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Wright Motorsports Produces Strong Points Day with Top-Five Finish at Petit Le Mans

By
Official Release
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BRASELTON, Ga., (October 18, 2020) – The 23rd Annual Motul Petit Le Mans delivered its usual excitement Saturday evening at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The Wright Motorsports No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3R delivered a strong performance after starting tenth to finish fourth, earning their eighth top-five finish in nine races. The fourth-place finish brought solid points for drivers Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long, who were joined over the weekend by endurance race addition Jan Heylen.

“Again, our guys executed a flawless race,” said Team Owner John Wright. “No one made a mistake all race, and we were able to fight up front for a while, but in the end, we were fighting for that third spot on the podium. We’re still very much in the hunt for the championship, and we’ll be strong at the final two races.”

Race morning brought Road Atlanta the coldest temperatures the competitors had all week, staying in the high 40s for the morning warm-up. Under clear blue skies, Ryan Hardwick started from tenth, avoiding any conflict during the car’s opening stint. He held off pressure from the No. 23 Aston Martin to charge after the No. 14 Lexus, and pitted from 12th under caution for his first stop for tires and fuel. The speed of the Wright Motorsports crew in pit lane put the No. 16 in the position to restart from 11th.

Jan Heylen took over with just under two hours complete, joining the race in 12th, 8.4 seconds behind the No. 14 Lexus of Jack Hawksworth. In the opening laps, Heylen shaved a second off that gap, and 15 minutes later gained two positions. After passing the 14 of Jack Hawksworth and the No. 44 Lamborghini of John Potter, The No. 16 Porsche had a 21-second gap to the No. 23 Aston Martin of Darren Turner. Within 15 minutes, Heylen cut that gap in half, gaining with every lap. He finished his stint in eighth and handed the No. 16 Porsche back over to Hardwick with fresh tires and a full tank of fuel.

With more hours of this year’s Petit Le Mans set to run in the cover of night than ever before, Wright Motorsports elected to set the car up to be its strongest for the final stints. However, that made Hardwick’s stints more challenging to drive in the heat of the afternoon. The hometown hero still delivered, rejoining the race in eighth and gaining a position during his brief stint.

Patrick Long took over the driving duties from Hardwick, rejoining 11th but made quick work to take tenth. A full-course caution brought the field back together, and a pass-around and pit strategy allowed all of the lapped cars to gain their lost lap back. After the pass-around, the No. 16 pitted, and again, stellar work by the Wright Motorsports crew gained the Porsche two more spots before going back to green. Long was ready to race, and as soon as his tires were up to temperature, he charged forward, gaining half of a second on the No. 14 Lexus ahead. The Lexus pitted for a full-service stop, moving Long up to sixth, and right behind the No. 23 of Ian James. Long made the pass on the Aston Martin for fifth just as another full-course caution paused the racing.

The GTD field poured into pit lane under caution, and due to one car short-fueling, the No. 16 Porsche exited pit lane to restart in sixth behind the No. 57 Acura. Heylen reclaimed fifth when contact between the No .57 Acura and the No.9 Porsche in turns 10 A/B dropped the 57 down the charts, and the No. 9 followed shortly after. The No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche claimed third place as dusk began to fall around the Braselton, Georgia road course. The No. 48 Lamborghini, still on their alternate fuel strategy, pitted early, moving Wright Motorsports, the fastest car in class, up to second.

Patrick Long took over from second place just before the fourth full-course caution of the day at 7:00PM, after almost six and half hours running. He had rejoined the race in third and came in for a quick splash under caution. For the third time in 6.5 hours, the crew gained the No. 16 Porsche a position in pit lane, coming out ahead of the No. 63 Ferrari. The fourth green flag of the race immediately produced a three-way battle for the second position between the No. 14 Lexus, No. 16 Porsche, and the No. 63 Ferrari.

By 8:00PM, the track was in full darkness, and Patrick Long brought the Porsche to the tail of the leader, fighting with every lap to take the lead position. The No. 48 again pitted early, and Patrick Long led the GTD field to the end of his stint. Heylen resumed his duties, rejoining in eighth. The Porsche 911 GT3 R seemed to have a longer time getting up to speed on cold tires, but still made moves to climb back up to third place. With 52 minutes remaining, the team made their final pit stop, with Heylen rejoining in sixth.

Tensions reached an all-time high in the final half-hour, bringing out two full-course cautions, limiting the time competitors had left to fight for position. Heylen captured fourth place and started to reel in the car in third just as the final caution came out, running to the checkered flag. The strong run at Petit Le Mans keeps Wright Motorsports second in the team championship standings, two points behind AIM VASSER Sullivan. Provisionally, Hardwick and Long stand third in the driver, just four points behind Aaron Telitz.

The Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA had an incredibly successful weekend with Charlie Luck, driver of the No. 45 Porsche sweeping all three wins in the Road Atlanta tripleheader. Provisionally, he stands second in the Masters driver point standings. Joseph Lombardo, driver of the No. 92 Porsche earned two third-place finishes, joining luck on the Masters Podium.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA next head to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, October 30 to November 1.

Driver Quotes

Ryan Hardwick
Fourth place at my hometown race. I’ll take it. It’s a shame because I think we were very close to battling for another podium. Our podium streak has ended, but our championship hopes are more alive than ever. We’re four points out of the lead and looking forward to finishing the season at tracks that we’re strong at: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Sebring International Raceway. I’m looking forward to taking this championship fight to the final lap.

Patrick Long
Fourth place finish. We had a good charge at the end. There was a ton of strategy and contact between all the classes. It was one of those finishes that you wanted a few more laps, but I’m proud of the effort. The guys were flawless in the pits all day. We had the pace and it was a good points day. We retained second place in the team points, and sit third in the driver standings. We just have to keep putting these solid positions on the board and let the year take its own shape.

Jan Heylen
It was a really cool race. I’m really happy that I could do it with the team. We were hoping for a podium, and it was definitely within our grasp, but we had a couple of things that didn’t come our way right at the end. The car had really good pace when the tires were hot, but we weren’t as good as some on cold tires out of the pit. I think that’s where we gave up a possible win or podium. We had the speed to win the race, but not on cold tires. It’s something we need to look into and see what we can do better for the next run. It was a crazy race. It was flawless for our team. We had good pit stops, and nobody made any mistakes. It’s tough to have everything go well and have the pace to compete for a win and not come away with a podium. It’s a little disappointing, but it was a really good points day for the team. In the end, that was the big picture. Now we have two races left and the team is in the best position to try to win the championship now. That’s exciting and we all did a good job.

