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Five Things To Watch at REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR

There is a new championship leader and new challenges ahead as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES begins the second half of this competitive season.

Pato O’Ward’s victory in the second race of last weekend’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit pushed the Arrow McLaren SP driver into the series lead heading to the REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR on Sunday, June 20 at the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. O’Ward is one point ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou with eight races remaining. Practice begins at 5 p.m. (ET) Friday (live on Peacock).

However, the initial focus of the Road America weekend centers on two injured drivers and their replacements.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay will not be medically cleared for this event following Tuesday’s surgery to repair a broken left clavicle injured in a cycling accident Monday. VeeKay, fifth in the season standings, is being replaced in the No. 21 Direct Supply Chevrolet by 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew, who replaced Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist in the second Detroit race after the Swede was hospitalized in a crash in Race 1. As Rosenqvist is still not ready to return to the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, he will be replaced by Kevin Magnussen, a veteran of seven Formula One seasons who won last weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Detroit’s Belle Isle circuit.

VeeKay is the second ECR driver in six years to suffer such an injury. In 2016, Josef Newgarden broke his clavicle in a crash with Conor Daly at Texas Motor Speedway. Newgarden returned to the car 12 days later at INDYCAR’s next event — ironically, it was at Road America. If VeeKay follows a similar recovery timeline and can manage the pain, he could be back for the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (July 2-4).

VeeKay is one of seven INDYCAR drivers to win a race this season. He captured his maiden series victory in the GMR Grand Prix on May 15 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Magnussen, 28, started 119 F1 races for the McLaren, Renault and Haas teams from 2014-20. His best finish came in his first race – second place in the Australian Grand Prix for McLaren. He spent four years as a Haas F1 teammate of INDYCAR rookie Romain Grosjean, who now drives the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR.

This weekend’s field stays at 25 car-and-driver combinations as NASCAR Cup Series and sports car driver Cody Ware makes his series debut in the No. 52 NURTEC ODT Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR. Ware completed his first INDYCAR laps earlier this year in a test at Sebring International Raceway and recently participated in a rookie test day at Road America.

In addition to the INDYCAR SERIES, the REV Group Grand Prix weekend includes all three levels of the Road to Indy program.

Sunday’s 55-lap INDYCAR race opens with the television broadcast at noon (ET) on NBC Sports Network. The INDYCAR Radio Network will have all the action on INDYCAR.com, the INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA and SiriusXM 205.

Here are five things to watch this weekend:

O’Ward Brimming with Confidence
O’Ward became the first INDYCAR driver to win multiple races this season, ending a run of seven different winners to start the year. The way O’Ward muscled past four other standout competitors in the final seven laps of Sunday’s race illustrates the strength his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet should have in the second half of the season. He also snared a third-place finish the weekend’s first race, one of six top-four finishes in eight races this season.

A return to Road America should push O’Ward’s confidence to yet another level. He won his initial NTT P1 Award for last year’s second race at the picturesque 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit, then finished second to Rosenqvist – then driving for Chip Ganassi Racing – in the race. That effectively was O’Ward’s breakout moment in INDYCAR, and he has seven top-three finishes since then. He has a pair of poles this season and has won two of the past five races.

O’Ward was not surprised to learn he had taken the series points lead when asked about it just after driving away from the field late in Sunday’s Detroit race.

“Yes, I can (believe it),” he said firmly. “The (crew has) been doing a great job. They deserve this. There’s still so much to go; we just need to stay on it and continue pushing.”

Like O’Ward, Palou (No. 10 NTT DATA Honda) is in his second full INDYCAR season and is in the championship fight for the first time. Palou won the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park on April 18 and has remained in the top three of the standings since. He finished 15th and third, respectively, in the Detroit races. He earned his first career podium in Race 1 at Road America last year.

Track of Champions
Road America stands out as a track where INDYCAR champions reign.

The circuit in central Wisconsin, which opened in 1955, has hosted 31 races for U.S. open-wheel racing’s top division, and 25 times the winner was either a champion at the time or soon would be. That included a streak of 13 consecutive years from 1986-1998.

The championship-winning drivers to have won there includes three-time winners Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Michael Andretti, double winners Jacques Villeneuve, Paul Tracy and Scott Dixon along with single winners Danny Sullivan, Alex Zanardi, Dario Franchitti, Cristiano da Matta, Sebastien Bourdais, Will Power and Josef Newgarden.

The Variety Show
There have been seven different winners in eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Palou (Barber Motorsports Park), Colton Herta (Streets of St. Petersburg), Dixon (Texas Motor Speedway-1), O’Ward (Texas Motor Speedway-2, Raceway at Belle Isle Park-2), VeeKay (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Helio Castroneves (Indianapolis 500) and Marcus Ericsson (Raceway at Belle Isle Park-1) have all won in 2021.

The modern era record (1946-2021) for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.

There are a handful of conspicuous absentees on the 2021 win list who all could contend for victory Sunday at Road America. The Team Penske trio of past season champions – Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power – each are looking for their first victories. So is the Indy 500-winning duo from Andretti Autosport – Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing duo of Graham Rahal and two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato also are still looking to enter Victory Lane for the first time this season.

An impressive variety of winners is a trend that started at the end of the 2020 season. Stretching back into last year, there have been nine different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, adding Power (Harvest GP-2) and Newgarden (St. Petersburg) from last October.

This Weekend’s Schedule
INDYCAR returns to its regular three-round knockout qualifying session, which will air live on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday. NBCSN will televise the replay at midnight.

Unlike in Detroit, there will be two 45-minute practices, at 5 p.m. (ET) Friday and 11:10 a.m. (ET) Saturday. A final 30-minute practice, which serves as the race warmup, will be held after qualifying Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (ET). All practice sessions can be viewed on Peacock.

Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 will have two races each, the first on Saturday and a second on Sunday.

The Rest of the Season
There are eight races completed and eight scheduled races remaining to settle the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.

O’Ward and Palou are separated by a single point with Dixon, a six-time series champion, 36 points out of the lead in third. Newgarden is fourth in the standings, 51 points behind O’Ward. VeeKay and Pagenaud (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet) both are five points behind Newgarden.

Sunday’s race at Road America is the first of four permanent road course events to end the season. There are two temporary street races remaining with a short oval remaining. The schedule:

Sunday: REV Group Grand Prix at Road America (road course)

Sunday, July 4: Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (road course)

Sunday, Aug. 8: Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Tennessee (street circuit)

Saturday, Aug. 21: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway (oval)

Sunday, Sept. 12: Grand Prix of Portland (road course)

Sunday, Sept. 19: Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey (road course)

Sunday, Sept. 26: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (street circuit)

Weekend schedule for Nashville

Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images

NASCAR heads to Nashville Superspeedway this Father’s Day weekend where all three national series will compete at the 1.33-mile, D-shaped, all concrete oval. It will be the first-ever Cup Series event at the track.

There have been 21 previous Xfinity Series races at Nashville Superspeedway. The first event was held on April 14, 2001, with Greg Biffle taking home the trophy.

Carl Edwards was the most recent winner, in 2011. Kyle Bush is the only driver that is entered in the Xfinity race this weekend who has won at Nashville (2009).

The track has hosted 13 Camping World Truck Series races beginning with its first event in 2001. There have been 10 different pole winners and 11 different race winners during that time. Matt Crafton is the only Truck Series driver that has participated in all 13 of the previous Truck Series races at Nashville. None of the former winners, however, are entered in Friday’s race.

All three series will have practice and qualifying sessions at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, June 18

11:05 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS2
4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – NBCSN
5:05 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
8 p.m.: Rackley Roofing 200 Camping World Truck Series race – Stages 45/95/150 Laps = 199.5 Miles – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Saturday, June 19

12:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – NBCSN/TSN2
2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/MRN/TSN2
3:30 p.m.: Tennessee Lottery 250 Xfinity Series race – Stages 45/90/188 Laps = 250.04 Miles – NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN2

Sunday, June 20

11:05 a.m. Cup Series Qualifying – NBCSN/MRN
3:30 p.m. Ally 400 Cup Series race – Stages 90/185/300 Laps = 399 Miles – NBCSN/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN3

Cup Series Race notes:

There are 13 active Cup Series drivers who have made at least one start at Nashville Superspeedway. Five of those drivers have previous wins. They are led by Kyle Busch with one NXS one in 2009; two NCWTS wins (2010, 2011), Kevin Harvick with two NXS wins (2006, 2010), Brad Keselowski with two NXS two wins (2008, 2010), Austin Dillon with one NCWTS win in 2011, and Joey Logano with one win NXS in 2009.

Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, David Starr, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and JJ Yeley all have previous starts without any wins.

Xfinity Series Race Notes:

The active Xfinity Series drivers with previous experience at Nashville Superspeedway include Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Jeremy Clements, Timmy Hill, JJ Yeley, David Starr, Landon Cassill but none of them have won at Nashville.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Kyle Busch, will be competing in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series events and will be racing for his 100th Xfinity Series victory.

Truck Series Race Notes:

There are just six drivers entered in the Truck Series race who have ever competed at Nashville. Matt Crafton is the only driver who has made all of the 13 previous starts. Other drivers who have competed at Nashville include Norm Benning (6), Johnny Sauter (5) and Jennifer Jo Cobb (3). Parker Kligerman and Clay Greenfield have each made two starts.

CHEVY NCS AT NASHVILLE: Team Chevy Advance

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
ALLY 400
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
JUNE 20, 2021

RACE #17 – NASHVILLE
All three NASCAR national series will take on Nashville Superspeedway this weekend for the first NASCAR races at the track since Austin Dillion drove his Chevrolet to a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in August 2011. The Ally 400 on Sunday, June 20, will be the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race on the 1.33-mile D-shaped concrete oval and the first in Middle Tennessee in more than 30 years.

Chevrolet will aim for its fifth-consecutive NCS regular-season victory, which it last accomplished between May 10 and June 15 of the 2014 season with Jeff Gordon starting off the streak at Kansas; Jimmie Johnson winning at Charlotte, Dover and Michigan; and Dale Earnhardt Jr. prevailing at Pocono. Chevrolet last won four races in a row to close the 2014 season.

Kyle Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports, has the hot hand. He has won the past two regular-season, points-paying races – on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval and the Sonoma Raceway road course – in addition to pocketing the $1 million bonus for winning the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Larson is among eight drivers to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race in the same year.

The 300-lap Ally 400 will include same-day qualifying. Chevrolet drivers have earned all three poles this season.

Team Chevy NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) drivers will compete in the 188-lap Tennessee Lottery 250 on Saturday, June 19, in the 22nd race at the track since 2001. AJ Allmendinger is second in the Driver Standings, with six Team Chevy drivers in the top-10. Chevrolet remains on top of the Manufacturer Standings heading into the 15th race on the series’ schedule.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) drivers will race in the 150-lap Rackley Roofing 200 on Friday, June 18, in the 14th visit to the track dating to 2001. Zane Smith is fifth and reigning NCWTS champion Sheldon Creed is sixth in the Driver Standings. William Byron will drive the No. 27 Cruisin’ Sports/Rackley Roofing Chevrolet Silverado in his first NCWTS race since 2016.\

BOWTIE TOPS IN STANDINGS
Chevrolet is atop the NCS Manufacturer Standings. Team Chevy drivers have recorded a field-high seven victories and earned all three poles in the 16 regular-season races.

Kyle Larson remains second in the Driver Standings, but has closed to 47 points of the lead after his victory at Sonoma Raceway. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott sits in third and William Byron is fourth to give the Bowtie Brand three of the top-five in the Driver Standings heading into the Nashville race weekend.

PLAYOFF PICTURE WITH 10 TO GO
With 16 of the 26 regular-season races in the books, Team Chevy drivers Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron have qualified for the Playoffs by virtue of a race win. The top-16 drivers in the standings will qualify for the 10-race dash for the Driver Championship.

Of the Team Chevy top-16 in the Driver Standings, Austin Dillon currently sits 12th and Tyler Reddick, who has seven top-10 finishes in the past 10 races, is 13th. Kurt Busch (18th), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (19th), Ross Chastain (20th), Daniel Suarez (22nd) and Erik Jones (25th) are all in striking range. Among the nine upcoming races that make up the rest of the regular season, Busch has won at five.

TAKING IT IN STAGES
Kyle Larson swept both stages before driving his No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane at Sonoma Raceway. The 28-year-old California native leads all drivers with 11 stage wins through the 16 races thus far this season. Reigning NCS champion, Chase Elliott, and William Byron each have a stage win in their Camaro ZL1 1LE.

BOWTIE BULLETS
· The victory at Sonoma Raceway was the 802nd for Chevrolet, the most of any manufacturer in NCS history.

· Chevrolet leads manufacturers in laps led (1,792) of the 4,291 total and top-10 finishes with 73.

· Kyle Larson has led a series-high 1,162 of the 4,291 laps completed in points races during the 2021 NCS season.

· Kyle Larson has recorded five consecutive top-two finishes.

· Austin Dillon has completed 99.1% (4,287) of the total laps made this season.

· Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch are among four active drivers to win a NCS race on Father’s Day.
Larson is the most recent winner (2017 at Michigan International Speedway).

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start in 2009 at Nashville.

TUNE IN
NBCSN will telecast the NCS Ally 400 live at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 20. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The NXS Tennessee Lottery 250 will be telecast live by NBCSN at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, June 19. FS1 will telecast the NCWTS Rackley Roofing 200 at 8 p.m. ET Friday, June 18.

QUOTABLE QUOTES
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGS
LARSON ON GETTING UP TO SPEED AT NASHVILLE:
“I’ve tested there before – a couple times in a Xfinity car and I think once in a Cup car. It’s a track where very few drivers have any experience. We will have practice and qualifying before this Sunday’s race, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of getting up to speed quickly. This team and Hendrick Motorsports as a whole have been strong on intermediate-type tracks this year, so I hope we can have another strong finish in the Valvoline Chevrolet.”

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
DANIELS ON PAST EXPERIENCE AT NASHVILLE:
“The most relevant things to pull from my previous experience there and Kyle’s testing experience there is the nuance of the track. It’s a really unique track geometry. It’s sweeping into turn one but then gets tight off of turn two. We know the track is going to be temperature sensitive. Knowing that will help us, but we don’t have a pure setup or race strategy standpoint. We don’t have any data points to go off of.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
ELLIOTT ON HOW HE IS PREPARING FOR NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY:
“My preparation for this weekend is really going to revolve around the test that I’ve had at Nashville in the past. I actually had a test with the 24 team in 2013, back when Jeff (Gordon) was driving with Alan (Gustafson) and (engineer) Tom (Gray) and a lot of our same group that we have now. I’ve spent some time talking about that and just some of the tendencies that I remember from the racetrack. I feel like the rules have changed, the cars are different, and Cup has never raced there to look back at a ton of races. Maybe watching a Xfinity race or something, but I think a lot of it is really just going to be more from the test for me, personally.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
GUSTAFSON ON TESTING AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY:
“We were lucky to have been able to test at Nashville Superspeedway when he tested for Hendrick Motorsports back seven or eight years ago. There may be a couple things that we can apply, but that test just gives us a rough baseline to know what drove decent back then, but things are so much different now. We have different tires, aero package and hopefully we are smarter than we were in then (laughing). Having that test definitely helps; it’s better than starting from square one with nothing.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON THE CHALLENGES OF RACING AT A NEW TRACK:
“You’re not going to have a good feel in general going into this weekend, I think. Nashville (Superspeedway) is going to be one of those places that you just need to adapt and learn as you go. It looks like a superspeedway but it’s more of a short track with how tight the corners are. It’s going to be tough, especially with the heat. I think that this race is going to be one of the toughest places we will go this season just because we don’t have any notes on it. No one has any notes from any series, really. Things have changed so much since the last race there. I’m going to rely heavily on the truck race and watching the Xfinity race. I’ll use that info to hopefully learn and be able to adapt faster in our race. It’s going to be challenge but it’s good to have a new environment and the excitement around it.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FUGLE ON HIS EXPERIENCE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY:
“Nashville is a tricky place. It races like a short track and has short track features, but it also has the characteristics of a mile-and-a-half track. That’s going to be your biggest issue; finding a setup that balances that line perfectly. You want it to handle similar to how it would at a concrete short track like Dover but also handle well, aero-wise, like a mile-and-a-half. While we have limited notes across the board, we do know that it will also be a very temperature-sensitive track, as well. There’s going to be a lot of obstacles to overcome, but I think with William running the truck race and us having a practice session on the Cup side, we’ll be as prepared as we can be. I’m excited to get back to Nashville and see what we can do as a team.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY NEON LIGHTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON COMPETING AT NASHVILLE:
“I have tested at Nashville Superspeedway before but haven’t actually raced there. It is going to be interesting learning the track with the No. 48 Chevrolet in practice on Saturday. Our last race we ran on concrete we were able to claim the victory, so we are hoping for the same result on Sunday in our No. 48 Ally Chevy.”

