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DANNY BOUC AND DECKER SWINEHART EARN FIRST TIME VICTORIES IN NASCAR RACES AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY SATURDAY NIGHT

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Official Release
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NEXT SATURDAY, MAY 8, IS MOM’S NIGHT WITH A TRIPLEHEADER SHOW

BECHTELSVILLE, PA. May 2, 2021 . . . Both the TP Trailers 358 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series 30-lap Modified feature and the T.P. Truck Equipment 25-lap Sportsman feature had first time winners on Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.

Danny Bouc, who became a regular at the 1/3-mile banked clay oval this season after hooking up with Norm Hansell to pilot his No. 357 in the Modified ranks took the lead for good from Brad Brightbill on the 19th lap and went on to take home the checkered for first first career win. This was quite an improvement over his 27th place finish the previous week. Bouc was very thankful that Norm took a chance on him and he was more than ready to prove that he was up for the challenge.

Sportsman action saw young Decker Swinehart go the top line to take the lead away from Bryan Rhoads with five laps complete and hold that spot until the wave of the checkered to chalk up the victory.

Bouc and Swinehart both received the Dan’s Deli ½-way hoagie award and Swinehart also earned a monetary bonus for being the highest crate engine finisher.

Polesitter Brightbill held the early lead at the onset of the Modified feature and within a matter of laps Brightbill, Eric Biehn and Bouc were engaged in a three-way battle for the lead.

A homestretch tangle that brought out the yellow on the sixth lap eliminated Doug Manmiller, Kevin Graver and Ron Haring Jr. Manmiller took a pretty good jolt into the wall and walked away very slowly under his own power. Brightbill was still in first when action resumed with Bouc giving him no room to falter.

Bouc took over the number one positon on lap eight leaving Brightbill, Biehn, Jack Butler and Timmy Buckwalter, who invaded since his regular Saturday night track didn’t include his division coming from 15th; in pursuit after Bouc checked out.
Lap traffic was on the horizon by the 16th lap while the order continued to be the same. Trying to break into the top five was Craig Von Dohren.

Justin Grim bobbled a bit coming off turn four which set up a chain reaction and Brad Grim became involved and spun for the final yellow on the 17th lap. At the same time Duane Howard went pit side and never returned. On the restart Bouc hesitated enough and that quick Brightbill took advantage of it and pounced back in front. It was short-lived however as one lap later Bouc was first again.

Coming to the front fast was Von Dohren as he was second on lap 22 trailed by Brightbill, Buckwalter and Butler. Waiting in the wings just anticipating a miscue so they could advance positions were point leader Brett Kressley and Jeff Strunk.

In the closing stages Von Dohren came on strong since Bouc was starting to fade, but it wasn’t enough and Bouc went on to score a crowd-pleasing win. Finishing a close second was Von Dohren followed by Buckwalter, Kressley and Strunk. Sixth through tenth were Brightbill, Louden Reimert, Butler and last week’s winner Jared Umbenhauer.

Strunk, Bouc, Umbenhauer and Willman won the four qualifying heats. The consies went to Justin Grim and Jordan Henn.
In Sportsman action Rhoads was the early pacesetter until the fifth lap restart needed when Tyler James, Mark Kemmerer and Mike Laise tangled for the yellow. On the restart Swinehart took to the outside groove and advanced into first.

While Swinehart set the pace, the battle brewed behind him between Cody Schantz, Joey Vaccaro, Rhoads and Ebby Ridge.

At the ½-way point Vaccaro took over second and set sail after Swinehart who had a slight margin built up.

Mike Laise regrouped the pack when he came to a halt on the 21st lap. They were all bumper-to- bunper for the single file restart and Swinehart was still at the head of the pack.

Swinehart never looked back once he was in control until he pulled into the winner’s circle. Chasing him across the finish line were Vaccaro, Rhoads, current point leader Kenny Gilmore and Schantz. Rounding out the top ten were Kyle Smith, Kyle Lilick, Ridge, Brandon Edgar and Lex Shive.

Heats were won by Chris Esposito, Rhoads and Gilmore. Lilick won the consi.

Coming up on Friday, My 7th, at 7 p.m. is Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Vintage Racing action.

And on Saturday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. the 602 Sportsman Mini-Series returns to action along with the Modifieds and Sportsman. It will be Mom’s Night with the first 50 Moms getting a free gift. The oldest and youngest Mom earns two free race passes. Adult admission is $18.

The East Coast USAC Sprint Cars will be part of a tripleheader show on Saturday, May 15th that will also feature the T.P.Trailers Modifieds and T.P.Truck Equipment Sportsman. Adult admission will be $25 while youngsters 11 and under pay $5.

Information can be found at www.grandviewspeedway.com, Facebook or telephone 610.754.7688.

RACE RESULTS

T.P. Trailers Modified Feature (30-laps): 1. Danny Bouc, 2. Craig Von Dohren, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Brett Kressley, 5. Jeff Strunk, 6. Brad Brightbill, 7. Louden Reimert, 8. Jack Butler, 9. Jared Umbenhauer, 10. Kyle Weiss, 11. Dillon Steuer, 12. Eric Biehn, 13. Ryan Grim, 14. John Willman, 15. Brad Arnold, 16. Jordan Henn, 17. Justin Grim, 18. Nate Brinker, 19. Ron Kline, 20. Cory Merkel, 21. Richie Hitzler, 22. Duane Howard, 23. Brad Grim, 24. Brett Gilmore (alternate), 25. Dylan Swinehart, 26. Doug Manmiller, 27. Kevin Graver, 28. Ron Haring Jr. DNS: Craig Whitmoyer. DNQ: Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Carroll Hine III, Mark Kratz, Darren Schuler, Jesse Leiby and Glenn Owens.

T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman Feature (25-laps): 1. Decker Swinehart, 2. Joey Vaccaro, 3. Bryan Rhoads, 4. Kenny Gilmore, 5. Cody Schantz, 6. Kyle Smith, 7. Kyle Lilick, 8. Ebby Ridge, 9. Brandon Edgar, 10. Lex Shive, 11. Dylan Hoch, 12. Dakota Kohler, 13. Jimmy Leiby, 14. Ryan Beltz, 15. Mark Ke

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DOUBLEHEADER RACE ONE – SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN AND PATO O’WARD SCORE DOUBLE FINISHES FOR CHEVY RACE ONE

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GENESYS 300 AND XPEL 375 – DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
RACE RECAP
MAY 1, 2021

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, PATO O’WARD PUT CHEVY ON PODIUM
Young stars continue to make major gains early in the season

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 1, 2021) – Chevrolet drivers recorded second- and third-place finishes in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway – the first race of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader on the fast 1.455 oval.