1st Phorm
1st Phorm is a sports nutrition company based in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, CEO Andy Frisella and his business partner Chris Klein started the brand, and since then, it has become the fastest growing supplement company in the world. 1st Phorm has set the standards in the industry for quality and helping people reach their goals. This new racing partnership is not their first time in the exotic car scene either. 1st Phorm has been the title sponsor for the Gold Rush Rally for six years running. With over a million followers across social media, 1st Phorm has amassed a huge cult-like following known as, “The Legion of Boom.” They stand for a movement in the fitness world. To turn it back to what it was meant to be. Helping others improve their lives, to be a good human… and to drop the excuses and do the work. 1st Phorm is a winning brand and they don’t expect anything less when it comes to their race team. For additional info: www.1stphorm.com

Mountain Motorsports
Mountain Motorsports is a group of motorcycle and powersports dealerships with multiple locations in the southeastern United States. The company was founded by lifelong friends Ryan Hardwick and Justin Price when they opened their first location as a single-line Honda dealership in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1999. The company has since grown into one of the largest retailers of motorcycle and powersports vehicles in the nation, spanning eight dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mtn-motorsports.com

Una Vida Tequila
Una Vida translates to One Life. That is how this brand started. By people who want to live their “One Life” to the absolute fullest and to their highest potential. A group of guys from the Midwest who love great quality tequila, and want their One Life to have meaning and impact others.

One Life, One Tequila is our CORE BELIEF. We’re building the only tequila brand you will ever need to drink. Una Vida is bigger than just tequila we’re also building a culture of people who want to live their life to their utmost potential.

Our story begins and continues to grow bottle by bottle. It’s a life mission for us to create a community of people who all raise a glass knowing they’re living their ONE LIFE! For more information, visit unavidatequila.com

Henry Repeating Arms
Henry Repeating Arms is one of the leading rifle and shotgun manufacturers in the United States and a world leader in the lever-action category. The company motto is “Made in America, or not made at all” and its firearms come with a lifetime guarantee backed by award-winning customer service. The company is also known for its charitable endeavors under its Guns For Great Causes program, which focuses on sick children, both individual cases and children’s hospitals, veteran and wounded veteran organizations, Second Amendment and wildlife conservation organizations. The company currently employs 535 people and has 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space in its Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Bayonne, New Jersey facilities. The company is named in honor of Benjamin Tyler Henry who invented and patented the Henry rifle in 1860 – the first repeating rifle, the lever-action rifle, which is America’s unique contribution to international firearms design and is one of the most legendary, respected and sought after rifles in the history of firearms. Visit Henry Repeating Arms online at www.HenryUSA.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HenryRepeating, and on Instagram @Henry_Rifles.

Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. The 2020 season will see the team return to IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship. For more information, visit wrightmotorsports.com

Ford Performance NASCAR: Briscoe Dominates For Xfinity Win at Kansas

By
Official Release
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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
1st — Chase Briscoe
28th — Austin Cindric

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang (FINISHED 1st) —

VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “First off, I just want to dedicate this to Brian Egans. He lost his life last week and was a close family friend’s brother-in-law. I am happy we got him in victory lane. I am super happy to be locked into Phoenix. It is going to be a lot less stressful the next two weeks. That will be nice. I can’t say thank you enough to everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. This Ford Performance Racing School Mustang was lights-out. This is the car we had at Vegas. I want to take it to Phoenix because of how good it was. It is so cool to get all our partners in victory lane. HighPoint.com, Fields Production Alliance Group, Mobil 1, Go Bowling. It has been an unbelievable year but we have three more to go get.”

WHAT ADVANTAGE DOES THIS GIVE YOU FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO BE COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON PHOENIX AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TEXAS OR MARTINSVILLE? “It allows the guys at least to focus on the car. I am glad after all the chaos at the beginning of the race, a lot of those guys are going to be in scary points situations. I am glad we don’t have to deal with that. It is crazy to win nine races this year. It has been an unbelievable year and hopefully we can finish it out strong.”

WITH ALL THE CHAOS THIS EVENING, WERE YOU WORRIED YOUR MOMENT MIGHT HAPPEN? “I was so close down the backstretch when Noah (Gragson) and Austin (Cindric) and them guys crashed. Honestly Austin, I don’t know how he kept it going straight. He was wrecked in front of me three or four times. That is a good thing that my Ford Performance teammate kept it straight because we were definitely in that one and that would have ended our night. I am looking forward to going to Texas with no stress.”

CHASE BRISCOE POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

NINE WINS AND YOU ARE LOCKED INTO THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR. HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW? “I feel great. It was definitely a really good night and it is just awesome to start both rounds of the playoffs the way we did to dominate. The car we ran tonight was actually the same car we ran at Vegas. I wish we could take this thing to Phoenix because it has been unbelievable this year. It has won three races and ran second in the other one. Hats off to everyone at Stewart-Haas to bring the caliber of cars that we have brought to the playoffs. Hopefully we can continue this the next three weeks and most importantly at Phoenix.”

YOU HAD SAID THE CAR WAS LOOSE AND HAD A VIBRATION EARLY IN THE RACE. WERE EITHER OF THOSE THINGS THAT BIG OF A DEAL? “The vibration was really concerning because it was right from the get-go, lap one of that run. It continued to get worse and then it seemed like the last 10 or so laps it kind of mellowed out. that was a huge concern. I thought for sure we had a loose left rear. The freeness didn’t necessarily worry me, just because I knew if I maintained the lead I would be alright. The 19 was able to run with me the first 15-20 laps of a run and I was worried if we got in a late race situation, kind of like we did, that if I didn’t let the guys know how loose I was that we might not get on the other side of it. We made the adjustment at the end and it was certainly a lot better.”

