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2020 NASCAR Awards Show to be Broadcast on NBCSN

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR to celebrate 2020 Series Champions and more

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 10, 2020) – During Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, NBC Sports announced that the 2020 NASCAR Awards Show will be broadcast on Wednesday, Nov. 18th at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The 90-minute broadcast special will celebrate and feature appearances from NASCAR’s 2020 champions in the NASCAR Cup Series – Chase Elliott, NASCAR Xfinity Series – Austin Cindric and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series – Sheldon Creed. NBC Sports’ Kelli Stavast and Marty Snider will co-host the presentation.

The show will also feature an opening performance by award-winning musician Chris Stapleton with the television debut of his song, Arkansas, from his highly anticipated new album Starting Over, and a tribute to seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, who completed his final full-time season.

In addition, the show will reveal the Bill France Award of Excellence recipient, crown the 2020 Most Popular Drivers, highlight this year’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalists, honor the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in each series and recognize additional award winners.

The move to the broadcast special came after the cancelation of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Awards due to the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Formula One unveils 2021 provisional schedule

By
Andrew Kim
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With the 2020 racing season approximately a month away from concluding, the 2021 Formula One World Championship provisional schedule has been released with a number of Grand Prix events set to return in an expanded calendar following a one-year absence.

A total of 23 Grand Prix events in 23 nations are currently on the schedule for next season, with the season set to commence in late March and conclude in early December.

Following a one-year absence, the F1 competition is set to return to Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 21.

Along with Australia, the Grand Prix events in China, Monaco, Azerbaijan, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, the United States of America, Mexico and Brazil are set to return in 2021.

The Grand Prix events in Austria, Hungary, United Kingdom’s Silverstone, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Bahrain/Sakhir and Abu Dhabi are also set to remain on the 2021 calendar following the 2020 season.

The Vietnamese Grand Prix, which was originally scheduled to make its debut in 2020 but was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been dropped from the 2021 racing calendar and will not occur following the arrest of a key official responsible for the race due to corruption charges. Though the charges were not related to racing, the country will shift its focus on other government issues.

The following Grand Prix events that have occurred and were introduced to the 2020 schedule (Styrian, 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Tuscan, Eifel, Portuguese, Emilia Romagna, Turkish and Sakhir) will not occur next season since they were featured to fill in as many Grand Prix events in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Grand Prix is currently scheduled to occur on April 25 at a circuit that is yet to be announced.

The 2021 F1 season will conclude at Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5.

The release of the 2021 F1 calendar comes amid the sport’s bizarre 2020 season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the start of the season from March to July and resulted with the schedule being revised to a total of 17 Grand Prix events, with the season set to conclude in mid-December at Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2020 season also marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Championship season, which occurred in 1950.

An F1 statement was made following the release of the 2021 schedule:

“The plans for 2021 have involved extensive dialogue with all promoters and their local and national authorities at a time of ongoing fluidity related to the global pandemic. Formula 1 and the FIA put in place robust health and safety measures to allow the revised 2020 season to restart and run effectively.”

“Our hosts for 2021 are reassured by our safe return to racing this season and confident that the plans and procedures we have in place will allow us to return to a level of normality for the 2021 season.”

“As we have said before, we expect fans to return for the 2021 season and for the calendar to look similar to the originally planned 2020 season. We will continue to work closely with our promoters and partners and look forward to the start of the season on the 18th March 2021 in Australia.”

Chase Carey, Chairman/CEO of Formula One, also released a statement regarding the 2021 schedule:

“We are pleased to announce the 2021 Formula 1 provisional calendar after extensive conversations with our promoters, the teams and the FIA. We are planning for 2021 events with fans that provide an experience close to normal and expect our agreements to be honoured.”

“We have proven that we can safely travel and operate our races and our promoters increasingly recognise the need to move forward and manage the virus. In fact, many hosts actually want to use our event as a platform to show the world they are moving forward.”

New to the 2021 Formula One schedule is the inaugural Grand Prix event at Jeddah Street Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that is scheduled to occur on November 28. The event, which announced its entrance to the F1 calendar on November 5, will serve as the penultimate event of the season.

“We are delighted to see Saudi Arabia become part of the schedule and are equally excited to return to the venues we hoped to race at in 2020,” Carey added. “We want to thank all our promoters and partners for their ongoing enthusiasm and collaboration and look forward to giving our fans an exciting season on the track.”