Eleven Team Chevy drivers will line up May 2 for the XPEL 375.

Scott McLaughlin made his Series debut on an oval memorable with a runner-up finish in the No. 3 PP Team Penske Chevrolet after starting 15th in the 24-car field based on championship entrant points after weather delays forced cancellation of NTT P1 Award qualifications.

The first-year NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver, making his third start overall, had a 90-minute practice session earlier in the day and a March 31 test on the asymmetrical racetrack. Powered by the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 Chevrolet engine, McLaughlin finished .2646 of a second behind winner Scott Dixon.

Pato O’Ward, who started 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded his second top-five finish in three races with third place as he approaches his 22nd birthday May 6.

Josef Newgarden, a two-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway, was in contention for the victory until he received a penalty for unavoidable contact on Lap 70 that sent the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet to the rear of the field on the restart of the race. Still, Newgarden rallied to a sixth-place finish.

Teammate Simon Pagenaud completed the Team Chevy top 10 with 10th place in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.

NBCSN will telecast the XPEL 375 live at 5 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.

TEAM CHEVY RACE 1 FINISHERS:

  1. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske
  2. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
  3. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 XPEL Team Penske
  4. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
  5. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
  6. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
  7. Ed Carpenter, No. 20 U.S. Air Force
  8. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing
  9. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
  10. Conor Daly, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin
  11. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing

DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE – FINISHED 2ND
HOW PROUD OF SECOND PLACE ARE YOU TODAY?
“I’ve never been this bloody happy with second. I’m really stoked. Everyone at PPG and Chevy, thank you. I just didn’t have enough for Scott (Dixon) at the end. It was bloody cool battling with one of my all-time heroes. Two Kiwis 1 and 2, fantastic.”

DID YOU HAVE TO SNAP OUT OF IT WHEN YOU WERE CHASING THE OTHER SCOTT?
“I’m just so proud. I’ve worked really hard behind the scenes to make it feel good, and we got some good strategy there from my team. They put me in a position; I’m just happy to bring it home for them.”

COUPLE OF THINGS IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND YOU MIGHT HAVE TRIED DIFFERENTLY AGAINST DIXON?
“I was trying really hard but it’s so hard in dirty air. I was hoping there would be some traffic toward the end and I could have a run. I was really good through (Turns) 3 and 4, but I just couldn’t get through 1 and 2. P2 is good and we’ll get a win one day.

“So many thanks! That guy in front of me, Scott Dixon, is a legend in this sport and a fellow countryman. It was very special for me and for New Zealand. Very proud of everyone at Team Penske, PPG and Chevy for giving me a very good engine. I couldn’t quite get there at the end but I’ve never been this happy with a second place. The testing really paid off. Just getting familiar and getting a feeling for everything. My engineers got me to the point where I am comfortable. I’m really proud of everyone on this PPG Chevy. We had a really great strategy. I can hardly wait until tomorrow!”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP – FINISHED 3RD
YOUR STRATEGIST MADE THE CALL TO SHORT-PIT EARLY ON. IS THAT WHAT GOT YOU ON THE PODIUM?
“That was the call. I knew we had such a fast car, especially by ourselves. And I knew if we could get in clean air we could really make up some track position. In the beginning, we were just really stuck in a train. It’s very tough to pass. But what a great race car. We’re ready for tomorrow. I want to thank Arrow Electronics, Vuse, Team Chevy and the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 guys. This is a very good step in the right direction. There are a couple more positions we want to get, but this should really put us tomorrow in a better starting position than what we started today.”

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF OVALS OR OVERALL?
“In terms of ovals and overall. We bounced back after a pretty tough weekend in St. Pete, so we want to come back tomorrow and try to do better and roll into the Month of May for the Indy road course and the crown jewel of the schedule.”
WHAT WILL YOU THINK ABOUT FOR TOMORROW? WERE THE VIBRATIONS A CONVERN FOR YOU AT ALL?
“It was at the end. I didn’t quite have anything for McLaughlin and Dixon. They were very quick. I didn’t want to risk anything. I started getting a little wiggly and were getting some temperature issues for I just said let’s take this and we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we got.

“This Arrow McLaren SP group made my life so much easier with that off strategy call. It really paid off for us. The car changed quite a bit during the race. Towards the end we had some issues with temps so we didn’t have quite enough for both Scotts there at the end. These guys did a great job of getting us up there. Chevy worked hard. We should have a way better starting place tomorrow which will be good. We have a fast car.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: “Tough night here in Texas for Race one. We recovered to finish in sixth place. Kind of a scrappy day. We started 10th. Made our way back up to finish sixth at the end of the day. . Had a minor altercation with a couple of cars running one-two. Big check-up. Unfortunately right now here at Texas to move out of that bottom lane. It is really a one lane race track right now. When there is a big checkup like that, I didn’t have time to react and ended up tapping Bourdais and spinning him. Got a penalty for that and went all the back-I think 21st. It was unfortunate to lose all that track position, I was going to restart fifth. We did every thing we could do to claw back to sixth. Pretty happy for that for XPEL and Chevy. We learned from our teammates. Great job for Scotty finishing second. We will look at what they have on their car and come back tomorrow and try to win it.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “P10 tonight here in Texas. Considering the day, I think P10 is reasonable. We had a very fast car with our Chevy Menards car tonight. We had excessive vibration on tires which didn’t allow us to do long stints. We had an issue with a brake that we will have to investigate tonight. We have a fast car so we should expect to be back in form tomorrow.:

SEBASTIEN BOURDAID, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, RETIRED FROM RACE ON LAP 55 AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR INCIDENT, FINISHED 24TH:
“I am just disappointed I guess. We struggled like hell here at testing, and this afternoon really wasn’t any better. We just threw everything we had at it and it was working! We had a pretty decent car and the ROKIT No. 14 Chevrolet was in the mix. We were fast and I passed. I think that was the first time I passed. I was pretty happy. A lot of guys were starting to run out of tires, we were too. I don’t know why Colton (Herta) decided to go so slow out of two, but we ended up on top of one another. I was slowing down with him. I got hit in the back and it took me out. It’s a real shame because I think we had something to play with them today. I’m okay. Just a really bad break for our ROKIT No. 14 Chevrolet. It is such a shame. A missed opportunity. There was chain reaction and we got the short end of it.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.

