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Newgarden claims victory at St. Pete, Dixon gathers Sixth IndyCar Championship

By
SM Staff
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Photo by IndyCar.com

Josef Newgarden would claim victory for Team Penske to conclude the 2020 IndyCar season. Scott Dixon finished on the podium with a third-place run to claim his sixth IndyCar championship.

“Happy to get a win out here,” Newgarden stated. “So proud of my team, they were on it all year. I don’t think I would change one thing that we did and they were perfect all season in my eyes. Just short, but a decent way to go into the off season with another victory and to hold our head up high.”

Will Power and Alexander Rossi would lead the front row to the green flag. Power would pull a second gap over Rossi as the field tackled the Floridan street course.

Laps later Rossi took the lead over Power as the No. 12 would struggle with downshifting. Colton Herta would later run down the Penske car as the No. 88 would pass Power on the outside into Turn One. James Hinchcliffe would follow in tow and also take a spot away from Power.

Scott McLaughlin and Felix Rosenqvist would be one of the first drivers to pit early on. Rinus Veekay would also come in laps later. Not many would pit early on, but would keep their cars out on the track.

As the drivers hit the Lap 30 mark, Dixon would bring his car down pit road. A great number of the drivers would pit laps later to ignite the pit cycle.

Rosenqvist suffered a puncture on Lap 33 after contact with Santino Ferrucci. For Newgarden, he would be able to eke out Power as the cycle of stops concluded. As a result, he would be upwards in the fifth position, while Dixon would remain in 11th.

Power’s issues would continue to grow as he would bring out the yellow on Lap 37. His car would go up into the marbles and hit the wall, sustaining massive left side damage to his No. 12, knocking him out of the running.

Rossi would lead the field on the restart from Herta. Another yellow would shortly fly when Ferrucci’s No. 18 crashed into the Turn 2 wall. Conor Daly would experience some issues under yellow as his No. 20 would have a puncture on the left rear tire.

On the restart, Rossi would have a good launch on Herta. The No. 88 would drop backward as Hinchcliffe would reel him in. At the back of the pack, calamity would strike as McLaughlin and Veekay would crash in Turn 1. The No. 3 would look underneath but spin out into the path of Veekay.

Rossi would maintain his ground on the launch while Rosenqvist would try and get his lap back. Dixon would be stuck in a battle between Jack Harvey, Rahal, and Oliver Askew, with Dixon passing the three of them to get upward to the sixth position.

Oliver Askew would get past Ryan Hunter-Reay for the ninth position. Hunter-Reay would continue to drop as he would fall outside the Top 10 at the end of Lap 54. Marco Andretti would begin to lurk forward as he would pass Rahal into Turn 1 to take seventh away shortly afterwards.

Herta would overdrive the corner, losing two spots to Hinchcliffe and Newgarden.

The No. 1 would come down pit road on Lap 66. Dixon would come in a lap later. Once again green flag pit stops would ignite.

On Lap 70 Rossi would spin out of Turn 3, hitting the inside wall and bringing out the full course caution. Rossi’s crash reshuffled the order as many drivers would come down pit road.

Herta would have the launch over Hinchcliffe with Alex Palou in third. Andretti and Sato would make contact, cutting the No. 98’s tire as he would crash into the barriers. A full course yellow would fly.

Hinchcliffe would spin out under yellow in Turn 14 and hit Harvey’s car after attempting to merge back onto the racing surface.

With 21 laps to go Herta would lead the field once again. However, Palou and Newgarden would pass the No. 88. Newgarden would muscle his way to the lead. Dixon would move his way up to third while Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud would collide but with not much damage. Askew would hit the barriers after contact with Sato, bringing out another yellow.

Newgarden would lead the way with 16 laps to go with Herta, Dixon, and Pato O’Ward rounding out the top spots. O’Ward would march up to second with a dive underneath Herta. On Lap 86 O’Ward would look for the lead into Turn 1 but to no avail. Herta would go wide and would drop outside the Top 10.

With six laps to go Palou would hit pit road, Rosenqvist would also pit as they would have to top off on their fuel.

Newgarden pulled the gap over O’Ward as he would win the finale at St. Petersburg. Dixon would finish in third and claim his sixth championship.

“It feels really cool to finally celebrate something here,” Dixon said. “We have a lot of memories, some of them not so great. It’s nice to be in this situation to celebrate with loved ones. For me, it’s just the people that make this possible and this journey we’ve been on for so long now with this team. This is a great way to top it off this year.”

Newgarden’s win marks the 17th win of his IndyCar career. Dixon’s championship run has made him just one championship short of tying the record set by A.J. Foyt’s seven.

Team Chevy Reigning Champion Josef Newgarden Wins IndyCar Finale, Finishes Runner-Up in 2020 Championship

By
Official Release
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Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing
Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT
for Chevy Racing

Reigning champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6, exits the pits while racing to victory Sunday, October 25, 2020, winning Sunday’s final NTT IndyCar Series race of the season – The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Even though he won the race, Newgarden came up just short on points to repeat as champion, finishing in second place.