SOME OF US IN THE MEDIA ARE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT WE KNOW WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING NEXT YEAR. ARE YOU AS CONFIDENT AS WE ARE? “I talked to Tony (Stewart) and everybody at SHR this week and they said to focus on this week and then we will talk about it. I think winning the race is certainly going to help that situation. We will go into next week and anytime you can bring a trophy back it helps the cause. We are staying hopeful though.”

RYAN SEIG ADMITS THEY DON’T HAVE THE EQUIPMENT OF MOST PEOPLE. I AM CURIOUS, YOU PROBABLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RUN AROUND HIM A LITTLE MORE THIS YEAR THAN PAST YEARS. IS THERE MUCH YOU SEE THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM HIM AND THAT CAR? “Yeah, for me, I was so excited to see Ryan run that good and the same with any of the underdog guys. I am not great friends with Ryan by any means but I love the underdog story. It reminds me a lot of myself just because literally four or five years ago I was sleeping on couches and volunteering in race shops just trying to get the opportunity. To see Ryan get the opportunities he has been getting this year to drive faster race cars, he has proven that he can do it if he is in good stuff. It is cool to see guys like that outperform what their equipment is considered and shows how good of a race car driver he is. If the roles were reversed he could win races. It is cool to see those guys run good and it is fun to race with Ryan all year long and see him up in the front.”

LOOKING TOWARD NEXT YEAR FOR YOU. THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSION IF IT IS WORTH MOVING DRIVERS UP FOR ONE YEAR BEFORE THE CAR GOES TO NEXT GEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, IS A CAR A CAR OR DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? “I get both sides of it. At the same time, to me, the amount of experience you would gain just running one year even of the old car and getting to race against those guys and see their tendencies and get humbled quite a bit and make you go learn more, to me that experience is invaluable. I think regardless of what the car is going to be, yeah you are at a deficit already from an experience standpoint but if you wait until the new car you will be at a deficit from an experience standpoint. If you can get that experience, even in a totally different car, I think just that experience of running longer races and getting to learn how those guys race and what they do on restarts and certain situations. I find myself everytime that Kyle (Busch) or Denny (Hamlin) come and run the Xfinity Series I learn so much just being around them. If I was able to move up to the Cup Series next year, I feel like I could learn so much by getting to race 36 races against them. I get both sides of it. I get the people that say you probably shouldn’t move up if it is an irrelevant car but at the same time the experience of getting to go racing against those guys is almost more valuable than just throwing away that car for a year.”

YOU HAD CLINT BOWYER’S PIT CREW TONIGHT. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN DOING BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC SITUATION? “No, we have had Clint’s pit crew all year long. The SHR guys, last year we had the 10 or maybe the 14’s pit crew. Cole had the other. That is just something we do and we have used them all year long from Daytona on. They have done a really good job for us. I think week in and week out we have been the best pit crew on pit road and I can’t think of a single time we have lost positions.”

YOU SAID YOU WERE DEDICATING THIS RACE TO SOMEONE? “His name is Brian Eagans. He was diagnosed with cancer two months ago. A really close family friend of ours, his brother-in-law. My dad went to school with him. I went to school with his son and we graduated together. A guy from Mitchell that is a family friend.”

DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE IN THE CUP SERIES NEXT YEAR? “Honestly, I don’t know right now. I think me doing what I did tonight will only help my cause. I don’t think it will hurt it by any means. If I can keep doing this the remainder of the playoffs, not that it will make their decision easier or harder, but I am only helping my situation anytime I go win a race. That is all I am focused on right now.”

HAS SHR TOLD YOU ANYTHING ABOUT THE PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR? “No, I have asked them as soon as Clint announced his deal. They said they are working on it and trying to figure something out and that I should just focus on the playoffs. I know they said we would circle back next week and obviously a win will help.”

ARE YOU THE CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITE? “I don’t know. There are so many guys in this series that can win week in and week out. We have to do our deal. We have to go there and focus on the 98, nobody else. I would certainly say that if Allgaier or one of those guys makes it to Phoenix, he is pretty unbelievable there. I think it is up in the air. Whoever the four guys are, they all deserve to be there and anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so we have to go there and do our job.”

HOW DO YOU APPROACH TEXAS NOW? “Same as it has been all year long. Go there and try to win. I keep saying that every race is an audition to try to go to the next level or stay at the level you are at. For me, there are still things that I can do better and three races left to still win. I don’t think we treat it any different. Point wise, we don’t have to worry about points anymore but we will go there with the mentality to win and try to lead every lap. That is the mentality we have had all year long.”

TWO YEARS AGO YOU WERE A BASIC UNKNOWN AND NOW YOU ARE ON THE VERGE OF A CUP RIDE. WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE, THIS RIDE FOR YOU? “It has been unbelievable. Truthfully every day I still wake up and can’t believe that I am in the position that I am in. 2015 I was literally sleeping on couches and volunteering at race shops. I was moving back to Indiana. I was over it. I had been in North Carolina for over three years without a single test or ride or anything. I was getting turned down to even go volunteer at race shops. I was just over it. I didn’t think there was anything for me down here. Literally the week I was moving back home is when I got a call from Cunningham motorsports and they changed my life by giving me an opportunity to go run their ARCA car. The success we had in 2016 got me a Ford Development deal. I was supposed to be with Brad’s (Keselowski) truck team for two years. It gets shut down and kind of throws everything in a spiral. I go and do a part time deal between Roush and Stewart-Haas and truthfully ran terribly. In my opinion I was going to lose my Ford deal at the end of 2018 but I go and win the Roval and then the next thing I know they were trying to keep me at Stewart-haas. My career has been so close to ending so many times. To have the success we have had this year is just unbelievable to look back on. For me to get to drive for Tony Stewart is unbelievable. When I go back to Indiana in my hometown, my bedroom still has Tony Stewart stuff everywhere. I was a die hard Tony Stewart fan. I used to literally dress up in a Home Depot uniform and helmet and play my Sprint Car video game every single day. And now I get to drive for the guy and got a win at Indianapolis for the guy and won eight other races. It is unbelievable. Hopefully I can win the championship.”