The full 2021 Formula One schedule is as follows:

1. March 21: Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)

2. March 28: Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)

3. April 11: Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)

4. April 25: TBD (TBD)

5. May 9: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)

6. May 23: Monaco Grand Prix (Monaco)

7. June 6: Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)

8. June 13: Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)

9. June 27: French Grand Prix (Le Castellet)

10. July 4: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)

11. July 18: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

12. August 1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)

13. August 29: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa)

14. September 5: Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)

15. September 12: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

16. September 26: Russian Grand Prix (Sochi)

17. October 3: Singapore Grand Prix (Singapore)

18. October 10: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)

19. October 24: United States Grand Prix (Austin)

20. October 31: Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico City)

21. November 14: Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo)

22. November 28: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah)

23. December 5: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Abu Dhabi)

In addition to the provisional Formula 1 schedule, the provisional schedules for Formula 2 and 3 have also been revealed, with each series to hold three races per weekend. The F2 provisional schedule will feature eight rounds in eight nations while the F3 provisional schedule will feature seven rounds in seven nations. Both series will not race during a Grand Prix weekend as part of new cost-cutting measures with the decrease of the costs of engine lease, some spare parts, logistics and freight. In addition, the F2 cars used in 2021 and the 2019 F3 car’s specs will remain unchanged for the 2021 season.

The F2 series will race at Sakhir, Bahrain; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Baku, Azerbaijan; Silverstone, United Kingdom; Monza Italy; Sochi, Russia; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi next season. The F3 series will race at Barcelona, Spain; Le Castellet, France; Spielberg, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium; Zandvoort, Netherlands; and Austin, the United States of America in 2021.

All provisional schedules for each series are awaiting subject for approval by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Championship Close-Out

By
Official Release
-
Corvette Racing; Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway; July 18, 2020; Corvette C8.R #3 driven by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor; Corvette C8.R #4 driven by Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner (Richard Prince/Chevrolet Photo).

• Chevrolet on verge of claiming GTLM Manufacturers Championship
• Corvette Racing looking for 13th Sebring victory
• Gavin, Milner, No. 4 Corvette seek second Sebring win of 2020
• Garcia, Taylor enter having clinched class Drivers title in No. 3 C8.R
• Final race for Gavin as full-time Corvette Racing pilot

DETROIT (Nov. 10, 2020) – Corvette Racing returns to Sebring International Raceway this weekend for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the close of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. It’s the second race at Sebring this year for the newly crowned GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship-winning program.

The 68th running of America’s oldest sports car race will bring the curtain down on the first year of the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. It has been an unqualified success with six race wins and the GTLM Drivers and Team titles… with one more event to go.

Saturday’s 12-hour endurance race also is set to serve as a coronation for Chevrolet, which will win the GTLM Manufacturers Championship as long as one of the two Corvette entries starts Saturday’s race. Already, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor have secured the category’s Drivers Championship in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the series’ most recent round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca two weekends ago.

The runner-up finish in California for Garcia and Taylor, who drive this weekend with Nicky Catsburg, also netted the No. 3 Corvette squad the GTLM Team title. Since 2001, Corvette Racing has won 13 Team championships and 12 Drivers crowns.

Once the race begins and the Manufacturers title is settled, there are two goals for Corvette Racing: win for the 13th time at Sebring and secure second place in GTLM points for Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin. The duo, driving the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R with Marcel Fässler, won earlier this year at Sebring in a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race.

The Sebring 12 Hours is steeped in Corvette Racing history. The event has witnessed the team take 11 class victories since 2002, and five of the six drivers have previously won there. Gavin leads with six GT-class victories, Garcia has three and Milner two. Taylor was part of one overall winning effort in the 12 Hours while Fässler has a GTLM win to his credit in a factory Corvette.

Saturday is the second long-distance race in three events for Corvette Racing and the rest of the WeatherTech Championship. Garcia, Taylor and Catsburg finished as GTLM runners-up in the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. In the No. 4 Corvette, the Gavin/Milner/Fässler trio will look to capture their second Sebring 12 Hours together; they won in class in 2016.

It also would send out Gavin on one of the highest possible notes. He will end his 18-year run as a full-time Corvette Racing driver at Sebring – a place where he has won six times with the program… five in the 12 Hours of Sebring. He is the team’s all-time winner in career starts (202), IMSA championships (five) and wins (51), among other categories.

In addition to the Corvettes on the race track, Chevrolet will have a number of vehicles on display at its midway display from Thursday through Saturday. Chevrolet models at the static display will include the 2020 Corvette Stingray Z51, Camaro ZL1, Blazer Premier, Silverado 1500 Crew High Country, Trailerblazer RS and Tahoe Premier