Reigning champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6, races to victory Sunday, October 25, 2020, winning Sunday’s final NTT IndyCar Series race of the season – The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Even though he won the race, Newgarden came up just short on points to repeat as champion, finishing in second place.

Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing

Reigning champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6, celebrates his victory Sunday, October 25, 2020, after winning the final NTT IndyCar Series race of the season – The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Even though he won the race, Newgarden came up just short on points to repeat as champion, finishing in second place.

Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing

Pato O’Ward, driver of the #5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet IndyCar V6 and reigning champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6, celebrate Sunday, October 25, 2020, after Newgarden wins and O’Ward finishes in second place during the final NTT IndyCar Series race of the season – The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Even though he won the race, Newgarden came up just short on points to repeat as champion, finishing in second place. O’Ward finishes in third place in the championship.

TPC Racing Earns Podium, Three Top Fives in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup at St. Pete on Sunday

By
Official Release
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Castro Earned Second Podium of the Weekend, With McClure and Hardee in Class Top Fives

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (October 25, 2020) – TPC Racing’s Efrin Castro earned his 13th Gold Cup podium finish in 14 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races, while Dan Hardee and Vernon McClure each earned top-five finishes in Platinum Cup Masters on Sunday on the streets of St. Petersburg.

McClure started the race with his No. 10 Main Street Homes/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on the Platinum Cup Masters pole before dropping to third at the start, while Castro worked in reverse – taking the lead at the start in the No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarket/TPC Racing.

The 20-minute mark of the 45-minute race turned out to be the key minute for TPC Racing.

Castro’s Gold Cup car produces less horsepower than the newer-model Platinum Cup cars, but Castro often carries more speed through the corners than his fellow competitors. On a tight, twisty street circuit like St. Pete with few long straightaways, his Gold Cup car is often held up by slower drivers in the quicker Platinum Cup car – including a new Gold Cup track record best lap of 1:17.354 (83.770 mph) in Sunday’s race.

Because he was running so close, Castro had to slow his pace to get more air into his Porsche radiator and cool his engine. With that, the gap he had built on second place faded, giving championship rival Curt Swearingin an opportunity to make a move. Castro lost the lead with 20 minutes to go, dropping to second. At nearly the same time McClure, running select events in the 2020 season, moved into the lead under braking in Turn 10 temporarily, but spun getting back on the gas and fell to the end of the field.

Castro held on for second, while McClure would finish fourth – battling back for a chance at third but not quite landing on the podium.

Hardee recovered from a difficult Saturday, where debris lodged in his radiator and ended his day just two laps in, to run a strong fifth in Platinum Cup Masters on Sunday. Back in March, the The ever-improving Hardee cut 2.2 seconds from the weekend’s Practice 1 time, and a full second off of his qualifying time, during Sunday’s race.

TPC Racing’s IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA contingent returns to action for the season finale doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway, November 11-14. The street race from St. Petersburg is scheduled to air on NBCSN on Monday, November 2 at 1 a.m. ET.

Vernon McClure, Driver, No. 10 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Platinum Cup Masters): “Today was hard, but I was excited to get back into the car. I was first again in Masters, sixth overall, and Charlie Luck jumped me a little bit and got in front of me but I was behind him the whole first part of the race. I knew I had the speed. I got around him in Turn 10 but didn’t realize I downshifted to first when I went by him. I had a little steering angle and got on the gas and it just looped on me. I was stuck right there in Turn 10 and couldn’t get it going again. I had to let the whole field go by. But I got back on it and had a chance for third again. I got back up on Charlie, but couldn’t quite get it. It was a good race, I had a lot of fun, and love the track.”

Efrin Castro, Driver, No. 65 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Gold Cup): “I drove the best I could under the circumstances. We had a green flag for most of the time, which was great. I was held up by some of the guys in the front in the slow part of the course. The car started overheating so I had to back up a bit. That gave Curt an opportunity to catch up to me, and it just didn’t go my way. Luck wasn’t on our side. It was just things we couldn’t avoid. That cost us a victory, and we had to settle for second. We had the fastest lap of the race, which was my fastest lap of the weekend. It’s a tough loss because I know we had the pace, I know I could have won here. The scenario of the whole race was what cost us the win.”

Dan Hardee, Driver, No. 69 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Platinum Cup Masters): “We came here in March and we got to do one practice. My fastest lap today compared to then was 2.5 seconds faster. I owe a lot of that to my coach, Moritz Kranz. He had me carry more speed and braking through the corners. But it’s grueling. I feel like I’ve done a couple of rounds with Holyfield. It’s a street fight, and it’s an endurance race, all at once.”

About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.

