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Kirkwood Stops Palou’s Streak with Dominant Drive at Long Beach

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LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sunday, April 13, 2025) – Kyle Kirkwood used a superhuman drive Sunday on the streets of Long Beach to prove that Alex Palou is human, after all.

Kirkwood mastered an intriguing contest of tire strategy and speed to win the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach under sunny Southern California skies, ending Palou’s two-race win streak to start the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Florida native Kirkwood earned his second Long Beach win from the pole in the last three years, driving the No. 27 PreFab Honda of Andretti Global to a 2.6859-second victory over runner-up Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kirkwood also won this race in 2023, his first NTT P1 Award and series victory.

“We controlled the race, even from practice,” Kirkwood said. “Really good qualifying, amazing race, amazing strategy. It was just execution all across the board that won us that race today because if Palou was in front, he would have beat us, for sure. This was a track-position race here today, without any yellows.”

Kirkwood led 46 of 90 laps in the second consecutive caution-free race this season, the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race without a yellow flag on the iconic 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit and its formidable and close concrete walls since 2016.

Christian Lundgaard finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet after passing Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing in Turn 1 for the final podium position with five laps remaining. Rosenqvist placed fourth, as the top four finishers in the race also hold the same spots in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings.

Two-time Long Beach winner Will Power rounded out the top five finishers in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Reigning series champion Palou, who started third, fell short of becoming the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver to win the first three races of the season since fellow series title winner and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon in 2020. But Palou’s metronomic, fast consistency helped him keep the championship lead, by 34 points over Kirkwood in second.

“You never feel amazing when you finish second, but honestly, the 27 car and Kyle, they were amazing all weekend,” Palou said. “Super fast.

“I tried my chances, but we couldn’t really make it work. I had a really bad start on my side, and that kind of put us on the back foot. But we did the best we could. Amazing to be here second, but hopefully next year we can just improve one step.”

The race quickly became a contest of dueling strategies between the Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate tires. INDYCAR rules require teams to use both tire compounds for at least two laps per race, and many drivers who started on the grippier but less durable alternate tires shed them within the first 10 laps for the more durable primary compound.

Kirkwood and Palou were on the dominant strategy of the race, as Palou pitted after Lap 6 and Kirkwood Lap 7 to get on the black-sidewall tires. It became clear through the next fuel and tire cycles that Kirkwood and Palou were the two fastest drivers on track, as the strategists from each team kept close tabs on each other, ensuring no missed chances to pounce due to changing tactics.

The true flashpoint of the race came on Lap 66. Palou made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 64, taking a final set of Firestone Firehawk primary tires. Kirkwood did the same at the end of Lap 65, and Palou was right on his gearbox on hotter, grippier tires when Kirkwood exited the pits at the start of Lap 66.

But Kirkwood stared down intense pressure on his out lap from Palou, who never got close enough to make a move for the lead.

Kirkwood then took the lead for good on Lap 69 when Kyffin Simpson, one of only six drivers to start the race on primary tires, pitted from the lead in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as he was off-sequence on pit strategy from the drivers who started on the alternate tire. That was the last of nine lead changes today, the most for the INDYCAR SERIES at Long Beach since 2012.

Lundgaard led 26 laps – second to only Kirkwood – despite starting 12th and using the less-popular strategy of starting on primary tires. His strong result came after Arrow McLaren mechanics worked overtime to rebuild his car after Lundgaard crashed Saturday in qualifying.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday, May 4 on the natural-terrain road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Race Results

  1. (1) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 90, Running
  2. (3) Alex Palou, Honda, 90, Running
  3. (12) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  4. (4) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 90, Running
  5. (13) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  6. (6) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  7. (2) Colton Herta, Honda, 90, Running
  8. (14) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
  9. (19) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  10. (17) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 90, Running
  11. (27) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  12. (5) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 90, Running
  13. (9) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  14. (7) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 90, Running
  15. (8) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  16. (20) Louis Foster, Honda, 90, Running
  17. (10) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  18. (24) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  19. (25) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 90, Running
  20. (11) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 90, Running
  21. (22) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 89, Running
  22. (16) Graham Rahal, Honda, 89, Running
  23. (18) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 89, Running
  24. (23) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 89, Running
  25. (21) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 88, Running
  26. (26) Jacob Abel, Honda, 88, Running
  27. (15) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 88, Running

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 100.395 mph
Time of Race: 01:45:51.2058
Margin of victory: 2.6859 seconds
Cautions: None
Lead changes: 9 among 7 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Kirkwood, Kyle 1 – 6
Armstrong, Marcus 7
Lundgaard, Christian 8 – 27
Dixon, Scott 28 – 29
Kirkwood, Kyle 30 – 34
Lundgaard, Christian 35 – 40
Robb, Sting Ray 41 – 52
Kirkwood, Kyle 53 – 65
Simpson, Kyffin 66 – 68
Kirkwood, Kyle 69 – 90

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 142, Kirkwood 108, Lundgaard 96, Rosenqvist 88, Dixon 86, O’Ward 80, Herta 73, McLaughlin 69, Power 63, Newgarden 58, Rossi 58, Ericsson 55, Ferrucci 51, Armstrong 50, Simpson 48, Veekay 46, Rahal 45, Malukas 42, Rasmussen 40, Robb 39, Daly 32, Shwartzman 30, Siegel 26, Ilott 25, Foster 25, DeFrancesco 24, Abel 17

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Team Chevy Long Beach Race Report

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
STREETS OF LONG BEACH
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
APRIL 13, 2025

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD AND ARROW MCLAREN REBOUND FOR PODIUM FINISH WITH CHEVROLET AT LONG BEACH

