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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Buescher and Preece Post Top 10 Homestead Runs

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Straight Talk 400
Sunday, March 23, 2025 — Homestead-Miami Speedway

Ford Unofficial Finishing Results:

6th – Chris Buescher
9th – Ryan Preece
11th – Zane Smith
14th – Joey Logano
16th – Noah Gragson
17th – Josh Berry
19th – Austin Cindric
26th – Brad Keselowski
28th – Cole Custer
30th – Todd Gilliand
34th – Cody Ware
36th – Ryan Blaney

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was good. I feel like it was one of my best Homestead races and without the speeding penalty it could have been a really awesome points day. I thought we had a lot of versatility in our Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang and I thought that was important for keeping track position and gaining track position. I thought my guys did a really solid job on pit road today. A lot of the right pieces to execute, but I just dropped the ball on my end on the speed. A hundredth of a mile an hour, so that stings, so we have little bit to clean up but I’m proud of the total effort by everybody today.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Farm Rich Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We used this Kroger/Farm Rich Ford Mustang up today, but it was a pretty fun day. We made some progress on it, but we still have some tweaks to be better. We’ll work on that, but this was a pretty solid Homestead given where we were the last go-round. The team made some good adjustments and we had a strong restart and was able to hang on. I wish we could have gotten one more. We were definitely faster than the 11, but we were kind of stuck in one lane and it’s the lane he wanted to run too. I just couldn’t find a lane to get by, but, overall, it’s good to be that fast down here. I’m excited.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Obviously, the incident on pit road kind of set us back, but our car was pretty decent. It just wasn’t quite the same after that, but I thought we did a good job of making the most of it. It could have been a lot worse, but obviously would have liked to been a little bit better.”

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Aaron’s Rent to Own Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I obviously knew our car had some speed in it, but we were going into today with me wishing it just drove a little bit better to manage throughout a run, and I feel like we more than accomplished that. The gains we made overnight were great. I was looking for more of a front end and we really accomplished that, and with that it kind of gave me the opportunity to run the bottom when a lot of people were up top. They would go bottom to try to block and I was still able to maintain up there and never really had to use the fence into one and two. I had that mistake on my end, but fortunately it was early in the race and was able to battle back from it. I knew our car was good enough to, but you just never know how these are gonna play out, especially when you lose track position. I was just really proud of the effort.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – SECOND STRAIGHT TOP 10 TODAY. “I felt like it went pretty well today. We made an adjustment there and lost a bunch of track position, but we were definitely pretty happy with how the car was and put it back to where it was and drove forward. I’m definitely pretty happy. This is something that I’m pretty proud of and I feel like if we can just keep consistently doing it, we’ll be good.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU FEEL INSIDE THE CAR? “I didn’t have any warning. It just laid over when I got back to wide-open down the front and that was all she wrote. It just stinks. We had a really fast Dent Wizard Ford Mustang. We led a lot of laps. We lost a little bit of track position there with some stuff on pit road, but got back to third and it was a great race between me and Bubba and Larson. I’m sure Denny was gonna get back into it. It was gonna be a heck of a battle the last 60 laps or so, but it just didn’t really work out for us. We’ll continue to keep fighting. I appreciate the 12 guys for just giving me a hot rod. It was an incredibly, incredibly fast race car today. We’ll keep our heads up. It’s just one of those things where it’s not really going our way right now, but the good news is we’re bringing fast cars and that’s all you can ask for. We’ll keep on moving.”

Double Top-Ten For Meyer Shank Racing at The Thermal Club

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Official Release
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#60: Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda
  • Felix Rosenqvist finishes fifth, Marcus Armstrong finishes seventh
  • First dual top-10 result for MSR since Mid-Ohio 2022
  • Both MSR cars started in top 10 for second consecutive race

Thermal, Calif. – (23 March 2025) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) put together one of its strongest NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekends of the last few seasons, putting both of its cars in the top 10 for the first time since 2022 in claiming fifth and seventh in Sunday’s Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix.

Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) fought back after losing some early positions and earned a season-best fifth-place finish to lead the MSR results. The Swede was joined in the top 10 by teammate Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM / Root Insurance Honda), whose seventh-place result marked his first top 10 since joining the Ohio-based team in the offseason.

The race results were buoyed by another solid qualifying session as both cars (Armstrong, 7th; Rosenqvist, 9th) started in the top 10. The qualifying result saw Rosenqvist start 10th or better for the fifth consecutive race, dating back to the end of the 2024 season and is the first time that MSR has started an INDYCAR SERIES season with back-to-back double top-10 qualifiers.

The team stayed true to its strategy on a very warm day in Thermal, California where the 17-turn, 3.067-mile circuit made tire choices a key component of the plan. Both MSR Hondas started on the harder black-walled Firestone tires and Armstrong ran well, but Rosenqvist dropped five spots on the opening stint before using the softer, grippier red sidewalled shoes for the rest of the 95-lap race.

Rosenqvist made the added grip pay off as the veteran battled back into the top 10 and was in sixth after the completion of the final round of pit stops. Both MSR cars showed late-race speed as well, with Rosenqvist climbing into the top five with less than five laps to go. Armstrong ran in the top 10 all day long as well and vaulted to seventh with two passes in the waning laps. The strong finishes were the third and fourth top-10 placings of the season and were the 39th and 40th in MSR team history.

The team will have a few weeks to plan for continued success as the INDYCAR SERIES season resumes with an April 13 trip to Southern California for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which is the oldest street-course event on the schedule.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: “It was a weird one, we really struggled on the blacks in the first stint. Luckily we got off them pretty quick cause we struggled and then we just did the whole race on reds. We were the opposite on reds, we were really good, one of the strongest cars I think. We capitalized on that and picked up a few cars in the end and ended P5. I would say that’s a pretty good day from P9. It was a game of patience, kind of just going a little bit slower than you want to, to be quick at the end. It was a game of chess.”

Marcus Armstrong: “It was a long race, so I really struggled on used alternates. I wasn’t happy with the balance of the car, but we slowly made adjustments through the race and then put some new reds on at the end and we were pretty rapid. It’s a shame that the used tire runs were so tricky, but I’m glad that we made up some ground at the end and finished where we started.”

Justin Allgaier scores upset Xfinity victory at Homestead; cashes in on first Dash 4 Cash bonus in 2025

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Kapil Chaudhari for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Justin Allgaier spoiled Kyle Larson’s bid for a triple-header weekend sweep at Homestead-Miami Speedway and cashed in on a big payday by notching a thrilling overtime victory in the Hard Rock Bet 300 on Saturday, March 22.

The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion led five times for 21 of 201 over-scheduled laps. He started in fourth place and raced upfront in the early stages, leading 20 of the first 45 laps. He claimed a top-six result following the first stage period. Then, after being sent to the rear of the field due to driving through too many pit stalls during the stage break period, Allgaier would rally to finish eighth following the second stage period, and he would proceed to march back up into the top five throughout the final stage period.

Then, while racing in fourth place with eight laps remaining, an opportunity presented itself to Allgaier when pole-sitter Taylor Gray spun through the frontstretch and placed a hold on Kyle Larson’s double-digit advantage and the road to a second victory of the weekend. After pitting and restarting in the top five, Allgaier pushed Hill ahead of Larson for the lead before Allgaier challenged Hill for the top spot during the penultimate lap. After drag-racing with Hill through the frontstretch to start the final lap, Allgaier muscled ahead of Hill with the lead. He then fended off the field through a final circuit to snatch his second consecutive victory in recent weeks and notch the first Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2025 campaign.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Saturday, rookie Taylor Gray notched his first Xfinity career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 163.320 mph in 33.064 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Connor Zilisch, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 162.930 mph in 33.143 seconds.

Prior to the event, Josh Williams dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change after Ty Dillon qualified in Williams’ entry as Williams was battling illness. Brandon Jones also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry. Kyle Sieg would also start at the rear of the field due to an at-track inspection penalty.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Taylor Gray muscled ahead with the lead from the inside lane entering the first two turns. As Gray proceeded to lead through the backstretch, Connor Zilisch battled and fended off rookie Nick Sanchez for second place before rookie Christian Eckes, Sanchez, Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer all fanned out and battled for third place in front of Ryan Sieg entering Turns 3 and 4. Amid the battles, Gray led the first lap.

Over the next four laps, Gray maintained a steady lead over a hard-charging Allgaier while Sam Mayer, Zilisch and Justin Bonsignore were racing in the top five. By then, rookie Carson Kvapil served a drive-through penalty through pit road due to a start violation while Kyle Larson, who started in 17th place, carved his way up into the top-10 mark.

Then on the sixth lap, Allgaier dueled and overtook Gray for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Two laps later, Gray would challenge Allgaier to reclaim the lead entering the backstretch, but Allgaier fended off Gray’s attempt through the backstretch. With Allgaier leading by three-tenths of a second over Gray at the Lap 10 mark, Mayer continued to race in third place while Larson was up into fourth place ahead of Zilisch.