Heartbreak for Harvey at IndyCar Season Finale in St. Petersburg

By
Official Release
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St. Petersburg, Fla. (25 October 2020) – It was a bittersweet season finale at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for Jack Harvey and Meyer Shank Racing on Sunday.

Running in the top six for the opening 70 laps of the 100 lap event, the team was on track to close out their first full-season NTT INDYCAR Series campaign with a top result. But those hopes were dashed when Harvey was hit by a competitor with just under 30 laps to go. Harvey finished out the race 19th.

Excited for his first and only street course outing of the 2020 season, Harvey was eager for the event as IndyCar returned to the site where the season was due to open in March.

A strong qualifying run saw Harvey claim fifth on the grid, with his opening stint in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM IndyCar within sight of the top five. Capitalizing on the pace that his Firestone primary tires had, Harvey pitted from fourth on lap 33.

Returning on track with a set of alternate tires, Harvey raced four laps before a second full course caution was called. On the restart, Harvey made an aggressive but strategic move coming out of Turn 1 to slide into P5.

But green flag running didn’t last long as two more consecutive yellows slowed down the field.

After 15 laps of tight battles, a fourth caution was released on Lap 70. It was just a few laps later that – while under yellow – Harvey was struck from a competitor that was reentering the track after tangling with someone else. That contact gave the No. 60 a bent right rear tie rod, forcing Harvey to pit lane.

Despite quick work by the crew as they replaced the damaged tie rod and sent Harvey back out, the setback saw the No. 60 entry fall several positions in the final championship standings after Harvey crossed the line 19th at the finish.

“That race pretty much just summed up our year,” said Harvey. “We’ve had so much pace all year and every time something happens that knocks us down, we’ve been way inside the top ten. I feel like the team deserves to be seventh or eighth in points. I feel like that’s where I deserve to be as a driver, so it’s a super disappointing day. The ramifications of what James (Hinchcliffe) did by waiting and choosing the wrong time to come back out on track, are huge and it cost us a lot in the championship.”

“I’m really, really proud of the improvements that the team made over the course of the year,” said Mike Shank. “Unfortunately Hinchcliffe chose the wrong time to come back out on track and it ended our day. It was a fairly easy top three day today. Our 15th place in the championship really doesn’t represent the pace that we had. The good news is that next year’s season begins next week when we get to test at Barber. I’m really proud of the progress that the team has made from year one to year three and four.”

Sheldon Creed locks into Championship 4 with Texas Victory

By
Briar Starr
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Sheldon Creed celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 25, 2020. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

With just three races left in the 2020 Truck Series season, Texas Motor Speedway was the site for race No. 2 in the Round of 8 Playoffs.

Sheldon Creed won in an overtime restart after fending off a hard-charging Austin Hill late in the going. Creed had one of the dominate trucks throughout the race, winning Stage 1, before taking the lead once again inside 15 to go and claiming the third victory of his career.

“Two trucks locked in for the organization, that’s awesome and hopefully we can get the other two (Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum) or at least one more next weekend,” Creed said. “Hard racing today. Man, it’s crazy. We’ve just been working for this all year, and I feel like I’ve improved so much and put so much work into this. Man, going to Martinsville stress-free is so nice.”

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 35

The first stage was relatively calm until two laps to go. The No. 49 of Timothy Viens brought out the first accident of the day when Viens hit the Turn 4 wall. With the caution coming out so late in the stage, NASCAR officials decided to end the stage under yellow, which gave Creed the stage victory. Austin Hill, Moffitt, Rhodes, Crafton, Chandler Smith, Eckes, Zane Smith, Enfinger, and Gilliland completed the Top 10.

Stage 2: Lap 40 – Lap 71

After the restart for Stage 2, the No. 40 Niece Motorsports truck of Ryan Truex was penalized for a restart violation. Truex would later be out of the race due to a broken trackbar.

A few moments later on Lap 42, the No. 68 of Clay Greenfield had hard contact with the Turn 2 wall following an incident with the No. 56 of Tyler Hill. One more caution would fly on Lap 53 when the No. 02 of Tate Fogleman crashed off the exit of Turn 4.

The restart came on Lap 57 with playoff driver Matt Crafton passing Creed for the lead on Lap 65. Crafton hung onto the top spot and won the second stage over Creed. Rhodes, Zane Smith, Kraus, Chandler Smith, Eckes, Austin Hill, Enfinger, and Moffitt wrapped up the Top 10.

Stage 3: Lap 77 – Lap 152

The third and final stage had the most incidents of the afternoon with six cautions during the last stage.

The first of those yellows occurred at Lap 93 as the No. 98 of Grant Enfinger was in a must-win situation going into Martinsville. The No. 98 ended up blowing up with smoke down the backstretch creating the fifth yellow of the day.

