 cars, stay clean and be there at the end.”

Two other top TA contenders were not on hand for qualifying. Defending seven-time series champion and 2020 Brainerd pole winner Ernie Francis Jr. missed qualifying due to his commitment in the SRX event at Nashville, and five-time TA pole winner Amy Ruman went to the sidelines due a part failure in her Corvette during morning practice.

Francis tested at Brainerd on Thursday, turning a lap of 1:25.845-seconds, unofficially beating Vinnie Allegretta’s four-year-old track record. Francis then traveled to Nashville on Saturday for the sixth and final round of the Superstar Racing Experience. Francis trailed only former NASCAR and IndyCar champion Tony Stewart in the series matching legendary competitors in identical cars prepared by Ray Evernham, winning at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. He will start from the back of the 22-car grid on Sunday – running third in the standings with 128 counters.

Ruman was expected to contend for the pole before encountering a broken driveshaft during practice in her No. 23 McNichols Company/Corner Tech CNC Solutions Corvette that might put her out of the event.

“Unfortunately we had a mechanical part failure, the drive shaft exploded,” said Ruman, who sustained minor injuries to her arm and leg after the incident. “The shrapnel came up through the cockpit and bit me a little bit. I am ok, which is the most important thing, but we don’t have another replacement part. We’ve had parts on order for months now, but the spare and new parts are on backorder. We are still working to make the race on Sunday if we can find a replacement part before then.”

Round 7 of the 2021 Trans Am season takes the green flag at 11:45 a.m. CT. The race is set for 40 laps, with a 75-minute time limit.

The full event weekend will be live streamed on the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App.

Matos Turns Up the Heat, Captures Brainerd Trans Am Pole

By
Official Release
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BRAINERD, Minn. (17 July 2021) – Rafa Matos captured the TA2® Motul Pole Award in qualifying for Sunday’s Ryan Companies US presents the Jed Copham Tribute Weekend, Round 7 of the 2021 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at Brainerd International Raceway.

Matos turned a quick lap early and remained on top throughout the session, with a best lap of 1:30.050-seconds in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang. Despite soaring temperatures taxing man and machine alike, Matos is ready to race on Sunday. (Video: TA2 Qualifying Report)

“I think the biggest challenge this weekend will be the heat that we are facing,” said Matos, capturing his second pole of the season and 12th of his career. “The heat affects the drivers, but also affects the car setup and the way the car handles. It’s brutal! Tomorrow’s going to be the same thing, but the good news is my car is very consistent. The 3-Dimensional Services Group team is amazing, again. They gave me a great car so I was able to put in a perfect lap, four-tenths ahead of Mike (Skeen), and three more points for the championship. Hopefully we will have a clean run for tomorrow.”

Matos now enjoys a 32-point lead over second-fastest qualifier Skeen, 175-143. Skeen’s fastest lap was 1:30.478-seconds in the No. 1 Liqui-Moly/Turn 14 Distribution Chevrolet Camaro.

“I feel like this morning we had a really good package when the track was a bit more grippy,” said Skeen. “Our car was still quick, tomorrow is a new day. We will make a couple tweaks and go from there.”

Thomas Merrill, third in the championship with 110 points, was third-fastest, 1:30.627-seconds in the No. 81 HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang.

“We were much slower this afternoon than this morning, but we expected it,” said Merrill. “Our strategy was to minimize the laps on the tires because the surface here is a bit abrasive and we knew we would only have one or two shots at it. We wanted to stay within sight of Mike (Skeen) and Rafa (Matos). We were faster than anticipated and got slowed up a bit behind Mike on our fastest lap. That’s a good problem to have, because we have a better car than we thought we did going into the race.”

An incident in Friday’s practice session eliminated the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Ford Mustang of Scott Borchetta, who spun and was hit by Connor Mosack’s No. 28 Nic Tailor/GS M1-SLR/Fields Chevrolet Camaro. Borchetta was cleared to race, but his crew opted to prepare the car for his upcoming home event at Nashville. The TeamSLR team went to its backup car for Mosack, the same vehicle that Sam Mayer drove to victory in the recent race at Road America.

Mosack – fourth in the standings with 97 points – went out and qualified fourth-fastest in the unfamiliar car, 1:31.177-seconds. He was followed by Edward Sevadjian, Michael Self, Adam Andretti, Adrian Wlostowski, TA2® debutant Jack Wood and Tom Sheehan.
Sunday’s race, which will feature a mixed-class format, is set for 40 laps, with a 75-minute time limit. Round 7 of the 2021 Trans Am season takes the green flag at 11:25 a.m. CT.