On Lap 15, Eckes, who was running eighth, had smoke billowing underneath his No. 16 Campers Inn Chevrolet Camaro entry entering the backstretch. Despite Eckes’ quick action in pulling his entry below the track, the event’s first caution flew. At the time of caution, Allgaier was leading Mayer, Larson, Gray, and Sheldon Creed while Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Austin Hill, Sanchez, and Harrison Burton were in the top 10.

During the caution period, some including Myatt Snider and those racing at the rear of the field pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

The start of the following restart period on Lap 23 featured Allgaier fending off Larson as the field fanned out exiting the frontstretch and entering the first two turns. The field continued to fan out through the backstretch as Allgaier proceeded to lead the following lap over Larson and Mayer. With Zilisch and Ryan Sieg racing for fourth, Mayer then tried to make his move beneath Larson and Allgaier for the lead entering Turn 3, but he slid up entering the turn. This allowed Larson to get underneath and duel with Allgaier to lead at the Lap 25 mark while Mayer slipped to third place. After dueling with Allgaier, Larson muscled his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead with the lead. In the process, Mayer slid in front of Allgaier through the first two turns to take second place.

Then on Lap 29, the caution returned due to Kris Wright spinning from the top to the bottom in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including Corey Heim, Myatt Snider, Mason Maggio and Kyle Sieg pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on track.

With the event restarting on Lap 33, Larson muscled ahead from the inside lane entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to fend off Allgaier through the backstretch before he dueled with him through the frontstretch and before the ensuing lap.

On Lap 34, Larson muscled ahead of Allgaier entering the backstretch and he used the outside wall to fend off Allgaier before the frontstretch to lead the next lap. As Larson and Allgaier continued to battle, Mayer closed in from third place while Hill and Creed trailed in the top five. By Lap 37, Kyle Sieg, who pitted during the previous caution, muscled up to fifth place while Larson led by half a second over Allgaier.

Then on Lap 36, trouble ensued as Justin Bonsignore, who was racing in the top 15, slipped sideways while trying to race underneath teammate Gray and Harrison Burton before he spun from the top to the bottom of the track in Turn 4. With the caution flying, Bonsignore managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra entry. During the caution period, some including Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Sammy Smith and Kvapil pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

With the event restarting with four laps remaining in the first stage period, Larson rocketed ahead from the inside lane ahead of Allgaier and Mayer while the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to lead through the backstretch before Allgaier made another run beneath Larson and dueled with him through the frontstretch. As they dueled, Leland Honeyman, Mayer and Kyle Sieg joined the battle. For the following lap, however, Larson used the outside lane to muscle back ahead. Allgaier would try to close in entering Turn 3, but he slid up and it allowed both Mayer and Sieg to close in on Larson for the lead.

With two laps remaining in the first stage period, Kyle Sieg made a move beneath Mayer and Larson through the first two turns to assume lead. Sieg would proceed to pull away over the next lap and Sammy Smith, who pitted, assumed second from Larson while Allgaier and Mayer pursued.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Sammy Smith overtook Kyle Sieg exiting backstretch and muscled away to claim his first stage victory of the 2025 campaign. Kyle Sieg finished second ahead of Ryan Sieg, Larson and Mayer while Allgaier, Leland Honeyman, Creed, Love and Austin Hill were scored in the top 10, respectively.

During the first stage break, a majority of the field led by Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton and including Kvapil, Blaine Perkins, Kris Wright, Parker Retzlaff and Bonsignore remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Sammy Smith exited first ahead of Larson, Allgaier, Love, Mayer, Sanchez, Hill, Zilisch, Kyle Sieg and Honeyman, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for driving through too many pit stalls before entering his.

The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Harrison Burton and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, the field scattered and fanned out. Kvapil dueled and muscled ahead of Burton to assume the lead entering the backstretch. With Kvapil leading, Love and Larson navigated into the top three before drawing even with Kvapil through the frontstretch. Both Love and Larson used the inside lane and fresh tires to storm ahead. They were followed by Mayer while Kvapil slipped to fourth in front of Sammy Smith and Hill. Back at the front, Love muscled ahead to lead the Lap 55 mark.

On Lap 58, Mayer overtook Love entering the first two turns. Mayer proceeded to lead by half a second over Love by Lap 60 before Larson overtook the latter for second. Behind, Hill and Sammy Smith were in the top five ahead of Zilisch, Bonsignore, Creed, Kvapil and Sanchez. Behind, Harrison Burton, Gray, Kyle Sieg, Retzlaff and Brandon Jones were racing in the top 15. Meanwhile, Allgaier, who was trying to rally from his pit road penalty, was mired back in 22nd place.

By Lap 65, Mayer continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Larson. Love trailed by more than two seconds in third. At the time when Mayer was leading, Hill and Zilisch trailed in the top five. Mayer led by three-tenths of a second over Larson on Lap 70 and by a tenth of a second at Lap 75. Larson continued to gain more ground on Mayer. As Larson attempted to gain runs through the turns, Mayer used the straightaways and muscle ahead with a reasonable gap.

Just past the Lap 80 mark and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Larson, who spent the last several laps trimming Mayer’s lead, got underneath Mayer through the backstretch on Lap 80. Larson then used the inside through Turns 3 and 4 to move into the lead in front of Mayer. Despite approaching more lapped traffic, Larson retained the lead by seven-tenths over Mayer. Creed, Hill and Zilisch completed the top five.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Larson captured the stage victory over Mayer. Creed, Hill, Zilisch,  Sanchez, Love, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones would settle in the top 10, respectively.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first. Hill, Mayer, Zilisch, Love, Creed, Jones, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Sanchez followed in the top 10.

With 104 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Larson and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Larson continued flexing his restart muscles by muscling away entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to lead over Mayer and Love while Hill dropped to fourth place. Amid the on-track pressure, Larson led the following lap. Despite pressure from Mayer, Larson continued to lead with 100 laps left. By then, all four Dash 4 Cash competitors were racing in the top six as Mayer, Love, Hill and Allgaier were racing second, third, fourth and sixth, respectively.

Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Larson was leading by more than a second over Mayer while Love, Hill and Allgaier were racing in the top five. Behind, Nick Sanchez occupied sixth place ahead of Creed, Gray, Zilisch and Jones while Sammy Smith, Bonsignore, Harrison Burton, rookie Daniel Dye, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Williams, Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo and rookie 2Dean Thompson occupied the top-20 spots.

Fifteen laps later, Larson extended his lead to three seconds over Mayer while Hill, Allgaier and Love were in the top five. Two laps earlier, Bonsignore pitted due to sustaining a flat right-front and right-side damage to his entry. Another 15 laps later, Larson continued to increase his advantage as he was leading by five seconds over Mayer as Hill, Allgaier and Creed were in the top five. Earlier, Allgaier scraped the wall exiting the backstretch, but he continued under race pace and without drawing a caution.

Shortly after, green flag pit stops commenced as Sammy Smith pitted his No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet Camaro entry. More names including Gray, Kvapil, Jones, Creed, Love, Mayer and Hill would pit over the next five laps before Larson pitted from the lead with 54 laps remaining. Allgaier would also follow Larson to pit for service. With nearly the entire field having made a pit stop, Larson cycled back into the lead after Connor Zilisch pitted with 52 laps remaining. Larson proceeded to lead by four seconds over Mayer with 50 laps remaining. Behind, Hill, Love and Allgaier were in the top five.

With 40 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead by three seconds over Mayer. Hill, Allgaier and Love trailed by double digits in the top-five mark. As the laps dwindled, Creed, Jones, Sanchez, Gray and Kvapil were mired in the top 10. Larson led by five seconds over Mayer with 35 laps remaining. Fifteen laps later, Larson extended his lead to 11 seconds over Mayer. Hill continued to race in third place despite trailing by 19 seconds while Allgaier, Creed and Love trailed by within 30 seconds. Shortly after, Sammy Smith made an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat right front to his entry. Amid Smith’s late-race issue, the race remained green.

Entering the final 10 laps of the event, Larson, who weaved through a bevy of lapped traffic earlier, was leading by 14 seconds over Mayer. Behind, Hill and Allgaier trailed by within 24 seconds, Creed trailed by 32 seconds and Love followed suit in sixth place by 34 seconds.

Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when Taylor Gray made contact with the outside wall and spun his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra entry through the frontstretch. The caution all but erased Larson’s large advantage over the field as only five competitors were scored on the lead lap. During the caution period, the leaders pitted and Larson easily exited first ahead of Mayer, Hill, Allgaier and Creed.

With the event restarting in overtime, Larson nearly got sideways after he got in the rear by Mayer. With Larson also stumbling to launch, Hill rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane. He was pursued by Allgaier while Larson was trying to fend off Mayer, Creed and Love for third place through the first two turns. Then in the backstretch, Allgaier drew even with Hill. They dueled before Allgaier started to emerge ahead through Turns 3 and 4 and the backstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill held a narrow lead over Allgaier through the frontstretch before Allgaier used the inside lane to power his No. 7 TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of Hill with the lead. As Allgaier drove away through the backstretch, Mayer challenged Hill for the runner-up spot as Larson pursued in fourth. With his challengers unable to mount a final charge through the final turn, Allgaier would stabilize his advantage and cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he streaked across the checkered flag in first place for an upset Xfinity victory in Miami.