Dixon Dominates in Kiwi 1-2 at Texas; McLaughlin Second

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Official Release
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FORT WORTH, Texas (Saturday, May 1, 2021) – Scott Dixon schooled the rest of the Genesys 300 field in an oval-racing clinic Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway, leading a race-record 206 of 212 laps for his first victory of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Dixon drove the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to victory by .2646 of a second over fellow New Zealand native Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, who was racing on an oval for the first time. Pato O’Ward finished third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

“It was a bit of a crazy night for us,” Dixon said. “Definitely very tense there at the end. It was kind of cool to be racing a countryman for the last few laps. Fifth win at Texas, baby! That was awesome.”

This was the 51st victory of the legendary career of six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon, just one behind tying Mario Andretti for No. 2 on the all-time win list. A.J. Foyt leads with 67 wins.

“It feels amazing to be in this position,” Dixon said. “You just never want it to end. We want to go back-to-back and try to tie Mario tomorrow. I’m sure that’s not exactly what he wants to see. We’ll keep our heads down. It’s extremely tough. This season has been one of the toughest starts, I think, for a lot of us just with how tight the competition is.”

The victory also marks Dixon’s 19th INDYCAR SERIES season with at least one victory. He also took the series points lead with his third victory in the last four seasons at the 1.5-mile oval.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams will race again Sunday evening at Texas in the XPEL 375, a 248-lap race. Live coverage starts at 5 p.m. (ET) on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Dixon, who started second, held a comfortable lead of three to five seconds at various points during the race, which went the distance despite rain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But McLaughlin applied plenty of pressure over the last stint of the race after the final pit stops for most of the field under caution on Lap 165.

Three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion McLaughlin showed the composure and tactical sense of an oval racing veteran in his first race of only left turns, staying within about half a second of Dixon during the closing laps.

Dixon approached lap traffic with two laps to go, with the turbulent air from those cars slowing his charge toward the checkered. But he held off McLaughlin long enough for victory, averaging 173.036 mph.

“I have this thing on the dash that tells me the gaps to cars,” said Dixon, 40. “I probably need to take it off because it was stressing me out more than anything. I kept looking down, looking in the mirror. He was fast.”

Said McLaughlin, 27: “I’ve never been this bloody happy to finish second in my life. I’m really stoked. I just couldn’t get Scotty (Dixon) there at the end. But I’ll tell you what: It was bloody cool battling with my all-time favorite hero, Scotty Dixon. Two Kiwis, one and two. My Mom and Dad are watching at home (in New Zealand), for sure.”

It was a night of mixed results for the winners of the first two races of the season.

Alex Palou, winner of the season opener April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park, finished fourth in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after starting from the pole when qualifying for the NTT P1 Award was canceled due to weather delays earlier in the day.

Colton Herta, winner April 25 at St. Petersburg, placed 22nd after a mechanical problem in his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda ended his night after completing 190 laps.

Sebastien Bourdais and James Hinchcliffe were unhurt in separate accidents that triggered the only two caution periods of the race.

Four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Bourdais hit the SAFER Barrier hard in Turn 2 in the No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet after he was nudged into a spin by contact from the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet of two-time series champion Josef Newgarden on Lap 56. Newgarden was moved to the back of the lead lap on the restart as a penalty for the contact.

Hinchcliffe made contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 after spinning on Lap 160 in the No. 29 Genesys Honda.

Toyota Racing NCWTS Post-Race Recap — Kansas 5.1.21

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Official Release
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KYLE BUSCH BATTLES TO TAKE HIS TUNDRA TO VICTORY LANE AT KANSAS
Toyota scores seventh consecutive win in the 2021 Truck Series season

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 1, 2021) – Kyle Busch scored his 61st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in Friday night’s race at Kansas Speedway. Tundra drivers Austin Hill (third), Christian Eckes (fourth) and John Hunter Nemechek (fifth) also finished inside the top five. Tonight’s win marks the fifth for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021 and seventh consecutive for Toyota.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Kansas Speedway
Race 7 of 23 – 150 Laps, 225 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, KYLE BUSCH
2nd, Ross Chastain*
3rd, AUSTIN HILL
4th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
5th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
9th, JOHNNY SAUTER
10th, BEN RHODES
11th, CHANDLER SMITH
14th, STEWART FRIESEN
17th, GRANT ENFINGER
24th, MATT CRAFTON
26th, DANNY BOHN
28th, DEREK KRAUS
29th, SPENCER DAVIS
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 1st

How difficult was the final restart with the issues you were feeling in the truck?

“No restarts actually went our way tonight. I was shocked. We definitely missed something, just being able to come up through the gears and get going. It would not go. It’s just slow. Those guys would just swarm us. I think we saw it on one of the restarts with the 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) truck too, he got run over. All in all though great job by KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), everybody at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development), this Cessna Beechcraft Tundra was awesome tonight. It’s so cool to win here in front of Cessna’s hometown. I’m sure there’s some Cessna folks up in the grandstands tonight cheering us on. We’re appreciative of them and Rowdy Energy and everybody that helps us get here. Incredible Bank, I know they’re here on the backstretch tonight. Brexton races tomorrow, so he better bring home a win like I brought home a win. Hopefully he can do it, hopefully we can do it. I just want to say hi to my family back home.”

Can you take us through the final restart for the win?

“All the restarts were hectic for us. Any time we started on the front row, we would always go backwards. It just would not fire on the restarts for whatever reason. We definitely had a really good, strong long run truck. The guys at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) – this Cessna Beechcraft Tundra was awesome on the long runs. Those restarts were just not for us. We made it work on that last one. The last one, I was fourth in line – got a little bit of a bump from Todd (Gilliland) and got three-wide. I don’t know what else happened after that, but it was just trying to go where they weren’t by that point and get ourselves back up front. I knew when that caution came out, it was definitely not going to be easy. I hated that we saw that caution, but put on a heck of a show for all the fans.”