The full race weekend is live streamed on the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App.

Victory at Road Atlanta for Round 3 Racing

By
Official Release
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Braselton, Ga. (17 July 2021) – Round 3 Racing (R3R) continued their World Racing League (WRL) dominance in the GP3 class with a victory at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday. The nine hour race opened the double-header endurance weekend – the seventh stop on the 2021 WRL calendar.

The class win is the third win and sixth consecutive podium finish for the No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster.

No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster – GP3

Carter Pease, Dennis Neel, Jim Ptak and Hannah Grisham claimed the top step of the podium in the GP3 class in the No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster. The team of Hagerty drivers took the green flag from the pole position and never looked back. By the end of the opening hour, Pease had created a one lap lead to the position behind.

An ill-timed full course caution packed the field during the second hour. With Neel behind-the- wheel, he battled back through GP3 traffic to claim the top running spot once again on Lap 126. The combination of Pease, Neel, Ptak and Grisham stretched their lead to three laps.

On the final lap, Neel brought the No. 605 Hagerty Drivers Club Porsche Boxster across the finish line in first – claiming the GP3 class win.

“Winning today can only be described as elation,” said Pease. “There’s a lot of high quality drivers and high quality cars here, so it’s just really great to have this result come to us. Today really is just a testament to the program that Brad and Buz (McCall) built here at Round 3 Racing. Today’s conditions brought all types of curveballs to us. It was just hot, the sun was beating down but we were able to get the job done today.”

No. 701 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Cayman – GP1

The Team Cooper Tires driver team of Loni Unser, Mo Dadkhah and Mike Gilbert faced early adversity before making a strong comeback to complete the day in fifth.

On the third lap, close racing between the No. 701 and a fellow competitor resulted in contact forcing the Cayman off course in Turn 12. The R3R team quickly went to work mending the damage. Just one hour, 23-minutes later, Dadkhah suited up and returned to competition although outside of podium contention.

Heads down driving by Unser, Dadkhah, and Gilbert saw the Porsche click off lap after lap with Dadkhah setting the car’s fastest lap of 1:38.504-seconds on Lap 42. After nine hours of racing the No. 701 Team Cooper Tires Porsche Cayman crossed the finish line in fifth – the best result for the No. 701 entry since the introduction to WRL.

“It truly is amazing that we are standing here having completed this race,” said Dadkhah. “The incident early on challenged us and the team to recoup to finish the day. We know the car is great and capable of passing our GP1 competitors. Tomorrow we will be able to compete for a win and show off what this car is capable of doing.”

No. 702 Team Hagerty Porsche Cayman – GTO

Lady Luck was not on the side of the No. 702 Team Hagerty Porsche Cayman today at Road Atlanta as an early retirement slotted the driver trio of Sarah Montomgery, Cole Loftsgard, and Brad McCall in 23rd.

Montgomery took the green flag from fourth, quickly settling into her position as the field navigated the 2.54-mile course. Completing her opening stint, Montgomery came to pit lane for fuel returning to the running order in 15th. It did not take long for Montgomery to move through the GTO field taking over the race lead on Lap 53.

A tough battle with the Georgia heat led to Buz McCall calling up Loftsgard who stepped up as the reserve driver for the No. 702. Although turning his first laps in the Porsche yesterday, Loftsgard proved vital to race strategy as he paced the field for 33 laps when he came to pit lane for what would be the final driver change of the day to Brad McCall.

As McCall worked through race traffic, a full course caution appeared on Lap 147. While clicking off caution laps a mechanical failure resulted in an electrical fire on Lap 149. Unfortunately, the damage proved terminal – ending their weekend prematurely.

Race two of the weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta starts tomorrow, July 18th at 8:00AM ET with seven hours of racing to conclude the weekend. Live streaming will be available via the World Racing League youtube channel (Youtube.com/RaceWRL) with live in-car camera available in the R3R entries.

Chase Elliott wins SRX season finale, Tony Stewart claims championship at Nashville

By
Angie Campbell
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Photo courtesy of Camping World SRX Series

Chase Elliott, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, held off Hall of Famer Tony Stewart Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to win the finale of the inaugural Camping World SRX Series season.