YOU’VE KNOWN HUNGER, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY AS YOU HAVE TRIED TO CHASE THIS. HOW MUCH DOES THAT MAKE YOU A BETTER DRIVER OR A POTENTIALLY MORE DANGEROUS DRIVER GOING FOR WINS. THE HUNGER FACTOR. HOW DOES IT PLAY IN? “I think that has been the biggest thing for my entire career. Nothing against these guys that come in and buy rides but they don’t have to win races or run good. They can run 10th-15th evey week and they are fine. I have to win races to prove my worth because I don’t come with money. Having that hunger, I think a lot of that too helps me keep things in perspective. Perfect example, last year I was 12 laps away from locking into the final race and I get crashed by a lap car. I could have been mad and upset but at the end of the day I am getting to drive race cars for a living and never thought I would get to do that. I think it helps me keep things in perspective but also helps me be hungry and that helps in situations like this.”

TONIGHT WAS YOUR NINTH WIN OF THE SEASON, ONE WIN SHY OF THE RECORD FOR MOST WINS IN A SEASON BY AN XFINITY SERIES REGULAR. 10 WINS ON THE YEAR, CAN YOU DO IT? “I’d like to hope so. The sickening part is I think we have given four or five a way where we were 10 or less laps away from winning the race and I threw it away or sped on pit road or something like that. that is going to happen and you can’t hang your head on those but we have three opportunities to go win races and that is what I want to go do. It is crazy to be even in the conversation with guys like that and to be able to win one race at this level is unbelievable, let alone nine in one season. It has been an incredible year and we have three races to try to win and that is what we are going to try to do.”

YOU ARE KIND OF KNOWN AS THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION IN THE WORLD OF SOCIAL MEDIA. WHEN YOU GET THESE WINS, HOW COOL IS IT FOR YOU TO SHARE THESE WITH THE FANS ON REDDIT AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS? “It is super cool. This year, that is the only way we can interact with them. Reddit has been great to me. I am on there 24-7 it seems like. My wife gets mad. Between Twitter and Reddit I am always scrolling and that kind of makes her upset. When I get on the plane, I am going to load the race thread that is on Reddit and I will literally go through and read every comment that is good or bad. If they are bad I will kind of joke around with it and have fun with it and same with people that congratulate me. I have always enjoyed doing that. It goes back to when I was a fan. I would tweet at drivers and if they liked it I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I try to be that same way. It is literally hitting a heart on a tweet or whatever that can make someone’s day and I love doing that. I wish that we could have fans here week in and week out but social media is the only way we can interact with them right now and it is fun to get on there and see how it has evolved.”

YOU HAVE BEEN A MAN OF FAITH THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER. WITH THE INCREDIBLE SUCCESSES AND LOWS YOU HAVE HAD, HOW MUCH HAS YOUR FAITH HELPED YOU KEEP A BALANCED APPROACH? “I think your faith is easy to be good when times are good. It is easy to say your faith is great when everything is going good. It is when you have the bad times that you lean into that. For me, the stuff that me and my wife experienced this year was the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life. To go through the emotions, literally from one day to the other, the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. I wouldn’t have gotten through that without my faith. I think that is one thing that separates me from a lot of people. I try to really show my faith and try to kind of be that light for other people. That even goes for my victory celebration and my thing that I do every time. It blew my mind the amound of poeple that had seen oru story from the miscarriage and had been lead to faith. A perfect example, a couple weeks ago, someone on Reddit said they got baptised because of that story. If we can help one person going through something bad then it is all worth it.”

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON THAT YOU WOULD BE RIGHT UP THERE WITH LEGENDS OF THIS SERIES IN WINS AND GETTING CLOSE TO THAT DOUBLE-DIGIT WIN MARK? “I knew that we were going to be able to compete for wins this year. That is why I said what I said at the beginning of the year. I truly felt like we could go win eight races. I don’t know if I would have thought that we would have won some of the races that we did. I felt like we could go win places like Homestead and stuff like that but I never would have thought that we would win at the Indianapolis road course or Pocono or even Bristol. Places that are iconic in our sport. It has been a crazy year. To have your name even close to those guys is very humbling and a huge honor. I would love to get into the double-digit marks but like I keep saying, regardless it has been an amazing season. Whether we win the championship or not it isn’t going to definie the year that we have had. I think that we have had a great season and that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to try to win the next three and the championship but it has been an amazing year and I can’t say that enough.”

PHOENIX IS A PLACE YOU HAVE STRUGGLED AT IN THE PAST SO HOW MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE TWO WEEKS TO PREPARE? “I don’t know if it gives us any advantage. Truthfully we have been working on the Phoenix car for a while now. If anything it allows us to be a little less stressful the next two weeks. Like you said, Phoenix is a place that is not my best race track and not one I necessarily look forward to. I wish Homestead was still the final race because I feel like that is probably my best track on the schedule but with the schedule change it didn’t work out that way. If we can win the championship, it is going to take winning the race I feel like. For me, winning at Phoenix would be a huge accomplishment and one of the proudest things I have done because I know how bad I have been there and how much work and effort I have put in to get better there. I feel like I have made progress every time we go but there is still a lot to go and hopefully we can close that gap to the 7 and guys like that and go there and run good.”

Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report – Kansas

By
Official Release
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Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: Kansas Speedway
Race: Kansas Lottery 300
Date: October 17, 2020
___________________________________________________
No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 35th
Stage 2: 33rd
Finish: 28th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 173/200
Laps Led: 1
Point Standings (behind first): 4th (-61)

Notes:

Austin Cindric’s hopes for a good finish were derailed by an accident early in the Kansas Lottery 300 Saturday night at Kansas Speedway. The No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang was damaged in the incident but Cindric was able to finish the race and claim a 28th-place result. Cindric heads into the second race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 fourth in the standings, two points ahead of fifth-place Justin Haley and 61 markers behind points leader Chase Briscoe.

Cindric started the 200-lap, 300-mile event from second position after the field was set per the NASCAR rule book. He ran in the runner-up position until the first caution was displayed on lap 11. Cindric communicated to crew chief Brian Wilson the balance on his Menards/Richmond Mustang was pretty good, just a little free off the corners.

But Cindric’s race unraveled shortly after the restart on lap 14. He was making a move for the lead off Turn 2 to the inside of race leader Ross Chastain and received contact from behind, causing Cindric to spin. Eight cars were officially listed in the accident with the No. 22 Mustang receiving substantial damage.