BOWMAN ON ALLY HOSTING ITS FIRST ENTITLEMENT RACE:
“This is a huge weekend for our partner Ally. It is their first entitlement race and they have a lot of fun things planned for the sold-out crowd coming out to Nashville. We have a fun, neon paint scheme designed by Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and I will have a new helmet design that Bernard Pollard and Greg (Stumpff) from Off Axis Paint and I designed this weekend. It would be really cool to be able to bring home the Ally 400 trophy on Sunday with so many great people from Ally in attendance.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY NEON LIGHTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON HIS EXPERIENCE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY:
“Nashville was always a fun track. You used to be able to test at the speedway all the time and it was always a lot of fun. I remember testing when it was 40 degrees out and you were shivering and wondering how the tires were holding up. Then there were times where you would test and it would be extremely hot out. We have been to Nashville Superspeedway a lot, just not with this configuration. We have been around this track with rental cars multiple times to try to dry the track, so hopefully I can study from some videos I have of that. It is going to be a fun track.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGS
WHEN YOU THINK OF NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES THAT COME TO MIND FOR YOU?
“Nashville Superspeedway kicked off my NASCAR Cup Series career. One of my first Cup tests was at Nashville. I remember going there to test with the team leading into the season and having a really good time. We won there in the NASCAR Truck Series and finished third there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with KHI. We had fun at Nashville. It was a good track for me.”
“I’m looking forward to going back. I always felt like if we got a shot in the NASCAR Cup Series car at Nashville Superspeedway that it would be a good track for us. I can’t wait. We’ll definitely be grinding it out on the SIM this week to see what we can learn.”

ONE OF YOUR FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES TESTS WAS AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY. WHAT DID THAT MEAN FOR YOU AT THAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER?
“It was exciting, getting to go have my time to be in the NASCAR Cup Series and getting the time with the team. Obviously, they were Kevin Harvick’s team and then we kind of jumped into that season. I was the new guy, so getting to hang out with the guys and just be a part of it was important. It was a fun time, obviously starting off my Cup career. I remember going there, testing, and just trying things. We didn’t get to race there, but it was cool to go through and get ready for a practice session. It was also team building. After the test, we went out to downtown Nashville and had a really good time. The second day of the test was not as productive as the first day.”

NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY IS INTERESTING BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THERE HASN’T BEEN A NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE, THE CUP TEAMS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF TESTING THERE SO THERE’S A FEW TEAMS THAT HAVE A PRETTY THICK NOTEBOOK. WHAT KIND OF RACE DO YOU ANTICIPATE?
“I talked to Kurt Busch because he did the NASCAR test for Chevrolet. He was a bit concerned about tires and being able to last because the concrete had some edges that were created over the years from not being raced on. The edges weren’t really knocked down, kind of like when we got to Dover and Bristol. Nashville seemed to be tough on tires when they were testing. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when we all get out there and all that rubber gets laid down. I’m assuming it’s going to lay a ton of rubber down after the practice sessions, so it could change. But I think what’s cool and what I enjoyed about Nashville is people fought for that bottom line and you really had to be disciplined and not miss your exit leaving the corner at Nashville. The car that rotated the most was pretty good. I’m looking forward to racing there this weekend. It’s been a good track for us in the past. I did get to test there a long time ago, so we’ll look at some of the notes. I’ve already looked at all of the notes from my NASCAR Truck Series races there. I think we have the NASCAR Xfinity Series notes, as well.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 JOE NICHOLS / QUARTZ HILL RECORDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME RACING AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPPEDWAY. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS WEEKEND, AND HAVE YOU FOUND ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN NASHVILLE AND OTHER TRACKS YOU’VE RACED AT?
“The size itself is not that common and only somewhat similar to Darlington, but the shape and surface is totally different. I actually have a small handful of laps at Nashville from my very first outing with Brad Keselowski Racing when I was just getting into the Truck Series. We did a rookie test there, but I unfortunately had a tire cord and completely come apart on me, causing the truck to receive some day-ending damage to it. So, it was a short test for me, and it has been such a long time that I had even forgotten it is a concrete surface there. That’s how green I was when I originally tested there; I didn’t even know the difference in track surfaces. Obviously, I’ve learned a lot since then and have a lot more experience, but there is still a lot for me to figure out at Nashville this weekend. I’ll be running double-duty and competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race to help give me some extra on-track time, which should hopefully help us out a lot on the Cup side with our No. 8 Joe Nichols / Quartz Hill Records Chevrolet on Sunday.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/NATURE VALLEY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 19th IN STANDINGS
WHEN YOU THINK OF NASHVILLE, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF?
“For me, it was always that racetrack that for me when I was first starting out in my career, it was really close to home. It’s only 3.5-hours away from my hometown, so I always had a lot of friends and family that came. I’ve had some good memories of the track and I’ve had some bad ones. I was actually just watching the pre-race of 2011. We ended up running second in that race to Carl. Then, like you said, a lot of the testing that we did in the wintertime – it was really cold there. So, obviously now, it’ll be really hot, slick and a lot of fun.”

“There’s a lot of things that I think I remember, but also a lot of things I feel like I don’t remember – what exactly it feels like driving the car around a concrete racetrack that big and also kind of that flat. There will be a lot of things to pick up on in that 50-minute practice that we have.”

IS THERE A TRACK THAT’S ON THE CURRENT SCHEDULE THAT IS MOST SIMILAR TO NASHVILLE THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT ALL?
“No, I think Nashville (Superspeedway) is kind of its own beast. It’s concrete and fairly flat compared to most other racetracks of similar size. The concrete does have a little bit of a different reaction, as far as however much rubber is laid down and things like that. It definitely took more rubber than I remember when I went back and watched some of the races, so I’m anxious to see if we can get the groove moved up instead of just running the bottom of the racetrack. I think the weather is going to be good this weekend for the opportunity to move around the racetrack, especially with the Trucks, Xfinity and Cup all in the same weekend.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGS
HOW IMPORTANT IS SUNDAY’S NASHVILLE RACE TO YOU?
“Sunday is important because it’s important to Justin and everyone at Trackhouse Racing as well at Tootsie’s. Plus, it is a new market for us, or at least a place we haven’t been to in a long time. I don’t know much about Nashville Superspeedway so I have been learning as much as I can. It’s going to be a new but fun experience for us.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 25th IN STANDINGS
THOUGHTS AND EXPECTATIONS GOING TO NASHVILLE?
“I am excited for the Nashville Superspeedway – we are getting back into the Nashville market. That track has been sitting there for a few years now, so to get back out there is going to be great. They have sold out for this race weekend. That is awesome to have all the fans and to have a packed house.”

“It is hard to say what the expectations are. I have only been to the track one time and that was for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series test, so I do not have much experience there. All I can really do is go back and watch some of the older races. Hopefully, we can go out and have a good run. It is kind of a unique size and shape of a track, with it being just over a mile. I do not know exactly how our cars are going to do with that.”