  • Fighting back after facing an on-track incident in qualifying Saturday, Christian Lundgaard and the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team finished third to give Chevrolet their 340th podium finish in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012.
  • Lundgaard’s podium finish is Chevrolet’s 16th on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn Streets of Long Beach circuit. Additionally, Lundgaard leaves Long Beach third in NTT INDYCAR SERIES points. This is also a back-to-back podium finish for Lundgaard.
  • Team Chevy combined for 38 laps led during Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with now 381 laps led since 2012 in the V6 era.
  • Starting 13th, Will Power and the No. 12 Team Penske Chevy team fought to a hard fifth-place finish, with Sting Ray Robb and the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet team finishing ninth after starting 19th. Robb additionally led 12 laps in Sunday’s main event.
  • Chevrolet kicked off race day with a warmup session, with four representing the Bowtie brand in the top-10, including Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (AJ Foyt Racing) and Christian Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing).
  • Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Team Chevy heads to Barber Motorsports Park for the fourth round of the 2025 season, the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. The 90-lap, 207-mile main event takes the green flag live on FOX Sunday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.

Top-10 Race Results:

3rd Christian Lundgaard

5th Will Power

6th Scott McLaughlin

9th Sting Ray Robb

Warm Up Top-10 Results:

2nd Josef Newgarden (1:08.3474)

5th Pato O’Ward (1:08.7636)

7th David Malukas (1:08.9893)

10th Christian Rasmussen (1:09.2176)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“We statistically went on the strategy that, percentage-wise, was in our favor. And of course, out of the how many simulations, 40,000 or 100,000, the five that ended up being no yellows was the one that happened today. So, we chose the safe route, and it just didn’t play out. So, if you think of everybody being on the same strategy as we did, we only lost one position in the end, which I think is a little bit of time in pit stops. So, we’re gonna have to look at the data and see where that time is being lost. But I mean, those other six cars that went primaries, they filtered forward because they were on the better strategy, which gave us that P 17. So, it looks really rough on paper, and it seems like we lost a lot of ground, but according to people in those same strategies, we just lost one position so still not a perfect race, but it looks a lot worse than what it was. So, we just need to put our heads down and figure out what’s the problem in the pit lane, figure out what time we’re losing there and other than that, it’s been a good race for us.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“A pretty awesome day, considering we started last and yesterday was the opposite. Our first stint was awesome, followed up by a really solid green stint, and yeah, that kind of sealed the race for us. Engineering did a great job on strategy. we chose the right tire for our car, and the mechanics did a phenomenal job getting the car in and out of pit lane quick and efficient. So all in all, I mean, the day couldn’t have gotten much better than what it did for the Sexton Properties crew.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“I think this one is dedicated to the team. It’s dedicated to Jon Edwards. The entire team, everything that they did overnight to get what they call the old lady back on track. Pretty proud of what we did today. I told the team we had to be aggressive. I think we had the pace. We didn’t qualify where the pace of the car was. To get away with a back-to-back P3 isn’t too bad.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“Overall, a tough weekend with some glimmers of hope. Ultimately, we didn’t execute very well today. We will regroup as a team and come back stronger in Barber.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“This was a very frustrating end to a difficult weekend. I am very much looking forward to the next event at Barber Motorsports Park. We had a great test there recently and are ready for a better race than what we had today.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“What a day. That was awesome. Up ten spots, 19th to ninth on merit. We raced so, so good today. The pace in the car was unbelievable. I knew we had it. We should have been in the Fast 12 in qualifying, but in INDYCAR racing, little things make a big difference. We barely missed the transfer. It’s nice to have a little reward for our work, but all the glory goes to God. It’s been a long three years to this point, but to come back with a team I’ve won with and a championship before. With a leader like Ricardo Juncos, Brad Hollinger and Dave O’Neil, those guys put the hard work in and chose the right people for the job. Townsend, my engineer, huge shoutout to the guys on the pit crew; great stops. Little bobble on the first stop but we nailed the next two. I’m so happy. A little glimmer of hope for our future. I don’t think this is our max potential yet. We’re going to keep driving forward and hopefully, some more to come.”

Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:

“Overall, I’m quite happy with how the race went today. My target was to reach the top 20, so we achieved that by finishing P18. The issues in qualifying yesterday put us quite behind but the pace today was really good. It seems that, step by step, we’re making the car better, so thank you to the team for their efforts. I saw today a step forward in terms of car performance, strategy and pitstops as well. Overall, we showed that the whole structure has started to improve so it’s very positive and I’m happy. Now we have a short break but before we’ll go straight to Gateway for an oval test and then to Indianapolis. We will just keep working but, step by step, we’re improving.”

Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:

“It was not a very eventful race, and we’ve had two fully green-flag races in a row now. From our side, it wasn’t too bad. It probably was not the optimal strategy, but we had a lot of little issues that we were working through the race with that I needed to try and fix. We were consistent throughout. At the end of the day, we got the car home, but we have a lot of things that we need to look at on and off the track. It’s a part of it; we’re still growing and it’s good to have both cars at least getting closer and closer.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“We were just locked out a little bit there early, and then getting caught up with some guys that came out of pit sequences and stuff like that. So, lost some track position where we were in a really good spot at the start, but it is what it is. I mean, that was the most solid race I’ve had at Long Beach for a long time. So, it’s a P6 for me. I got a little bit of work before we come back here next year to be better. I feel like I’ve always had a couple of bad results to start the year. So, if we go to Barber with a formula we’ve had in the past, and have a win, we’ll get ourselves right back in it and see where we’re at. It’s like big focus. I can’t wait for it. Yeah, we’re ready for that place.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Very good day. Very good day. Just methodically getting to it, but it was methodical. I was driving very hard, biding my time, used up the perfect amount of push-to-pass in the race to finish it off on the last pass. Love those sorts of days. I didn’t feel very good, to be honest. Felt sick. I could feel myself getting achy in the car but drove the crap out of it. Man, we have a good car, we just have to start at the front. On days like this, get the points. Pretty cool we got a top-five.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Podium Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Good be afternoon, everyone. We wrap-up the 50th edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We are currently joined by the third-place finishing driver in Christian Lundgaard. Back-to-back podium finishes. Fifth career podium. Christian, just your thoughts on another podium to start 2025 for you.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, awesome day. I told the team this morning, even before warm-up, Let’s try to go aggressive, and let’s see what we can do. We have the most tires of everybody. We had two sets of alts, three sets of new primaries. So I think all options were open for us today.

We went off strategy compared to what we expected most of the field to do. We were the first primary tire runner in the field. I think that showed that we had the pace, too, today. I think we made up a lot of pace on those pit cycles. The clean air, took advantage of the clear air.

Really happy to reward the guys. Yeah, they had to bring a new car back into play, the old lady, as they called her. We took the car in qualifying yesterday. So for everybody to rebuild a car and put it out on track this morning, she ran effortless today. I’m extremely happy for everybody.

THE MODERATOR: Third in points, 46 behind your pal Alex Palou. Strong start for you in the 2025 campaign.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No, absolutely. I was very vocal in the off-season that I wanted to get off to a strong start with Arrow McLaren. I think we’ve clearly done that. I’ve never been higher in the championship than where I am now. We’ve done a good job.

We started sort of conservative in St. Petersburg. I think today we showed what we really can be and where we’re supposed to be fighting. Two back-to-back podiums, unlike this guy who decides to either win or finish second in every race. But we’ll beat him someday, I hope.

Q. Christian, did the car feel as good as the one you had yesterday?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I think the car felt the same. What was interesting about qualifying yesterday was I didn’t feel the bump in turn nine braking throughout the entire qualifying until I certainly felt it. Ended up in the wall. I think it was very consistent throughout the race. Even though it’s been two chassis, it’s been very consistent throughout the week.

ALEX PALOU: Different chassis?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, we tubbed it.

Q. Do you know, was the decision to change chassis, swap out the tub, was that difficult? Were they like, We could run this one, but it may not be as good?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. Fortunately and unfortunately, Dallara built some very strong parts. The endplate made a dent on the chassis. It was a big hit, but the end plate was fine basically, but the chassis wasn’t, so we had to change it. It was a call straightaway. We changed the chassis. The guys were back home by 10 last night.

Q. Most of the lead changes at the front took place because of pitting. No one passed somebody else on the track. Was that frustrating? Would you like to see more able to pass guys on the track when your car is stronger?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, I would have liked to be able to fight with Alex and Kyle at some point. We started a little far too back. Obviously we were on a completely different strategy than both of them were on. We made the most of our strategy and ended on the podium from 12.

THE MODERATOR: 169 on-track passes this afternoon. Six leaders. Nine lead changes, which is the most since 2012 here.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: And we ran without a yellow flag.

THE MODERATOR: For the second straight race.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It was weird. I was driving with 10 laps to go, and I’m like, Have we have a yellow this race? Two in a row. Good job.

THE MODERATOR: First time that happened since 2020, the harvest races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. No pressure for Barber, I’m just saying.

More questions for podium finishers.

Q. Christian, you did make a move to get onto the podium late. Was that purely your push-to-pass, taking advantage of that?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Believe it or not, I actually ran out of push-to-pass kind of leading up to that overtake. I looked at the dash at lap 42, and I had 109 seconds left. I knew that was kind of good because that was around halfway mark. I’d used around my 100 seconds halfway through the race. I forgot about it. I forgot about my push-to-pass.

Probably with 15 laps to go, I still had 84 seconds. That came in handy at the end. Obviously I didn’t really think I was going to be able to go get Felix. I mean, Alex, Felix and Kyle just seemed stronger kind of in the beginning of the stint. I think we came back to them at the end of the stint where I think we had a little more pace than they did.

Back marker certainly helped, right? It was good.

Q. There’s a few new guys, not normally up-front people. Sting Ray, Kiffin Simpson, up front for a long time. Was that a surprise?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think I saw three cars all race that I was fighting, yeah. No. I barely even saw this guy, so…

ALEX PALOU: Pit exit. It was almost close.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Was it?

ALEX PALOU: No, but it was almost close.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: If that’s your definition of close…

ALEX PALOU: We saw each other. I saw you.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Did you?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Wow.

About General Motors

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LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDEWAY RACE RECAP

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LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACE RECAP

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 13, 2025) – The NASCAR Cup Series battled it out on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. Erik Jones, driving the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, started 28th, while his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammate, John Hunter Nemechek, rolled off 32nd in the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE. After 500 laps, it was Kyle Larson who emerged victorious.

Below is a look at how each of the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE RACE RECAP:
START: 32ND | FINISH: 21ST | POINTS: 21ST

John Hunter Nemechek was forced to start from the rear of the field at the Food City 500 after the No. 42 Dollar Tree found a part failure on their Toyota Camry XSE following qualifying. With high tire wear noted in practice, the early laps were all about managing tire life and gaining track position. Despite starting deep in the field, Nemechek showed resilience in the opening run, holding off the No. 5 for several laps before eventually falling a lap down to the leader with 46 laps remaining in the stage. Struggling with a car that was free on entry, tight through the center, and free on exit, Nemechek battled through handling issues to finish Stage 1 in 30th.