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is set for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday. NBCSN will air the race live from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and 6-10:30 p.m. ET; live network coverage on NBC is 3-6 p.m. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will offer live streaming of the full race starting at 10:05 a.m. ET. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring. The race also will air on XM channel 202 and SiriusXM Online 972.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I don’t think our approach will change at Sebring having already won the championship. At Laguna Seca, I wasn’t really thinking about it. We knew that we just needed to start these last two races. Once we started at Laguna, I wasn’t conserving anything and was going all-out to win the race. I think it will be the same at Sebring. Maybe it will take some of the pressure off the team. But in a way, this brings Sebring a little bit back to normal where it’s the second race of the season and you don’t think about the championship. You take every risk needed. It’s a relief not to have to treat this as the last race of the championship, where you can tend to think too much. But now winning the championship opens things up for us. It becomes a single race that we want to win.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “When at first the revised schedule came out, I think we were all pretty nervous knowing Sebring could be the deciding race in the championship. It’s an incredibly difficult race. Having that wrapped up now makes this almost like the Rolex 24 at the beginning of the year where your only focus isn’t on winning the championship. It’s nice to have that mentality going in. We can go in there focusing on getting the win. We had a good race there in July, so we have some race experience with the C8.R. We can look back to that to rely on some data for building blocks going into this race.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “The Sebring 12 Hours is a bit later in the year that we had planned! But it’s a race that is always very special. This is a unique circuit which makes this event difficult to win. I feel we have a very good chance to fight for the win. I can’t wait to get back in the Corvette again. Petit Le Mans was a good race for us, and I really enjoyed it. Now I am a little more into the car than when I arrived at Petit Le Mans; it hasn’t been that long ago. I hope we can finish off this championship season on a high and win this race.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Racing in November at Sebring is going to be a little different. We’ll have some more darkness and it will probably be a little stormy. I still think it will be just as hot at it is in Sebring in March. We did race there in July and have already done that ‘warm-up’ to get us ready for the 12 Hours. Tommy and I came away victorious that day, so we’re looking to repeat that and for me to finish my full-time career at Corvette Racing with one more victory. It would also give me 50 wins in IMSA, which would be a nice little statistic to finish on.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: : “Running the 12 Hours of Sebring in November means we definitely will have a lot more darkness than we are used to, which is a challenge in itself. Sebring at night is tricky. The track has helped by putting lights at some of the apex corners but that doesn’t help you navigate some of the other parts of the track. Luckily, headlights were a priority of the C8.R and the team has done a good job of building in that lighting for night-time conditions. Hopefully that will minimize that challenge. The track temperatures also likely will be cooler so that could change some of the tire compound allocation options. We don’t usually make huge setup changes for certain times of day, but I think we obviously will pay more attention to what performance will be like in those conditions as opposed to the daytime hours. We have a good base to work from after our first and second at Sebring in July. We know the car is fast there, plus we have continued to learn throughout the year. We’re looking forward to putting that information on the racetrack and seeing if we have improved the car. I would guess that we have. Ending the season with another win and 1-2 finish would be awesome.”

MARCEL FÄSSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I think the biggest change for Sebring is that we will run more at night. For sure, that’s an important thing for the tire choice. Usually Sebring is very crowded, and hopefully we get a lot of people that can come to the race. It would be great for the ambiance. But in the end, this is still a very tough and difficult race physically on us as drivers and on the equipment. Fortunately I was able to get some good time in the C8.R at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans, so both Nicky and I should be up to speed. It would be great to end the season with another Corvette Racing win.”

2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings
(After 10 of 11 Events)

Driver Standings

  1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 325
  2. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 290
  3. Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 289
  4. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi – 285
  5. Fred Makowiecki/Nick Tandy – 262
  6. Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor – 257

Team Standings

  1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 325
  2. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 290
  3. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 289
  4. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 285
  5. No. 911 Porsche GT Team – 262
  6. No. 912 Porsche GT Team – 257

Manufacturer Standings

  1. Chevrolet – 336
  2. BMW – 318
  3. Porsche – 286
  4. Ferrari – 28

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: By the Numbers
• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 22 years: Corvette Racing and Chevrolet.
• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 21 years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
• 4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows, tied for most in event history.
• 8: Sebring victories – a race record – for Johnny O’Connell, a Sebring Hall of Famer who drove for Corvette Racing from 2001-10. It includes one overall and seven class wins.
• 12: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing. It’s tied with Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the most at any venue in team history.
• 12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.
• 21: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014.
• 25: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.
• 29: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 113: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 105 in North America and eight at Le Mans.
• 237: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.
• 46,959.60: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing at Sebring. That’s close to two full trips around the Earth at its equator (approx. 24,900 miles).
• 310,897.63: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is nearly halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – at 622,268 miles.

Corvette Racing at Sebring International Raceway
1999
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 4th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Scott Sharp/John Heinricy – 7th in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)

2000
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 6th in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS

2001
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Chris Kneifel – 3rd in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS

2002
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 4th in GTS

2003
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS (Gavin pole)

2004
No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)
No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 6th in GTS (Gavin fastest race lap)

2005
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1

2006
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1

2007
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1

2008
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap)

2009
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)

2010
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT2
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 9th in GT2

2011
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT

2012
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 3rd in GT

2013
No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 11th in GT
No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 1st in GT

2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Robin Liddell – 6th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap)

2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 1st in GTLM (Daytona/Sebring double)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud – 9th in GTLM

2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 9th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 1st in GTLM (10th Sebring team win)

2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 1st in GTLM (3rd straight Sebring team win)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 10th in GTLM

2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM

2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM
No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE Pro (FIA WEC)

2020*
No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner -1st in GTLM

*July 18, 2020 sprint race
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R Prepared to Battle for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Sebring

By
Official Release
-

Sebring, Fla. (November 10, 2020) – With the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title on the line, Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe and newly named NTT INDYCAR Champion, Scott Dixon, and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team readies for a much anticipated shoot out at this weekend’s 68th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Traditionally held in March but moved to November due to the pandemic, the event has now become this season’s series finale and the stakes couldn’t be higher with the No. 10 Cadillac team which sits just two points out of the points from the leaders in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura AXR-05 of Ricky Taylor and Helio Castroneves. The Konica Minolta team currently also holds a five-point lead in the Michelin Endurance Cup Championship.