“I had a ball. I got to race against two of my heroes,” Elliott said. “I got to race against Dad there throughout the race and those are moments I will cherish forever. Just super thankful to be here.”

He also commented on how competitive the racing was between him and his dad throughout much of the 77-lap feature event.

“I don’t know who lit a fire under him,” he said, smiling. “I had not seen that in him in years. It was amazing and a lot of fun. I thought it was going to be between he and I. I think he just got a little high into one and missed that restart. Other than that, it was so much fun.”

Bill Elliott won the first heat race, leading all but three laps with Chase behind him in second. The finish positions were inverted for Heat Race 2. Helio Castroneves took the heat win as Bill Elliott finished sixth and Chase Elliott placed eighth.

The lineup for the feature was based on the finishing positions in the two heat races. Bill Elliott started first with Chase Elliott in fourth place, but by Lap 32, Chase Elliott was on his dad’s bumper. He took the lead on Lap 55 and Bill Elliott fell back to third. From that point, the battle was on between Chase Elliott and Stewart, who had started fifth but worked his way toward the front to challenge for the win. Elliott was able to maintain the lead to score the victory at the .596-mile oval in Nashville.

Stewart clinched the SRX Series championship during the second heat race and finished second in the feature.

“How could you ask for more than to finish between two Elliotts?” Stewart said. “That’s pretty badass in itself, and we really appreciate NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports for letting Chase come run with us. It means a lot to us, it means a lot to Bill.”

Bill Elliott finished third after a disappointing final restart but described the race as “cool.”

“I’ve raced here before and I kind of had an idea of what I needed, and I think that helped as much as anything. It was such a cool deal to be able to come here and do this and have a crowd like this.

“For me, I finally got what I wanted out of a racecar and I felt good out there. I thought, I’m on Medicare and I’m trying to keep up with these young kids. You’re trying to learn and gain, and every time you get into a racecar you learn something, you learn from your mistakes. Not being in one in a long time and kind of making a mistake in turn one, not cleaning up my tires good, that was it.

“To me, it was a great night. My hat’s off to everyone at SRX for what they did and I’m proud of those guys. I just hope that we, as a racing community, can embrace this and learn from it, especially what we saw here tonight at the Nashville Fairgrounds. I haven’t seen a crowd like this here in many, many years.”

Stewart, a co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series, echoed Elliott’s sentiments.

“This series had every variable that you wanted and looked for. You had good racing, you had different winners, you had awesome crew chiefs, awesome ringers, awesome local track champions. To have heroes and villains in the series, I don’t know how you can ask for more than that.”

Feature Results (77 laps):

  1. Chase Elliott (Started 4th; led laps 53, 55-77)
  2. Tony Stewart (Started 5th; completed 77/77 laps)
  3. Bill Elliott (Started 1st; led laps 1-52, 54; completed 77/77 laps)
  4. Bobby Labonte (Started 2nd; completed 77/77 laps)
  5. Paul Tracy (Started 7th; completed 77/77 laps)
  6. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 3rd; completed 77/77 laps)
  7. Michael Waltrip (Started 10th; completed 77/77 laps)
  8. Tony Kanaan (Started 8th; completed 77/77 laps)
  9. Helio Castroneves (Started 6th; completed 77/77 laps)
  10. Hailie Deegan (Started 11th; completed 77/77 laps)
  11. Marco Andretti (Started 9th; completed 77/77 laps)
  12. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 12th; completed 56/77 laps)

Camping World SRX Series FINAL Championship Standings:

  1. Tony Stewart (237 points)
  2. Ernie Francis Jr. (192 points, -45)
  3. Bobby Labonte (182 points, -55)
  4. Marco Andretti (171 points, -66)
  5. Helio Castroneves (164 points, -73)
  6. Tony Kanaan (162 points, -75)
  7. Paul Tracy (121 points, -116)
  8. Michael Waltrip (111 points, -126)
  9. Bill Elliott (105 points, -132)
  10. Willy T. Ribbs (67 points, -170)

Bell makes it an Xfinity three-peat at New Hampshire

By
Andrew Kim
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LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - JULY 17: Christopher Bell, driver of the #54 DEWALT Toyota,celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17, 2021 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images).

Christopher Bell made the most of his one-race return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series by remaining undefeated at New Hampshire Motor Speedway following a dominating victory in the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 on Saturday, July 17. The Norman, Oklahoma, native quickly worked his way from starting 14th to sweep both stages and lead a race-high 151 of 200 laps before recording the win by more than six seconds over Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Jeb Burton started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Justin Haley.