As the race wore down, tempers started to heat up between drivers, especially Ben Rhodes and Chandler Smith who were involved in incidents. First, on Lap 107, Rhodes blocked Gilliland’s strong run going into Turns 1 and 2 causing Gilliland to crash hard in the Turn 2 wall. Then later in the race on Lap 146, the Kentucky native intentionally turned the No. 18 of Christian Eckes on the frontstretch creating the second to last yellow of the race.

Meanwhile, Chandler Smith was involved in an accident with the No. 15 of Tanner Gray at Lap 118. Smith’s day went from bad to worse when the left-rear tire fell off the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra machine following a pit stop for repairs.

When the yellow flew for the Rhodes and Eckes accident, it brought out the 11th overtime restart in Texas Motor Speedway Truck Series history.

The late-race yellow would necessitate a restart on Lap 151, past the scheduled distance of 147 laps.

Nonetheless, Sheldon Creed was able to punch his Championship 4 ticket by holding off Austin Hill for the victory and joining his GMS Racing teammate Brett Moffitt at Phoenix.

There were 10 cautions for 49 laps and 14 lead changes among six different drivers.

Creed led eight times for 131 laps en route to victory and picked up six playoff points.

Official Results following the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

  1. Sheldon Creed, won Stage 1, led 131 laps, Advanced Championship 4
  2. Austin Hill (Playoff driver), led one lap
  3. Zane Smith (Playoff driver)
  4. Raphael Lessard
  5. Brett Moffitt (Playoff driver), Already advanced to Championship 4
  6. Matt Crafton (Playoff driver), won Stage 2, led 13 laps
  7. Austin Wayne Self
  8. Dylan Lupton
  9. Derek Kraus, led two laps
  10. Tanner Gray
  11. Tyler Hill
  12. Chase Purdy
  13. Jordan Anderson
  14. Spencer Boyd
  15. James Buescher
  16. Tyler Ankrum (Playoff driver)
  17. Danny Bohn
  18. Dawson Cram
  19. Josh Bilicki, OUT, Crash
  20. Ben Rhodes, led one lap, 1 lap down
  21. Chandler Smith, 1 lap down
  22. Ray Ciccarelli, 1 lap down
  23. Johnny Sauter, 2 laps down
  24. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 3 laps down
  25. Christian Eckes, OUT, Crash
  26. Norm Benning, 9 laps down
  27. Josh Reaume, OUT, Brakes
  28. Stewart Friesen, OUT, Crash
  29. Trevor Bayne, OUT, Engine
  30. Natalie Decker, OUT, Vibration
  31. Todd Gilliland, OUT, Crash
  32. Grant Enfinger, OUT, Engine
  33. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Crash
  34. Ryan Truex, OUT, Suspension
  35. Clay Greenfield, OUT, Crash
  36. Trey Hutchens, OUT, Ignition
  37. Tim Viens, OUT, Crash

Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will continue their playoff schedule with the last race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway Friday night, Oct. 30th, live on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

SHELDON CREED LOCKS HIMSELF INTO CHAMPIONSHIP 4 WITH DOMINANT VICTORY IN SPEEDYCASH.COM 400

By
Official Release
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· Creed earns first TMS NASCAR Gander Trucks victory in sixth try
· Multiple championship challengers dealt setbacks

FORT WORTH, Texas (OCT. 25, 2020) – Sheldon Creed dominated throughout the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway but it took a push from teammate Brett Moffitt after an overtime restart to get clear of the field and qualify for the Championship 4 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

Creed led eight times for 128 laps to earn his fourth victory of the season. His other victories this season came in July at Kentucky Speedway, and in August at both Daytona International Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. It was his first Gander Trucks victory in six attempts at No Limits, Texas.

The balance of the top-10 finishers were Zane Smith, Raphael Lessard, Moffitt, Matt Crafton, Austin Wayne Self, Dylan Lupton, Derek Kraus, and Tanner Gray.

Creed started from the pole in his No. 2 Chevrolet followed by championship challengers Moffitt, Hill, Grant Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Crafton and Ben Rhodes. Creed led the field throughout the first 35 laps to take the Stage 1 win. The caution flag waved just one lap prior to the end of the stage due to an incident in Turn 4 with Tim Viens and his No. 49 CMI Motorsports Chevrolet.

Stage 2 began on Lap 41 with Creed still at the point. He was still out front when the day’s second caution flew on Lap 43 due to hard contact in Turn 2 by the No. 68 Toyota of Clay Greenfield. The race was red-flagged for five minutes to clean the debris.

Ben Rhodes put his No. 99 Ford out front for the Lap 48 restart but Creed jumped back on top one lap later. Creed maintained the lead until Lap 58 when Matt Crafton pushed his No. 88 Ford to the lead.

Again, however, it was just one lap before Creed moved back ahead where he stayed through Lap 64. Crafton wasn’t finished and took back the lead on Lap 65 and was leading three laps later when to take the Stage 2 win after Lap 70.