In six years of competing at the historic event, the team enjoys an average finish of fourth, having won the 2017 spectacle while finishing second in 2015, 2018, and 2019. Last year marked the closest finish in the event’s 67-year history, with the No. 10 Konica Minolta machine finishing second just 1.030 seconds behind the race-winning car. The team previously competed at Sebring International Raceway in July for the first sprint race in series history there and finished second.

“Sebring is very special to me,” said team owner Wayne Taylor, the 1996 12 Hours of Sebring Champion and 2014 Sebring International Raceway Hall of Fame Inductee. “We’re going to be competing for the 2020 IMSA Championship against my son Ricky in the Acura Team Penske car who is two points ahead of our No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. This is a two-way battle, but nothing is impossible for other teams to win the championship. Because of the closeness of the points and shortness of teams, it makes it harder for teams who are down a few points to come back. We’re going to be doing everything to beat Team Penske because I want to go out on a very high note for Cadillac as this will be my last race with them. I’d also like to thank IMSA for making all of this happen. This has been a tough year and they’ve done a good job. I can’t wait to be in Sebring in a few days!”

Practice for the 68th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will begin on the morning of Thursday, November 12th, with DPi-class qualifying taking place the following day at 11:05 a.m. EST. Coverage for the race begins on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. EST on NBC Sports, followed by NBC from 3:00 p.m. EST – 6:00 p.m. EST with the broadcast ending on NBC Sports from 6:00 p.m. EST to 10:30 p.m. EST.
RENGER VAN DER ZANDE, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
“We have a big thriller of an event coming up with the 12 Hours of Sebring. We’ve been fighting for this championship all year long and it’s come down to the scoring three points more than the No. 7 car and keeping an eye out on the No. 31 car which is seven points behind us. Normally the long races are good for us, but Sebring is a tough race and it’s going to be hot even though we’re late in the season. I think it’s going to be an exciting weekend and we have a strong driver lineup. It’s going to be a long race and all focus is on that as it’s going to be a fight. This will be my last race with Wayne Taylor Racing and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our corporation with a win and a championship. So, the goal is a win.”

RYAN BRISCOE, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
“We’ve had an incredible season in 2020 with a couple of big wins at the Rolex 24 and Petit Le Mans. It’s now time for the Sebring 12 and I’m really excited to be fighting for this Championship title. Renger and Scott are amazing teammates and we are all feeling more driven than ever to get this job done!”

SCOTT DIXON, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
“Super excited for the 12 Hours of Sebring. It’s definitely a different time and the last race of the season which will be very cool. Winner takes all. The goal is to win the 12 Hour since I’ve never won it before and obviously the team would love to win the championship. So, that’ll be the one goal to win that championship for everyone, so really excited to finish out the season strong and fingers crossed everything goes over smoothly.”

2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – DPi

  1. Helio Castroneves/ Ricky Taylor
  2. Renger van der Zande/ Ryan Briscoe
  3. Pipo Derani
  4. Harry Tincknell/ Jonathan Bomarito
  5. Sebastien Bourdais

Team Standings

  1. No. 7 ACURA TEAM PENSKE
  2. No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
  3. No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing
  4. No. 55 Mazda Motorsports
  5. No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing

Manufacturer Standings

  1. Cadillac
  2. Acura
  3. Mazda

About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™ with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT Services (All Covered), ECM, Managed Print Services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for twelve consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America’s Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for eight consecutive years. It partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, Linked In and Twitter. Konica Minolta, as title sponsor, highlights Wayne Taylor Racing’s existing lineup of partners that also features Cadillac V-Performance Racing, AMETEK Electronic Systems Protection (ESP /SurgeX) and Powervar, and CIT.

Meyer Shank Racing Expands IndyCar Program

By
Official Release
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Helio Castroneves set for six INDYCAR races with MSR as Harvey aims to build on an encouraging 2020 season

Pataskala, Ohio (10 November 2020) – Less than four years after making its Indianapolis 500 debut, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) is pleased to announce that the team has grown its IndyCar program ahead of the 2021 season.

Meyer Shank Racing driver Jack Harvey will return for his second full-season behind the wheel of the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM IndyCar for the full 17-race campaign. For the first time in his young IndyCar career, Harvey will have a teammate for six races in 2021, as Helio Castroneves has signed with the team to race the No. 06 MSR IndyCar entry.