With the victory, Allgaier became the first repeat winner in the 2025 Xfinity Series season. He also notched his 27th career win in the Xfinity circuit and his second in a row after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. The victory was his first at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was also the fifth of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third of the year for JR Motorsports.

As an added bonus, Allgaier cashed in on the first Dash 4 Cash bonus of $100,000 by both winning the race and finishing ahead of his program rivals Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Jesse Love.

“[It’s] Just a testament [of] this team,” Allgaier said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “I always say God is good and today’s one of those days where it wasn’t our day. We got behind and we were able to persevere and get this TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet in Victory Lane. It’s special, but I told you yesterday if there’s anywhere I could win, it would be here because I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.

“Crew chief] Jim Pohlman told me right there at the end [that] we got a shot at it and we did. I was actually bummed t see the caution come out [with eight laps remaining] and it worked out in our favor. I’m bummed that I, maybe, got the triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at it tomorrow, but we were in the right place at the right time. I’m really proud of this race team.”

Sam Mayer, who led 22 laps, finished in second place for the second time in 2025 and Austin Hill came home in third place. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 132 laps and was pursuing a historic triple-header sweep in Homestead, ended up in fourth place while Sheldon Creed finished in fifth place.

As a result, Allgaier will square off against Hill, Mayer and Creed for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus next Saturday, March 29, at Martinsville Speedway.

Jesse Love, who received the free pass prior to overtime, finished in sixth place while Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil completed the top 10 in the final running order.

Notably, the following names that include Harrison Burton, Connor Zilisch, Jeb Burton, Justin Bonsignore, Josh Williams, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Taylor Gray, rookie William Sawalich and Jeremy Clements finished 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 26th, respectively.

There were 19 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 31 laps. In addition, 11 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the sixth event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 29 points over Sam Mayer, 31 over Jesse Love, 47 over Austin Hill, 62 over Sheldon Creed, and 65 over Sammy Smith.

Race Results:

1. Justin Allgaier, 21 laps led
2. Sam Mayer, 22 laps led
3. Austin Hill, two laps led
4. Kyle Larson, 132 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Jesse Love, four laps led
7. Brandon Jones
8. Nick Sanchez
9. Daniel Dye
10. Carson Kvapil, one lap led
11. Harrison Burton, six laps led
12. Connor Zilisch, one lap down, two laps led
13. Dean Thompson, one lap down
14. Brennan Poole, one lap down
15. Jeb Burton, one lap down
16. Justin Bonsignore, one lap down
17. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down
18. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down
19. Josh Williams, one lap down
20. Ryan Ellis, one lap down
21. Sammy Smith, two laps down, three laps led, Stage 1 winner
22. Ryan Sieg, two laps down
23. Taylor Gray, two laps down, seven laps led
24. William Sawalich, two laps down
25. Blaine Perkins, two laps down
26. Jeremy Clements, two laps down
27. Kyle Sieg, three laps down, one lap led
28. Brad Perez, three laps down
29. Joey Gase, three laps down
30. Myatt Snider, three laps down
31. Garrett Smithley, four laps down
32. Kris Wright, four laps down
33. Patrick Emerling, four laps down
34. Leland Honeyman, five laps down
35. Mason Maggio, five laps down
36. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Electrical
37. Corey Heim – OUT, Electrical
38. Christian Eckes – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, for the US Marine Corps 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, March 29, and air at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Team Chevy The Thermal Club Qualifying Recap

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
THE THERMAL CLUB INDYCAR GRAND PRIX
THE THERMAL CLUB
THERMAL, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUALIFYING RECAP
MARCH 22, 2025

ARROW MCLAREN WITH CHEVROLET POWER SCORES FRONT ROW LOCK-OUT AT THE THERMAL CLUB

PATO O’WARD WINS POLE WITH TEAMMATE CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD ALONG SIDE

· Pato O’Ward blasted to his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole since Mid-Ohio in 2022

o It is O’Ward’s sixth career NTT Pole Award, all behind the wheel of an Arrow McLaren Chevy

· It is the second consecutive pole for Chevrolet in 2025

o Scott McLaughlin won the pole for the Streets of St. Petersburg

· Today’s second place qualifying result for Christian Lundgaard is his fifth career front row start, and his first with Chevrolet power

· Alexander Rossi in only his second race in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet was the third member of Team Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six

o Rossi will roll off sixth on Sunday

· Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, missed the Fast 12 by only two-thousandths of a second

· Chevrolet has 137 earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 141 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather.

The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix Sunday race day opens with a warm-up session on FS1 at 11 a.m. ET. The 65-lap, 199.36-mile main event takes the green flag live with new NTT INDYCAR SERIES partner FOX on Sunday live at 3 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying sessions broadcast with INDYCAR

Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 17th:

“We just weren’t quick. All of us didn’t look fantastic in our group. I mean I think if you’re saying you need three-, four-tenths, I think we could’ve put that together on the red tire. I had some traffic at the end of my run. I don’t know who it was, I think it was probably (Rinus) VeeKay. It was probably a tenth or two in that final sector. And then dropped a little time personally in turn nine. I think I could see getting a transfer spot out of that, just maybe losing sort of the major speed that we’re going to need. I felt really good going into qualifying. I thought our car was in a good window. Obviously, we’re going to have to find some speed for tomorrow now, but we can always make something happen. I always feel good with Team Penske. Always lookout for the PPG Chevy, we can go to the front.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified, 25th:

“Honestly, I felt like the car was okay. It was just hard to get a read without doing that first run. That’s pretty much on me. Obviously, the whole team is struggling a little bit. It’s surprising because we actually felt pretty good. We’ll fight any way we’ve got and the XPEL Chevy will be at the front tomorrow.”

David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Qualified, 12th:

“It was good run for us. I mean, we were struggling in the practice sessions to find the setup where we wanted to be but we did a really good job estimating on what it needed for the alternates. Obviously, we committed to just go alternates and use both of them in that first round because the pace didn’t really seem there. It all worked out because the second set, somebody dropped a wheel and ruined everybody’s lap, so we still got that first lap in. So, let’s just say it’s a good day from what has been a tough weekend for us trying to find the setup. The race is going to be a primary tire race, so we need to make sure that we can get the No. 4 Chevrolet where it needs to be for the primaries.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Qualified POLE:

“Just seeing where we were here last year, the team has done a great job with bringing a car that’s more consistent, faster, and we’ve definitely brought some performance. So, super stoked to see it. We’ve locked our front row so great job to Christian (Lundgaard) as well. He’s been quick, so we’ll see what tomorrow holds. It’ll be a hectic race with the tires deg and I think we’re going to be thanking our strategy if we have a good race. We weren’t so happy with the overnight changes so we kind of fell back to where we started the weekend. The car is in the window for sure. Maybe not for Q1 so much, but we dialed it in and we got it done.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Qualified, 16th:

“Honestly, I feel like all weekend the execution has been alright on all of our laps and all of our runs. Just been lacking a bit, so I don’t really know. I felt like it was a pretty solid run and a solid lap, and it felt good enough that if you told me we were up at the top, I would believe you. So, a little confused, but I think our race pace will be better. We could be worse, we certainly hoped we’d be better but this is where we’re at.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Qualified 2nd:

“Throughout qualifying, I think I”m pretty happy. Obviously bummed to get second over first. I think we had a car to be on pole. I think we proved that as a team. Front row lockout, we’re just apparently copy and paste what the F1 team is doing.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified, 21st:

“We had been quick in every single session until that red tire run then. Just didn’t start the first lap on them well so I aborted it. Then, you’ve used them a little bit and there’s only one lap you’ve got. I was, man, surprised. I mean, I gave up three-tenths on the first corner of the start of the lap, so that is on me there. It’s the not the seconds we’re looking for like (Alex) Palou did. It’s not even fathomable for us to get to that lap time, but the top-six maybe if we’re lucky.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Qualified, 14th:

“It was a solid run. I think we did a really good job as a team. I just had a couple mistakes in the lap, which add up to a little bit, so we should have advanced but it was a good learning curve. Feel good about the Sexton Properties Chevrolet going into tomorrow. Good to pass some people and come home with a top five.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Qualified :

“It was a good session for the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet. It’s been a struggle throughout the weekend. We had delays with getting laps in because of some hybrid issues, but we finally had a smooth session and were able to qualify in the Fast 6. That’s the potential we have had, but there is still work to do as we switch into race mode. It’s a good start to what will hopefully be a strong Sunday for us tomorrow!”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 19th:

“That was not the qualifying we were hoping for. We are starting the weekends super well, but are struggling to level up as much as we need to session to session. We will see what happens, it’s a long race tomorrow and tire deg is going to be a huge thing. If we can manage that, we have a good chance for a decent result. I would just love to start farther up, especially after a couple of practice sessions where we had good pace. Just a little frustrated!”

Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Qualified, 15th :

“Really happy with the progress we made today. I think we had almost nailed the perfect lap, and the tires might’ve just fallen out of the window on the last corner and I made a small mistake which cost us the transfer. Tough. My bad on that one for sure, but the team gave me a great car to fight for the transfer spot. To start P15 here at a track I haven’t been at in a long time, it feels really good. It’s going to be a tough race, but thankful for the progress we made and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Sting Ray, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 24th:

“Qualifying was fairly disappointing. I think we had a lot more ability than what we showed. Unfortunately didn’t put a lap together and just missed it. It’s a really tight field, so that means little mistakes take care of a lot of positions. Unfortunately we’ll start from the back. I think we’ve got a decent car on reds, We’ll race forward and I think that we will do well.”

Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Chevrolet, Qualified 27th:

“This weekend so far has been extremely bad as we did not complete any laps in Free Practice. The team did an incredible effort overnight to build a new car but with the very limited running it was very unbalanced as a result. For my first push lap, it felt okay until Turn Four but then, I just locked up and the tires were already gone. I thought with the second set I could try to improve something to try to change the car balance a bit, but then I had a drive-through, so I didn’t manage to put in a final lap. It is unbelievable how unlucky we have been so far this season.”

Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Chevrolet, Qualified, 22nd:

It was not the not the best session. We weren’t in the right balance when I was out on the Primaries and tried to make it better for the Alternates, but it wasn’t perfect and just couldn’t quite get it together. We still have a lot to learn from everything so far this weekend. It’s very hot and it doesn’t make it easy for us, but this race with the heat and tire degradation there’s probably quite a lot of room to move forwards. But we will have to work overnight and see on race day.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Pato O’Ward

Christian Lundgaard

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Once again, good afternoon, everyone.

Celebrating front row for tomorrow’s Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, we have an all McLaren front row. Christian Lundgaard, who will start 2nd, is on his way.

Joined now though by Pato O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. This first NTT P1 Award since Mid-Ohio in 2022, sixth career pole, also the first McLaren pole since Felix Rosenqvist did that in 2023 at Laguna Seca.

Congratulations. Big step towards what could be a very big weekend for you.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, glad to be back here. Glad to be back here towards the front of the field. Great job by the guys and gals in our McLaren Team Chevy. Team Chevy lockout along with our McLaren lockout.

Super pumped. Really happy with how we turned things around. I would say we didn’t start the day amazing. Q1 was kind of getting there. We just made a bit of an adjustment, and it just brought the car alive in Q2. It felt good.

THE MODERATOR: How on edge are these cars on this track?

PATO O’WARD: Not a lot. You used to have them a lot on the edge without the hybrid, but with all this weight in the rear, they just plow like pigs really.

THE MODERATOR: Technical term.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, it’s a bit of a shame because they feel like they can go a lot faster, but we can’t really get them there to that edge where maybe I have put it in the past.

Yeah, happy with today.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations.

Obviously, Christian Lundgaard will complete the front row in tomorrow’s race, driving the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, first front row start since the NDGP last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Your thoughts on an all front row, all McLaren front row for tomorrow, Christian?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: We’re just trying to copy what they do in Formula 1.

No, I think it’s great. We had the pace all weekend, and we didn’t quite get to show it in Practice 1. I certainly think we showed it earlier today.

It’s just important to be there when it counts, and we were today. Let’s keep that momentum going forward.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations.

Q. Pato and Christian, I’m going to say what won you the pole was how close you were on used Reds, how fast you were on the new Reds. You were only a tenth difference, Pato, I think, on your used Reds between what you run on new Reds. Was that something you guys concentrated on, or did you do something different?

PATO O’WARD: We were exploring. It’s a very tough surface on the tire, a very sensitive to temperature. So you have to get it in the window. You can’t get too greedy with it.

I mean, I would say it’s not the first time that we — going out on that set of tires that I had, I had done one flier, and that was basically the one I went on in Q3. So wasn’t very different to what I did maybe in Q1, having two laps on the Reds. They held up a lot better than I thought really.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I thought the alternate tires are going to be better than I think we expected going into the weekend.

But I always find, when you go into the Firestone Fast Six, you expect a slight drop-off on the alternate, but I always feel like you’re able to either match or potentially go a little faster, and I think we saw that today. So I think that’s a sign for tomorrow too.

THE MODERATOR: Just confirming this is the first front row sweep for Arrow McLaren since during the Series ahead of the 2020 season. Previous best was a first and third place start at Texas in 2023.

Q. For both of you, how much tire wear are you seeing on the alternates? Do you think — I mean, could this be — would the alternates be the primaries tomorrow by any chance?

PATO O’WARD: No one’s run them long enough, like just there’s no data on continuous laps. There’s just kind of one flier here, one flier there.

I think warmup might be able to tell us a little bit more, but it’s also going to be like 40 degrees cooler. I think we’re just in for a show in the race.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think ultimately I agree with what Pato is saying. I think — personally, I don’t think it’s going to be as big of a drop-off as we expected going into the race weekend leaving St. Petersburg.

Again, we don’t have much data on it, so it’s going to be interesting. I think all options are open for tomorrow.

Q. For Pato, they looked at several — you know, seeing if people were impeding others. They looked at Alex and whether he impeded you. They said no issue. Alex said that he was going as fast as he could on the tires that he had. Is tomorrow going to be any different as far as just with drivers are on different tires, just how much you’re catching them and how you’re going to get past them?

PATO O’WARD: I don’t know why I feel like it’s going to be like an Old Iowa. I know Iowa is a short oval and this is a road course, but I think tomorrow is going to be very reminiscent of what Old Iowa was, just a lot of different strategies. You’re probably not going to know where you are. You might know what place you’re in at the moment, but there’s going to be like multiple, different strategies going.

I think we’re in for a treat tomorrow, yeah, and it’s going to deg. You can expect that.

Q. Question for both of you guys, Pato to start. Pato, I know over your — what, this is your sixth year at Arrow McLaren. There have been times where your teammates have been able to push you either in qualifying or races, but I know this is the big topic of conversation with signing Christian as the hope that he can really push you and challenge you and you guys can advance to the top of the grid together. In these two race weekends, what have you experienced with him as your teammate, and how do you feel like you guys are helping elevate each other?

PATO O’WARD: I think it’s been great, whether he believes me or not. I strive to be better, and I really hope that everybody on the team also is in that same attitude because, yeah, okay, it’s fine to be the lead car or whatever, but it’s always good to have that benchmark.

Whenever maybe you’re not the best, you can always kind of look over and be like, hey, the car can do this. So let’s go out and explore.

I’m happy to have strong teammates, and I’m happy to have people that are very fast, and that’s just going to make me better. It’s going to make the whole team better.

We need multiple cars — like we need team cars to be at the front. We can’t just have one that’s fighting up there. All three Penskes are always fighting at the front. All four Ganassis are always at the front. I know there’s only right now two Ganassis that are usually at the front, but the Shanks count.

It’s what we need in INDYCAR, like every weekend is stronger, and some guys can be a surprise. I think we’ve been a surprise this weekend. So I think we’re in good shape, and we’re pushing forward. We want to beat the big guys. We’re still the underdogs.

Q. Christian, I know when you talked a little bit last summer about this move from RLL to Arrow McLaren, part of your thought process you mentioned was your ability to more consistently be fighting at the front. These first two race weekends that you’ve had, you led the team in qualifying in the race at St. Pete and starting on the front row. What are you enjoying about these first couple weekends with this new team?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Well, I’m 2 for 2 in the Fast Six, so that helps. I think ultimately the work leading into the weekend, I think, is a similar but more detailed process. I feel like I show up in a race weekend more prepared. I show up with a lot more hope in a sense.

I think as Pato mentioned, it drives me more as well knowing that we’ll be hopefully two cars fighting, and then we can push each other. Previously I think that’s only been on occasions, where I feel like that’s going to be more consistent now.

I think we’re just both going to be better at the end of the season. We’re going to evolve each other and develop each other.

Q. I know that wasn’t every single weekend, but more often than not in your couple years at RLL, you were the car out front in qualifying and race pace. What does having someone who’s either neck-and-neck with you or at times after sessions a little bit ahead of you, what does that do for you and how it drives you to maybe just execute and get a little bit more out of yourself on the pace?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: You basically just said it. You want to beat your teammates. It’s as simple as that. I want to beat Pato as much as he wants to beat me. It’s very simple. I think it drives you to work harder, physically, mentally on track, do more for it at the end of the day and go into deeper detail.

Obviously we’re studying each other’s data, which in the past I’ve studied my own data. I have a lot more information now than I’ve had previously.

Q. First, for Pato, can you talk a little bit about the challenge? I noticed some parts of the track you’re using the curbing quite a bit and others you’re staying off of it. Can you talk about how you work with your engineers? Obviously you’ve got a good setup to make it happen, but the compromise between your driving and what they want to do and what they want you to do and vice versa.

PATO O’WARD: Obviously the team is kind of just do what you want. These cars are tanks, like you can really get on the curb. Does it ride some of the curbs very well? Depends which one. Some of them horrible, some of them it’s very usable.

Like I think a perfect example is Turn 4, where some cars are using it more than others. For me I’ve liked using it. But I think it’s just — it all depends on car placement. Where are you having the car? Where is the car living in terms of is it nosy, is it not? So you can use it to your advantage a lot of the times. But some of the times you get it wrong, and you’re out to lunch.

I think you’ll see just very different lines, as you probably saw in qualifying. It really depends on comfort, I would say, driving-wise.