The final stage proved costly for multiple championship contenders. On Lap 93, the No. 98 Ford of Grant Enfinger pulled into the garage, done for the day with a mechanical issue. On Lap 107, Rhodes and the No. 38 Ford made contact but both continued. And On Lap 118, the No. 51 Toyota of Chandler Smith had a wheel come loose, and off, on the backstretch. Later, on Lap 14x of the scheduled 147, Rhodes’ truck suffered damage to the left-front after hard contact with the No. 18 of Christian Eckes, forcing an overtime finish.

The green-white-checkered finish began on 151 with Austin Hill and the No. 16 Toyota challenging Creed for the top stop. GMS Racing teammate Brad Moffett provided the push Creed needed to get out front going into Turn 3 coming to the white flag. He maintained the top spot to cross the finish line ahead of Hill. The race actually ended under caution as the yellow flag was shown just before Creed crossed the start/finish.

There were 14 lead changes among six drivers and 10 cautions for 49 laps.

Creed and Moffitt have clinched spots in the Championship 4 with one race remaining to qualify. The other six drivers still looking to grab the final two spots are: Hill (3,123), Zane Smith (3,108), Crafton (3,096), Enfinger (3,066), Rhodes (3,063) and Ankrum (3,029).

TICKETS:
Adult season tickets for the 2021 season start at just $169 with season tickets for kids ages 12 and under starting at just $30. Tickets are also on sale for this Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark 500/SpeedyCash.com 400 NASCAR playoff doubleheader and can be obtained at www.texasmotorspeedway.com/nascar-indycar-tickets/individual-tickets or by calling (817) 215-8500.

MORE INFO:
Keep track of all of Texas Motor Speedway’s events by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with all the latest news and information on the speedway website and TMS mobile app.

Repeat Runner-up Finish for Moorespeed and Riley Dickinson Sunday in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama Race in St. Petersburg

By
Official Release
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St. PETERSBURG, Florida (October 25, 2020) – Riley Dickinson and Moorespeed scored a repeat overall and Platinum Cup race finish Sunday in the final round of this weekend’s IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama doubleheader at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the No. 53 Moorespeed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

As he did in yesterday’s first 45-minute race, Dickinson charged from third on the grid to second at the race start, but that is where the similarities between the Saturday and Sunday sprints ended.

Saturday’s opening race was a caution-filled affair with more laps run under the yellow flag than green flag racing conditions. Dickinson was forced to settle for second after never having a chance to battle for the lead.

Sunday couldn’t have been more different with the race flat-out and clean-and-green for the entire 45 minutes. Dickinson and Moorespeed made the most of it and kept the No. 53 in the mirrors of Saturday race winner Jeff Kingsley for the most of Sunday’s finale.

“We got to race today, and we raced really hard,” said Moorespeed President David Moore. “I’m proud of Riley’s performance. He got a great start, moved from third into second before the first lap was complete, and put pressure on Kingsley the entire race. He even struggled with some aero imbalance because he was so close. I saw Kingsley’s team owner Jeff Stone after the race, and he said ‘man, it was a 45-minute qualifying session.’ Riley would set a quick sector time and then Jeff would set a quick sector. I thought they were going to actually beat the qualifying time for a second and they came damn close in a race that was hot as hell.”

Dickinson was never more than 1.5 seconds behind Kingsley and steadily closed the gap in the second half of the race. He moved the No. 53 to within a half a second of Kingsley in the race’s final 12 minutes only to suffer a slight miscue that sent him into the Turn-10 runoff. Dickinson quickly recovered and maintained second place to the finish despite the run off course.

“At the end of the day, we had a great event all around,” Dickinson said. “It was truly a great team effort for all parties involved. We can be very happy with that. On my side, I’m happy with my performance even though I did have the one mistake that ultimately cost us on Sunday, but that’s because I was pushing 12-tenths the entire time. It was 45 minutes of qualifying. At the end of the day, we’ll take all the good, learn from it, move on to Sebring and see what we can get down there.”

The 2020 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama season concludes with a same-day doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway on Friday, November 13.

“Riley gave it everything he had and then some today,” Moore said. “He made a little mistake because he was pushing so hard to try to take it to him. I can’t fault him at all. It was 100 percent all in on a ridiculously hot day. He got out of the car and he was spent like I’ve never seen him before, and he’s a physically fit young man. I’m really proud of his effort. We’re going to go to Sebring with our heads high and give it 110 percent again and see if we can’t be on the top step next time.”

About Moorespeed: Based in Austin, Texas, Moorespeed is a full-service automotive company specializing in sales, service, repairs and restoration of luxury sports cars and competition on the track in numerous North American road racing series. Founded in 1991 in Austin by brothers David and Chris Moore, Moorespeed offers comprehensive, turn-key service in which people are just as important as parts and relationships are just as vital as results. David Moore and Winslow Mankin, GM – Director of Customer Racing, welcome and work with every customer as a member of the Moorespeed family, regardless if they are racing or enjoying their sports car on the open road. Moorespeed’s road racing programs are designed for all skill levels, and driver development, both on and off the track, is a Moorespeed specialty. Moorespeed is all about the passion for high-performance automobiles and the people who drive them. A commitment to personal service and performance permeates every corner of the company. Learn more at www.moorespeed.com, and contact us at (512) 474-7223. Look for us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MoorespeedRaceEngineering and Twitter @MoorespeedTX.