After the opening stage went caution-free, the teams got their first look at the tire wear, and it didn’t appear to be an issue. Crew chief Travis Mack called for four tires, fuel, and an air-pressure adjustment.

During the second stage, Nemechek ran in 27th and was in position to earn the free pass, but just a few laps before the caution came out, the No. 60 overtook him, denying the No. 42 Dollar Tree team the chance to get back on the lead lap. As the field slowed under yellow, the team considered taking the wave around, but that opportunity didn’t materialize, leading them to bring Nemechek to pit road. During the stop, the left front wheel wasn’t secured in time and came off as Nemechek exited his pit stall. He was forced to return to pit road to have a new tire installed. Restarting 33rd, Nemechek faced a tough task with several cars ahead of him and limited track position. Despite being mired in traffic, he noted an improvement in the handling of his No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE. He managed to stay just one lap down through the end of Stage 2, finishing in 31st — a position that allowed the team to take the wave around and rejoin the lead lap to start the final stage.

Starting the final stage in 30th and on older tires, Nemechek knew he had to push hard to stay ahead of the leader and remain on the lead lap. He quickly made-up ground, advancing to 23rd before making a green-flag pit stop on lap 361 for fresh tires and fuel. As the field cycled through green flag stops by lap 439, Nemechek climbed into the top 20 in 19th.

After slipping back as far back as 34th in the running order earlier in the race, the No. 42 Dollar Tree team stayed focused and resilient, battling back from adversity to claw their way back to a 21st-place finish.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTABLE:

“It was a decent finish considering the kind of day we had – an up-and-down one. We went a lap down in the first stage and had to take the wave-around. Then we had a tire fall off on pit road, which set us back even more. But the team kept fighting, and we managed to stay just one lap down to the end during that green-flag pit cycle. We had a solid strategy to try and get back on the lead lap. I felt like our Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE had good speed – probably a top-15 car if we hadn’t made a few mistakes throughout the day. Still, it was a solid effort and encouraging speed. We’ll take the off week to reset and get ready for Talladega in a couple of weeks.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE RACE RECAP:
START: 28TH | FINISH: 26TH | POINTS: 30TH
After starting 28th in the Food City 500, Erik Jones fell to 34th by lap 40. Tire wear was a big concern on the day and by Lap 50 the field was starting to see some rubber buildup.

With 30-laps to go in Stage 1, Jones found himself in 31st. The Michigan native reported the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota was loose in and tight in the center and that he wasn’t able to make forward progress. It was with five laps to go in Stage 1 that he radioed to the crew that the power steering was gone. He finished Stage 1 in the 28th position.

After a pit stop crew chief Ben Beshore said he didn’t see any power steering fluid in the pit box and Jones restarted 23rd Stage 2. Jones continued on and said the car was still too tight and free in the center and off the corner.

The second stage was uneventful as Jones said the car wasn’t handling and he finished Stage 2 at Lap 250 in 26th, two laps shy of the leader.

The team took the wave around at the stage break to try and get track position. Jones continued to fight more of the same handling issues through Stage 3 and with 150 to go he was 28th.

With 143 to go the No. 43 pitted for tires and fuel. The handling continued to be an issue throughout the closing laps and Jones held on to the end finishing 26th. It was a tough day, but the team kept trying to work on the handling for 500 laps.

NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series takes a week off before kicking off a 28-week stretch of consecutive events, starting with the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Bristol 1

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Food City 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tenn. – April 13, 2025

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 SNAP-ON FORD MUSTANG
START: 21ST STAGE 1: 18TH STAGE 2: 17TH FINISH: 17TH POINTS: 22ND
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Snap-on Ford Mustang team finished 17th in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. After rolling off 21st, Cindric worked his way into the top 20 early as the field settled into a single-file rhythm around the bottom groove. He finished Stage 1 in the 18th position, but a penalty for pitting outside the box due to a loose wheel forced him to restart at the tail end of the lead lap. He pressed on to the end of the segment to finish 17th and headed to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments to aid center-off turn and a loose condition. He restarted 16th on Lap 265 and informed his team on Lap 294 that the car was much tighter that run. The 26-year-old racer made a scheduled green flag pit stop on Lap 386 for four tires and fuel before ultimately crossing the line 17th to round out the day at “The Last Great Colosseum.”