Prior to the event, Landon Cassill and Matt Mills dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines. Dawson Cram also started at the rear of the field due to a driver change.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Jeb Burton prevailed on the outside lane through the first two turns to take an early lead over teammate Haley, Austin Cindric and the field. 

With the field fanned out to nearly four lanes through the backstretch, Jeb Burton was able to lead the first lap. Behind, Cindric moved up to second followed by AJ Allmendinger, Haley, Jeremy Clements, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Brett Moffitt and Riley Herbst.

By the fifth lap, Jeb Burton was leading by more than a second over Cindric, who had Allmendinger challenging him for the spot. Haley remained in fourth followed by Clements, Harrison Burton and Allgaier.

Twelve laps later, Allmendinger overtook teammate Jeb Burton for the lead. Allmendinger then went on to retain the lead through Lap 20 before the competition caution flew.

The race restarted on Lap 26 with Allmendinger and Cindric starting on the front row. Just as the field was approaching the start/finish line to restart under green, the caution returned for a restart pileup involving Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt and Sam Mayer, an incident that sent the back end of the field scattering to avoid the calamity.

Following the incident, the race restarted on Lap 30. Through the following 13 laps, Allmendinger remained out in front until he had Bell and teammate Harrison Burton challenging him with the first stage reaching its conclusion.

With two laps remaining in the first stage, Bell, following a lengthy battle with Allmendinger and Harrison Burton, moved his No. 54 DeWalt Toyota Supra into the lead. Just as Allmendinger had a final lap effort established for Bell, the caution flew due to a wreck in Turn 1 involving Kyle Weatherman and Tommy Joe Martins. The incident ended the first stage under caution on Lap 45 with Bell in front of Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Allgaier, Haley, Jeb Burton, Josh Berry and Clements.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field, except for Brandon Brown and Joe Graf Jr., pitted, and Bell was the first competitor to exit pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 53 and Brown retained the lead through the first two turns until he was overtaken by Allmendinger. With Allmendinger back in the lead, Bell also made his way into the runner-up spot on the track.

By Lap 56, Bell returned to the lead after he overtook Allmendinger for the top spot. Behind, Cindric was in third place ahead of Haley, Allgaier, Hemric, Jeb Burton, Noah Gragson, Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider and Josh Berry.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Bell, who continued to dominate, was out in front. Cindric was scored in second followed by Hemric, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Haley, Berry, Harrison Burton, Gragson and Jeb Burton.

Under the stage break, the entire field pitted and Bell retained the lead following his exit from pit road.

With 102 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start and with the field battling for positions, Bell remained as the leader by a clear advantage over Allgaier, Hemric and the field.

With 52 laps remaining, the caution returned when Patrick Emerling lost a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall approaching Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Bell retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead.

Down to the final 45 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hemric filled the front row. At the start, Bell pulled ahead with the lead followed by Allgaier while Hemric fell back to third ahead of Cindric.

A lap later, Gragson hit the outside wall in Turn 3 following contact with Allmendinger, but the race remained under green.

Meanwhile, the battle for the lead ignited between Bell and Allgaier, with the latter pressuring the former. Despite Allgaier’s repeated challenges through the turns and the straightaways under the final 40 laps, Bell continued to lead.

With 20 laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Allgaier and Hemric.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Bell extended his advantage to nearly five seconds over Allgaier and Hemric. Cindric was back in fourth followed by Harrison Burton and Haley, who was more than 10 second behind.

Despite being surrounded by lapped traffic through the final laps, Bell utilized his huge advantage to pull away and cruise to the finish line, where he claimed his third consecutive checkered flag at the Magic Mile.

Along with his third consecutive Xfinity victory at New Hampshire, Bell achieved his 17th NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in his 75th series start and the eighth victory of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team.

“What I’ve got figured out is that I’ve got really, really fast race cars to drive,” Bell said on NBCSN. “I just love being here with Joe Gibbs Racing. All these Supras that I’ve had the last three times I’ve been here have been amazing. Hopefully my Camry is just as good tomorrow, but if feels good to win, finally got DeWalt in victory lane. I know it’s been a long time coming…Just really proud to be at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everyone here does an amazing job.”

Allgaier held off Hemric to finish in the runner-up spot while Cindric and Harrison Burton completed the top five on the track.