The Madman Earns 2nd ADRL Pro Extreme Title

By
Official Release
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(2020 ADRL Pro Extreme Champion & Battle For The Belts Title Winner Frankie "The Madman" Taylor. Photo by Jason "Nubs" Dunn).

ST. LOUIS – Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic. – Robin Sharma

Frankie “The Madman” Taylor started the 2020 American Drag Racing League season strong with a Pro Extreme win on a hot June night in Texas. Saturday, on a chilly, overcast day at World Wide Technology Raceway, Taylor finished strong, wrapping up the class title. His second PX championship came along with the Battle For The Belts title strap and a check for $10,000. The four-car finale, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved to Saturday due to inclement weather.

(2020 ADRL Pro Extreme Champion & Battle For The Belts Title Winner Frankie “The Madman” Taylor. Photo by Jason “Nubs” Dunn).

Taylor advanced to the finals with a victory over Hank Stubbs thanks to a massive pass of 3.616 seconds at 209.56 mph. Jason Hamstra, the PX winner from three weeks ago at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas, made his way to the finals after beating Bubba Stanton, his 3.723-second lap at 207.05 mph topping Stanton’s run of 4.379 seconds at 121.94 mph.

The finals between the two Texas winners was expected to be one of the highlights of the season. Both cars were quick, both racers were hungry, and the track was prepped brilliantly. Taylor launched his 2005 Corvette down the eighth-mile at 3.608 seconds at 210.34 mph, topping his previous top qualifier pass. Hamstra, unfortunately, saw his season end with a race car that broke at the starting line.

The Top Jr. Dragster and Pro Jr. Dragster classes also saw their respective champions crowned courtesy of the Battle For The Belts format. Brody Tigue topped Cohen Hale for the TJD title and Sam Stewart beat Adam Jukupcak to earn the PJD championship.

(Above, 2020 ADRL Top Jr. Dragster Champion Brody Tigue. Below, 2020 ADRL Pro Jr. Dragster Champion Sam Stewart. Photos by Jason “Nubs” Dunn)

The Battle For The Belts provided closure for ADRL’s 2020 champions, but the 2021 season was only half-started in St. Louis. The qualifying for Dragstock XII and the points accumulated from that race count towards the 2021 title hunt. This weekend’s qualifying stands as official and when the ADRL returns to World Wide Technology Raceway March 26-27, 2021, the elimination rounds for Dragstock XII will be run. Taylor enters the season as the Dragstock XII Pro Extreme Top Qualifier.

The schedule for the 2021 ADRL Tour was announced Saturday prior to qualifying. The season kicks off March 26-27, 2021 with the ADRL Gateway Drags and finishes up Oct. 22-23, 2021 with Dragstock XIII in St. Louis. The Texas Motorplex is hosting Dragpalooza April 30-May 1, 2021 and the ADRL US Drags Sept. 10-11, 2021. The ADRL Summer Drags (June 4-5) and ADRL Fall Drags (Oct. 1-2) will be run at facilities to be announced.

2021 ADRL Tour Schedule:

March 26-27: ADRL Gateway Drags (WWT Raceway)
April 30-May 1: Dragpalooza (Texas Motorplex)
June 4-5: ADRL Summer Drags (TBD)
Sept. 10-11: ADRL US Drags (Texas Motorplex)
Oct. 1-2: ADRL Fall Drags (TBD)
Oct. 22-23: Dragstock XIII (WWT Raceway)

Expect more news regarding the ADRL’s 2021 season to be announced in the coming weeks.

Get the Gear! Missed out on Dragstock XII at World Wide Technology Raceway or the ADRL US Drags at the Texas Motorplex? Need your ADRL merch? Get everything you need by clicking HERE!

For more information on the American Drag Racing League and to stay up-to-date on breaking news, follow them on their official page on Facebook at Facebook.com/ADRLDrags and on Instagram and Twitter at @ADRLDrags. Fans can also visit the official ADRL website at ADRLDrags.com.

Toyota Racing NGROTS Post-Race Recap — Texas 10.25.20

By
Official Release
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HILL SCORES SECOND STRAIGHT TOP-THREE FINISH AT TEXAS
Austin Hill extends his advantage over the Playoff cutoff with a runner-up finish

FORT WORTH (October 25, 2020) – Austin Hill (second) led Toyota with a runner-up finish in the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Hill had a solid race throughout the day, scoring points in both stages. He heads into the final race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville with a 27-point advantage over the playoff cutoff. Hill was joined in the top-10 by Rookie of the Year contenders Raphaël Lessard (fourth) and Derek Kraus (ninth).