Castroneves will run six races – the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (August 14), The Grand Prix of Portland and the season-ending race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

The expanded program comes just one month after MSR announced its partnership with Liberty Media Corporation which had made a minority investment in the team, which is attributed to the Formula One Group. MSR and Harvey first paired in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and built a six-race program for the 2018 season, growing to a 10-event 2019 campaign before making a full-season run in 2020. That same approach is being utilized as the team continues to grow for 2021.

“We’re really excited to have Helio come onboard with us next year,” said Mike Shank. “The idea to start off with six races for the second IndyCar was another strategic plan. As I’ve always said in the past, we will never bite off more than we can chew. It’s always been one of our goals to expand the IndyCar program, and this is the best way that we can start that. Of course the goal is to have two full-season cars.”

The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner’s arrival marks the continued growth for the Ohio-based team.

With two consecutive decades of IndyCar competition under his belt, Castroneves will bring a wealth of knowledge to MSR. The affable Brazilian has previous experience with the team, having raced for MSR’s sports car program in the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The move also sees Castroneves return to Honda power, having won 12 races onboard a Honda-powered IndyCar.

“I’m super excited to be joining Meyer Shank Racing for six IndyCar races next year,” said Castroneves. Mike (Shank) and I know each other from a long time ago and I raced with the team at Daytona. Now, with Jim (Meyer), Mike and Jack (Harvey), all three of us I feel like we have great potential. I can’t thank enough Team Penske for all of these years with them, but now it’s a new chapter in my life and I’m excited to join MSR and an incredible group of friends.”

Ready to contest his second full-season IndyCar campaign, Harvey is eager to build on the results and pace that he has shown over the last four IndyCar seasons. Having scored his first IndyCar podium in 2019 and two front row starts in 2020, Harvey plans to go for overall wins this coming season.

“I’m really excited to build on the progress that we made this year and bring that into 2021,” said Harvey. “We’ve had so much potential, but had such bad luck in so many of the races this year that I’m just excited to start fresh. I’m confident that next year we can push for some podiums and race wins based off of the pace that we had this year. Having Helio, he will be a fantastic addition to the team. He’s a three-time Indy 500 winner and he’s a living legend really, so it’s pretty great that I will get to work with him and be teammates with someone who has that level of experience. I see this as a way to strengthen the team. I’m excited to get going again and 2021 cannot come soon enough.”

The team recently broke ground on a new 45,000 square foot facility in Pataskala, Ohio, and will continue to develop its competition programs under the relentless leadership of team co-owners Shank and Jim Meyer.

“Having a guy like Helio on the team will be a big asset for us,” said Shank. “He’s a proven race winner and brings a ton of knowledge to the team. He’s someone that we will be able to learn from. This past season was definitely a tough one for us, but Jack (Harvey) proved that he has the pace to be running up front, and going into 2021 we certainly aiming to get back up on the podium.”

In addition to growing its IndyCar program, the 2021 race season will also see the Ohio-based team also continue its relationship with Acura and HPD to field the Acura ARX-05 DPi in IMSA WeatherTech series competition.

All Roads Lead to Atlanta for Sheehan and Damon Racing

By
Official Release
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Austin, TEXAS – November 10, 2020 – No fewer than 28 starters inevitably meant a hugely competitive field in the TA2 Class for Round 7 of the 2020 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship. Just a couple of seconds separated most of the pack in the qualifying session. However, the crowded field at Circuit of The Americas also meant very little room for manoeuvre and through no fault of his own, Tom Sheehan’s race was ended on the very first lap in a melee involving multiple cars.

It was a very tough break for Tom and the Damon Racing team in Texas. Tom and his team are nothing if not resilient and ‘Ironman’ will be back with force. Fortunately, Tom and Damon Racing don’t have too long to wait to put matters right, with all roads now leading to the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, November 19 – 22. It’s a more conventional track than COTA and one Tom and the team know well.

The weekend in Georgia is the Road Atlanta Grand Prix and will feature two races. On the Saturday, conventional, separate races will be held for the TA/XGT/SGT/GT cars and the TA2 Class. On Sunday, November 22, there will be another all-classes race, with potentially upwards of 50 cars on the track simultaneously. Fans will be looking forward to the event and can get advance tickets here: https://svra.com/events/2020-road-atlanta-grand-prix/

It’s great that we’re racing again at this difficult time so a big thanks are due to Trans Am and the tracks for keeping our sport going. We’d also like to wish Tom a very happy birthday as he celebrated another rotation around the sun this weekend while at COTA. #GoLTK

LTK Insulation Technologies, Damon Racing’s title sponsor, manufactures “state of the science” insulation jackets and covers for the construction trade. The LTK Insulation products are very fast and easy to use and save your firm real money and time with installation is as fast as identification. LTK’s carefully designed products line allows; fast, sure fit, 100% clean and no tool installation. Their products are designed for; balance valves, control valves, flex hoses, in line specialties, couplings, quick connects, unions, zone pumps. Your imagination is the only limit!