I mean, I wouldn’t say like Christian’s lap and my lap are identical in curb usage and everything, and it’s pretty much the same car. So it’s definitely more of a driver preference rather than what car you’re in, I would say.

Q. Then for Christian as a follow-up, this morning we talked about going through the Esses, and you said it’s a little bit sketchy in there. It may still be sketchy, but how does it feel now after qualifying? How did your car change for that?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: If I’m going to be honest, I think it’s just made the car — after the hybrid, it’s just made the car a lot harder to drive through there. It’s less pleasant, I would say. The weight just hurts it in that regard.

But as the rubber is being put down, the track gets better. We’re on lower fuel, softer tires, it all kind of comes together.

So at the end of the day when you’re going through there, you have the balance you have, and you’ve just got to hold on to it.

Q. It’s a big day for TK being in charge of the operations as the sporting director. How can you guys describe how important that is to the team and how important that is for him?

PATO O’WARD: You’re making him look so good (laughter).

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: He needs to buy us dinner.

PATO O’WARD: Yes. No, I mean, I feel like I’ve answered this question 10 times, 20 times, 30 times, 50 times. He’s a great addition. We like having him around. He brings a racer mentality, and that’s what’s pushing the team forward along with us.

Q. Does that come with making you guys feel a little more relaxed than maybe you felt previously?

PATO O’WARD: No, I wouldn’t say so.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: The goal is the same.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, the goal has always been the same.

Q. And for you, Christian, the fact that you’re over here, how much do you feel like you’re a thoroughbred getting ready to get set free?

PATO O’WARD: A what?

Q. A thoroughbred horse, thoroughbred, getting to run wild.

PATO O’WARD: Young hungry horse you are, huh?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Apparently. I mean, I want to win, and that’s really it.

Q. Sorry, two questions again. Pato, first of all, congratulations. The first question is technical. You just mentioned adjustment for qualifying. Are there also plans for yourself to make adjustments for tomorrow’s race? Question number two is a business question. In case you will not know it, you have quite a big fan base in Ireland. Considering your name, the people think you are Irish. When I walked in today in the morning, I saw you have a big merchandising trailer. Is there any plan to sell your merchandise and stuff also in Europe, especially in Ireland?

PATO O’WARD: I will do the business one first, and then I’m going to ask you what you asked on the first one.

O’Ward is definitely Irish. I definitely have roots going back to Ireland, but it’s a long time ago. Pato shop is all in-house, like we need more manpower right now. We’re kind of maxed out with how well it’s been going, which is a good problem to have.

Yeah, I don’t have too big of an operation to kind of start having stuff in Europe and stuff. I would love to, but I think for now it’s going to be just shipments to Europe rather than having something over there, but I would love to in the future.

And to your first question, can you please repeat?

Q. Are you planning yourself, crew chief, mechanic, engineer, whoever, to make more adjustments to make the car quicker for tomorrow’s race?

PATO O’WARD: Warmup is going to be really cold compared to where the race is going to be. I think P1 was the best session to kind of show us what the race is going to be like. I think we’re expecting deg. Is it going to be a three stop? Is it going to be a four stop? I think there’s also a lot of learning we’re not going to be able to do in warmup just because of the temperatures.

I would assume we’re probably doing some adjustments, but I don’t think we have a very clear direction of knowing exactly where the car’s going to go because, if I’m not mistaken, I think we’ve only done like in practice we did like 10 laps in each. Like you did maybe 8 yesterday or 10?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think close to the entire weekend I’ve done 30 laps.

PATO O’WARD: I don’t think we’ve done more — we’ve done maybe a little bit more than a stint, like it’s not a lot of laps. I think it’s still a big question.

THE MODERATOR: Christian, we’ll let you go. Congratulations. See you in the front row tomorrow.

Pato, one more question before we cut you loose.

Q. Pato, let me read you a quote here from, I think Monday, from Pato O’Ward.

PATO O’WARD: Hot dog.

Q. Just qualifying has been a struggle for me, even last year, and I don’t know why. I can’t quite pinpoint why I’ve struggled so much. What the hell did you figure out in the last four or five days, my guy?

PATO O’WARD: Maybe I figured out how to drive quickly again, I don’t know.

It’s been a struggle because Mid-Ohio was the first race that we did with the hybrid, and it was great for me. But all the ones after that, you can’t take the car, or at least I can’t, where I used to have it, and it was — I mean, you guys can probably see it in the onboards. It was a car that was very on the edge. It was very just right there where it was almost too much, but I could make it work without a doubt in qualifying.

Even if it was just one lap, even if we didn’t quite have the pace, I knew I could take it there and extract the lap time that truly wasn’t available for it.

The problem now is with this hybrid is we’ve got so much more weight and the car is a lot lazier and it just can’t do that anymore. It’s been a bit of an adjustment because, when you’re — I’ve had to change my driving style, I would say, or the approach to how you extract lap time from the car is very different now because you can’t have it strong at the front. It’s a snowball effect.

I would say I just really focused this weekend, like why was I fast in Mid-Ohio and why was I slow in the majority of the other road courses? I didn’t feel like I was qualifying the car for some reason, just I didn’t feel in one with it.

We figured it out obviously this weekend, which has been great. I think this is a great base moving forward to kind of know what I need from the car. So I’m definitely very happy. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. We’ll see you tomorrow. Pato O’Ward, the pole winner for tomorrow’s race.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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O’Ward, Lundgaard Lock Out Thermal Front Rowfor Arrow McLaren

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Official Release
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THERMAL, Calif. (Saturday, March 22, 2025) – Arrow McLaren earned its first 1-2 start in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition, as Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard locked out the front row Saturday during NTT P1 Award qualifying for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix.

Team veteran O’Ward earned his sixth career pole and first since July 2022 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a top lap of 1 minute, 39.9567 seconds during the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The pole was an impressive rebound for Mexican driver O’Ward, who qualified a disappointing 23rd in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding earlier this month.

O’Ward turned his best lap with one minute, 45 seconds remaining in the final segment and didn’t have to stand on the gas again, saving precious wear on his Firestone Firehawk alternate tires. He needed just four laps in the Firestone Fast Six to earn pole; only Alexander Rossi turned fewer laps during that segment.

“I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done,” O’Ward said. “I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 (first qualifying segment) because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’”

Team newcomer Lundgaard followed right behind at 1:40.1245 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It is his best start since last May when also qualified second for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where he spent the first three full seasons of his career. Lundgaard was quickest in pre-qualifying practice earlier today.

Arrow McLaren’s previous-best effort in qualifying for its top two cars since rejoining the series in 2020 was 1-3 by Felix Rosenqvist and Rossi, respectively, in April 2023 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Up next for the inaugural points-paying NTT INDYCAR SERIES event at The Thermal Club is the 25-minute warmup at 11 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network. The 65-lap race follows at 3 p.m. (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Three-time and two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou qualified third Saturday on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile natural terrain road course at 1:40.3092 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Palou, who won the season opener at St. Petersburg, appeared to be pole-bound early in qualifying. He ripped the quickest lap of the weekend, 1:39.5933, during the first segment of qualifying and followed with a top lap of 1:39.6518 to lead the Fast 12 segment. Palou was the last driver on track during the Firestone Fast Six, but team officials told him to back off on his final lap and save his Firestone Firehawk alternate tires for the race Sunday after it was obvious he wasn’t going to surpass O’Ward.

Colton Herta qualified fourth at 1:40.3978 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda to lead two Andretti Global cars in the Firestone Fast Six. Teammate Marcus Ericsson was fifth at 1:40.7435 in the No. 28 Bryant Honda.

Rossi rounded out the top six qualifiers with his best lap of 1:41.0359 in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet to continue his solid start with Ed Carpenter Racing, which he joined after last season.

Arrow McLaren’s front-row monopoly was one of two big stories during qualifying under sunny Southern California skies. The other was the failure of Team Penske to advance past the first round of qualifying for the first time in more than three years.

Two-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was the quickest of the three Team Penske drivers, qualifying 17th in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time series champion Will Power, the all-time INDYCAR SERIES leader in poles, was next in 21st in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin ended up 25th in the 27-car field in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.

The last time no Penske driver advanced from the first round in road course qualifying came in September 2021 at Portland International Raceway, when all four of the team’s cars were outside of the top 12 after the opening segment.