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 PRYOR & LEE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS
“I’m excited to head over to Music City this weekend. Being a giant country music fan, it’s pretty cool to have Pryor & Lee on board our Chevy Camaro. It’s obvious they have a passion for sharing their music through a grass roots, ‘pounding the pavement’ effort, so I can definitely relate to that in my racing career. It’ll be my first time at Nashville Superspeedway, so I’ll have to learn the track quickly and get our Camaro dialed in during practice.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2020): 32
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)
Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2021 STATISTICS:
Wins: 7
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,792
Top-five finishes: 34
Top-10 finishes: 73

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 802 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 720
Laps led to date: 238,497
Top-five finishes to date: 4,099
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,475
Stage wins: 13 – Chase Elliott (Daytona RC), William Byron (Homestead), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2)

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

       General Motors: 1,136
       Chevrolet: 802
       Pontiac: 154
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 808                                                         
       Ford: 708
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 191
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 157

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

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

Shore Lunch Returns to Sponsor ARCA Menards Series Race at Iowa Speedway

NEWTON, Iowa (June 17, 2021) –Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America and Iowa Speedway today announced that Shore Lunch will return as title sponsor of the ARCA Menards Series race on Saturday, July 24. The 150-lap race will be the ARCA Menards Series’ 15th visit to Iowa Speedway dating back to the track’s opening weekend in 2006.

“The ARCA Menards Series has a long history at Iowa Speedway,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “ARCA was the first racing series to ever race at Iowa. It’s a great track, a blend of fender-to-fender action and high speeds and it has hosted some of the most exciting ARCA races in our history.”

The Shore Lunch 150 will be the fifth race of the Sioux Chief Showdown, a 10-race series set to attract the top teams in the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West, in addition to the stars from the ARCA Menards Series. Past ARCA winners at Iowa include current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman, along with drivers like ARCA’s all-time race winner Frank Kimmel, former ARCA Menards Series champions and current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship contenders Grant Enfinger and Sheldon Creed. Local favorite Mason Mitchell was victorious in 2015, and Steve Wallace, son of Cup Series champion and track designer Rusty Wallace, won the inaugural race at the track in 2006.

“We’re sure glad to have the ARCA Menards Series racing at Iowa Speedway this summer,” said Jeff Abbott, Spokesperson for Menards. “Iowa Speedway is an incredible facility and we’re lucky it’s located right in the heart of Menards Country. We know that the great Iowa Speedway race fans are also customers of Menards. We look forward to seeing them at the track in July for another great ARCA Menards Series short track race.”

Shore Lunch soups, breading and batters first partnered with ARCA series sponsor Menards in 2016. The business-to-business relationship between Menards, the country’s third largest home improvement retail chain, and Summit Hill Foods, a leading food company with brands such as Better Than Bouillon, The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce and Southeastern Mills Gravy and Baking Mixes, along with Shore Lunch, brings opportunities for Summit Hill Foods to showcase our brands to Iowa’s Menards customer base.

“Summit Hill Foods is excited to again partner with ARCA and Menards for the Shore Lunch 150.  It is great to see racing back with strong fan participation and we look forward to a very successful and fun event at Iowa Speedway” said Steve Goodyear, Senior Vice President-Sales & Marketing for Summit Hill Foods.

The day’s track activity will start with a 45-minute practice session at 5:15 pm ET/4:15 pm local, with General Tire Pole Qualifying next at 7 pm ET/6 pm local with the Shore Lunch 150 to follow at 9 pm ET/8 pm local. Advance discounted tickets are available by visiting any one of the 13 central Iowa-area Menards locations. The Shore Lunch 150 will be televised live on MAVTV and streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

About ARCA

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly racing all across the country, the organization is scheduled to administer more than 100 events in multiple racing series in 2020, including the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.  For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).

About Menards

A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states.  Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building.  You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more.  To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro! 

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture.  Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries.  And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more. 

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too!  For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

About Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway, The Fastest Short Track on the Planet, is a state-of-the-art 7/8-mile asphalt paved tri-oval racetrack and motorsports facility located in Newton, Iowa. For tickets, call 1.866.787.8946. To learn more, visit www.IowaSpeedway.com, “like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

About Summit Hill Foods

Summit Hill Foods is headquartered in Rome, Georgia. The company’s core strength is the development and manufacture of ingredient systems used to deliver superior flavor. Key customers include global and regional food manufacturers, restaurants, and foodservice distributors. The company also markets nationally distributed retail brands including Better Than Bouillon, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Southeastern Mills, Shore Lunch, and Better Than Gravy. Summit Hill Foods operates manufacturing facilities located in Rome, Georgia, Salt Lake City, Utah and New Iberia, Louisiana. www.shfoods.com

GMS Racing to Compete in NASCAR Cup Series in 2022

STATESVILLE, N.C. (June 17, 2021) – GMS Racing announced today it is anticipating the team’s NASCAR Cup Series debut in the upcoming 2022 season.

“GMS is always looking forward and I believe this is the next step for the team in that process,” said team owner Maury Gallagher. “We have the goal to be a championship caliber team in any series in which we compete, and I am excited to watch the team grow in the coming years.”

Since its formation in 2014, GMS Racing has won 61 races across the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. GMS also took home the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship as well as the ARCA East championship in 2019 and 2020.

“GMS has always risen to the occasion and proven that we are a team capable of competing at every level of this sport,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “We have been preparing to make this step and with the addition of the Next Gen car in 2020, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make the move.”

As the team actively seeks partnership opportunities for the 2022 Cup Series season, GMS Racing expects further announcements regarding driver and event schedule to come at a later date.

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

Brandon Davis Music and KickinTheTires.net Join Brandonbilt Motorsports for NASCAR’s Return to the Music City

Brandon Davis Music and KickinTheTires.net Join Brandonbilt Motorsports for NASCAR’s Return to the Music City

Track: Nashville Superspeedway | 1.33 Mile D-Shaped Oval
Race: 16 of 33
Event: Tennessee Lottery 250
Practice: Friday, June 18 | 4:05 p.m. ET | NBCSN
Qualifying: Saturday, June 19 | 12:35 p.m. ET | NBCSN
Race: Saturday, June 19 | 3:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN & MRN
Stages: 45 / 90 / 188

Brown on Nashville:

“I’m excited to be racing at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend for the first time in my career. I feel like our team has shown some great success at Dover, which is also a concrete race track, so hopefully we can transition that same type of performance into Nashville (Superspeedway) this weekend.

“There are definitely a lot of unknown’s as we head into the busy weekend in the Music City, but one thing that’s for certain is how great our No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro looks; I think that the acoustic guitar running down the side of our race car really plays into the country music theme of Nashville.

“This weekend, I’m proud to welcome both Jerry Jordan and kickinthetires.net as well as Brandon Davis Music to our team for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250.

“Kickinthetires.net is a multi-platform media company that is primarily focused on covering our great sport of NASCAR. They’ve been in the industry for almost 20-years and have always done an outstanding job of promoting the drivers, teams and their stories.

“Brandon Davis is a rising country singer-songwriter that has had some real breakout success over the last year. It’s really cool to be able to represent him and his music on our No. 68 this weekend and it’s going to be even more special to host Brandon and his family at the track for the race on Saturday.

“I know that I speak for our entire Brandonbilt Motorsports organization when I say that we’re ready to put our No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro in Victory Lane. We’ve been close a handful of times this year and we’re looking at Nashville to be the great equalizer with the inexperience that most of us in the Xfinity Series have at this track; so hopefully we can come away with a strong run.”
About KickinTheTires.net

Kickin’ the Tires is a multi-platform media company primarily focused on NASCAR coverage. Our popularity and successful staff of talented writers and photographers have helped us grow our coverage to include IndyCar, IMSA, ARCA, iRacing, SuperCross, Motocross and local grassroots racing. Stay informed and up-to-date on what happens in, and around, the garage by visiting our website KickinTheTires.net or by logging onto our Facebook Fan Page. You can even watch The Kickin’ Show each week on YouTube or listen to it on multiple podcast networks.

To learn more about Kickin’ The Tires, visit www.kickinthetires.net.

Facebook: Kickin’ the Tires
Instagram: @kickinthetires
Twitter: @KicknTheTires

About Brandon Davis
Brandon Davis is a rising Tennessee singer-songwriter and social media sensation, whose single, “Step by Step,” recently reached #1 on the iTunes Country chart. A few other notable singles include: “What Cowboys Are For” and “Ice Cold.”

Facebook: Brandon Davis Music
Instagram: @brandondavis_music
Twitter: @brandondavis_bd
TikTok: @brandondavis_music

To learn more about Brandon Davis and find a tour stop closest to you, visit www.brandondavismusic.com.