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “With a lot of unknowns going into today with the tires I felt we adapted pretty quickly in the first stage. We made up some spots and stayed on the lead lap. I think being able to recover from having to pit twice there after the pit stop and kind of come back up through the back and get a decent finish. I still feel like we needed a few more adjustments there to get this Snap-on Ford Mustang where we wanted it, but I’m proud of the no-give-up effort there. It’s a hard place to do it at and it was cool to drive the car with all the Snap-on folks here this weekend.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/RICHMOND FORD MUSTANG
START: 5TH STAGE 1: 7TH STAGE 2: 8TH FINISH: 5TH POINTS: 6TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney raced his way to a fifth-place finish Sunday afternoon at Bristol, marking his third top-five result of the season. After firing off from fifth, Blaney maintained top-10 pace in the opening 125-lap stage that stayed green for its entirety as the No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford crossed the line seventh in Stage 1. An early caution in Stage 2 brought Blaney to pit road as he was the first of the leaders to opt for service under yellow in order to fight to the front on fresh tires for the ensuing run. Blaney ultimately worked his way up to eighth in the running order by the end of Stage 2. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler made the call for Blaney to run long during the final stage, allowing him to take over the lead on lap 391 in the middle of the green flag pit cycle. Blaney went on to lead the next 48 laps and was the only car on the lead lap with 72 to go before Hassler called him to pit road with 61 laps remaining. Following the four tire stop under green, Blaney rejoined the field scored ninth in the running order and ultimately made his way to fifth with six laps to go for his third-career top-five at Bristol.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “It was just kind of a learning thing all day. The first run of the race nobody really knew what the tires were going to do and everyone kind of just rode around there a little bit and we finally got going and we went so long. Then it was like, ‘Alright, we can go a little bit harder.’ The track widened out, which was good. I honestly don’t know if I really anticipated that with the track getting wide and really not having tire problems. I’m glad that’s the way it was. I think it put on a pretty decent race. There were a lot of comers and goers, except for the lead, I guess, but it was a pretty fun day and a really good finish. We kind of took a chance of running really long there, seeing if we’d get a caution and then we finally bailed and had to make all the ground up and got back to fifth. Overall, it was a solid weekend.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 38TH STAGE 1: 26TH STAGE 2: 28TH FINISH: 24TH POINTS: 9TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano started 38th and finished 24th in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Following contact with the outside turn two wall in qualifying Saturday, the Shell-Pennzoil crew repaired the primary car and started at the rear of the field for Sunday’s 500-lap battle. Logano gained eight spots early, but the torrent pace would see the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang get lapped near the end of Stage 1 with Logano crossing the line in 26th position. Logano continued to battle to get back on the lead lap to no avail in Stage 2 coming home 28th. The Shell-Pennzoil crew opted to take the wave around to begin the final stage of the race. Unfortunately, older tires and lack of track position relegated Logano to a 24th-place finish.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Tough day for overall for us with having to fight for track position all day. The long runs didn’t fall in our favor and forced us to take a shot with the wave around at the end of Stage 2. We’ll reset in the off-week and look ahead to Talladega.”

The NASCAR Cup Series next week off for Easter and will return to action Sunday, April 27 at Talladega Superspeedway. Live coverage of the Jack Link’s 500 begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX with in-car camera angles available all race long through MAX Driver Cam.

Rick Ware Racing: Food City 500 from Bristol

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Official Release
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RICK WARE RACING
Food City 500
Date: April 13, 2025
Event: Food City 500 (Round 9 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

RWR Finish:

● Cory LaJoie (Started 37th, Finished 34th / Running, completed 494 of 500 laps)
● Cody Ware (Started 34th, Finished 36th / Running, completed 493 of 500 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (36th with 45 points)
● Corey LaJoie (38th with 24 points, but running a limited schedule in 2025)

RWR Notes:

● This was LaJoie’s milestone 275th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
● LaJoie’s next start comes on June 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Quaker State 400.

Race Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Food City 500 to score his 31st career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin over runner-up Denny Hamlin was 2.250 seconds.
● Larson dominated by leading twice for 411 laps (82 percent of the 500 laps available).
● There were three caution periods for a total of 40 laps.
● Only eight of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● William Byron remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 30-point advantage over second-place Hamlin.

Sound Bites:

“When we got turned by the 88 (Shane van Gisbergen), that put us on a whole different lap and it just kind of ruined our day. We never got the chance to take the ‘wave around’ and get back in position to race the guys who we were faster than. The last half of the race, we were faster than a lot of good cars, but just didn’t get the chance to capitalize on any of it. So, onto Talladega.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Arby’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“That was a driver’s worst nightmare – a 250-lap, green-flag run to finish Bristol, especially coming off the couch. This place separates the men from the boys. We had a really good Schluter-Systems Ford – thought we could’ve ran 22nd to 26th with some track position – but my dumbass sped on pit road, and you can’t do that. You gotta be perfect in the Cup Series and we weren’t today, but it was still fun to get back in a Cup car and race.” – Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 01 Schluter-Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series takes a rare weekend off for Easter before returning to action on Sunday, April 27 for the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Mayer Wins Stage, Creed Caught Up in Accident at Bristol

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Custer Finishes 29th in Cup Race at BMS

Xfinity Series

A strong lap from Sam Mayer put him on the third row to start the 300-lap race at ‘The Last Great Colosseum’, his third straight top-10 qualifying effort this season. His teammate, Sheldon Creed, started 21st and began the race eligible for the Dash 4 Cash Bonus—needing to finish ahead of the other three drivers (Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, and Brennan Poole) to win it.

Mayer maneuvered his way up to 4th over the first 70 laps, utilizing the gripped bottom line to advance his position. With just eight laps remaining in the opening stage, Creed was spun off turn four before coming to a stop and collecting Brennan Poole, ending his day early for just the second time this season.

“It’s unfortunate for our Friends of Jaclyn Ford Mustang, and I’m bummed for all of our guys to be taken out in stage one like that,” Creed said. “I’m happy to be okay and we’ll fight on next week.”

The No. 41 team elected to stay out as the field went back to green with only four laps to go in the segment. It paid off for Mayer, as he secured his first stage win of the season and the first for Haas Factory Team in 2025 to earn a playoff point and 10 regular-season points.

After coming down pit road during the stage break, Mayer restarted 13th and worked his way into the top-10 by lap 140. He settled for a 10th-place result at the end of the second stage, earning another point towards the regular-season points standings.

Track position proved hard to come by, as the No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang restarted the final stage in 11th. A caution with 81 laps to go reset the field, and Mayer’s team was able to pick up three spots on pit road. He fell outside the top-10, but took home a strong 11th-place result, while Creed finished 37th.