For live timing and scoring, event photos and post-race recaps visit GoTransAm.com. For live race updates follow @GoTransAm on Twitter. Keep up with Trans Am driver Tom Sheehan on social media – Facebook page is Damon Racing; Instagram is @TomSheehanTA97 and Twitter follow @TomTA2_97.

For more information on LTK Insulation Technologies please visit the website online at https://ltkinsulationtechnologies.com/.

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NASCAR TRUCK SERIES CHAMPION SHELDON CREED WILL RACE IN FINAL 2020 CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES RACES

By
Official Release
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Sheldon Creed at Barona in 2019. Pit Princess Photography.

(Upland, CA, November 9, 2020) Sheldon Creed, the newly crowned NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion, will be teaming with Sexton Gatlin Racing for the final California Lightning Sprint Car Series races of the Covid shortened 2020 season. First off will be the $1,000.00 to win November Classic at “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval,” the Bakersfield Speedway, on November 17th. He will then be headed farther north to the Placerville Speedway for the “Hangtown 100” on November 19th, 20th and 21st.

A native of Alpine, California in southern San Diego County, Creed, who turned 23 at the end of September, won the Gander Series title in breathtaking fashion last week. Nicknamed “The Showstopper,” he was coming from ninth place on a restart with three laps to go. Amazingly, he passed all eight of the cars in front of him in less than a lap and led the final two circuits for the race win and the season long championship.

Creed’s last appearance with the CLS came at the Barona Speedway on April 6, 2019 when he finished third in the main event. At Bakersfield, he will battle with many of the same drivers he mixed it up with at Barona including five-time CLS Champion Bobby Michnowicz of Lomita, Camarillo’s Cody Nigh, A.J. Bender of San Diego, and Lakeside’s Brent Sexton. Also, amongst the entrants at the track affectionately known as the “Okie Bowl” will be rising teenage stars Grant Sexton of Lakeside, Ryan Greco of Palmdale, Aiden Lange of Lakewood, and Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte.

After one night off, the CLS will venture north to Placerville and be joined by the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) for three straight nights of racing. All four of next week’s races will also feature the USAC National and Western States Midgets on the program.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, spectators will not be allowed to attend next week’s races. However, fans from all over the world can see every lap of the action on Flo Racing. All four nights will come on at 6:05 PM Eastern (3:05 Pacific). For more information or to subscribe to Flo, fans can use the following link. https://www.floracing.com/

If you or your company would like to become part of the CLS series for the season in 2021, please call Alex Grigoreas at (909) 437-3170.

To keep up with the CLS online, please visit the website at http://racecls.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints/

PAST CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS
1994 Tony Everhart
1995 Gary Sexton
1996 Rob Sczymczak
1997 Jon Rahe
1998 Chris Rahe
1999 Brent Sexton
2000 Greg Bragg
2001 Greg Bragg
2002 Greg Bragg
2003 David Cardey
2004 Keith Janca
2005 Johnny Bates
2006 Donny Gansen
2007 Shane Rossen
2008 Brent Sexton
2009 Stuart Hielschier Sr.
2010 Jarrett Kramer
2011 Tim Brown
2012 Bobby Michnowicz
2013 Stephen Limon
2014 Bobby Michnowicz
2015 Bobby Michnowicz
2016 Bobby Michnowicz
2017 Bobby Michnowicz
2018 Jarrett Kramer
2019 Jarrett Kramer

NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Championship 4 Phoenix Edition

By
Briar Starr
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Justin Allgaier Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley lead the field to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway on November 07, 2020. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.

On Saturday afternoon, Phoenix Raceway hosted the second race of the Championship 4 weekend and this time, the NASCAR Xfinity Series took center stage.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley, and Stewart-Haas Racing and Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe made up the Championship 4 for the Xfinity Series.

While the race looked as though it would go to Chase Briscoe, who had nine wins entering the finale, the outlook began to change during Stage 2 when Cindric began to take control. In fact, the Team Penske driver took the lead on Lap 83 and the lead was just enough to take the Stage 2 victory. When the 200-lap event began to wind down, the battle came down to Allgaier and Cindric in the late laps.

Despite the late caution, Cindric prevailed against Allgaier to win his first Xfinity Series Championship in just 100 starts.

Like we did for the Truck Series Power Rankings this week, we’ll analyze the Power Rankings of the Championship 4 drivers in chronological order based on their finishing positions.