About Brandonbilt Motorsports

Brandonbilt Motorsports is a family-owned, professional stock car team competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS). Owned and operated by Woodbridge, Virginia native, Jerry Brown, Brandonbilt Motorsports has quickly become a household name in the NASCAR Xfinity Series through hard work and determination. As a smaller team in the NXS, Brandonbilt Motorsports’ goal has always been to do the most with less, while also becoming a contending organization in every race that it enters. Brandonbilt Motorsports shocked the racing world in 2020 as driver, Brandon Brown, secured the team’s first playoff berth in only its second, full-time season in the NXS, before going on to finish the year 11th in the overall points standings. On the horizon in 2021, Brandonbilt Motorsports looks to pick up where it left off as a playoff-caliber team at each event it enters. To learn more, visit bmsraceteam.com.

Ford Performance NASCAR VIDEO: Next Gen Mustang Takes on Charlotte Motor Speedway

NASCAR NEXT GEN MUSTANG TAKES ON CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Ford’s new 2022 NASCAR Next Gen Mustang recently took to the track for the first time since being unveiled publicly last month as part of a two-day test at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  The car, which was driven by David Ragan, is preparing for its on-track debut during Daytona Speedweeks in February.  This Mustang is all-new with many technological advancements, including independent rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, 18-inch aluminum forged wheels, and a symmetric body.

Exclusive: Interview with Tony Pedregon- The Force Years

Photo Courtesy of Tony Pedregon Racing

In this week’s interview, Speedway Media catches up with two-time Funny Car champion and current NHRA on FOX commentator, Tony Pedregon.

We picked up with Pedregon as he discussed his years with John Force Racing, close finishes, racing with Force, making a name for himself and numerous other topics regarding his 1997 to 2002 years in NHRA Drag Racing.

SM: In our last interview we talked about your 1996 season when you were hired by John Force to drive for his Funny Car team and how you got your first win that year at the Southern Nationals in Atlanta, out-racing Force in the final round. You recalled telling him after the win that he had “created another winner,” but also said that it created some awkwardness. When the 1997 season rolled around, had the awkwardness worn off enough that the two of you were comfortable having conversations about anything or was your relationship strictly racing related?

TP: “No, I think after I won that first race (Atlanta, 1996), it (me winning) was a little bit of a shock (to John Force),” Pedregon said. “I don’t know if anyone would have anticipated the feeling when I won. The feeling for me was great. That was the opportunity of a lifetime for me. For John (Force, Pedregon’s former Team Owner), it was a matter of him just having a better understanding of what he was building, adding another driver, etc. The idea was to build an R&D program to help him win and be more successful.”

“I don’t know if he (Force) understood all the things that came with it. After the ego fell off, he was able to leverage that. He was able to go back and say ‘Look, I built another program, this is a winner.” I was younger, somewhat marketable. I just wish he would have known that at dinner that night.”

SM: Did you think it was hard for Force to realize that he had something with you that he could build on?

TP: “Yeah, I don’t think it had set in,” he added. “It was not the most pleasant dinner, to be honest with you. (The) dinner was in Atlanta and there used to be this steakhouse called BT Bones. There were so many of us and I kept looking over, his close friend he grew up with, I was sitting next to him and he said ‘Boy, he’s not happy.’ I was young and I was thinking at least I won the race. Those are the things you go through. It was the start of something good, kind of broke the ice.”

SM: Entering the 1997 season, I recall us talking about you finishing second in points in 1996. As you entered the ’97 season, were there any discussions with your team about how to finish one spot better? I assume that a championship was the goal for you in ’97.

TP: “Not really,” Pedregon said. “It (winning the championship) took a few years. I think I understood my role with John. To be honest with you, John had the stronger car. We grew into a team that could win two to three races. John’s car was just more consistent. When we would race, they would set John’s car up to win under any circumstance.”

“I remember in those early years, that was the kind of position I accepted when I worked for him. I think I was a good teammate, good player. I understood my role, but what happens over time is that changes. Just like anything else, people change. John would tell me if you guys get out there, I’m going to let you go. Whether he really meant it or was telling me to keep me mentally in the game, I think it was a little bit of both.”

SM: Do you think him saying that was an intimidation factor?

TP: “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “John always wanted to get to know people and one of the ways he would do that is going to bars. When we would race, we would always stay at a motel with a bar where we raced. I was a little frustrated with John, because if he hired someone to work on the car, he wanted to get to know him and hang out with him.” 

“It was frustrating for him because I wouldn’t drink. He asked ‘Can I at least get you some milk?’ I said ‘John, what you see is what you get. I’m quiet and put the work in, I’m here and committed. I don’t think he ever thought it was that simple.” 

SM: You opened that season up hot racing to a final round at the Winternationals against Force. Unfortunately, you came up a bit short after smoking the tires and moving toward the guardrail. When you look back on that, how tough was it losing in the Winternationals? Was it more disappointing to lose to Force than another competitor or did you look at it as a great finish for the team?

TP: “I used to play it off, like at least I lost to John,” Pedregon said. “To be honest, the feeling of (losing to John) wasn’t any different. It (losing to him) was a bummer. I almost never looked forward to racing John, because we were teammates. I thought if there is a built-in advantage, then he has it (the advantage).” 

“I intentionally didn’t really ask questions. I’m just going to get in the car and do what I can. I would always do things I wouldn’t typically do. I thought well, if they’re going to make my car lose traction. We tried that a couple of times, but it didn’t happen. That was always the funny part, if we tried to pull something like that.” 

SM: The Slick 50 Nationals was the site of your first win that season and under special circumstances. You defeated your brother Cruz in what was the first ever round between brothers in NHRA history. What were the days like leading up to that event and what transpired afterward? You almost got the win yourself as you got close to the wall.

TP: “I’ll never forget that race,” he said. “I’ll always remember we had a good car. I remember in the semi-finals and watching Cruz (Pedregon’s brother) win and thought that it would be cool if we could race each other in the final and I’ll never forget the feeling.” 

“When the race was over, for me, it felt like a mission accomplished. Whatever happened after that was icing on the cake. Cruz and I come from humble beginnings, we were at the right place and right time. I didn’t really feel a lot of pressure racing in the finals. Whatever I do is going to be fine, whether I win or lose.” 

“I remember at half track, the car started to drift toward the right. I had the steering wheel cranked to the left. Just before I got to the finish line, I thought if I don’t get off the throttle, I’m going to hit the wall. I was looking over to see if Cruz would blow by me and he never did, so that was a pleasant surprise.” 

“It was emotional to me, not necessarily after getting out of the car but Rick Stewart (former NHRA starter) walked to me and he had raced with my dad (Frank Pedregon Sr.) in the 60s and told me when you guys were backing up, he looked up, and that was emotional to me.” 

SM: 1997 was definitely a stepping stone for you as you earned two victories. Were you by that point more comfortable with the car and horsepower of the Funny Car and not on a learning curve anymore?

TP: “Not as much,” Pedregon said about the learning curve. “I remember after the first win, John was in the parking lot and he pulled up and I saw him. He was on the phone with someone, and said, you’ll be happy to hear, I got a full-year (1997) for you. I thought wow, that’s pretty good. That took a lot of questions out of it.” 

SM: In 1998, you and Force ran similar cars. Force ran the famous Castrol GTX while you drove the Castrol Syntec machine. Talk about how the sponsorship from Castrol came about and were there ever any moments where there was confusion since you both had the same sponsor? 

TP: “When the Syntec sponsorship rolled around, it gave me my own identity,” he said. “I was no longer in the shadow of John. Just because the car was black, we had our own identity. As far as the mentality of the driver being able to be successful, from that perspective, it (sponsorship) was a good thing.”

SM: During that year, you met Force in the second round of eliminations for the first time in a match-up between the Castrol cars at the Gatornationals. You had the jump on him but unfortunately you lost traction and Force went by you for the win. How tough was that since it was the first match-up between the Castrol schemes?

TP: “It’s definitely not the preferred match-up,” Pedregon said about the Force-Pedregon race. “It doesn’t make for the most pleasant Saturday afterward. I remember thinking if we were on the ladder in the second round, he’ll (John) get beat. Maybe, I won’t have to race him. At least we lost to him. At times, I had to force myself to stay positive. I had to make an effort to do it because competitively, it wasn’t the best feeling.”