“We were really good today in Bristol, and there is lots to be proud of. We got decent points and came out with no marks on the car,” Mayer said. “We definitely want to be better in the fall when we come back here, but I’m really proud of these guys for putting together a good car for me.”

Mayer remains in second place in the Xfinity points standings while Creed slipped to eighth heading into Rockingham next Saturday.

Cup Series

After winning here in the Xfinity Series last season, Cole Custer qualified in the 33rd position for the 500-lap race. He entered with some momentum after finishing 8th in his last Cup race at Bristol in the fall of 2022.

Custer was able to climb as high as 29th within the first 15 laps, before the field migrated to the bottom line and passing became increasingly more difficult. The first stage ran entirely caution free, and he was put a lap down halfway through the segment before ending the stage in 36th.

From there, it was a constant battle at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile’, as the No. 41 team battled with tightness in the middle of the corner. He finished 34th in the second stage, before the final 250 laps ran green and Custer was able to grind his way to a 29th-place finish.

Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series has next weekend off for the Easter holiday, while race coverage for the Xfinity series from Rockingham Speedway on April 19th is set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW.

About Haas Factory Team
The Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and Xfinity program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. Beginning in 2025, the team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the Xfinity Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Ford Mustangs, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.

Toyota GAZOO Racing – NCS Bristol Post-Race Report – 04.13.25

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Official Release
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HAMLIN JUST MISSES THREE STRAIGHT WINS, FINISHES SECOND
Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe follow Hamlin to the line to place three Camrys in the top-four

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 13, 2025) – Denny Hamlin (second), Ty Gibbs (third) and Chase Briscoe (fourth) led Toyota in a green-flag dominated NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was Gibbs’ best finish of the season, and Briscoe’s fourth-place run matched his Daytona 500 run to equal his best run since joining Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Christopher Bell finished eighth, giving JGR four of the top-eight finishers.

Heading into NASCAR Cup Series’ lone off-weekend, Hamlin has closed to just 30 points out of the championship points lead in second overall, with Bell in third, 41 back.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 9 of 36 – 266.5 miles, 500 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, TY GIBBS
4th, CHASE BRISCOE
5th, Ryan Blaney*
8th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
18th, TYLER REDDICK
19th, BUBBA WALLACE
21st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
26th, ERIK JONES
28th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Came up just short of three straight, but how was your day?

“You have to give that team their due – just a dominate performance. It looked like a pretty flawless day for them. It looked pretty easy. It was all I had to try to keep up there. I’m glad we were able to give him a little bit of a run with our Progressive Toyota, but this weekend – we are all thinking about Jon Edwards’ family, Al Pearce, Shige Hattori. We’ve lost a lot of great people in our sport over the last week, so our thoughts are with them. Wish we could have got one more spot, but I just wanted to keep him honest there at the end. That was all I was trying to do, but he was a little too much to handle.”

How nice is it to go into the off week with all of this momentum?

“No doubt. It has been a great run here over the last month. We’ve been really good. Just have to continue this momentum. It all starts tomorrow when you figure out how you can get just a little bit better.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How was your race?

“It was a good day. I was kind of managing the race and figuring out the way we needed to be. It was fun. I had a blast. We’ve definitely made an improvement. Thank you to Monster Energy, SAIA and Toyota. It was fun.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

What was your perspective on that closing battle with your teammate?

“Yeah, I had been kind of catching him the last 30, 40 laps. I about got him in the end and then the 12 (Ryan Blaney) came out of nowhere – I didn’t even know there was anybody close to us. It was fun. The JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars were really good today. I wish we could have got (Ty) Gibbs there at the end there, but all-in-all, great day for us, especially after last week. Last weekend was probably our worst race of the year, so to be able to come back and have a good run like that in our Bass Pro Shops Toyota was good. Just need a little bit more still.”

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.

CHEVROLET NCS: Larson Conquers “The Last Great Colosseum” for Second Win of the Season

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
APRIL 13, 2025

Larson Conquers “The Last Great Colosseum” for Second Win of the Season

 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Kyle Larson
6th – William Byron
7th – Ross Chastain
9th – AJ Allmendinger
10th – Austin Dillon

  • Kyle Larson conquered the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” for the third time in his NASCAR Cup Series career – taking the checkered flag in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The victory – Larson’s second win of the 2025 season and his 31st all-time in the division – marks Chevrolet’s series-leading 48th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol, and the manufacturer’s second in now five races at the track in the Next Gen era.
  • Larson’s journey to becoming the series’ third repeat winner of the 2025 season came in yet another dominating performance at “The Last Great Colosseum” – driving his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet to a sweep of the stage wins and 411 of 500 laps led en route to the triumph. The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native came just short of completing the Tennessee triple, with the Chevrolet driver picking up the win in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and a runner-up finish in Friday’s Truck Series race.
  • Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team were setting themselves up for a strong ending to the series’ ninth points-paying race of the season – collecting the pole win and a pair of top-four stage finishes. Running second at the start of the final stage, Bowman started to experience potential engine problems that ultimately forced the team to retire early from the race.
  • Larson’s triumph at the Tennessee short-track marked Chevrolet’s third NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2025 season, each of which have been recorded on a distinctly different track configuration. Among that list includes William Byron’s win at the 2.5-mile superspeedway of Daytona International Speedway, as well as Larson’s win at the 1.5-mile intermediate oval of Homestead-Miami Speedway.
  • Joining Larson inside the top-10 of the final running order were five drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations including Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, in sixth; Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in seventh; and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon taking the ninth and 10th positions, respectively. Chevrolet has earned at least four top-10 finishes in now six of the nine points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races thus far this season, with five of those events seeing representation by three or more different Chevrolet organizations in those results.

Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Wins: 48
Poles: 40
Top-Fives: 23
Top-10s: 469

Chevrolet’s season statistics with nine NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 3
Poles: 5
Top-Fives: 17
Top 10s: 41
Stage Wins: 7

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues in two weeks at Talladega Superspeedway with the Jack Link’s 500 on Sunday, April 27, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 1st

AS YOU CROSSED THAT START/FINISH LINE, YOUR CREW CHIEF CLIFF DANIELS SAID, ‘THIS ONE IS FOR JON’. HOW SPECIAL IS THIS WIN TODAY KYLE?

“Yeah, it’s special. You know, Jon Edwards meant a lot to the 5 team, and a lot to the NASCAR Industry, too. Just good to get a win for him. Obviously, we don’t want to be winning for him and his spirit, we wish he was here in person with us. But he is no longer here, so it’s just going to be fun to celebrate and I know he is smiling down on us. We had a damn good weekend, as he would say. A lot of fun, and I can’t say enough about the team. The car they brought again here to Bristol was amazing and just makes it fun for me.”

YOU MAKE IT LOOK EASY, BUT I SAW YOU ALMOST OUT OF BREATH AS YOU CLIMBED OUT OF THE CAR. HOW CHALLENGING IS THAT FOR YOU AS A DRIVER?

“It’s fun. I love this place because it is just so high paced and with traffic; just dicing it up and picking the right lines at the right time while conserving your tires. It’s like a 500 lap sprint car race. It just suits me and my style with quick decision making. I just love this place. I think a lot of us do here in this series. Just had another good race.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 6th

“Overall, it was just a long day having to come from the back. It didn’t seem like many people could pass, but I felt like we could slowly work our way forward. Bristol Motor Speedway has sort of been a tough place for us, so just trying to get our footing back and put some consistent runs back together, and I felt like we did that today with the No. 24 Axalta Chevy. I was really happy about that. We were close to the top-five, but we just needed a little bit more.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 9th

“Overall, really good race for our No. 16 group. I’m proud of the team and how we executed this weekend. We had a pretty consistent car, we were able to run in the top 12 all day so I’m really proud of that. We’ve had good momentum over the last few weeks that we’ll take into the off week and get ready for Talladega.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 10th

“We really came on strong there at the end. Our No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet was just too tight to start the race, and then when it kind of moved up, we had something to race, for sure. I wish we could have made our way forward a little sooner because I think our Chevy had runs in it that were capable of a top-five finish. But overall, that was big for us right there.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Blaney Posts Second Straight Top Five Cup Finish

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Food City 500
Sunday, April 13, 2025

Ford Finishing Results:

5th – Ryan Blaney
12th – Josh Berry
16th – Brad Keselowski
17th – Austin Cindric
20th – Ryan Preece
23rd – Noah Gragson
24th – Joey Logano
25th – Chris Buescher
27th – Zane Smith
29th – Cole Custer
34th – Corey LaJoie
35th – Todd Gilliland
36th – Cody Ware
38th – Josh Bilicki

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF TODAY? “It was just kind of a learning thing all day. The first run of the race nobody really knew what the tires were going to do and everyone kind of just rode around there a little bit and we finally got going and we went so long. Then it was like, ‘Alright, we can go a little bit harder.’ The track widened out, which was good. I honestly don’t know if I really anticipated that with the track getting wide and really not having tire problems. I’m glad that’s the way it was. I think it put on a pretty decent race. There were a lot of comers and goers, except for the lead, I guess, but it was a pretty fun day and a really good finish. We kind of took a chance of running really long there, seeing if we’d get a caution and then we finally bailed and had to make all the ground up and got back to fifth. Overall, it was a solid weekend.”

IT WAS WORTH THE GAMBLE BECAUSE YOU WERE FOURTH WHEN YOU STAYED OUT AND ENDED UP FIFTH, RIGHT? “Yeah, it was worth it. I thought it was a good move just in case someone blew a tire or something, but for a while we had everybody lapped and that was the long shot play to try and win the race. I was fifth before that cycle started, so it was nice that we got back up there for how long we ran. I didn’t have a ton of laps to make it back up, but, overall, it was a good call by Jonathan. It was the chance to catch a break and it didn’t really come, but it was a good weekend.”

IT SEEMED LIKE PIT STRATEGY WAS THE ONLY WAY TO SHAKE UP THE FIELD. “Yeah. Running long right there was really our only play to win. We were running fifth before the cycle started, so why not take a shot? I thought I did a really good job of saving my tires to make sure I didn’t have a problem. We went really, really long. I had a lot of people lapped for a while and hung on pretty strong, and then we finally decided to pit and got back to fifth. I had third and fourth right in front of me, so it almost played out even better than what it did. It was a good weekend and a good call by Jonathan to have a shot to try to do something different but it just didn’t work out.”

HOW PHYSICALLY GRUELING WAS IT OUT THERE? “This place beats you up every time you go, especially on longer runs like that. My back started hurting me at the end of Stage 2. I was like, ‘We’re only halfway through this thing. My back hurts already,’ but it’s a physical racetrack. There’s no time to rest. I think that’s the biggest thing. There’s no time to take a breath. Even Martinsville, the g’s shoving you in the seat aren’t as bad as here. You’re going way faster here, so it’s more brutal on your body every lap, but that’s what you sign up for.”