  1. Austin Cindric – Cindric ends the year with a season-best of six wins, 19 top fives and 26 top 10 finishes. Those stats are greater than the last two years where he had just two wins last year and respectable top fives and 10s. Before winning the championship, Cindric led 72 laps, finished second in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Things got a little hairy when a late caution came out with six laps to go for a spinning Chase Briscoe. While Cindric was rightfully upset with the yellow while leading, the team took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and actually restarted behind race leader Allgaier who was on older tires. With a quick two-lap dash to the finish, Cindric moved around Allgaier and won by .162 seconds to take home the victory and championship. Not a bad year for Cindric who really came into his own in the summer months.
  2. Justin Allgaier – Allgaier was at some points, the highest running of the Championship 4 drivers, leading over Cindric, Briscoe and Haley. The Illinois driver finished third and second in both stages, respectively. At one point, Allgaier took the lead on Lap 98 and led for 32 laps before being passed by competitor Cindric. Before the final round of green-flag pit stops took place, there was some concern on the team radio that a tire could have been coming apart on the No. 7 Chevrolet. Thankfully for Allgaier, he made it to pit road without blowing the tire and shredding the car. However, it would somewhat prove costly as when the yellow flew, Allgaier stayed out on older tires with Cindric pitting for fresh ones. Allgaier did his best to hold off Cindric in hopes of capturing his first title but in the end, he came up short, finishing fifth. The JR Motorsports driver will end the year with three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10 finishes and 1,008 laps led.
  3. Justin Haley – 2020 proved to be a great year for Kaulig Racing driver Justin Haley. Haley got into the playoffs based on his three wins, with two coming at Talladega and the other victory at Daytona in the summer. The Indiana native would start fourth based on the qualifying metric system although he had some challenges even before the race started. The No. 11 team which was used by the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing pit crew had one member that tested positive for COVID-19. Kaulig Racing called upon the Truck Series championship crew of Sheldon Creed to replace the crew member. When the race began, Haley ran as high as fourth and averaged a mid-race pace of eighth. He had 44 passes to his credit and placed seventh in both stages. However, the team continued to fight the No. 11 machine and tried to get the car to Haley’s liking to where it could run in the front of the field. Unfortunately for Haley, he ran out of time and finished eighth in the running order for his 21st top 10 of the year. However, he improved significantly from last year when Haley had zero wins and finished 12th in the standings.
  4. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe had quite possibly the most disappointing finish of this year’s Championship 4, finishing last out of the group after placing ninth. Briscoe entered the playoffs with a career-high nine wins. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver first punched his ticket into the playoffs with a win earlier in the year at Las Vegas. Then when racing returned in May, Briscoe went on a tear winning at Darlington, Indianapolis Grand Prix, Pocono, Dover, Bristol and Vegas II. The defining moment came at Kansas last month when he punched his ticket to the Championship 4with a victory at the 1.5-mile speedway. When Phoenix came, the No. 98 team was shockingly nowhere to be found after winning Stage 1. Following the stage victory, Briscoe managed third in Stage 2 but began to fall off after the stages were complete. Despite leading early, the No. 98 car started to struggle with the handling and the race leaders pulled away. Unfortunately for Briscoe, he brought out the caution with six laps to go after spinning out in Turn 4. Even though he pitted for fresh tires, he couldn’t move the No. 98 Ford much higher than ninth as Briscoe settled for his 22nd top 10 of the season.

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

By
Jeffrey Boswell
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Chase Elliott is congratulated by Jimmie Johnson after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 500 and the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 08, 2020. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Chase Elliott: Elliott failed pre-race inspection and started from the back of the field, but powered his way to the win at Phoenix to capture the Cup championship.

“Now,” Elliott said, “I can call myself Cup champion just like my dad. And when we reminisce, he can tell me about the glory days when cigarettes sponsored the Cup. I, in turn, can talk about the times when the Cup had no sponsorship.”

2. Joey Logano: Logano led 125 laps at Phoenix and finished third.

“Winning a championship is in Chase Elliott’s blood,” Logano said. “His dad Bill is a former champion. So, take it from the driver they call ‘Sliced Bread,’ Chase was ‘born and bred‘ to be a champion.”

3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took fourth at Phoenix as Chase Elliott raced to the front for his first Cup championship. Hamlin is now 0-4 in title races.

“That’s something I’m gonna have to live with,” Hamlin said.”That’s people saying, ‘Denny Hamlin can’t win the big one.’ That’s gonna start to sound like a broken record. What’s also a broken record? An 0-4 record in title races.”

4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second at Phoenix, coming up short of winning his second Cup championship.

“We really needed a caution there at the end,” Keselowski said. “Where’s a teammate like Clint Bowyer when you need one?”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished seventh in the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix.

“This just proves that I can produce a top-10 finish in my sleep,” Harvick said. “It also proves that Chase Elliott can dominate in such a fashion that it induces sleep also.”

6. Aric Almirola: Almirola came home 13th at Phoenix.

“Congratulations to Chase Elliott,” Almirola said. “To start at the rear, race to the front, and dominate for the win with everything on the line takes a lot of intestinal fortitude. So not only does Chase have ‘all the marbles,’ he’s got two of the biggest.”