After extensive repairs on pit road, Cindric made minimum speed and returned to the track in the 35th position. No longer on the five-minute damage repair clock, Cindric briefly went behind the wall for more repairs but returned to the track and was credited with 35th-place when Stage 1 ended on lap 45.

For the remainder of the race, Cindric logged laps and made up a few positions. He was listed 33rd in the running order when Stage 2 ended on lap 90. Four cautions were sprinkled throughout the final stage. Cindric stayed out of trouble and was credited with a 28th-place finish when the race concluded on lap 200.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at Texas Motor Speedway, Saturday, October 24th, for the second race in the Round of 8. Live coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Quote: “It’s really unfortunate to have our race end so early. We had a fast Menards/Richmond Mustang and I really wanted to get a good finish for them. We were racing for the lead and I just got hit from behind. My guys did a good job repairing my Menards Mustang and keep us in it. They never gave up. We will put this behind us and move on to Texas.”

RCR Post Race Report – Kansas Lottery 300

By
Official Release
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Late Race Crash Ends Promising Top-Three Run for Anthony Alfredo and The No. 21 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet Team at Kansas Speedway

Finish: 29th
Start: 25th
Points: 9th

“We had a really strong Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet tonight, and ran in the top-five for most of the race. Unfortunately, an on-track incident in Stage 3 ended our race early. We were four-wide on a restart and no one backed down. That was the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced, and it definitely shows you how fast things can happen in racing. I ended upside down, on my roof and I just have to thank the NASCAR safety crew for being there immediately. They were there before I even realized the wreck was over or where I was. I’m glad to be okay, and thankful for everyone at RCR that builds these safe race cars that we have today, and all of the safety equipment that goes into keeping all of us drivers safe in the race cars. I wish we could have flipped the car back over and kept digging because I was having a blast running up front tonight at Kansas Speedway. It’s been an awesome year so far and we still have one more shot to go win a race at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.” -Anthony Alfredo

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Kansas 10.17.20

By
Official Release
-

AUSTIN HILL DRIVES TO CAREER-BEST FIFTH IN XFINITY SERIES RACE AT KANSAS
Brandon Jones earns top-10 finish after getting involved in late-race incident

KANSAS CITY (October 17, 2020) – NASCAR Truck Series regular Austin Hill (fifth) led Toyota with a career-best fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 at the Kansas Speedway on Saturday evening. Brandon Jones drove to a ninth-place finish after running in the top-two for most of the race. With about 30 laps to go, Jones was involved in a late-race accident, but his Joe Gibbs Racing team patched up his Supra and he was able to drive to a top-10 finish. He holds a nine-point advantage over the cutline heading into Texas Motor Speedway.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Kansas Speedway
Race 30 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Briscoe*
2nd, Daniel Hemric*
3rd, Ryan Sieg*
4th, Justin Haley*
5th, AUSTIN HILL
9th, BRANDON JONES
11th, HARRISON BURTON
22nd, TIMMY HILL
25th, MATT MILLS
30th, RILEY HERBST
31st, VINNIE MILLER
35th, STEPHEN LEICHT
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

AUSTIN HILL, No. 61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota Supra, Hattori Racing Enterprises

Finishing Position: 5th

How did you pull off the top-five finish tonight after running top-three in the Truck Series race earlier in the afternoon?

“Just a great organization and a great team backing me. Everybody back at the shop – Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and all the guys back at HRE (Hattori Racing Enterprises), they’ve been really working hard on this Xfinity program to get the results that we feel like we deserve. It’s been a little bumpy road here and there. We’ve had some decent runs, we ran pretty good at Darlington and then to be able to come out here tonight and come home with a top-five is really good. It shows how hard this team really works and how good this organization is. Our Toyota Tsusho Supra was good. It fired off on the tight side. We kept working on it, got it a little better and then we had a little strategy there at the end to get a little track position and it kind of woke the car up a little bit there. It wasn’t as fast as Xfinity internet tonight, but it was pretty good.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Before the incident with 30 laps to go, did you feel you had a car capable of beating Chase Briscoe as you ran second to him much of the race?

“It’s so tough to tell because he (Chase Briscoe) would not fire off the way that he needed to. I think that we were by far the Supra to beat on our fire-off speed, but as the run would go, I think they would just start their car so loose that it would take their car a while, but once the tire fell off and the pace fell down a little bit, that’s where they would come to life. I knew I was always better in one and two than he was. He was able to just roll a little more overall speed than I was through three and four. I kind of battled that all day just trying to figure it out and pinpoint exactly what we needed to be a little bit better in that area. I wish we would have had a chance to do that. I think strategy was correct and everything was correct and ran an almost perfect day. I think some things just happen that are out of your control and that’s what makes you a champion is when you can get through days like this and still had a really strong race, had a really strong day. Looking forward to getting to Texas.”

How do you feel heading to Texas and then Martinsville as it relates to making it to Phoenix to battle for the championship?

“I think Texas is going to take care of it for us, I really do. We had Kyle (Busch) run earlier this year and I think we have a really good notebook off of him and some things we can do as drivers that will help us out a little bit. That was going to be a big, helpful thing that we had versus the competition was having him run that car earlier this year. We’re bringing I think our Darlington race car to Texas and obviously we won there and had a really good car at Darlington. I’m pretty excited about that. I just think we’re going to have a really good day there. I honestly think Martinsville is going to be fun. I said it a few times, but we’ve got that truck race and I truly believe that’s going to give us a little bit of a one-up on those guys going into that race is just having those extra laps on the track. The only thing that you worry about there is stuff like today that’s out of your control. Things can happen, guys can get a little too aggressive and want to make moves that aren’t there. That’s the only little area that we have to worry about. But we want to go get Texas and not have to worry about it.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 30th

Can you talk about your view from the accident?

“I pitted with the three fastest cars. Me, the 19 (Brandon Jones) and the 98 (Chase Briscoe). We had new tires. I restarted 10th with 30 laps to go. We had to make up some time, but I’m just so disappointed. I’m so bummed out about missing the Round of 8 last week. I just can’t thank everybody at Monster Energy enough. My whole team, Dave Rogers and the guys, everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m going to get a win here before the years end, I can promise you that much.”

# # #

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.