How much did the track change during this race?

“It changed a ton, oh my gosh. The ARCA rubber that was down early on and us burning that off and then rubbering in the top and then how the whole groove and the whole race track kind of changed. It felt like there was some slick spots out there and some grippy spots out there. Hopefully I can use that to my advantage for tomorrow and figure out how to run good and how to get a good finish here tomorrow and looking forward to my M&M’s Camry.”

What kind of a statement is this for another victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports?

“I saw the 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) truck on my inside on the restart in one and two and I was like, ‘damn, he’s already here.’ I thought he was going to come with us right there at the finish, but I don’t know what happened to those guys. Overall, just a real strong year for us so far at KBM. This is a pleasure year so far. It’s cool to have John Hunter, we really lean on each other a lot. We’re trying to get Chandler (Smith) up there a little more and get him going a little bit better. The restarts for all of our trucks tonight certainly weren’t going to help him out. We’ve got some work to do. We’re still not the best.”

AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 Gunma Toyopet Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 3rd

What could you have done any different there at the end?

“Man I don’t know, our Gumma Toyopet Toyota Tundra was really good tonight. We still needed to work on it and make it a little better. I thought I did everything right on that restart, thew it on the apron saw (Ross) Chastain go up to block whoever was coming on his outside and got beside him. From then on it was a drag race, I was wide open through the whole green-white-checkered. He held me so tight down in the corner it drug both of us back, I wish he would have side-drafted me and went up and blocked Kyle (Busch) off of four. That way maybe me and him could’ve battled it out for the win, I don’t know. Kyle might have still crossed us over and won the race. It’s a good finish, finishing third like we did today with everythign we had going on. We had engine issues, we had stuff going on. We didn’t completely get it fixed, so restarts I couldn’t get through the gears very well. I had a lot of vibration tonight, but to come home with a solid p-three is good. I want to win so bad, so it’s just really frustrating right now.”

What were you dealing with throughout the race?

“We really didn’t diagnose completely what the issue was, but we had a really good, solid Gunma Toyopet Toyota Tundra all night. Needed to work on it to be able to win the race. After the second stage, it started cutting in and out on me. Just wasn’t running right so we came in, checked all the plugs, checked everything, I reset the main switch and all that. We didn’t find anything and I reset the main switch and went back out. It seemed okay, but it still wasn’t that great getting through the gears. That last restart, I’m glad I got a push from whoever was behind me because it was so sluggish on the restarts and that whole last green-white-checkered, I was wide open. Just wasn’t lifting. I had Ross (Chastain) really tight on my door sucking both of us back. That’s all I had. I wish he would have went up and kind of blocked Kyle (Busch) so we could race each other, but it is what it is. Solid effort to come back and finish where we did. Just stings, I want to win.”

CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 4th

How important is it for you to get back in the truck and get a top-five finish?

“It’s super important. Today was really an up and down day. Luckily, we recovered really well there at the end. We made a little bit of a gutsy pit call and we really just fought balance all day. We changed a couple things and I felt like we got our balance pretty good and we came down and put two lefts on and the thing was a rocketship there for two laps. I wish we had another caution because maybe we would have had something for Kyle (Busch). Like I said, I just can’t believe how fast the thing was, especially with how much we struggled throughout the day. All of the sudden, it went. Can’t be prouder of my guys at ThorSport. Just really looking forward to CoTA (Circuit of the Americas) next for me.”

Can you describe what the restarts were like?

“Crazy. That last one was really crazy. I think I made contact with the 18 (Chandler Smith). I looked over and there were three cars ahead of me and there was one on the inside of me so I’m pretty sure we were five-wide through the tri-oval. I don’t know how we made it and didn’t crash. Hopefully, that was a fun race for the fans because it was a fun one for us drivers.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 5th

What more did you need to battle with Kyle Busch?

“We were just too loose all night. I couldn’t fire off and didn’t have any short run speed. I figured that I had really good mid-run speed compared to Kyle (Busch) and he definitely had the long run speed. Takeaways, positive day. If a bad day for us is fifth, then we’re doing pretty good. We came down and gambled there with the second-to-last caution. I trusted Eric (Phillips, crew chief). We have two wins so why not gamble and try to go get a third. It almost worked out. If we hadn’t gotten sandwiched on that last restart, I think we would have been in pretty good shape being one of the first guys on tires there. Oh well, solid day here in Kansas. Still the points leader and still moving forward. The Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra was fast, just needed a little bit more.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Matos Magic in Monterey, Takes Trans Am TA2® Win

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Official Release
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Tim Lynn victorious in Trans Am West Coast Championship at WeatherTech Raceway

MONTEREY, CA (1 May 2021) – After losing out on the MOTUL pole in the closing moments of Friday’s qualifying session, Rafa Matos was not to be denied in Saturday’s Trans Am SpeedFest TA2® race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. (Race Recap Video)

Matos, driving the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Ford Mustang, passed local favorite Thomas Merrill to the inside in Turn 11 to take the lead on the 10th lap, and fended off several challenges to score his 11th career victory in the highly competitive Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA2 ® event. The pass for victory earned Matos the ChillOut Move of the Race.

The 2020 Champion Mike Skeen finished second, with Merrill adding to his career count of Laguna Seca podiums with a run to third place.

In a wild Trans Am West Coast Championship race, Tim Lynn took the victory with a last-lap pass in the No. 17 Roof Options Ford Mustang. He placed 12th overall in the 33-car field, which included 16 West Coast competitors.

The drama continued past the checkered flag, as Matos’ Mustang belched smoke in victory lane after having engine issues in the final laps of the race.

“The last five laps, the water temperature started rising and the oil temperature got to 380,” Matos said. “I started losing power, and I saw Mike Skeen catching me. So I just put my head down and I had a big enough gap. Fortunately, I saved some of my tires and I was able to push in the corners.