7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 10th at Phoenix, posting his 23rd top 10 of the season.

“Congratulations to Chase Elliott,” Truex said. “I imagine there has to be some sweet deals at Hooters to celebrate the championship. If objectifying a 24-year-old is your thing, then go for it.”

8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 11th at Phoenix, followed by older brother Kurt in 12th.

“Chase Elliott is 24 years old,” Busch said. “And he’s the oldest of the three champions in NASCAR’s main series. That makes me even more of a crotchety old man, and I’m only 35.”

9. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 16th at Phoenix.

“It was a special day for Hendrick Motorsports,” Bowman said. “Chase Elliott was crowned champion, while Jimmie Johnson said ‘farewell.’ It’s enough to bring a grown man to tears, and an even grown-er man to Indy Car.”

10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fifth at Phoenix in his last Cup race as a full-time driver.

“It was time to move on,” Johnson said. “I’ve been doing this for 19 years, so my parting words are ‘So long.'”

NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Championship 4 Phoenix Edition

By
Briar Starr
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Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Zane Smith and Sheldon Creed race during the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway on November 06, 2020. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.

Phoenix International Raceway hosted the Truck Series 2020 Championship race Friday night in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors. The Truck Series championship race was the first of three, with the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series following suit.

Four drivers were eligible for the season championship with Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, and Grant Enfinger eligible to fight for the title. In this special edition of Power Rankings, we’ll analyze the Championship 4 drivers tonight in chronological order.

  1. Sheldon Creed – From the get-go, Sheldon Creed’s championship hopes did not look favorable, at least through the first stage, with his teammate Zane Smith leading the early portions of the race. However, the No. 2 began to turn the tides little by little following the completion of Stage 1. Creed challenged for the top spot and passed Zane on Lap 49. He stayed out front for 25 laps before getting passed by the 2018 Truck Series champion, Brett Moffitt. In the second stage, the Californian would have to settle for the third position. Then the breakthrough came when a caution flew with six laps to go, changing everything in the race entirely. With Moffitt and Enfinger staying out on the racetrack, Creed elected to come to pit road and take four tires. On the overtime restart, Creed made a dive bomb move in Turn 1, passed Moffitt and retained the lead to win his first-ever Truck Series Championship. Creed will finish the 2020 season with five wins, nine top-fives and 13 top 10 finishes. In addition, he led a total of 587 laps and maintained an average finish of 10.2.
  2. Zane Smith – When you look back on Smith’s rookie season, some will consider the season a good season with two wins, seven top fives, and 13 top 10 finishes. However, at the end of the day, a lot of those stats are thrown out the window when you’re trying to win the title. On Friday night, the rookie from California looked really solid through the beginning portions of the event with Smith winning Stage 1 and leading the first 45 laps with no direct challenge from behind. Unfortunately for Smith, Stage 1 would be the only time the rookie would lead as he would have to end up fighting for most of the night behind the leaders. In Stage 2, Smith finished second to teammate Moffitt, but like Creed, Smith found an opportunity due to the late yellow and pitted with Creed. However, Smith ran out of time and fell just one position short of winning the title by .617 seconds to his teammate Creed.
  3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt looked on pace to win his second Truck Series championship until the late-race caution changed everything. Due to some miscommunication between the crew on whether or not to stay out, Moffitt remained out on track with older tires restarting in the first position. When the green flag flew with two to go, Moffitt was passed by several drivers on the restart. Not only did he get passed, but the Iowan native fell from first to 10th when the checkered flag flew, ultimately being disappointed with the finish. Not that the stages really matter in the final race, but before winning Stage 2, Moffitt was third in Stage 1. The GMS Racing driver will end the 2020 season with one win at Kansas, 10 top fives and 16 top 10 finishes with an average finish of 9.7.
  4. Grant Enfinger – Aside from a disappointed Moffitt, Grant Enfinger most likely had the most disappointing night of them all. The ThorSport driver started on the pole based on the new metric system but could never really capitalize on it. Through the majority of the first two stages, the Alabaman was the lowest running of the Championship 4 being mired back in either the fourth, fifth or sixth position. During a Lap 104 caution, Enfinger made a pit stop for adjustments to his No. 98 truck to try something different than the leaders. On the next restart, Enfinger restarted in the 12th position and slowly but surely started making his way through the pack. At one point, Enfinger was passing the Championship 4 contenders and got as high as second to Moffitt before the caution. Like Moffitt, Enfinger stayed out to assume second, restarting in the outside lane. Despite Enfinger’s effort, he spun the tires a little bit and would brush the wall in the final laps. In the end, Enfinger could only manage a 13th place finishing position after showing promise late. As the 2020 season wraps up Enfinger finishes with four wins at Daytona, Atlanta, Richmond and, most recently, at Martinsville. The No. 98 team finishes with eight top fives, and 13 top 10 finishes with 156 laps led and an average finish of 10.4.
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