SM: Just a few races later at the Fram Nationals, you were in a first-round match-up with Ron Capps. Your reaction time was .02 but Capps rocked it to the finish line for the round one win. It seemed as though in 1998, you and the team were on fire and gelling really well but losing in close races. Was that starting to get frustrating for you? 

TP: “It always was frustrating,” he said about losing close races. “I remember most of those losses because you never get over it. I never kept track of reaction times and how many holeshots I won, lost. I do know anytime I lost in a close race, I told myself ‘don’t forget that.’ If you race long enough, you’re going to get beat. I just always knew that wasn’t going to happen. I thought, ‘I can’t give them that (win) next time.” 

SM: Jumping ahead to 1999, you recorded what was at that time, the quickest Funny Car pass in history, with a pass of 4.799 seconds. Can you remember what it was like going that fast? What were your feelings afterward?

TP: “I remember breaking into the 70s mark,” Pedregon said. “I remember getting off the throttle in those quick runs, because the body started to move around. I just remember I would get out of the car, I was glad to stay on the throttle. There again, we continued to get better as a team as the season wore on.” 

SM: 1999 seemed to be a breakout year for you. You finished second in the standings once again. In addition, you earned three wins with seven final-round appearances, qualified for all the races and had four No. 1 qualifiers. What made 1999 so special for you and the team?

TP: “Just chemistry,” he said. “I got better as a driver and more consistent. I think John Medlen (Pedregon’s former Crew Chief) would always tell me the most important part of the car is the fuel pump and the other was a supercharger. If we had a good one or two (supercharger), John’s team would take it. There again, we were the R&D car.” 

“After a while, I could see things change. We became more competitive. He would have to pick and choose which supercharger to put on because we had the best. Out of those superchargers, John (Force) would pick the best and we would get leftovers, but we would make it work.”

SM: In 2000, you won your first ever career race at Topeka defeating none other than John Force. In the post-race interview, you said “If you have to beat John to make a living, you’re not going to do very well.” How special was that first win at Topeka? Was it a bucket list item?

TP: “Topeka, if the conditions were right, the track would be known for quick and fast,” Pedregon said. “I remember some of the post-race interviews, especially if John was in the final and thought ‘oh. They want both of us, it’s not just me having the freedom to say what I want.’ However, I had that respect for John.” 

“John and I’s relationship was good. Things could get a little tough, I think we were always really solid as far as our relationship goes.” 

SM: After the runner-up finish at the Winternationals, you were victorious at the Englishtown Nationals when you were the No. 1 qualifier for the first time in your career and you won against Force. What do you remember about that win and the event? I’m sure Englishtown remains very special in your career.

TP: “Englishtown always was (for me),” he said. “In ‘01, things started to change. The competition was really good. It was just Englishtown. The good races were Gatornationals, Winternationals, and Englishtown. Englishtown is one of those (tracks) that has so much history. I go ‘Wow, we won Englishtown.’ If you could win those A races, those are the best ones.” 

SM: 2002 was another breakout year for you. You won six races out of eight final rounds and once again finished second in the standings in two consecutive years to Force and for the fourth time in your career.  Was not winning a championship started to get frustrating for you? 

TP: “I wouldn’t say frustrating,” Pedregon said. “In 2002, that’s when the game changed for me, because I don’t remember specifically what races we won but I do remember we won two in a row, they were past the halfway point in the season. When we won two in a row, he (Force) missed a couple of beats and we got close to him in the points.” 

“When we got close to him in the points, that’s where it really came for me. I think we got close to 11 points. And when I got close, they (Force’s team) would call me back into the shop and it was Force, Austin (Coil, Force’s former crew chief) and Medlen and Bernie. They sat me down in Bernie’s office before California. It was Bernie who was always talking.” 

“I’ll give you the short version. I know John told you, you had the chance, but you don’t have a chance (of winning the championship).” That to me was when it all changed for me. I didn’t say anything in the meeting, because I just listened to everything they said and I thought we were done in those meetings and John asked if I had anything to say and I said ‘anything I say will not change the outcome.’ If you’re asking me if I like it, I said ‘no.’ 

“I said ‘John you gotta understand. When I wake up in the morning, what drives me to be good is if you think you had a chance.’ I would have been better off if you guys didn’t tell me. I walked out of that meeting and thought there’s nothing more I could do. We raced in the finals at Pomona and he beat me on a holeshot. I remember thinking if I beat him, they’re going to make my car smoke the tires, because the caveat for John that year was (winning) 10 championships in a row. Everyone was prepared for that, so therefore, I was never going to win if I made it to the final. I remember leaving the track that day, I just have to deal with it.” 

SM: Obviously, winning the Gatornationals was special for you. A few days earlier, your grandma had died and you mentioned her in victory lane. I’m sure Gatornationals 2002 was a very emotional day for you.

TP: “Yeah, yeah,” Pedregon said about the emotional win. “We weren’t as close to some of our family members as we would have liked, because we were racing. We spend so much time on the road. I think back on it and say ‘Why couldn’t we have carved out a little more time?’ I think they knew this is the path we chose.” 

SM: Wrapping part two up, what would you say are your favorite memories from 1997 to 2002 as you began to come into your own? 

TP: “We had some good times,” the two-time Funny Car champion said. “We had some not-so-good times that we haven’t talked about yet. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I think there are periods of time where guys that drive race cars live like rockstars. Not particularly at that level, but for us it was. You know, the circus comes to town, you roll in with these big trailers with names on them, suit up and put a helmet on, it’s almost like you’re different. I really enjoyed being around John (Force). The challenging times are far overshadowed from the good times he and I had. I could never blame him for wanting the control that he had because the business was his. I always understood that. That part of our relationship was good.” 

Special thanks to Tony Pedregon for taking time out of his busy schedule to conduct this interview.

Fans of Tony Pedregon can follow him on Twitter here.

Notes Package for Camping World SRX Series Event No. 2 at Knoxville

Camping World SRX Series at Knoxville
Round 2 of 6 – Knoxville Raceway – June 19 LIVE on CBS

WHAT: Camping World SRX Series (Round 2 of 6)
WHERE: Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
WHEN: 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 19
DISTANCE: Feature consists of 50 laps (preceded by two 12-minute heat races, which sets starting lineup)
CARS: Purpose-built SRX racecars
TV: LIVE on the CBS Television Network with streaming on Paramount+ Premium at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 19

● Host: Lindsay Czarniak

● Booth: Allen Bestwick (play-by-play) and Danica Patrick (driver analyst)

● Pit Reporter: Matt Yocum

● Roaming Analyst: Brad Daugherty

● Producer: Pam Miller

● Director: Jim Cornell

THE TRACK: Knoxville Raceway (half-mile, semi-banked dirt oval)

● Banking: 8 degrees in the turns; 4 degrees on the straightaways

● Width: 80 feet on frontstretch; 60 feet on backstretch; 70 feet in corners

● Frontstretch Length: 600 feet

● Backstretch Length: 600 feet

SPOTTER GUIDE: Car color, car number, driver and series they represent

● Black: No. 98 of Marco Andretti (INDYCAR)

● Teal: No. 18 of Bobby Labonte (NASCAR)

● Yellow: No. 2 of Ernie Francis Jr.(TRANS AM)

● Red: No. 3 of Helio Castroneves (INDYCAR and IMSA)

● Lime Green: No. 13 of Paul Tracy (INDYCAR)

● Purple: No. 9 of Bill Elliott (NASCAR)

● Magenta: No. 1 of Hailie Deegan (NASCAR)

● Gold: No. 00 of Scott Bloomquist (DIRT LATE MODEL)

● Indigo: No. 17 of Willy T. Ribbs (TRANS AM, IMSA and INDYCAR)

● Patriotic: No. 21 of Brian Brown (KNOXVILLE ALL-STAR)

● Orange: No. 14 of Tony Stewart (NASCAR, INDYCAR and USAC)

● Blue: No. 15 of Michael Waltrip (NASCAR)

LAST WEEK: Round 1 at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticut

● Feature Winner: Doug Coby (Local All-Star)

● Heat Race No 1 Winner: Greg Biffle (Ringer)

● Heat Race No. 2 Winner: Doug Coby

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: After Round 1 of 6

  1. Tony Stewart (36 points)
  2. Bobby Labonte (32 points, -4)
  3. Ernie Francis Jr. (31 points, -5)
  4. Helio Castroneves (30 points, -6)
  5. Tony Kanaan (26 points, -10)
  6. Michael Waltrip (18 points, -18)
  7. Paul Tracy (16 points, -20)
  8. Marco Andretti (15 points, -21)
  9. Willy T. Ribbs (15 points, -21)
  10. Bill Elliott (15 points, -21)

THE LOCAL ALL-STAR: BRIAN BROWN

Hometown: Grain Valley, Missouri, United States

Social: IG: @brianbrownracing / Twitter: @brianbrown21

● A driver-owner with 180 career feature victories, including five in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.