“I was racing against two champions out there, these guys (Skeen and Merrill) are world class drivers, I have a lot of respect for them and they raced me hard and clean,” added Matos. “This is a very emotional win for us. We are honoring my cousin Mariana on the car. She passed away last month of COVID. This is my 11th Trans Am win, 10th win with Peterson Racing Group, hats off to the whole team. This is my first win at Laguna Seca, I love this place. Today was a good day.”

Defending TA2® champ Skeen squeezed by Merrill in the Corkscrew in the No. 1 Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Distribution Chevrolet Camaro in the closing laps to take second,1.409-seconds back.

“We got off to a great start in this Liqui-Moly Turn 14 Distribution Camaro,” said Skeen. “The Stevens-Miller Racing guys have been working really hard this weekend to make some strides to make the car go quicker. Fortunately we put the car on the pole and got some points for that. We tried to take it easy at the beginning to save the car for the end but looks like we saved just a little too much because we didn’t have quite enough to catch Rafa (Matos) at the end. I’m happy to be up here, it was a good weekend for us.”

Merrill, a resident of nearby Salinas, drove from third to the lead on the opening lap, slipping past Motul Pole Award winner Skeen. He made several runs at Matos but came up short each time in the No. 81 HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang. With his tires starting to fade, he fell back to finish third, 8.284-seconds back.

“It feels good to race at home, especially in front of my family and friends,” Merrill said. “It’s always a pleasure running this Mike Cope chassis. We got off to a great start, we were cruising there and the beginning. Then these guys (Mike Skeen and Rafa Matos) turned it up a notch. They really took off at the end.”

The race was slowed by three caution flags for various spins on the way to the 75-minute race time.

Ed Sevadjian backed up his impressive fourth-place qualifying run by finishing in that position in the No. 38 Big Machine Vodka Chevrolet Camaro – missing his career best finish by one position. He managed to hold off rising star Sam Mayer over the closing laps. Mayer, driving the No. 8 M1-SLR/Fields Camaro, came back from an off-course excursion exiting Turn 6 midway through the race to place fifth.

Double-duty driver Ken Thwaits took the Masters award in his TA2® debut, placing 17th overall in the No. 71 Franklin Road Apparel Dodge Challenger. He used the race in preparation for the upcoming TA2® race in Nashville. Thwaits, the 2020 XGT titlist, will also compete in Sunday’s Trans Am event.

In the West Coast Championship competition, fast-closing Lynn passed Brad McAllister on the final lap to take West Coast Championship honors. Brad McAllister – the 2019 Laguna Seca West Coast TA2® winner – placed second in the No. 24 PortlandImplantDentistry.com Ford Mustang, while Jeff Holden completed the podium in the No. 11 Joe’s Racing/M1 Chevrolet Camaro.

Carl Rydquist, the defending West Coast champion, dominated the class in the No. 47 Racecars4Rent/Group Wholesale Ford Mustang, but spun late in the race and finished fifth.
Connor Mosack ran with the leaders early in the race before a drive through the dirt in the Corkscrew sent the No. 28 Nic Tailor/FS M1-SLR/Fields Camaro through the pits. He returned to run with the leaders, although a lap down, and finished 23rd.

TA2® newcomer Adrian Wlostowski ran in the top 10 in the No. 3 Hawk Performance/FA.S.T. Auto Camaro before exiting with mechanical issues.

The TA, XGT. SGT and GT class competitors qualify Saturday at 4:55 p.m. PT. The combined-class race is set for 45 laps (with a 75-minute time limit) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. PT.

The national Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli next travels to Connecticut’s Berkshire Hills for Lime Rock Park’s traditional Memorial Day weekend. The next TA2 ® race will be at scenic Lime Rock Park as part of the traditional Memorial Day weekend, running on Monday at 1:15 p.m. ET. The TA/XGT/SGT/GT competitors race on Saturday at 1:20 p.m. ET.

The West Coast Championship will have one weekend off before returning to action at Thunderhill Raceway Park May 14-16.

*Report based on Provisional Results

Meyer Shank Racing Takes Seventh in Texas Race One

By
Official Release
-

Harvey advances to fifth in INDYCAR Championship following Saturday’s result

Fort Worth, Texas (1 May 2021) – Jack Harvey showed impressive pace on Saturday for Race 1 of the INDYCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. A seventh place finish in the Genesys 300 advanced Meyer Shank Racing and the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to fifth in the championship points standings with three rounds of racing in the books.

Quick weekends at Texas Motor Speedway seem to be the trend since Meyer Shank Racing and Harvey made his debut at the 1.5-mile oval last year. What was supposed to be Practice, Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday soon turned to just a single practice session ahead of Race 1 due to a potential weather system threatening the area.

Closing out a 90-minute practice session on Saturday afternoon P15, the focus quickly turned to preparing the No. 60 Honda for the Genesys 300. With qualifying cancelled and now determined by championship points, Harvey rolled off of the grid sixth for the start of the race.

At the drop of the green flag, Harvey got a strong jump and made a fast pass for fifth. It only took the first 10 laps for Harvey to start gaining ground on fourth place. As the first pit window started closing in, Harvey was hot on the tails of P4. At a track that is notoriously difficult to pass at, Harvey made the pass for third and ran in podium contention going into the first pit stop on lap 64.

Harvey ran strong as the team opted to stay out longer going into the second pit stop in hopes of gaining additional positions. Unfortunately, the No. 60 fell to eighth following the second stop, but Harvey put his head down and moved back up to seventh just a few laps later.

The final stop saw the MSR crew make a lightning quick stop which put Harvey two positions ahead once returning to track. The final 25 laps were a dash to the finish which, in the end, saw Harvey cross the line seventh. The top ten result puts Harvey fifth in the championship standings which is also where he will start Sunday’s XPEL 375.

“I thought today went really well, at times we looked really good and at others I think we had some things to work through,” said Harvey. “We had a small issue with the shift lights in the car, so restarts were a bit tricky. The No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda is pretty quick around here. The biggest thing for us is the level of improvement compared to a year ago, it’s just massive. I’m so grateful for Meyer Shank Racing and the effort they put in and now we’ll just try to do better tomorrow.”

Race 2 for the Texas Motor Speedway double-header race weekend is set for 6:00pm ET on Sunday with live coverage on NBCSN. IndyCar Radio coverage will also be on SiriusXM Ch. 205.