Haley, Snider, Josh Berry, Moffitt and Riley Herbst finished in the top 10.

Teammates Jeb Burton and Allmendinger finished 11th and 12th while Gragson settled in 14th in front of Jeremy Clements.

There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 28 laps.

With his top-five run, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 82 over AJ Allmendinger and 113 over Daniel Hemric.

Results.

1. Christopher Bell, 151 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Justin Allgaier

3. Daniel Hemric

4. Austin Cindric

5. Harrison Burton

6. Justin Haley

7. Myatt Snider

8. Josh Berry

9. Brett Moffitt

10. Riley Herbst

11. Jeb Burton, 16 laps led

12. AJ Allmendinger, 29 laps led

13. Ryan Sieg

14. Noah Gragson

15. Jeremy Clements

16. Brandon Gdovic

17. Brandon Brown, four laps led

18. Jade Buford, two laps down

19. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

20. David Starr, two laps down

21. Tommy Joe Martins, three laps down

22. Josh Williams, three laps down

23. JJ Yeley, three laps down

24. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

25. Landon Cassill, two laps down

26. Jeffrey Earnhardt, three laps down

27. Dexter Bean, three laps down

28. Jesse Little three laps down

29. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

30. Colby Howard, four laps down

31. Patrick Emerling, four laps down

32. Matt Mills, five laps down

33. Spencer Boyd, six laps down

34. Jordan Anderson, six laps down

35. Dawson Cram, 16 laps down

36. Alex Labbe, 26 laps down

37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Electrical

38. Brandon Jones – OUT, Electrical

39. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

40. Mason Massey – OUT, Accident

The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will enter a two-week break period before returning on Saturday, August 7, at Watkins Glen International. The event is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

CORVETTE RACING AT LIME ROCK: Taylor, Garcia Take Overall Victory

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Official Release
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No. 3 Corvette wins over No. 4 C8.R in weather-shortened, GT-only race

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 17, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia won a weather-shortened Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, their third straight victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Taylor and Garcia had the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R ahead when the race was stopped with 70 minutes left due to lightning in the immediate area of the track. Race officials called the race with 25 minutes left in the two-hour, 40-minute GT-only contest.

The mid-engine Corvette C8.R won its Lime Rock debut, and Corvette Racing won at the circuit for the sixth time. It also marked the first overall Lime Rock victory for Corvette Racing.

Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy placed second in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R, their second straight runner-up finish. Saturday’s results increased the lead for Garcia and Taylor in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers Championship and Chevrolet’s advantage in the Manufacturers standings.

Taylor began from pole position and Milner third following a precautionary engine change overnight. Milner moved the No. 4 up to second behind Taylor at the start, and the two Corvettes ran 1-2 throughout the race. Both cars made their first stops a lap apart just past the 30-minute mark for fuel and tires. By that point, both Taylor and Milner were mired in slower GTD traffic and on a three-stop strategy.

Milner, who suffered damage in his second stint after contact from a slower car, was the first Corvette driver to make his second stop and handed off to Tandy with 80 minutes remaining. Taylor did the same a lap later with a swap to Garcia as both Corvettes took fuel and fresh Michelin tires.

Five minutes later, race officials called for a full-course caution to monitor the approaching weather and stopped the race a lap later.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the IMSA SportsCar Weekend on Aug. 6-8 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Same-day coverage on NBCSN starts at 8 p.m. ET with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold at 2:35 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE-WINNER: “For sure, Jordan did an amazing job. He drove the first two stints and it was the plan for me to be in for the other two. We knew this could happen. In a way, I’m happy that he drove so well and managed to keep the 4 car at a distance the whole time and control it so I could have a really quick driver change. That helped us extend our lead. But you never know. It would have tight; I don’t know if it would have been raining or not at the end so it would have been hard to keep the lead. I’m really pleased for another Corvette 1-2. Looking at how Jordan and Tommy (Milner) drove, it seemed like very hard work with tire degradation, especially. I will definitely take it. It’s my first win at Lime Rock so I’m happy with this.”
HAVE YOU HAD A RACE TO END LIKE THIS? “No, I don’t think so. But it is what it is. We had a ton of fans out here today and safety comes first. This time we were lucky in that we were leading when the red flag came. For sure, you need to be up there in that position to benefit from the conditions.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE-WINNER: “It was odd. We kind of knew what was going to happen going into it. We knew it was going to be a race of tire degradation and strategy, whether it be a two-stop or three-stop race just looking at the history of the race. Twenty laps in, we knew it was going to be a three-stop race doing 45-lap stints. It was about fuel mileage, saving tires and getting through traffic cleanly. Thankfully we executed well and the driver change went well. We knew the weather was imminent at some point and that it could be red-flagged, so we knew track position was going to be important. Thankfully we were out front when that came.”