● Four-time and reigning 410 Sprint Car champion at Knoxville (2007, 2010, 2019 and 2020), where his 53 wins place him fifth on the all-time list at the historic track.

● Owns 17 wins in 360 Sprint Car competition at Knoxville, seventh-best all-time.

● Was the 360 Sprint Car class champion in 2002 and won the 360 Knoxville Nationals in 2014.

● Had a streak of three consecutive runner-up finishes in the 410 Knoxville Nationals from 2012 through 2014.

● Named Owner of the Year at Knoxville after the 2009 and 2019 seasons.

THE RINGER: SCOTT BLOOMQUIST

Hometown: Mooresburg, Tennessee, United States

Social: Twitter: @bloomquist_0

● Has accumulated more than 600 wins in a career spanning over 40 years.

● Four-time Hav-A-Tampa Late Model champion (1994, 1995, 1998 and 2000).

● Winner of the 2004 World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship.

● Three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion (2009, 2010 and 2016).

● Inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2002.

● Builds Dirt Late Model chassis for select buyers.

THE REPLACEMENT: HAILIE DEEGAN

Hometown: Temecula, California, United States

Social: IG: @HailieDeegan / Twitter: @HailieDeegan / Facebook: @ HailieDeegan4 / TikTok: @HailieDeegan

● Substituting for Tony Kannan at Knoxville and July 10 at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway as Kanaan has schedule conflicts that prevent him from competing in SRX on those two dates.

● Three-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and was the first female to win a race in the series.

● Currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

● At just 19 years old, leads all NASCAR drivers – male and female – in fan engagement on social media.

● Daughter of Brian Deegan, a championship-winning motocross rider, off-road racer and Gold medal-winning X-Games athlete.

THE CREW CHIEFS: ONE LOCAL ALL-STAR and THREE VETERANS

Guy Forbrook is the local all-star crew chief. Forbrook is a second-generation racer from Minnesota and a 2017 inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. His promising driving career was cut short by a passenger car accident at a young age that relegated him to a wheelchair. Though it ended his driving career after double-digit wins throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, Forbrook went on to achieve great success as a mechanic, crew chief and team owner over the past three decades. He put together his first sprint car team with the help of Ron Kohls in 1988 that in its first two years alone claimed 54 feature wins with drivers Jerry Richert Jr., and Danny Lasoski. Forbrook is best known for his success at Knoxville, where he has 87 victories and 11 track championships. His career numbers include more than 288 feature wins at 69 different racetracks in 23 states while working with a virtual who’s who of short-track drivers that includes Lasoski, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Jac Haudenschild, Terry McCarl, Tim Kaeding and Jeff Shepard.

With a combined 77 NASCAR Cup Series victories between them, Mike Beam, Jeff Hammond and Todd Parrott bring decades of race-winning experience to the Camping World SRX Series. All have won some of the biggest races in NASCAR, from Beam winning the 1994 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway with Bill Elliott, to Hammond helping score Darrell Waltrip’s long-coveted victory in the 1989 Daytona 500, to Parrott’s powerhouse 1996 performance that saw Dale Jarrett win three of NASCAR’s biggest races – the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400.

Beam is a veteran of more than 600 NASCAR Cup Series races over 22 seasons, a run that began with Kyle Petty’s first fulltime season in 1981. Beam scored his maiden Cup Series victory with Elliott in the fall 1990 race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, one of the duo’s 12 top-five finishes en route to fourth in the season championship. The two were victorious again in the 1994 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Beam’s most recent Cup Series victory came with driver Ricky Craven in the fall 2001 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. After working his last Cup Series race in 2004, the Hickory, North Carolina-native continued as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series through 2014, highlighted by 10 Xfinity Series victories with Carl Edwards in more than 39 races together at Roush Fenway Racing in 2010 and 2011. In the Truck Series, Beam scored six wins in 14 races with Mark Martin in 2006, and four wins with driver Travis Kvapil in 2007.

Hammond is perhaps best known over the past two decades for his work as a NASCAR television commentator, but he is one of the winningest crew chiefs in Cup Series history. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and former cornerback at East Carolina University under coach Pat Dye, Hammond broke into NASCAR in 1974 as a tire changer and then a jackman at Junior Johnson & Associates and played a role in driver Cale Yarborough’s three consecutive Cup Series titles from 1976 to 1978 before Waltrip’s 1981 championship. Hammond was promoted to crew chief in 1982 at the encouragement of Waltrip, and the duo quickly rose to prominence, winning the series title in their first year together and becoming one of the most prolific driver-crew chief combinations of the 1980s. They scored 43 wins together, added the 1985 championship, and finished runner-up in the 1983 and 1986 title chases. In 1987, Hammond joined Waltrip midseason at Hendrick Motorsports and were winners once again in September at Martinsville. Eight more wins followed, a run that included the 1989 Daytona 500.

Parrott, another Charlotte native, embarked on a remarkable seven-year run with Jarrett in 1996 that featured 26 wins and culminated with the 1999 Cup Series championship while at Robert Yates Racing. This combination finished in the top-three in the title chase for four consecutive seasons from 1996 through 1999 and added a fourth-place finish in 2000 and another top-five in 2001. The duo was victorious one last time at the fall 2005 race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In his 14-year tenure at Yates, Parrott also worked with drivers Ernie Irvan, Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland, scoring a pair of wins with Sadler in 2004. Parrott began a three-season run at Richard Petty Motorsports in 2010, where he was reunited with Sadler before joining forces with Marcus Ambrose for a run that included back-to-back wins at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2011 and 2012.

THE REGULARS:

MARCO ANDRETTI

Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania, United States

Social: IG: @marcoandretti / Twitter: @marcoandretti

● Third-generation racer, son of INDYCAR champion Michael Andretti and grandson of the legendary Mario Andretti.

● Racing select NTT INDYCAR Series races in 2021 (which included the Indianapolis 500).

● Winner of the 2006 INDYCAR Series Rookie of the Year.

● Tested for Honda Racing’s Formula One program in 2006 and 2007.

● Purchased childhood home in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and runs a successful real-estate business.

● Prepared to run the 2020 New York Marathon before the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the event.

HELIO CASTRONEVES

Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil

Social: IG: @heliocastroneves / Twitter: @h3lio / Facebook: @h3lio

● Four-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner (2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021).

● Winner of the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona with co-drivers Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi.

● Credited with beginning the tradition of climbing the fence after a race win, which he did after scoring his first career INDYCAR victory at the 2000 Detroit Grand Prix.

● Mirror Ball Trophy winner on Season 5 of Dancing With The Stars in 2007, alongside partner Julianne Hough.

BILL ELLIOTT

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia, United States

Social: Twitter: @billelliott9 / Facebook: @billelliott

● Affectionately known as “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville”.

● Won the 1988 NASCAR Cup Series championship and is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (1985 and 1987).

● Still holds the track qualifying records at Daytona International Speedway (210.364 mph) and Talladega Superspeedway (212.809 mph), both set in 1987.

● Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.

● Voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver by fans a record 16 times.

● Father of reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. They are the third father-son duo to win NASCAR championships, joining Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett.

ERNIE FRANCIS JR.

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Social: IG: @erniefrancisjr / Twitter: @erniefrancisjr

● Winningest driver in the 55-year history of the SCCA Trans Am Series, all while being just 23 years old.

● At 16, became the youngest champion in Trans Am history and is the youngest professional driver to win seven consecutive championships.

● One of his most impressive performances came in the 2018 Trans Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He had to miss qualifying because of a NASCAR commitment, but still won the race from the back of the grid.