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DOUBLEHEADER – SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN AND PATO O’WARD SCORE DOUBLE FINISHES FOR CHEVY RACE ONE

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GENESYS 300 AND XPEL 375 – DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
PODIUM FINISHERS -SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN AND PATO O’WARD
MAY 1, 2021

SCOTT MCLAUGHLN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR CONTENDER, AND PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED SECOND AND THIRD RESPECTIVELY TO GIVE CHEVROLET DOUBLE PODIUM:

DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE – FINISHED 2ND
HOW PROUD OF SECOND PLACE ARE YOU TODAY?
“I’ve never been this bloody happy with second. I’m really stoked. Everyone at PPG and Chevy, thank you. I just didn’t have enough for Scott (Dixon) at the end. It was bloody cool battling with one of my all-time heroes. Two Kiwis 1 and 2, fantastic.”

DID YOU HAVE TO SNAP OUT OF IT WHEN YOU WERE CHASING THE OTHER SCOTT?
“I’m just so proud. I’ve worked really hard behind the scenes to make it feel good, and we got some good strategy there from my team. They put me in a position; I’m just happy to bring it home for them.”

COUPLE OF THINGS IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND YOU MIGHT HAVE TRIED DIFFERENTLY AGAINST DIXON?
“I was trying really hard but it’s so hard in dirty air. I was hoping there would be some traffic toward the end and I could have a run. I was really good through (Turns) 3 and 4, but I just couldn’t get through 1 and 2. P2 is good and we’ll get a win one day.

“So many thanks! That guy in front of me, Scott Dixon, is a legend in this sport and a fellow countryman. It was very special for me and for New Zealand. Very proud of everyone at Team Penske, PPG and Chevy for giving me a very good engine. I couldn’t quite get there at the end but I’ve never been this happy with a second place. The testing really paid off. Just getting familiar and getting a feeling for everything. My engineers got me to the point where I am comfortable. I’m really proud of everyone on this PPG Chevy. We had a really great strategy. I can hardly wait until tomorrow!”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP – FINISHED 3RD
YOUR STRATEGIST MADE THE CALL TO SHORT-PIT EARLY ON. IS THAT WHAT GOT YOU ON THE PODIUM?
“That was the call. I knew we had such a fast car, especially by ourselves. And I knew if we could get in clean air we could really make up some track position. In the beginning, we were just really stuck in a train. It’s very tough to pass. But what a great race car. We’re ready for tomorrow. I want to thank Arrow Electronics, Vuse, Team Chevy and the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 guys. This is a very good step in the right direction. There are a couple more positions we want to get, but this should really put us tomorrow in a better starting position than what we started today.”
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF OVALS OR OVERALL?
“In terms of ovals and overall. We bounced back after a pretty tough weekend in St. Pete, so we want to come back tomorrow and try to do better and roll into the Month of May for the Indy road course and the crown jewel of the schedule.”
WHAT WILL YOU THINK ABOUT FOR TOMORROW? WERE THE VIBRATIONS A CONVERN FOR YOU AT ALL?
“It was at the end. I didn’t quite have anything for McLaughlin and Dixon. They were very quick. I didn’t want to risk anything. I started getting a little wiggly and were getting some temperature issues for I just said let’s take this and we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we got.

“This Arrow McLaren SP group made my life so much easier with that off strategy call. It really paid off for us. The car changed quite a bit during the race. Towards the end we had some issues with temps so we didn’t have quite enough for both Scotts there at the end. These guys did a great job of getting us up there. Chevy worked hard. We should have a way better starting place tomorrow which will be good. We have a fast car.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.

Kyle Busch comes out on top at Kansas after wild overtime attempts

By
SM Staff
-
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at Kansas Speedway after multiple attempts in NASCAR Overtime. It would be Busch’s 61st win in the Camping World Truck Series and also marks the fifth win for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021.

“It’s pretty awesome, we had some great accomplishments as a team.” Busch stated. “It’s just a true team effort and a testament to everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports. It’s fun to have the opportunities with running for my own trucks and going out there and be able to put on good shows, good finishes, good races, and work with some good talented people.”

Stages 30/30/74 would make up the 134 lap event, with John Hunter Nemechek on the pole.

Stage 1: Laps 1-30

Nemechek and teammate Busch would take the green flag. A good portion of the Top 10 would go three-wide, with Todd Gilliland one of the drivers to fall backward at the start.

Sheldon Creed would launch himself up to second while Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and Austin Hill challenge Busch for third. A few laps later Busch would have a run off of Turn 2, and use it to breeze past Rhodes for third.

Creed took away the lead from Nemechek as he would pass the No. 4 down the inside into Turn 1. Nemechek would try and fight back for the lead but would get loose off Turn 2, losing out to Busch as he would drop to third.

Busch’s No. 51 would come to life as he made a pass on the bottom of Creed’s No. 2, placing him back to the front. Nemechek would quickly dispose of Creed, making it a Kyle Busch Motorsports 1-2.

The No. 51 would take the first stage, with Nemechek behind Busch. Creed, Rhodes, Crafton, Austin Hill, Stewart Friesen, Todd Gilliland, Derek Kraus and Ross Chastain would be the Top 10.

Stage 2: Laps 38-60

Busch led on the restart but it was Creed that would muscle his way to the front shortly afterward.

A few laps later Busch would run down the No. 2 and reclaim the race lead.

On Lap 43 Chase Purdy would have a big moment, sliding his truck. The No. 23 would keep it straight, however, and the race stayed green.

Busch would take the Stage 2 win, sweeping both stages. Nemechek again would be in second, while Creed, Austin Hill and Zane Smith would round out the Top 5. Friesen, Kraus, Rhodes, Gilliland, and Hailie Deegan would rack up the Top 10.

Nemechek would beat Busch off pit road during the stage break to lead on the restart.

Final Stage: Laps 67-140

As the field bunched up to start the final stage, Nemechek would lead the field down, with Creed battling the No. 4. Teammate Busch would make a three-wide pass on the inside of both Nemechek and Creed, and would take the lead immediately.

A caution would fly as Carson Hocevar nearly spun out battling with Christian Eckes. He would save it but the yellow flag would fly.