Moorespeed and Riley Dickinson Score Runner-Up Finish in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday

By
Official Release
-

Second-Place Finish Caps Tripleheader Weekend with a Victory and Two Runner-Up Results in No. 53 Moorespeed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

BRASELTON, Georgia (October 17, 2020) – Moorespeed and driver Riley Dickinson earned their third IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama podium finish in two days Saturday morning with a second-place finish in the third and final 45-minute sprint race of the weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Dickinson started second in the No. 53 Moorespeed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on a cool morning, quickly pulling away from the rest of the field and setting his aim on the leader. Dickinson kept the pressure up for the duration of the 45-minute timed race, going toe to toe for lap times, before finishing in second place.

“Riley matched pace for pace throughout the race and was right there the entire time,” Moorespeed President David Moore said. “We just couldn’t get to the lead. This wasn’t the result that we were hoping for, but we’re going to turn it around and come back again in just a few days at St. Pete to see if we can’t pick up some more wins.”

The Road Atlanta tripleheader event wraps up with a win Friday morning and two second-place finishes for Moorespeed and Dickinson at the 2.54-mile Georgia race track.

“It’s hard to look at just today,” Dickinson said. “You’ve got to look at the whole weekend. I feel like we did a lot of things right. It’s not a case of a weak link. I think coming out for St. Pete, we’ll have a strong performance and put it all together.”

Moorespeed now faces a quick turnaround, with a doubleheader on the streets of St. Petersburg beginning in just six days. The IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA race weekend begins on Friday, October 23, with practice on the 1.8-mile temporary downtown street circuit.

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.

Brett Moffitt punches ticket into Championship 4 following Kansas victory

By
Briar Starr
-
Brett Moffitt celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway on October 17, 2020. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

Despite an overtime restart and making contact with his teammate Zane Smith, Grimes, Iowa native Brett Moffitt held on to win his first race of the 2020 season at Kansas Speedway and is now one of four drivers eligible for the Championship 4.

“Definitely relief, Moffitt said following the Kansas victory. “It’s go time in the season, and we’ve had a pretty rough one on our No. 23 (GMS) team, so it’s a lot of relief to get back to victory lane to do it in a such high-pressure situation and knowing now we have a shot to win the championship.”

Kansas Speedway was the opening round for the Round of 8 Playoffs for the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, which began on Saturday afternoon on a windy day in Kansas City, KS. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith was on the pole with Hailie Deegan making her first Truck Series appearance starting 34th in the No. 17 DGR-Crosley Ford F-150. Stages 30-30-74 laps made up the 134-lap race but an overtime restart caused the race to go three laps longer than the advertised distance.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

The action was intense from the get-go with playoff driver Ben Rhodes brushing the Turn 2 wall early on. The Kentucky native fell in the running order as far back as 20th when the first stage ended.

Meanwhile, GMS Racing’s Sheldon Creed swiped the lead at the start of the race and held on to win the first stage. Following Creed were Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Johnny Sauter, Moffitt, and Todd Gilliland completing the Top 10.

Stage 2: Lap 37 – Lap 60

After the restart on Lap 37, a major wreck occurred off Turn 4 causing a seven-minute red flag. Multiple drivers were involved in the accident including some playoff drivers. Tyler Ankrum’s truck caught on fire after breaking a fuel line and we saw his No. 26 truck go up in flames. Other involved were Talladega winner Raphael Lessard, David Gravel, Parker Kligerman, Tanner Gray, Clay Greenfield, Ben Rhodes, Dawson Cram, and Trevor Bayne.

During the red flag, Rhodes’ team was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall as they were repairing the truck during the damaged vehicle policy. The penalty ultimately ended Rhodes’s shot of winning the race, and he eventually wound up 20th, three laps down. With just two races left before the championship race at Phoenix, the Kentucky native faces a must-win situation moving forward at Texas and Martinsville.

Following the red flag, a few battles for the lead ensued. Zane Smith grabbed the lead from Austin Hill on Lap 48 but Creed was back out front (Lap 54) for the Stage 2 victory, sweeping both of the stages. Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Eckes, Crafton, Gilliland, Sauter, Moffitt, and Enfinger rounded out the Top 10.

Prior to the conclusion of Stage 2, playoff drivers Christian Eckes and Austin Hill made major contact after Eckes tried avoiding the lap truck of Jennifer Jo Cobb on the frontstretch which caused Hill’s team to have a long pit stop to fix the damage during the Stage 2 break.

Stage 3: Lap 67 – Lap 139

With 52 laps to go, Zane Smith passed teammate Sheldon Creed for the lead. Smith maintained the lead for the longest time until the final round of the green-flag pit stops occurred with 34 laps to go. Following Smith’s, and Moffitt’s pit stops, both GMS Racing teammates battled each other on the apron. Smith held Moffitt briefly before Moffitt had the top spot.

However, during the initial cycle, Moffitt was unable to check out which allowed Smith to close back in and take the lead again with 10 laps to go. Smith looked as though he had the race in the bag but Moffitt came back and challenged again. Unfortunately for Smith, Moffitt came down to block for the lead, but it was a little too much as Smith ended up sliding sideways into Turn(s) 3 and 4 causing an overtime restart.

Even with the overtime restart, Moffitt scored his 12th career victory and is now locked into the Championship 4 for the third consecutive year since 2018. Zane Smith finished in the 11th position after the contact.

“I think that was our ticket to Phoenix right there,” Smith said after the contact with Moffitt. “I felt like, I’ve really been stepping it up at the track for sure. I don’t know if that showed at the track today, but it was just whoever could work through lap traffic at the end. I got him (Moffitt) and pulled away a little bit, then he (Moffitt) got to me and did a slider. I had a big run down the hill and he (Moffitt) hit my right-front pretty hard. Luckily, I was able to save the truck off the fence.”

There were four cautions for 24 laps and 13 lead changes among nine different drivers.

Moffitt led twice for 15 laps en route to victory.

Updated Playoffs standings

  1. Brett Moffitt, Locked into the Championship 4
  2. Sheldon Creed, +26 above the cut line
  3. Austin Hill, +19 above the cut line
  4. Zane Smith, +7 above the cut line
    Below the cut line
  5. Grant Enfinger, -7
  6. Matt Crafton, -15
  7. Ben Rhodes, -33
  8. Tyler Ankrum, -56

Official Results following the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway.