HAVE YOU HAD A RACE TO END LIKE THIS? “The 2019 Rolex 24, we won when it was red-flagged for too much rain. It was a similar feeling sitting in the pitlane with an hour to go and maybe no more pit stops. You’re waiting to see if it’s going to go green again, so it’s kind of very stressful with the unknown. Today looking at the radar, a couple of miles north of the track there were a crazy amount of lightning strikes so I think it was going to come this way no matter what. It wasn’t as rainy as Daytona that year, but today was a similar feeling.”

TOMMY SAID HE HAD A LACK OF REAR GRIP EARLY. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO CARS IN THE OPENING? “I don’t know if it was a big advantage. If it was anything, I think it was getting fortunate in traffic. You could gain or lose a second-and-a-half depending on where you got traffic. Some laps I could see myself gaining in traffic and on another lap I’d lose two seconds and he’d be right there again. I think the ebb and flow of that would show the gaps. I don’t know if the lap-time delta was going to be that big on a clear track. We were saving tires right from the get-go. The tire degradation was a lot bigger than I expected. To do a two-stop race was going to be almost impossible. Even doing a three-stopper with 45-lap stints… once you got to 35 laps there was a steep drop-off. Maybe they suffered a little bit more than we did with that. We started with a setup knowing the car was going in that direction and using tools like the traction control and everything we had in the car to save tires early on and hopefully benefit later in the stint.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND
YOUR TEAM TOLD YOU AT ONE POINT THAT YOU WERE MAYBE GOING TO LEAPFROG THE NO. 3 UNDER THE PIT STOP WHEN YOU CHANGED DRIVERS.
“It was looking pretty good there because they short-filled on their first stop to make it out in front of some of the traffic, so they are always watching that kind of stuff. I was probably about 2.5 seconds back of the No. 3 car until I got to the No. 96 car and he ran me off the road and damaged the car. The car was a handful after that. Had I been able to stay with the No. 3 car then we would have had a fuel advantage and we would have probably been able to beat them out. It’s just unfortunate, the contact there. The team is not lying to me and that’s good. It is probably better in most cases to not tell a driver everything, but something like that is definitely encouraging. It’s just a bummer. We were looking pretty good there with their strategy call. It was going to help us in the end, but in the end it didn’t play out that way.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/Sirius XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND
IT WAS A CHALLENGING WEEKEND WITH HOW THIS RACE FINISHED.
“Yeah, it was a challenging weekend. We obviously had a few technical issues and we set ourselves a way to go about the race and try and make the best two hours and 40 minutes, and unfortunately, we didn’t get to stretch it out. But yeah, another Corvette 1-2 so it’s good points for the Manufacturers Championship and this is obviously the main goal.”

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

Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst New Hampshire NXS Race Report

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Official Release
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Herbst Finishes 10th at New Hampshire
Monster Energy Driver Rebounds from Early Spin for Sixth Top-10 of Season

Date: July 17, 2021
Event: Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 (Round 19 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: 12th / 10th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (418 points, 379 out of first)
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Overview:

Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team rebounded from an early spin to earn a 10th-place finish in Saturday’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Herbst started the 200-lap race 12th and moved up to 11th in the first lap. He held that position for the opening 20 laps until the competition caution. When the green flag waved again on lap 26, the Monster Energy Ford Mustang spun out of line after contact from the rear sent him into the car in front of him. The No. 98 team brought Herbst down pit road twice during that caution for four fresh tires, and then again to fix the damage on the front of his Mustang. He was able to stay on the lead lap and restarted 36th on lap 31 and was a man on a mission. Herbst was able to work his way up to 24th by the end of Stage 1. With some help from his Monster Energy pit crew, Herbst gained five spots on pit road and restarted 19th for the second stage. He continued his march forward and finished Stage 2 in 14th. One more trip down pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air-pressure adjustment gained Herbst another three spots to put him back where he was running before the lap-26 incident. In the final stage, Herbst struggled with the balance of his Ford Mustang as it started the run loose, but then grew tight before getting loose again as more laps were put on the tires. A lap-149 caution brought an opportunity for Herbst to fix the handling on his racecar and for the team to gain another four positions on pit road. Herbst restarted ninth with 45 laps to go. After briefly slipping out of the top-10 on the restart, Herbst climbed back to 10th by lap 170. He held that position until the end of the race to earn his sixth top-10 of the 2021 season.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I feel like we should’ve run in the top-five, for sure. We had really, really good speed before the competition caution and then, obviously, we got wrecked on that restart. I guess I’m happy with the way we battled back, but it’s just frustrating. I feel like it’s our whole season – so fast and get wrecked, make a mistake, or something. We’ll take two weeks off and try to get one at The Glen.”

Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 to earn his 17th career victory, his first of the season and his third at New Hampshire. His margin over second-place Justin Allgaier was 6.241 seconds.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 28 laps.

● Seventeen of the 40 drivers in the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 finished on the lead lap.

● Austin Cindric remains the championship leader after New Hampshire with an 82-point advantage over second-place A.J. Allmendinger.

Next Up:

The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is on Saturday, Aug. 7, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by CNBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report – New Hampshire

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Official Release
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Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race: Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200
Date: July 17, 2021

No. 22 CarShop Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric

Start: 4th
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 2nd
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+82)

Notes:

  • Austin Cindric claimed his best finish in three starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a fourth-place finish in Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 on Saturday afternoon. His previous best effort at the 1.058-mile speedway was a 12th-place in 2019. The driver of the No. 22 CarShop Mustang racked up his 12th top-five in 19 starts this season and remains the leader in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 82 markers ahead of second-place AJ Allmendinger.
  • The starting lineup was once again set per the NASCAR rulebook, which gave Cindric the fourth-place starting position. Before the competition caution was displayed on lap 20, Cindric reported his CarShop Mustang lacked grip on the short run. As the stage progressed, the reigning Xfinity Series Champion ran as high as second but slipped to fourth position when Stage 1 concluded on lap 45. Crew chief Brian Wilson called for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel during a round of pit stops during the stage caution on lap 48 and Cindric restarted fifth when the race went green on lap 52.
  • Cindric moved up to second position early in Stage 2. The adjustments by Wilson a few laps earlier improved the short run speed on the No. 22 Mustang, but Cindric reported he also needed a little more front turn. The Mooresville, N.C. native held firm to the runner-up position during the caution-free second stage. Wilson called his driver to pit road during the stage cation for an air pressure adjustment, four tires, and fuel.
  • Cindric restarted fourth when the Stage 3 went green on lap 98. He ran inside the top-five through the final segment of the race. The fifth caution on lap 150 set up one final round of stops among the leaders and speedy service by the CarShop team (four tires plus another round of air pressure adjustments) put Cindric third for the restart on lap 155. He briefly climbed up to second position on lap 163 but soon fell back to fourth position by lap 167, where he remained for the final 33 laps.

Quote: “We started a little bit off the eight-ball. We didn’t have enough short run speed and got to where we could recover from that and just trying to figure out which one was our strength, and which one was our weakness. Trying to be good on the short run and hold on for the drive on the long run, so we probably made the wrong call there with the final adjustment, but I think it was going to be the right thing to be able to battle with the 54 (Christopher Bell). I could have been a bit more of a jerk to pass the 7 (Justin Allgaier), but it wasn’t worth it. It was fun racing, and we’ll move on. It was a solid points day for the CarShop Ford Mustang. We have a good little off week for the guys to re-juice and get ready for Watkins.”

RCR Post Race Report – Loudon 200

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Official Release
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Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Crosley Furniture Team Record Solid Seventh-Place Finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Finish: 7th
Start: 16th
Points: 12th

“After completing my first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, this place is exactly what I thought it would be. It’s a giant Martinsville Speedway with lots of room, which played well with my skill set as a short track driver. Our Richard Childress Racing team brought a good car to the track today and we did well throughout the entire 200 laps as a team. We battled a tight handling condition for the first two stages, and it hindered me from being able to roll through the center of the corner. Andy Street (crew chief) kept working on it and by the second half of the race, we got the car turning much better. If we would have had another restart, we could have competed for the win in our Crosley Furniture Chevrolet. I’m very proud of everyone on this No. 2 team and we will regroup during the Olympic break before heading back to another road course.” -Myatt Snider

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