The leaders would stay out on the track, but Johnny Sauter would come down pit road to make some big swings to his No. 13.

A majority of the front runners would swarm Busch on the next restart, as he would get in a four-wide situation with the other drivers. Creed would come out on top with teammate Smith right behind him.

On Lap 97, Nemechek would run down Creed and take the lead away. Smith would bring his truck down pit road as green flag pit stops began.

Tyler Ankrum would have troubles as he would go around, but no caution would fly, dropping the No. 26 down in the running order.

Busch’s truck would come to life as he closed in on the front two of Creed and Nemechek with a three-wise pass for the first position. Shortly afterward, the leaders, one-by-one, would come down pit road.

With 17 to go Creed hit the Turn 1 wall due to his right front tire going down. A lap later Sauter would pit from the lead, bringing Busch back up to the front.

The yellow flag would fly with seven laps to go, bunching the field up. Jennifer Jo Cobb’s truck stalled on the track, bringing out the yellow. This would lead to NASCAR Overtime. Rhodes brought his car down pit road for fresh tires, as well as Deegan.

Busch and Chastain led the field to green. Rhodes made it three-wide with Busch and Chastain, who would come out on top with a pass to the bottom. However, there would be trouble behind them as Friesen went for a spin off of Turn 2, and collecting Kraus and knocking the two out of contention.

Chastain and Smith would lead for another attempt at overtime. Smith would try to block Busch but would force the No. 51 up against the outside wall as the field flocked to three to four-wide racing. Many drivers would experience several tire rubs on their trucks, but everyone would keep it clean as the leaders fought it out.

Hill and Chastain would duke it out for the lead, and Busch would make it three-wide for the lead as they got to the final lap. Busch’s No. 51 would breeze by Chastain and Hill, running away from the two drivers to claim the victory at Kansas.

There were 36 lead changes among seven different drivers.

The Camping World Truck Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the LiftKits4Less.com 200 on Friday, May 7 at 7:30 PM ET. Coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio for 147 laps of action.

Results:

  1. Kyle Busch, Stage 1 and 2 winner, 59 laps led
  2. Ross Chastain, six laps led
  3. Austin Hill
  4. Christian Eckes, three laps led
  5. John Hunter Nemechek, 16 laps led
  6. Todd Gilliland
  7. Zane Smith
  8. Raphael Lessard
  9. Johnny Sauter, 13 laps led
  10. Ben Rhodes, two laps led
  11. Chandler Smith
  12. Bayley Currey
  13. Hailie Deegan
  14. Stewart Friesen
  15. Tyler Ankrum
  16. Austin Wayne Self
  17. Grant Enfinger
  18. Tanner Gray
  19. Chase Briscoe
  20. Ryan Truex – one lap down
  21. Timothy Peters – one lap down
  22. Timmy Hill – one lap down
  23. Carson Hocevar – one lap down
  24. Matt Crafton – one lap down
  25. Chase Purdy – two laps down
  26. Danny Bohn – two laps down
  27. Bret Holmes – two laps down
  28. Derek Kraus – two laps down
  29. Spencer Davis – three laps down
  30. Jordan Anderson – three laps down
  31. Dawson Cram – three laps down
  32. Sheldon Creed – four laps down, 41 laps led
  33. Kris Wright – five laps down
  34. CJ McLaughlin – seven laps down
  35. Spencer Boyd – seven laps down
  36. Tate Fogleman – ten laps down
  37. Jennifer Jo Cabb – OUT, Electrical
  38. Jessi Iwuji – OUT, Too slow
  39. Norm Benning – OUT, Too slow
  40. Ryan Reed – OUT, Steering

Scott Dixon dominates to win at Texas

By
Briar Starr
-
Photo Courtesy of Chris Jones

Before entering Saturday night’s race, Scott Dixon was already victorious at Texas Motor Speedway by having four career track victories, including the most recent race last summer.

However, the New Zealander had to hold off another New Zealander and IndyCar rookie, Scott McLaughlin, for the victory in the remaining few laps Saturday night.

Dixon dominated by leading all but six laps for his first checkered flag of the year.

“I’m pretty sure that was definitely a first,” Dixon said about the 1-2 Kiwi finish. It was fun. As I commented, it was really cool to look at that monitor on my steering wheel and see that it was the 3 car. I haven’t even got to see Scott yet, but definitely a congratulations to him. That was a tremendous run. Definitely very fast. There wasn’t much deg at the end of the race there, especially with the cooler conditions. Exit of two just became a very long straight until you got back to turn one. Definitely didn’t want him to get too close to get that big run through three and four, as I think you could definitely pull the pass off as we’d seen earlier in the race.

“Huge result for a race for a couple of Kiwis, which is great to see. Commenting pre-season, people are like, How do you feel about having another Kiwi on the grid? I’ve been waiting 20 years for it. It’s great to see him over here. He’s a massive talent. He’s going to have a lot of victories, man. I have to try and hold him off while I can.”

As the IndyCar teams rolled into Texas Motor Speedway Saturday morning, weather forecast and conditions looked tricky and there was a question as to whether they could get the race in. First, there was a two-hour delay for practice, which caused qualifying to get canceled to allow for a 90-minute practice session. With qualifying canceled, the field was set up by championship driver points meaning Barber Motorsports Park winner Alex Palou started on the pole.

When the green flag flew, Palou had a solid car and led the first three laps of the race. However, on Lap 4, Dixon returned to the form he is known for, which is dominating races and leading the majority of the laps. He made the pass on his teammate, Palou, and never really looked back. Despite Dixon controlling the race, he didn’t stretch his lead as Palou kept the gap by one second through the first round of green-flag pit stops.

With the green-flag pit stops beginning on Lap 51 with the No. 15 of Graham Rahal making a stop, the first caution flag flew on Lap 55 when the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing entry of Sebastien Bourdais pounded the Turn 2 wall. Bourdais went spinning after the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden made contact with Bourdais by bumping into the back of him. When the yellow slowed the field, the race leaders such as Dixon, Palou, Harvey, Herta, and VeeKay had not made a pit stop. By causing the incident, steward officials reviewed the incident between Bourdais and Newgarden and penalized Newgarden for avoidable contact.