  1. Brett Moffitt, led 15 laps, locked into Championship 4
  2. Sheldon Creed, (Playoff driver) led 61 laps, won both stages
  3. Austin Hill, (Playoff driver), led 13 laps
  4. Grant Enfinger, (Playoff driver), led one lap
  5. Chandler Smith, led one lap
  6. Christian Eckes, led seven laps
  7. Timothy Peters
  8. Matt Crafton, (Playoff driver)
  9. Derek Kraus
  10. Trevor Bayne
  11. Zane Smith, (Playoff driver), led 37 laps
  12. Ryan Truex, 1 lap down
  13. Todd Gilliland, 1 lap down
  14. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
  15. Parker Kligerman, 1 lap down
  16. Hailie Deegan, 1 lap down
  17. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
  18. Johnny Sauter, 1 lap down, led one lap
  19. Austin Wayne Self, 2 laps down
  20. Ben Rhodes, (Playoff driver), 3 laps down
  21. Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
  22. Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
  23. Dawson Cram, 4 laps down
  24. Colin Garrett, 4 laps down
  25. Clay Greenfield, 5 laps down
  26. Ray Ciccarelli, 6 laps down
  27. Josh Bilicki, 7 laps down
  28. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 9 laps down
  29. Jordan Anderson, 12 laps down
  30. Norm Benning, OUT, Vibration
  31. Tim Viens, OUT, Fuel Pump
  32. Raphael Lessard, OUT, Crash
  33. Tyler Ankrum, (Playoff driver) OUT, Crash
  34. David Gravel, OUT, Crash
  35. Tanner Gray, OUT, Crash

Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will visit Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 25 scheduled for noon ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

Ford Performance Development Driver Hailie Deegan Moves to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series For 2021

By
Official Release
-

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 17, 2020 – Hailie Deegan, driver of the No. 4 Ford for DGR-Crosley in the ARCA Menard’s Series, will transition to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2021, thus taking the next step in her Ford Performance Development Driver career.

“We are very happy with Hailie’s progress as demonstrated in her first year as a part of our Ford Performance driver development program” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Continuing with the consistency from DGR-Crosley, Hailie is ready to make the step to the NASCAR Truck Series providing some intense competition and great racing.”

“I’ve enjoyed watching Hailie progress in the ARCA Menards Series this season and prepare for the next step in her racing career, moving up to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2021,” said David Gilliland, co-owner, DGR-Crosley. “I’m happy DGR-Crosley can be part of her learning process as she transitions to the next level of competition and we’re all excited to start prepping for next season with her.”

Deegan joined the Ford Performance family in December 2019 with a broad scope of racing activities planned. Unfortunately, some of that plan changed due to the nature of 2020, but she has already delivered upon numerous challenges despite the altered seat time.

Deegan, the 2020 ARCA Menards Series Bounty Rookie of the Year, finished third in the ARCA championship standings. Deegan made her Ford debut with a runner-up finish at Daytona in February on her way to 17 top-10 and four top-five finishes in 20 races.

“I am excited for this next step in my career with Ford Performance,” said Deegan. “I have raced trucks in the off-road world but to now have the opportunity to race trucks next season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a dream come true. I have some great partners already behind me for next season. We have a few primaries still available and I hope that we can fill these up in the coming weeks. I can’t wait for Daytona 2021 to get here.”

Deegan also competed in the opening event of the IMSA sports car racing season, sharing the seat of a Mustang GT4 with fellow Ford Performance development driver Chase Briscoe for a flurry of first experiences over the four-hour race. Hailie also got to experience the power of Ford’s all-electric Mach-E 1400 prototype demonstrator firsthand when she helped publicly unveil the vehicle in July alongside Joey Logano, Ken Block, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chelsea DeNofa.

Deegan will kick off her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie campaign at Daytona International Speedway on February 12, 2021.

Chip Ganassi Racing and AdventHealth Raise Awareness for Breast Cancer in Kansas

By
Official Release
-

No. 42 AdventHealth Chevrolet Accented in Pink to Highlight Breast Cancer Awareness, Honor Local Survivor

Overland Park, Kan. (Oct. 16, 2020) – The No. 42 Chevrolet, driven by Matt Kenseth, takes on a new look and picks up a passenger this weekend at Kansas Speedway as Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) and AdventHealth race to highlight breast cancer awareness. The No. 42 AdventHealth Chevrolet will include pink accents to honor and celebrate breast cancer patients and remind women to be proactive about their health. Over the passenger door, the car will also feature the name of a local breast cancer survivor, Kirstin Blocker, who was treated at the AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission.

Prior to getting on track, as a way of showing support and gratitude for the work done by AdventHealth’s care teams, CGR and Ross Chastain, who has driven for AdventHealth this year, stopped by the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus with Ross Chastain to unveil the car and do burnouts in the parking lot. Kirstin Blocker and her family were in attendance to help unveil the car. Additionally, Chastain and Kenseth virtually met with patients to hear their stories and show their support. The virtual visits were made possible thanks to Caregility, a CGR partner that provides an all-in-one telehealth platform enabling agile and effective care for patients everywhere.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

  • The Power of Pink – On Oct. 16, 2019, Kirstin Blocker felt a lump in her underarm. The then 44-year-old mom of five was in great health, an avid exerciser and had no family history of breast cancer. Seeing all the pink Breast Cancer Awareness Month promotion encouraged her to schedule a mammogram, just to be safe. On Nov. 8, 2019, one day before her 45th birthday, Kirstin was diagnosed with Stage III metastatic breast cancer. In total shock of her diagnosis, she became a patient of the AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission the next day and began an intensive treatment plan that included chemotherapy, radiation, and a double mastectomy. Today, one year after finding her initial lump, Kirstin has no evidence of the disease. She is passionate about sharing her story because she knows there are many women who may have the same thoughts she did, but who won’t schedule a mammogram until it’s too late. She wants to encourage all women to be proactive about their health, especially her four daughters.
  • Helping People Feel Whole – AdventHealth, one of the nation’s largest faith-based health systems, is actively engaged in helping people in the Kansas City area fight breast cancer, and other cancers, through the expert care teams at the AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission. The center is a nationally recognized cancer treatment facility, with physicians having access to a wide range of care resources, including disease-specific and evidence-based treatment guidelines, safety practices, and professional education. AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission collaborates with other nationally recognized cancer centers, bringing together decades of expertise, multidisciplinary care, and research to provide patients in the Kansas City region with the highest level of care possible.