The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix Qualifying Results

  1. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:39.9567 (110.460 mph)
  2. (7) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 01:40.1245 (110.275)
  3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:40.3092 (110.072)
  4. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:40.3978 (109.975)
  5. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:40.7435 (109.597)
  6. (20) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:41.0359 (109.280)
  7. (66) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:40.6824 (109.664)
  8. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:40.7306 (109.611)
  9. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 01:40.9824 (109.338)
  10. (45) Louis Foster, Honda, 01:41.2256 (109.075)
  11. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:41.2319 (109.068)
  12. (4) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 01:41.2997 (108.995)
  13. (18) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 01:40.6490 (109.700)
  14. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:40.6658 (109.682)
  15. (76) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:40.6592 (109.689)
  16. (6) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 01:40.7040 (109.640)
  17. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:40.6956 (109.649)
  18. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:40.8433 (109.489)
  19. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 01:40.8884 (109.440)
  20. (8) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 01:41.1684 (109.137)
  21. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:40.9750 (109.346)
  22. (90) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:41.2929 (109.003)
  23. (51) Jacob Abel, Honda, 01:41.1118 (109.198)
  24. (77) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 01:41.3356 (108.957)
  25. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:41.5133 (108.766)
  26. (30) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:41.3664 (108.924)
  27. (83) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 01:43.0781 (107.115)

CAPPS, LANDGON AND J. COUGHLIN WIN FIRST MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE OF 2025 IN FRONT OF SELLOUT CROWD AT NHRA ARIZONA NATIONAL

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Official Release
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Kalitta, Tasca and Hartford keep No. 1 spots heading into eliminations at Firebird Motorsports Park

PHOENIX (March 22, 2025) – Funny Car’s Ron Capps claimed the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the year on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of the bonus race as part of the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge specialty race, while Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) earned No. 1 qualifiers at the second of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In front of a capacity crowd, Capps went 3.989-seconds at 318.24 mph in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, driving past Hagan in the bonus race in a matchup of multi-time world champions. It was a welcome victory for Capps, who went all of 2024 without winning a national event. He was the runner-up in Gainesville and built on that on Saturday, defeating Alexis DeJoria earlier in the day before getting past Hagan for a much-needed result.

“I’m very excited myself, but I’m more excited for ‘Guido’ [crew chief Dean Antonelli] and the team,” Capps said. “Last year was a rebuilding of sorts. We knew we had to change the setup to get ahead of the competition after back-to-back world championships, and we felt like we needed to get to where Jimmy Prock and Austin were last year and this year.

“It’s fun to win the Mission Challenge because it’s really brought out a lot of fun on Saturdays. For the fans, it’s great. It really creates a different Saturday, and when you get to the semis at a race you’re always happy because you know you’re in the Mission Challenge the next race, and whatever happens is icing on the cake. So a great, great win for us today.”

Tasca finished as the No. 1 qualifier for the 19th time in his career, as Friday’s run of 3.863 at 333.82 in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang easily held up. He’ll open eliminations against Jon Capps, looking for his first victory of the season.

“It’s going to be a stacked group out there, but this car can go up and down a hot or cool track,” Tasca said. “We were aggressive (today), trying to find the limit of where we thought the track was to kind of set us up for tomorrow. I think the guys will take that data and compensate for it tomorrow and we think that 3.92 (from Q1) was really in the sweet spot for the heat.”

Austin Prock qualified second after going 3.883 on Friday, while R. Capps took third with a 3.912 at 323.50.

Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon stayed red-hot at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Tony Stewart in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge thanks to a run of 3.805 at 315.19 in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Careers dragster. It’s another strong performance in Phoenix for Langdon, who is the defending event winner and has been to the past two final rounds at the track. That could bode well for Sunday, as Langdon, who was the runner-up in Gainesville, appears to be rolling.

“There are some tracks that just seem to work well with what you have and there’s some tracks that just doesn’t seem to work well, and Phoenix, obviously, fortunately, is one of those that seem to work well,” Langdon said.

“The team has done a great job with the car, and we’re making great runs and kind of continuing that success. I didn’t do a good job in the final. I clicked it a little bit early so, truth be told, it probably was going 3.79, which shows how much stronger the car really is, and it definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”

His teammate, Doug Kalitta, earned his 60th career No. 1 qualifier in his 11,000-horsepower SealMaster/Toyota dragster on the strength of Friday’s standout run of 3.688 at 330.09. That came under the lights, but Kalitta made a pair of strong runs on Saturday in the heat, giving him confidence for eliminations. He’ll take on Phoenix-area native Travis Shumake to open raceday.

“The track is holding up good in the heat,” Kalitta said. “On that last run, we shot a couple of spark plugs out, so it shut off early, and we ran that 3.82. I’m not really sure what it would have run, but probably a little better than that, so that’ll put us right in the mix where everybody else is.”

Brittany Force took the second spot with a run of 3.705 at 331.69 and Langdon is third after going 3.706 at 331.85.

Pro Stock’s Jeg Coughlin Jr. showcased his classic form on the starting line in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, using a pair of holeshots to win the bonus round, including the final round against Dallas Glenn. Coughlin, a five-time world champ, went 6.583 at 208.88 in his Scag Power Equipment/Outlaw Light Beer Chevrolet Camaro for Elite Motorsports, utilizing a .026 reaction time to hold off Glenn and get the victory. He beat longtime rival and reigning world champ Greg Anderson earlier in the day, dialing up a strong performance in the Challenge.

“I think that was a big shot in the arm for our entire team,” Coughlin said. “Pro Stock is so close. I mean, a holeshot is almost a loose term because you can win or lose races by thousandths of a second.

“We’ve made a lot of changes to our cars across the board coming into this race and obviously our we feel like our performance is there, but we’re just not able to light the [score]boards up, so we’re working hard and fortunately, we made some strides today.”

Racing in front of plenty of family and friends, as well as a sold-out crowd, local native Matt Hartford easily held onto the No. 1 spot in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro with Friday’s strong run of 6.509 at 208.20. Hartford picked up his fifth career No. 1 qualifier, setting the tone for what he hopes is a meaningful Sunday and a win at his home track. He opens eliminations against Brandon Foster.

“When we unloaded off the trailer here in Phoenix, we thought we had a pretty good setup,” Hartford said. “Even though the scoreboard didn’t show any good numbers for us today, that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t beneficial.

“There’s nothing more that we want to do than win this race at our home track. We’ve got a runner-up here [in 2019] and our goal is to take the hardware. When I lost in the finals to Jeg a few years back, it was crushing, because it was that would have been awesome to win, but we’ve won from No. 1 before, and our goal is to do it again.”

Anderson took second with a 6.512 at 208.91 at 208.91 and Cory Reed qualified third after a run of 6.516 at 208.91.

Eliminations for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. MT on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, the third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.688 seconds, 330.39 mph vs. 14. Travis Shumake, 5.207, 136.91; 2. Brittany Force, 3.705, 331.69 vs. 13. Steven Chrisman, 4.294, 217.53; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.706, 331.85 vs. 12. Scott Palmer, 4.018, 275.00; 4. Antron Brown, 3.710, 333.82 vs. 11. Josh Hart, 3.817, 323.58; 5. Clay Millican, 3.734, 329.34 vs. 10. Jasmine Salinas, 3.808, 314.09; 6. Justin Ashley, 3.754, 329.26 vs. 9. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.763, 327.03; 7. Tony Stewart, 3.755, 325.22 vs. 8. Shawn Reed, 3.757, 328.46.

Funny Car — 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.863, 333.82 vs. 16. Jon Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.656, 213.43; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.883, 327.74 vs. 15. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.247, 242.23; 3. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.895, 327.51 vs. 14. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.151, 295.01; 4. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.912, 323.50 vs. 13. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.021, 318.62; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.919, 328.14 vs. 12. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.982, 323.97; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.931, 324.75 vs. 11. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.978, 319.52; 7. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.931, 323.35 vs. 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.952, 323.66; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.933, 324.44 vs. 9. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.939, 329.58.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Spencer Hyde, 4.935, 142.00; 18. Jim Campbell, 5.058, 183.52; 19. Jeff Diehl, 5.232, 143.80; 20. Terry Haddock, 6.031, 114.88.

Pro Stock — 1. Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.509, 208.88 vs. 16. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.590, 207.40; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.512, 209.59 vs. 15. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.583, 208.17; 3. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.516, 210.11 vs. 14. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.573, 209.04; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.520, 210.37 vs. 13. David Cuadra, Camaro, 6.570, 208.42; 5. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.538, 208.68 vs. 12. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.564, 208.78; 6. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.540, 208.23 vs. 11. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.561, 210.08; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.551, 208.68 vs. 10. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.557, 210.47; 8. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.554, 207.53 vs. 9. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.555, 209.23.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris McGaha, 6.600, 207.82; 18. Cody Coughlin, 6.600, 207.15; 19. Stephen Bell, 6.613, 207.94; 20. Kenny Delco, 6.623, 207.27; 21. Matt Latino, 6.681, 207.37.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Saturday’s #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final results from the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel Challenge — Shawn Langdon, 3.805 seconds, 315.19 mph def. Tony Stewart, 3.844 seconds, 323.19 mph.

Funny Car Challenge — Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.989, 318.24 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 6.249, 108.69.

Pro Stock Challenge — Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.583, 208.88 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.570, 210.37.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final round-by-round results from the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park.

TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Tony Stewart, 3.779, 325.22 def. Antron Brown, 4.288, 199.46; Shawn Langdon, 3.806, 326.32 def. Jasmine Salinas, 3.843, 314.09;

FINAL — S. Langdon, 3.805, 315.19 def. T. Stewart, 3.844, 323.19.

FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.994, 319.37 def. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.982, 323.97; Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.988, 314.24 def. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 4.196, 239.19;

FINAL — R. Capps, 3.989, 318.24 def. M. Hagan, 6.249, 108.69.

PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.551, 210.11 def. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.565, 210.11; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.574, 208.81 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.550, 209.01;

FINAL — J. Coughlin, 6.583, 208.88 def. D. Glenn, 6.570, 210.37.

Substitute Driver Matthew Brabham Wins at Road Atlanta in TA Race of Attrition

By
Official Release
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Tracy Wins in XGT and Finishes Fifth Overall, Carlson Takes SGT, Coffey Victorious in GT, Rob Dickey Wins GT1 in Trans Am Debut

BRASELTON, Ga. (March 22, 2025) ― Matthew Brabham was called to action by Chris Dyson to race the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Mission Foods Road Atlanta SpeedTour, and the Australian driver was up to the task. After starting second, Brabham had incredible speed and avoided the issues that plagued Brent Crews, Paul Menard and others to take the checkered flag in the TA class for the first time since 2023.

Notes of Interest:

  • This was Matthew Brabham’s first race since 2023. Brabham was asked to fill in for CD Racing team owner Chris Dyson, who is recovering from a crash in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway.
  • Brabham earned his first victory since Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023 and sixth in the Trans Am Series.
  • With 12 total starts in the series, Brabham has won 50% of the races he has competed in.
  • 2024 champion Paul Menard and polesitter Brent Crews both experienced mechanical issues while running inside the top two, which took them out of the race prematurely.
  • Second-place finisher Adam Andretti has taken over the points lead in the TA class.
  • Third-place David Pintaric scored his first podium finish since Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2022.

After setting a new track record in yesterday’s qualifying session, Brent Crews saw the green flag wave in his No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro and took control of the race from the first corner. Third-place starter Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) followed Crews, sliding past Brabham and securing the second position. However, it only took a few laps for Brabham to reel Andretti back in, and on lap seven, the two were drag racing through the turns, with Brabham taking over the runner-up spot on lap eight.

While those two battled, Crews stretched his legs in the lead, pulling out to more than a four-second advantage over second place. Fourth-place Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) began to creep up on Andretti, who lost some speed due to an ignition box issue, and Menard took over third place on lap 13. Just one lap later, Crews, who was maintaining a commanding lead, suddenly slowed and pulled to a stop at the exit of pit road with a transmission issue. Racing remained green, and Brabham claimed the lead for the first time.

Brabham’s lead was massive as Menard battled his handling and Andretti worked out his mechanical issues, but as the laps clicked by, Menard began to close the imposing 10-second gap. However, that gap would disappear when the double yellow was displayed on lap 29 as Humaid Masaood (No. 21 allgram Ford Mustang) spun on the track and Keith Grant (No. 7 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro) got caught in the kitty litter, requiring a tow.

Racing resumed on lap 35, and Menard was right on Brabham’s tail with great pace. However, two laps later, Menard experienced a major lockup and skidded off the racing surface and into the gravel, slowing the racing action. Without enough time for cleanup, the race came to its conclusion under yellow conditions. Brabham crossed the finish line for the victory, followed by Andretti and David Pintaric (No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang), who advanced from a sixth-place starting spot as others faced attrition. Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) crossed the finish line fourth, and Masaood salvaged a top-five finish. Menard was relegated to sixth in class, while Crews was scored last.

“Oh, it’s incredible; it’s such a great series to be a part of,” said Brabham on the podium. “The cars are some of the most fun I’ve ever driven in my life. To race them side by side―I mean, when Adam [Andretti] and I had that race in the beginning, we were side by side for two or three corners, and then he still got ahead of me, and then we did it again. To race these things is just so much fun. I’m here and the CD Racing crew is here because of Chris Dyson. Obviously, he would have much rather have been in the car this weekend, but I’m always happy to replace him whenever he feels the need to call me up. The answer will always be yes. It’s always a big honor. Dyson Racing, this racetrack, Trans Am, there’s so much history involved. We’ve got Brabham and Andretti up here. It’s pretty special; it gives you a little bit of goosebumps. Thank you so much to everyone that makes this possible: the series, everyone involved. Big congrats to the race team, GYM WEED. It’s so good to be here in the GYM WEED Winners Circle.”

TA Top Five:

  1. Matthew Brabham, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang
  2. Adam Andretti, No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro
  3. David Pintaric, No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang
  4. Amy Ruman, No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette
  5. Humaid Masaood, No. 21 allgram Ford Mustang

EMCO Gears Lap Leader:

Matthew Brabham, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang

The XGT class race finished the same way it started, with Paul Tracy leading the way from start to finish in his No. 10 Race Cars For You/Innovation IRC GT. Teammates Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT4) and Billy Griffin (No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes AMG GT3) ran nose to tail in second and third the entire day, while Kaylee Bryson struggled in her No. 02 Logical Systems Inc. Chevrolet Corvette, requiring a trip to pit road mid-race. Tracy earned his second victory of the season and finished fifth overall due to his car’s high speed and the attrition in the TA class, while Lowry and Griffin claimed podium results, finishing second and third, respectively.

“That was a good race,” said Tracy. “I’ve got to thank the guys from IRC and Race Cars For You. They’re a small little team with some guys just helping. They gave me an opportunity to come out here and run with these guys and have a good time. The race went exactly the way we needed it to go. We were going to need a yellow, because this car’s got a pretty small fuel tank. I was getting pretty low on fuel when the yellow came out. I don’t think we would have made it if it had gone green all the way. I’m lucky that yellow came out towards the end. Overall, the car is phenomenal and it handles great. It’s the little car that can. I’ve just got to thank these guys at Trans Am and SVRA for these events they put on. All these grassroots racers are out here having a good time.”

XGT Results:

  1. Paul Tracy, No. 10 Race Cars For You Innovation IRC GT
  2. Danny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT4
  3. Billy Griffin, No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes AMG GT3
  4. Kaylee Bryson, No. 02 Logical Systems Inc. Chevrolet Corvette

Joshua Carlson dominated in the SGT class for the second race in a row, leading from green flag to checkers in his No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang. Second-place starter Patrick Utt (No. 49 RaceQuip/Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro) held the runner-up position for a majority of the race, but was challenged by 2022 SGT champion Milton Grant (No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1), who took over second on lap 12. Unfortunately, Grant spun on lap 16, dropping him back to fourth in class behind his son, Carey Grant (No. 6 Grant Racing 2 Porsche GT3 Cup). The elder Grant used his speed and experience to fight his way back to third in the remaining laps. When the checkered flag waved, it was Carlson with the win, followed by Utt, Milton Grant and Carey Grant.

“First I’d like to thank Enseva for all their unlimited support they gave me, and my parents for letting me race and go as fast as I do, because I’m sure it scares them a little bit sometimes,” said Carlson. “It was a good race; we did what we had to do to win it, and I’m just happy to be on the top side of the podium again. It’s also nice to see another TA2-style SGT car finish 1-2 with me and seeing Patrick [Utt] picking up a lot of pace from Sebring; it’s good to see him improving. I’m hoping that we can run even closer next time I see him. It was nice to see Milton [Grant] come back out and race with us again, and it was just a really nice day for racing. I’m happy to be here.”

SGT Results:

  1. Joshua Carlson, No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang
  2. Patrick Utt, No. 49 RaceQuip/Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro
  3. Milton Grant, No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1
  4. Carey Grant, No. 6 Grant Racing 2 Porsche GT3 Cup

Chris Coffey was once again the class of the field in the GT class, leading the race from start to finish in his No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4, despite a solid run by Jeff Lindstrom in the No. 41 Griffin Auto Care Ford Mustang. The 2024 GT champion secured his second victory of the season and 15th of his career.

“It was an absolutely incredible race; it was fun and we went from A to B with no problems. My car ran great. I’ve really got to thank my crew for that, Alex and Xavier. These guys really make this stuff easy on me. I also want to thank Colin Cohen. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. I’m sad to see he didn’t race this weekend, but he’s here in support and I can’t thank him enough. Thank you to my wife Morgan and my son Sam. My wife is by far the most important person in all of this racing, because she takes care of our son while I’m on the road. I want to thank Jeff [Lindstrom] here for some great racing all weekend, and thank you to all the other competitors for keeping your head screwed on straight while we were out there. I can’t wait for the next race at Sonoma.”

GT Results:

  1. Chris Coffey, No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4
  2. Jeff Lindstrom, No. 41 Griffin Auto Care Ford Mustang

As the only competitor in the GT1 Challenge this weekend, Rob Dickey in the No. 64 Forty48 Competition Chevrolet Camaro was able to take the checkered flag in his Trans Am debut, fulfilling a personal dream to compete in the pro series.

“No one could have been more welcoming or helpful in all aspects,” said Dickey. “It was my first time racing the pro race and with this series, and everyone was absolutely phenomenal, helping me struggle through it. It was great. My goal was to come in, finish, be clean, not be in anybody’s way, have a good car, and keep it together. I have to thank the team out of Wisconsin, Forty48 Competition. They completely rebuilt the car after it was wrecked last year, putting an immense amount of time and effort into it. Aaron, my crew chief, received countless compliments on the wrap, which took many hours to complete. It was painful but so worth it in the end. The experience was phenomenal, and I have to thank my wife, Cheryl, for putting up with my lunacy of wanting to come out here and do this. It couldn’t have been a better experience. For all the guys sitting out there with old GT1 cars, cough up a couple bucks and come on out here. It really is the best place to run one of these cars. You can’t find a better group or a better-run series. Plus, you’re racing against some legit, crazy-fast drivers. If you want to come out and test yourself, see where you measure up, stop messing around and come out here to have these guys beat up on you.”