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 21 of 23 – 167 Laps, 250.5 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Sheldon Creed*
2nd, AUSTIN HILL
3rd, Zane Smith*
4th, RAPHAËL LESSARD
5th, Brett Moffitt*
9th, DEREK KRAUS
17th, DANNY BOHN
19th, JOSH BILICKI
21st, CHANDLER SMITH
25th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
27th, JOSH REAUME
28th, STEWART FRIESEN
35th, CLAY GREENFIELD
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 AISIN Group Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 2nd

What was the difference at the end of the race as you were door-to-door with Sheldon Creed for the win?

“Just (Sheldon) Creed has teammates and I don’t is kind of what it came down to. The 23 (Brett Moffitt) just pushed him down the backstretch and pushed him to the lead. I got probably the best start you could possibly get. Was side-by-side with him right at the start-finish line. Didn’t have a ton of help from behind going into turn one, but I was able to stay on his outside off of two, which not a lot of people were able to do. I thought that I did everything right. It was just there at the end when the 23 sucked up to him and got to him and pushed him into three, he was able to clear me and after that, I’m wide open, but I couldn’t get to him. It was a solid day for our AISIN Toyota Tundra, but kind of stings a little bit knowing how good our truck was and we had to fight through some adversity, come from the back and do things like that and we still ended up with a P2 finish. Pretty good day for us, but still kind of stings a little bit.”

Did your points cushion play into the chances you were willing to take at the end of the race?

“Once it got to the end of the race and I was battling with the 2 (Sheldon Creed) trying to get the lead, all the points and everything else kind of went out the window. I was just focused on one thing and that was getting the win. I was going to do everything I could to try to get it done. I felt like I put a really good move on him, I faked low and I went to the high side. He drove to the bottom and got tight off of four and had to get out of it and then I kind of used the lapped truck as a pick and split them. The caution just came out at the wrong time for me. I knew it was going to be tough restarting on the outside lane. It seemed like a lot of guys on the outside lane were having trouble getting going. I thought I got through the gears good. Got down on his door really good and had a good run down the backstretch. There again, it just goes back to he had a teammate behind him that was able to push him and clear me. It was kind of all said and done after that. It was really hard to pass today with all the aero and everything else. Our AISIN Toyota Tundra was still really good. I thought we had a truck that could win. It just didn’t work out for us.”

Are you concerned about getting caught up in someone else’s retaliation at Martinsville?

“I know a lot of people are angry at each other so that’s something that I’m definitely going to look for going into Martinsville. Martinsville is definitely the type of place where if you want to retaliate, that’s probably the place to do it. I think it’s going to be an interesting race. You have to kind of go back and watch this race and see what guys might be mad at the other guy and just try to be as cautious as you can around them. At the same time, you don’t want to give up any positioning because that could kind of hurt your chances at making it to the championship round final four. You kind of try to balance that as much as you can. We actually had talks on the radio today racing around a few guys that we knew had to win to get in and we raced them hard, but we tried to give them a little bit of room just in case they were trying to drive a little over their head and make things happen that wasn’t going to happen. We just drove a smart race today and we have a new package going into Martinsville that I think we’re going to be pretty decent with, btu time will tell when we get there. Hopefully we can go get the job done and get into the final four in Phoenix.”

How comfortable are you with your points position heading into Martinsville?

“I don’t think you can every be very comfortable when you’re going into a place like Martinsville. It’s just one of those places that anything can happen. You can very easily get caught up in somebody else’s mess. That’s kind of one thing that happened to us last year. We were minding our own business running inside the top-five for most of the day and next thing you know, they start wrecking up front and we just got into somebody else’s mess. You go out there, run your own race – I wish I could be sitting here talking to you guys in victory lane, especially after everything we went through to get to where we were at and to finish second was great. Really wanted to get a win for everybody at Toyota and Tundra. Being built here in Texas, I really wanted to get the job done for these guys just because they’re built exclusively in Texas and it would have looked really nice to have a Toyota Tundra sitting in victory lane and us not have to worry about Martinsville. Like I said, the points side of it, it’s nice having those points stacked up and to have a cushion, but we really have to get through the first two stages and try to get as many points as we can and then we can sit back and look at it and see what kind of cushion we have after the first two stages. If we have a really good cushion, we’ll just try to make it to the end of the race. Then at the end, we’ll go for the win. It all depends on how the first two stages of Martinsville goes.”

RAPHAËL LESSARD, No. 4 CANAC Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 4th

Battled back from adveristy all the way to the top-five today. How was your race?