At the restart on Lap 71, Dixon once again stretched his lead over Palou by nearly a second. He would continue to do so at the halfway point on Lap 114 and Dixon was able to clinch the most laps led and earned two additional bonus points. Dixon comfortably sat in the lead throughout the race until the second caution flew on Lap 160 when the No. 29 of James Hinchcliffe snapped loose in Turn 2 and hit the wall, slowing the field down once again.

It was at this point in time when the race began to change a little, at least for second position. Rookie Scott McLaughlin followed right behind Dixon after pit stops were made.

Looking for his first career win, McLaughlin raced his heart out in the closing laps and even began closing the gap a little, slowly but surely. In fact, at Lap 210 with 2 laps to go, McLaughlin was on the back bumper of Dixon, 0.2534 seconds behind Dixon. Despite McLaughlin doing all he could do to race Dixon, Dixon held off the Team Penske driver to score his first victory of the 2021 season and his fifth win at Texas Motor Speedway.

Even though McLaughlin finished second for the first time in his IndyCar career, the New Zealander was pumped and felt like the podium finish was more like a victory.

“I had a tremendous amount of fun, about as much fun as I thought I was going to have,” McLaughlin said. “The PPG Chevy was great. We also had great strategy calls, pit stops. The crew on pit road were unbelievable. Have to thank them a huge amount. It’s a big thing taking on my first oval race. Just tried to get through the first few laps. I was pretty cautious, probably too cautious in my first stint. Just sort of worked up to it. Managed to dodge the Bourdais wreck, which was pretty close for me. Then the Hinchcliffe one which put us right there. Pretty proud. Just wish my mum and dad, wife were here. Anyway, next time.”

Dixon led 206 laps en route to his fifth win at Texas Motor Speedway and the 50th of his NTT IndyCar Series career. He led two times for 206 laps.

Official Results following the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway:
  1. Scott Dixon, led 206 laps
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Pato O’Ward
  4. Alex Palou, led six laps
  5. Graham Rahal
  6. Josef Newgarden
  7. Jack Harvey
  8. Alexander Rossi
  9. Takuma Sato
  10. Simon Pagenaud
  11. Tony Kanaan
  12. Ed Jones
  13. Felix Rosenqvist
  14. Will Power
  15. Pietro Fittipaldi
  16. Ryan Hunter-Reay
  17. Ed Carpenter
  18. Dalton Kellett
  19. Marcus Ericsson, 1 lap down
  20. Rinus VeeKay, 1 lap down
  21. Conor Daly, 1 lap down
  22. Colton Herta, OUT, Mechanical
  23. James Hinchcliffe, OUT, Contact
  24. Sebastien Bourdais, OUT, Contact

Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will be back in action Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway for race No. 2, which is slated to begin at 5 p.m. ET live on NBCSN and IndyCar radio. The starting lineup will be based on championship points standings following tonight’s race since qualifying was canceled.

CORVETTE RACING AT SPA: Fourth in European Debut for C8.R

By
Official Release
-

Garcia, Gavin put up hard fight in final race for British Corvette legend

STAVELOT, Belgium (May 1, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Oliver Gavin finished fourth in GTE Pro at the Six Hours of Spa on Saturday with their No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R – the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The first appearance at Spa by Corvette Racing was significant for two reasons: it marked the first race outside the United States for the mid-engine racing Corvette, and it also marked Gavin’s final start with the team after 20 years.

The main target for the Spa event was to gain knowledge and experience with the C8.R in the FIA WEC ahead of August’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing will send two of the mid-engine racers back to Le Mans after missing last year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garcia qualified fifth but the race pace of the Corvette was encouraging in a fight among three manufacturers. He drove the first two stints on the same set of Michelin tires – a different strategy than the other GTE Pro entries – in an effort to be in better shape to fight at the end.

Gavin drove the middle two stints of the race, including the race’s first full-course caution. It marked the 204th appearance in a Corvette Racing entry for the veteran, who ended his career with 51 victories – including five at Le Mans – and five IMSA championships. Gavin moved up to fourth in class during his stint as one of the Porsches suffered a punctured tire.

Garcia re-entered with a little more than two hours to go. He set the Corvette’s fastest race lap in his next-to-last stint – a 2:14.622 (116.383 mph) that ranked third among all GTE Pro drivers in the push for a podium finish.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic from Belle Isle Park in Detroit as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday, June 12.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTE PRO: “This definitely was valuable for me and for the team. We learned a lot. As it happened a couple of years ago at Sebring when we ran a WEC race, it’s good to run in this championship to make everyone aware of the regulations and how to perform in this series. It’s way different than IMSA. It’s always good to have a good shakedown and learn everything that counts. So this was a very valuable experience.”
(Driving with Oliver Gavin) “I really wanted us to finish on the podium. That was my main push the whole race was to be up there with him, even if we knew getting on the top step was almost impossible. But being up there would have been super-nice. I gave all I had to do it. It wasn’t enough for sure, but it was good to share a Corvette with him for once. I would have liked to have to get a better result. But as a team, we can take the good things from this race and the information on the car ahead toward Le Mans.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTE PRO: “My last race for Corvette Racing and in the C8.R, and it’s been quite a journey. I’m so proud to have won these overalls to represent such an amazing team in Corvette Racing and Team Chevy. To be able to compete here for the final time in the WEC has been very special; Spa-Francorchamps is an exceptional track. The emotion of it has overwhelmed me somewhat, but I’m so proud to have competed for this team for 20 years. I’m proud of that success with so many special people, not only on the race team side but on the road car side. I couldn’t be prouder of what we have all achieved together. Thank you also to all the Corvette fans out there. You’re unbelievable and so passionate… an amazing group that really spurs us on. I can’t thank you enough.
“It’s been quite a day. I kind of went through all this when I was at Sebring in November for my final race in IMSA. It has brought a lot of those emotions back. Those last few laps, I was thinking about everything that is happened, all the of the 20 years I’ve spent with this team and what we’ve been able to achieve… I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do with four generations of Corvette and all the races we’ve won. To be able to finish here at Spa in the WEC is very special. You can really feel the character and charisma of the track and the race. Those are the things I fell in love with when I went to Le Mans for the first time. I feel very, very fortunate.”

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 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. 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 www.chevrolet.com.

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