GT1 Results:

  1. Rob Dickey, No. 64 Forty48 Competition Chevrolet Camaro

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Hard Rock Bet 300

By
Official Release
-

No. 10 Halifax Health Chevrolet

Start: 30th
Stage 1 Finish: 16th
Stage 2 Finish: 16th
Finish: 9th

Dye fired off free in the No. 10 Halifax Health Chevrolet but managed to enter the top 20 by lap 29. The car had long-run speed, and Dye went on to finish the opening stage in 16th. Happy with the car’s handling, Dye pitted for tires and fuel, before starting the second stage from 17th. Stage 2 remained incident free, and Dye matched his Stage 1 finish of 16th. He radioed that the No. 10 Chevy felt free, as the right-rear tire had gone away completely. He pitted for tires and fuel, before starting the final stage from 15th place. The race stayed green, and Dye made it as high as 11th before pitting on lap 143 for tires and fuel. Though he fell a lap down, Dye maximized his final set of tires, sitting twelfth when a late-race caution came out with seven laps to go. Dye took the wave around, putting him back on the lead lap. After the field took the green flag for overtime, Dye drove into the top 10, earning a ninth-place finish.

“We definitely maximized everything we had today. We fired off free, but kept going in the right direction with the balance of the car and made it better and better. Didn’t quite have the speed we needed, but we came away with another top-10 finish. The No. 10 guys deserved that one today.” – Daniel Dye

No. 11 Star Tron Chevrolet

Start: 11th
Stage 1 Finish: 18th
Stage 2 Finish: 18th
Finish: 19th

Due to Ty Dillon qualifying in the No. 11 Star Tron Chevy, Williams, who took over driving duties, started from the rear of the field. He began slicing his way upwards, taking 29th by lap five. After a lap-16 caution, Williams restarted in 25th and gained seven spots over the stage’s remaining laps to finish it in 18th. After a four-tire-and-fuel pit stop at the stage break, he restarted in 19th on lap 53. Williams gained one spot in Stage 2 before seeing the green-white-checkered flag, finishing 18th. He brought the No. 11 Star Tron Chevy down pit road under caution for tires, fuel, and a right-rear adjustment, and he started the final stage on lap 97 in 19th. After methodically picking off positions to move into the top 15 for the first time all race, he pitted under green with 55 to go for his final scheduled stop. He cycled out as the first car one lap down in 14th. With eight laps left, and just as the No. 17 put Williams two laps down, a spin brought out the yellow flag. Crew chief Eddie Pardue made the call to take the wave around, sending the No. 11 to the rear but getting it back to one lap down. After a chaotic overtime, Williams fell to finish 19th.

“The car falls off so fast over a run here. We burned our tires out pretty quickly, and I thought we had a tire going down in overtime, but it just threaded. Happy with how the day went in the end, but we probably deserved a better finish.” – Josh Williams

No. 16 Campers Inn RV Mobile Medic Chevrolet

Start: 5th
Stage 1 Finish: 38th
Stage 2 Finish: 38th
Finish: 38th
On lap 15 of the Hard Rock Bet 300, Eckes lost fuel pressure and was forced to retire early, due to an expired engine.
 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Toyota Gazoo Racing NHRA Phoenix Post-Qualifying Report – 03.22.25

By
Official Release
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DOUG KALITTA EARNS NO. 1 QUALIFIER FOR ARIZONA NATIONALS
Toyota wins Top Fuel and Funny Car Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenges

CHANDLER, Ariz. (March 22, 2025) – Doug Kalitta claimed the top qualifying position for the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park. Kalitta ran a 3.688 elapsed time in Friday night’s qualifying session for the 59th No. 1 qualifier of his career, as he goes for career win number 56 tomorrow. His Toyota Top Fuel Dragster teammates Shawn Langdon (third), Antron Brown (fourth) and Justin Ashley (sixth) joined him inside the top half of the category for tomorrow’s eliminations.

Saturday was also the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge of the season where Langdon captured the win in Top Fuel, defeating Jasmine Salinas and Tony Stewart to earn bonus championship points and bonus prize money.

In Funny Car, Ron Capps led the GR Supra Funny Car contingent, claiming the No. 4 seed for tomorrow. Capps also won the Funny Car Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge in the final qualifying session, earning a Toyota sweep of the nitro challenges in Phoenix. His Toyota teammates Bobby Bode and J.R. Todd will be the seventh and ninth seeds tomorrow in the Funny Car ladder.

Tomorrow’s eliminations from Firebird Motorsports Park begin at 2 p.m. EST with live TV coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST on FS1.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Firebird Motorsports Park
NHRA Arizona Nationals
Race 2 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Doug KalittaSealmaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster1stT. Shumake
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster3rdS. Palmer
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster4thJ. Hart
Justin AshleySCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster6thI. Zetterstrom

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Bob Tasca III*Ford Motorcraft Funny Car1st*J. Capps
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car4thB. Alexander
Bobby BodeDC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car7thM. Hagan
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car9thD. Wilkerson

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Sealmaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 1st

Does a run like this give you confidence for tomorrow?

“Yeah, definitely. The track’s holding up well. On that last run, we shot a couple spring plugs out, so ran a 3.82 and not sure what we would’ve run (without that), but (thinking) a little better than that. That’ll put us in the mix with everyone else. Shawn (Langdon) said they ran a 3.79 or close to that. Like all of these races, everyone is running close and you have to get up on the wheel and make it happen on Sunday. Looking forward to it.”

SHAWN LANGDON, Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 3rd

With the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty win today, how much do you love racing in Phoenix?

“Yeah, there’s some tracks that just work well with what you have and some that don’t seem to work well. Phoenix fortunately is one of those that work well. I remember I’ve always loved coming here as a kid, starting out racing junior dragsters and I was able to get some wins in a Super Comp car as well. Yeah, love coming here. Brian (Husen, crew chief) and the whole Kalitta Air group, they’ve done a great job with the car and setup. Last year, making good runs and we’re continuing that success this year. I didn’t do a good job in the final (as) I clicked it a little early, so truth to be told, was probably going 3.79 which shows how much stronger the car really is. Definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 4th

What does this Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty win mean for your team?

“A win light is a win light, but this one is a special event. And let’s not forget, our NAPA Auto Care team won the inaugural one (Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge). We went to Indianapolis and won that. We’re so happy Mission Foods put this deal up as for the fans, it’s exciting. For us racers, it’s really exciting. Our NAPA guys, Toyota. A win’s a win. My gosh, this is so cool!”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships. 

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Toyota GAZOO Racing NXS Post-Race Recap – Homestead – 03.22.25

By
Official Release
-

BRANDON JONES FINISHES SEVENTH IN OVERTIME FINISH AT HOMESTEAD
Earns third straight top-10 result

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (March 22, 2025) – Brandon Jones was the lead Toyota GR Supra in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Homestead Miami-Speedway with a seventh-place finish. Jones did not make a qualifying attempt Saturday morning and drove his No. 20 GR Supra from the 38th starting position into the top half of the running order in the opening stage of the race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver continued his strong run the rest of the afternoon to come home in seventh, his third consecutive top-10 finish.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Taylor Gray, captured his first career Xfinity Series pole Saturday morning and led the opening seven laps of Saturday’s race. The 19-year-old finished 23rd. Gray has started inside the top-10 in every race so far this season.

The Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville Speedway next Saturday, March 29 for race number seven of the 2025 season.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 6 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Sam Mayer*
3rd, Austin Hill *
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Sheldon Creed*
7th, BRANDON JONES
13th, DEAN THOMPSON
16th, JUSTIN BONSIGNORE
23rd, TAYLOR GRAY
24th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
37th, COREY HEIM

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BRANDON JONES, No. 20 Menards/KlearVue Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Describe your race today, driving from the rear at the start to finish in seventh.

“Yeah, I was really happy to get back to the top-10. A long day from the rear at this race track (Homestead). My Menards/KlearVue Toyota GR Supra took off really well and (I) passed a ton of cars. I thought I would as we (had) a lap-and-a-half tire advantage, which here, is pretty big to start the race. So, we drove to 15th (position) really quickly, but from 15th, we kind of struggled a little bit. Thought we made decent adjustments. This place is really hard in that aspect of you have to start bad to end well, so the balance of where you start out to migrate balance-wise. It was a great effort. Our pitstops (pause), these No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing guys have been on it all year long. That’s really been helping us a bunch. And then, just stayed locked in and stay consistent. The No. 48 (Nick Sanchez) was really fast, and some others were coming, but (I) tried to block their air there (at the end) and not mess up really. I think it was a lot easier to mess up than hit the line today. Had a long green flag run there for Homestead, but a really good rebound and now, head to one of my favorite tracks in Martinsville next weekend. Hopefully, this is more momentum for us.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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