“It was pretty crazy. We started 20th. It was really hard back there to pass. The truck handled good in dirty air like that but we made up some ground. We were pretty good. We were up to 17th, and then we got up to about 15th and my throttle was almost sticking to the floor. It was really weird. It wouldn’t come baack like normal, so we had to come in and get it fixed. We had to start last because we pitted twice. We came from the back. I stayed patient. My Toyota Tundra was pretty good the whole race. We made some good adjustments and at the end I think I found something and I was able to make moves and at least be as fast as the leader. The last restart I had the perfect jump and I just can’t thank everyone at TRD, CANAC, Toyota. The Toyota Tundra is built right in Texas, so that’s pretty special to get them a top-five, and hopefully we can do it again next week in Martinsville.”

DEREK KRAUS, No. 19 SHOCKWAVE/ENEOS Toyota Tundra, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Finishing Position: 9th

Another top-10 finish for you Derek. How was your race as a whole?

“We started off really strong, and just battled for track position all day. It’s really tough to pass when there’s the PJ1 or VHT or whatever you want to call it on the racetrack. It’s really tough to pass; you try to stay up front. We kind of fell back a bit and were crawling trying to make our way back to the front on these restarts. Our SHOCKWAVE Toyota is clean, and overall, it was a good day.”

Next week, we head back to Martinsville. What are you looking forward to getting back there?

“Just going back to a short track. Really looking forward to going back to a short track. That’s what I grew up racing, so being able to go back to a short track with the truck – it’s pretty much all driver, so if your truck is handling well there is no air to deal with. I really enjoy going to the short tracks.”

CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 25th

How was your Tundra today before the incident and are you okay after a really big hit?

“We had a really fast Safelite Tundra really all day. Super proud of my guys for bringing me a fast and safe Toyota and now we’ll move on to Martinsville. That was a pretty big hit and I’m okay. Just ready to get to Martinsville.”

From your view, what happened between yourelf and Ben Rhodes?

“It started with just hard racing and we’ve had this problem before. I’ve raced him (Ben Rhodes) hard, but I race everybody hard and that’s what I’m here to do. We had a little bit of an incident at Las Vegas and all day today, he didn’t really give me much room. Every time we would race side-by-side, if you backed it up to the turn three entry even, he was laying on my quarter panel, which caused me to go up the race track. Sure, I was being aggressive and trying to clear him, but in the same aspect, it’s just hard racing on a one-groove race track. Then he got a little upset and we got straight down the straightaway and I was separated and had a run. Was going to probably clear him and he just turned left as hard as he could and hooked me. You could see that he turned left with the way the truck reacted after he turned me. Unfortuntately, it’s just the nature of the business.”

# # #

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.

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY HONORS JOHNSON, BOWYER PRIOR TO AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 500

By
Official Release
-

· Seven-Time concludes legendary career before move to INDYCAR racing
· Bowyer to take racing knowledge and infectious personality to Fox broadcast booth in 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 25, 2020) – Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson and fellow series driver Clint Bowyer, both making their final fulltime series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, were honored today prior to the start of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.

During the speedway’s Texas Lottery® No Limits Live! Pre-Race Show, Johnson unveiled a “Jimmie Johnson Winner’s Circle” sign above the entry gate to SpeedyCash.com Victory Lane. He was also presented with a proclamation from Texas Governor Greg Abbott naming him an honorary Texan and a one-of-a-kind pair of cowboy boots from Lucchese Boots.

Johnson, the No Limits, Texas all-time NASCAR Cup Series win leader with seven, will conclude a fulltime NASCAR premier series career which began in 2002 but will continue his professional racing career by running a partial schedule of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Bowyer twice finished runner-up (Spring 2011, Spring 2019) in 29 starts at Texas Motor Speedway. He was presented with a cowboy hat but, instead of a pair of Smith & Wesson 629 Deluxe six-shooters traditionally given for winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at the Great American Speedway, he was presented with a kid’s pair of cap-gun pistols.

Bowyer, one of the all-time great personalities in the sport, will conclude a 16-year NASCAR Cup Series career that includes 10 premier series victories as well as the 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He will move into the Fox NASCAR broadcast booth next year.

“Jimmie and Clint are tremendous ambassadors of our sport, both on and off the track, so we wanted to do something special for their final time here behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series car,” said Texas Motor Speedway President and General Manager Eddie Gossage. “Jimmie knows his way to SpeedyCash.com Victory Lane better than anyone so it was appropriate to do something special for him there. We decided to have some fun with Clint because there’s no one better than him in the NASCAR garage to define fun. The great thing with both is they will continue to make great contributions to the sport in their new roles.”

TICKETS:
Adult season tickets for Texas Motor Speedway’s 25th season in 2021 season start at just $169 with season tickets for kids ages 12 and under starting at just $30. Tickets are also on sale for this Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark 500/SpeedyCash.com 400 NASCAR playoff doubleheader and can be obtained at www.texasmotorspeedway.com/nascar-indycar-tickets/individual-tickets or by calling (817) 215-8500.

MORE INFO:
Keep track of all of Texas Motor Speedway’s events by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with all the latest news and information on the speedway website and TMS mobile app.

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