QUOTEBOARD:

  • Dr. Simran Elder, High Risk Breast Clinic Medical Director, AdventHealth: “We are so grateful to Matt and Ross and the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team for their willingness to highlight breast cancer awareness in Kansas City this weekend. Kristin Blocker and her family are an inspiration to many others currently fighting or who will soon fight breast cancer, and we look forward to honoring her on the No. 42 car at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 18,” said Simran Elder, MD.
  • Ross Chastain, NASCAR Driver, AdventHealth: “It was great to be at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission today to honor the many women who are fighting breast cancer and to celebrate with those women who have thankfully beat cancer. It’s not always an easy topic to discuss, but hopefully the No. 42 car will be a good reminder to everyone to take an active role in monitoring their health. It was also nice to thank the great care staff at Shawnee Mission for the work they do every day to support patients in this area and help them feel whole.”

About AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission:

AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission is a nationally recognized cancer treatment facility. The physicians at the cancer center can access a wide range of care resources, including disease-specific and evidence-based treatment guidelines, safety practices, and professional education. AdventHealth Cancer Center Shawnee Mission collaborates with other nationally recognized cancer centers, bringing together decades of expertise, multidisciplinary care, and research to provide patients in the Kansas City region with the highest level of care possible.

About AdventHealth:

With a sacred mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. More than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers provide individualized, wholistic care. A shared vision, common values, focus on whole-person health and commitment to making communities healthier unify the system’s 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout almost a dozen states.

For more information about AdventHealth, visit AdventHealth.com, or //Facebook.com/AdventHealth.

About Chip Ganassi Racing:

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include three cars in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and two cars in the NASCAR Cup Series. Overall his teams have 19 championships and over 225 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, eight Rolex 24 At Daytonas, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh.

For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com

Corey Heim takes ARCA victory at Kansas, Bret Holmes claims ARCA championship

By
Briar Starr
-
Photo Courtesy of Barry Cantrell/ARCA Racing

The 2020 ARCA Menards Series season finally reached its conclusion with the season finale Friday night in the Heartland at Kansas Speedway.

Only two drivers had a chance at the championship, Bret Holmes and Michael Self, and neither has ever won an ARCA title. While the battle was competitive on track, the 2020 championship eventually went to Holmes after five years of trying. With determination and a never give up attitude even when at times he wanted to give up racing entirely, Holmes finally prevailed.

“It’s been a tough road, for sure,” said Holmes. “Everything we’ve done has just been phenomenal this season, every decision we’ve made. To come out and not even know we were going to run the full season, and to finish it off like this, is really special.”

With an ARCA title on the line, there was also a race winner to be had in the 100 lap race as well. Three segments split up the 100 lapper, with the first segment ending on Lap 30, second on Lap 60 and the final on Lap 100. Ty Gibbs, who ultimately took home the Owner’s Championship qualified on the pole.

Segment 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

The action was intense early for championship contender Michael Self. Self, in the No. 25 SinClair Lubricants Toyota, started to experience fuel pick up problems on Lap 21 of the race. The issue eventually put the Park City, Utah native a lap down through the rest of the segment, but he was the recipient of the free pass when Segment 1 ended.

Also experiencing problems was the polesitter, Ty Gibbs. At Lap 28, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team pushed the Monster Energy Toyota behind the wall for multiple laps. It wasn’t until the end of the second segment that Gibbs would return to the racetrack, but multiple laps down.

As the first segment wrapped up on Lap 30, Venturini Motorsports driver Corey Heim was in first, with Holmes, Derek Griffith, Hailie Deegan, Self, Drew Dollar, Dylan Lupton, Kris Wright, Scott Melton, and Eric Caudell completing the Top 10.

Segment 2: Lap 33 – Lap 60

The second segment was caution-free with Heim leading the field to the second break that occurred on Lap 60.

Segment 3: Lap 64 – Lap 100

With Heim pulling away from the field, the focus was on the two title contenders, Self and Holmes, who were battling in the top five. Self rebounded to a fifth-place running position after the fuel pickup problem earlier in the race.

As the checkered flag flew on Lap 100, Corey Heim collected his first-ever checkered flag while Self, unfortunately, fell short for a second consecutive year. Holmes finally took home his first ARCA Menards Series championship in 81 starts since 2016. Self was runner-up in the points finishing 12 points behind Holmes.

“Really surreal right now, man,” said Heim of his first ARCA Menards Series victory. “I’m kind of at a loss for words. Craftsman, Toyota, Venturini Motorsports, all the people who make it happen, couldn’t have done it without them. [Crew chief Kevin Reed Jr.] here, he did an awesome job just dialing me in. We were a little loose throughout the race, but I couldn’t have asked for much more on that last run, and here we are in victory lane. Couldn’t be happier.”

Heim dominated the race by leading 82 of the scheduled 100 laps, en route to his first ARCA Menards Series victory in just 16 starts.

There were two leaders among two different lead changes.

Official Results following the Speediatrics 150 at Kansas Speedway.

  1. Corey Heim, led 82 laps
  2. Bret Holmes, led 18 laps
  3. Derek Griffith
  4. Dylan Lupton
  5. Michael Self
  6. Hailie Deegan
  7. Kris Wright
  8. Drew Dollar, 1 lap down
  9. Scott Melton, 3 laps down
  10. Eric Caudell, 4 laps down
  11. Tim Richmond, 6 laps down
  12. Mike Basham, 9 laps down
  13. Chandler Smith, 19 laps down
  14. Ty Gibbs, 40 laps down
  15. Brad Smith, OUT, Engine
  16. Owen Smith, OUT, Clutch
  17. Wayne Peterson, OUT, Brakes
  18. Alex Clubb, OUT, Vibration

Up Next: After a hectic season and some major rescheduling, the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season is finally completed. Now, the focus will turn to the off-season and toward the 2021 season as well. Normally, an ARCA Open Test at Daytona takes place in January, but nothing has been officially announced as of this writing.

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