● Has made select starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR K&N Series.

● Grandfather immigrated to New York City from Haiti five decades ago.

● Counts Willy T. Ribbs as a mentor and, like Ribbs, making a name for himself in Trans Am.

TONY KANAAN

Hometown: Salvador, Brazil

Social: IG: @tkanaan / Twitter: @tonykanaan / Facebook: @tonykanaan

● Won the 2004 INDYCAR championship.

● Winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

● Splitting 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series season with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 48 entry, competing in all of the series’ oval races.

● Lebanese ancestry but grew up in Brazil; member of racing “Brat Pack” with Dario Franchitti, Max Papis and the late Greg Moore.

● Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and English.

● Avid triathlete and has completed Ironman event in Hawaii.

BOBBY LABONTE

Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas, United States

Social: IG: @bobby_labonte44 / Twitter: @bobby_labonte

● Won the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series championship and 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

● Won 2001 International Race of Champions (IROC) title, which was the precursor to SRX.

● Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020.

● Is a television analyst for FOX, specifically FS1’s RaceDay.

● Competes in the Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour (SMART).

● Founded Longhorn Chassis in 2010 with his brother, Terry, building dirt late model racecars. (Terry is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, earning titles in 1984 and 1996.)

● Owns a Red Mango yogurt shop on the campus of Duke University.

WILLY T. RIBBS

Hometown: San Jose, California, United States

Social: Twitter: @willyribbs

● First African-American to compete in the Indianapolis 500 (1991 and 1993) and the first African-American to test a Formula One car (1986 with Brabham in Estoril, Portugal).

● Winner of the 1977 Dunlop/Autosport Star of Tomorrow Formula Ford 1600 championship.

● A 17-race winner in the SCCA Trans Am Series. Was the 1983 Trans Am Rookie of the Year on the strength of five wins and finished second in the series championship to teammate David Hobbs.

● Won 10 IMSA GTO races driving for the legendary Dan Gurney.

● Showed versatility by competing in Trans Am, IMSA, INDYCAR and various NASCAR divisions, including the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.

● Made 46 INDYCAR starts between 1990-1994.

● After retiring from racing, became a professional shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association. Ribbs’ son, Theodore, is also a professional shooter.

● In the Disney Channel cartoon The Proud Family, character Penny proud and her friends attend Willy T. Ribbs Middle School, where the mascot is “Racer.”

● Ribbs was the subject of the 2020 Netflix documentary, Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story.

TONY STEWART

Hometown: Columbus, Indiana, United States

Social: IG: @tsrsmoke / Twitter: @tonystewart / Facebook: @tonystewart / YouTube: @tonystewart14

● Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2002, 2005 and 2011), 1997 INDYCAR Series champion and four-time USAC champion.

● Stewart is the first and only driver to win championships in stock cars, Indy cars and open-wheel Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown cars.

● Co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, winner of two NASCAR Cup Series championships (2011 and 2014).

● Owner of Tony Stewart Racing, winner of 26 championships – 14 in USAC, nine in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and three in the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets.

● Inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2020), the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame (2020), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2019), the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame (2019), the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame (2019), the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (2018), the USAC Hall of Fame (2016) and the National Midget Racing Hall of Fame (2001).

● Formed the Tony Stewart Foundation in 2003.The 501(c)(3) organization’s goal is to raise funds primarily distributed to serving three specific groups – chronically ill and physically disabled children, animals that are endangered or at-risk, and drivers injured in the sport of motor racing. To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly $7 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 150 well-qualified organizations throughout the United States.

PAUL TRACY

Hometown: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Social: IG: @paultracyofficial

● Current NBC TV commentator for its INDYCAR broadcasts.

● Won the 2003 INDYCAR championship.

● Finished second to Helio Castroneves in the 2002 Indianapolis 500.

● Has competed in NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, and dabbled in professional downhill mountain bike racing.

MICHAEL WALTRIP

Hometown: Owensboro, Kentucky, United States

Social: IG: @mwr55 / Twitter: @mw55 / Facebook: @michaelcwaltrip

● Two-time Daytona 500 winner (2001 and 2003).

● Younger brother of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip.

● Color commentator for FOX’s broadcasts of NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, as well as pre-race commentator for FOX’s broadcast of NASCAR Cup Series races.

● Author of a New York Times best-seller in 2011, In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything. A documentary film adaptation was released in 2019.

● An avid runner, competed in the 2000 Boston Marathon.

● Participated in season 19 of Dancing With The Stars in 2014.

About Camping World SRX Series:

The Camping World SRX Series was created by a team consisting of Sandy Montag and The Montag Group, George Pyne, NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief and team owner Ray Evernham, and legendary driver Tony Stewart. The Montag Group leads business operations and Evernham oversees all racing operations. Pyne is a member of the Board and serves as an advisor. For more information, please visit us online at www.SRXracing.com, on Facebook, on Twitter and on Instagram.

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance – Nashville

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Nashville

Nashville heads to Music City this weekend, at a track that last hosted the league a decade ago. Despite no Cup races visiting Nashville Superspeedway, Roush Fenway does have quite the list of accomplishments at the all concrete facility including six Xfinity Series wins.

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, June 20 | 3:30 p.m. ET
NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

  • Ryan Newman, No. 6 Planters Ford Mustang
  • Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang

All-Star Recap, Nashville Preview

  • Buescher came up just short of advancing to Sunday night’s All-Star Race, after getting spun out early in the action and finishing third overall in the final stage.
  • Newman finished 20th in the All-Star Race, his 20th start in the annual exhibition event.
  • Fifth Third Bank rides along with Buescher on the No. 17 Ford this weekend.
  • Planters, the 115-year old snack brand, and the iconic Mr. Peanut will ride along Newman’s machine this weekend. Planters served as an associate on the four races leading up to Nashville (COTA, Charlotte, Sonoma, Texas).

Nashville Superspeedway Hosts Halfway Point, New Look in Cup Schedule

This weekend marks week 18 of the NASCAR Cup Series season, the halfway point of the 36-race schedule, and with it comes a new facility in Nashville, Tennessee, along with TV coverage switching from the FOX networks to NBC.
Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, will host the NCS for the first time in its history. The facility – about a 40-minute drive from Nashville – once hosted NASCAR, ARCA and IndyCar events during its operation from 2001-11. The new event is one of many changes on the revamped 2021 schedule, and one of three tracks the series will visit for the first time.
NBC’s portion of the schedule gets underway with this weekend’s action on NBCSN. In total, 12 races are planned on that network, with eight slated for the network NBC channel.

Practice and Qualifying Back for Nashville!
With another new track on tap this weekend, the schedule again includes both practice and qualifying, a theme not all too common in the 2021 schedule. The NCS will practice for just under an hour Saturday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. ET, and it will be live on NBCSN and MRN. Qualifying will take place Sunday morning at 11:05 a.m. ET, and will also be televised on NBCSN and MRN.

Roush Responsible for Very First, Very Last NASCAR Events at Nashville Superspeedway

NASCAR’s tenure at Nashville lasted around a decade, and Jack Roush not only opened but closed out the run the Xfinity Series had there with victories. In the very first NXS race back in 2001, Greg Biffle led 133 of the 225 laps to capture one of his five series wins that season. Carl Edwards, responsible for five NXS wins at Nashville Superspeedway, won the very last NASCAR race there, leading 124 of the 225 laps in July of 2011.

Cousin Carl Dominates in Music City

Edwards dominated in his 13 starts at Nashville, finishing top-10 in all but once race, and top five in all but two. He averaged a finish of 3.5 with five overall wins, including three-straight from 2006-07, and the final two in 2011. Driving the No. 60 entry in all 13 events, Edwards led a combined 247 laps in the first three wins, then went on to lead a combined 272 laps in the 2011 races, which stands as the last time NASCAR visited the facility.

Tale of the Tape
Overall at Nashville SS, 13 different drivers drove for Jack Roush at the 1.33-mile track, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., as the lone driver among that list still active. Roush has 28 top-10s in 46 starts, 17 of which were inside the top five, with an average finish of 12th and 813 laps led.

Roush Fenway Nashville Wins
2001 Biffle
2006 Edwards
2007 Edwards
2011 Edwards
2011 Edwards
2007 Edwards