BACK TO BACK TOP FIVES FOR THIS TEAM. DOES THAT GIVE YOU SOME MOMENTUM? “I hope so. Honestly, our cars have been really good and I’m happy to where our speed has been. We had just a few bad weeks of not finishing the race from motor problems and getting caught up in a wreck. The last two weeks of just having good races. We had a car that could win last week and it just really didn’t work out. Today, I might have been able to run third, but I thought about third through sixth or seventh is where I was gonna be and just really proud that we had a couple weeks that were just like a normal race and we finished where we were running, so that part is always good.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Snap-on Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “With a lot of unknowns going into today with the tires I felt we adapted pretty quickly in the first stage. We made up some spots and stayed on the lead lap. I think being able to recover from having to pit twice there after the pit stop and kind of come back up through the back and get a decent finish. I still feel like we needed a few more adjustments there to get this Snap-on Ford Mustang where we wanted it, but I’m proud of the no give up effort there. It’s a hard place to do it at and it was cool to drive the car with all the Snap-on folks here this weekend.”

The Benefits of Installing a Dual Battery System for Off-Grid Adventures

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SM
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Photo by IgorVetushko at https://depositphotos.com/

The frustration of dead device batteries can quickly ruin an outdoor adventure. A portable dual battery system transforms your camping experience by providing reliable power to keep essential devices running for days. With professional dual battery installation brisbane, your camping fridge can stay powered for days straight with the right setup.

Regular vehicle batteries excel at quick power bursts. The camping battery setup works differently by providing steady energy throughout your adventure. The latest systems have made huge advances, with modern chargers delivering power much faster than previous generation technology.

Let’s dive into these systems’ inner workings, required components, and real benefits for various adventures. You’ll discover everything about picking and setting up the perfect system that matches your needs, from weekend getaways to long off-grid stays.

Why Your Off-Grid Adventures Need a Dual Battery System

A portable dual battery system is essential for serious off-grid adventurers who need reliable power away from electrical hookups. The risk of a camping fridge draining your main battery overnight is a real concern that can leave you stranded in remote locations.

A dual battery setup’s basic idea is simple but vital – it creates two separate power systems in your vehicle. Your main battery handles starting your engine, while your auxiliary battery runs all your accessories and equipment. This setup’s ability to keep systems separate becomes a lifesaver in remote places where starting your vehicle is absolutely critical.

On top of that, a dual battery system doubles your available power. This means you can run fridges, lights, communication devices, and other gear without stressing about battery life. Your vehicle’s core functions stay protected from these extra power needs.

The best part? A proper camping battery setup lets you sleep easy at night. You won’t end up stuck with a dead starter battery after running your accessories. This peace of mind means everything when you’re miles from help.

A dual battery system gives you amazing flexibility beyond the basics. You can power everything from fridges to phone chargers. The system boosts available power for important gear like winches, which could help you get unstuck in tough spots.

Adventure seekers can pair their dual battery systems with solar charging. This combo creates an eco-friendly power solution that keeps batteries topped up during extended off-grid stays.

The system improves your vehicle’s capabilities and overall performance. You get dedicated power for accessories without risking your ability to start the engine, so you can focus on enjoying your adventures without worrying about power limits.

Essential Components for a Complete Camping Battery Setup

A portable dual battery system needs several specialized components that work together. Your camping battery setup starts with the right auxiliary battery. Deep cycle batteries lead the popularity charts and come in three main types: traditional lead-acid batteries that are budget-friendly but need maintenance, AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries that are maintenance-free and last longer, and lithium batteries that offer the best power-to-weight ratio at a higher price.

Your system needs these essential components: Battery isolator or management system: This vital component keeps your starter battery from draining while running accessories. Modern battery isolators use voltage-sensing technology and disconnect automatically when voltage drops too low to protect your main battery. DC-DC charger: Vehicles with smart alternators, built after 2011, need these to regulate charging current and maintain proper voltage in your auxiliary battery. Battery monitor: Shows you up-to-the-minute information about charge levels, voltage, and temperature so you can avoid over-discharging. Wiring and fuses: Safety demands proper gage wiring and correctly rated fuses to prevent system failures and fire risks. Battery tray or box: Holds your battery firmly in place when you drive on rough terrain.

Many campers add solar charging capabilities to stay off-grid. Options include fixed panels, portable panels, or solar blankets, plus a solar controller that regulates charging. An inverter changes DC power from your batteries into AC power so you can run household appliances.

Experienced off-roaders say the right combination of components creates a reliable power system that runs a camping fridge for days without affecting your starting battery. Your power needs, available space, and budget should guide your component selection.

Real-World Benefits Across Different Adventure Types

A portable dual battery system proves its worth in real-life scenarios. These systems make a huge difference in all kinds of adventures. They turn basic outings into comfortable, stress-free experiences.

Weekend campers see the benefits right away by running a portable fridge non-stop. This simple feature changes everything—your food stays fresh and drinks stay cold throughout the trip. You don’t need melting ice anymore or limit your food choices. You can enjoy proper meals even at the most remote campsites.

People who explore off-grid areas benefit by a lot. A dual battery setup lets you stay self-sufficient in remote spots for days. The system powers all your campsite gear—from lights to electronics—without needing powered sites or generators. This kind of freedom is priceless to anyone who wants to get away from it all.

Off-road enthusiasts can’t do without these systems. They do more than power comfort items—they’re vital backup for recovery situations. The extra power gives a big boost to winching operations on tough terrain and helps pull your vehicle out of tight spots. You’ll feel safer knowing your starter battery won’t die on isolated trails.

Van lifers and road trippers get these same perks on long trips. The system takes away power worries, runs small appliances, and keeps temperatures just right whatever the weather. People living in their vehicles get the same comforts as a regular home.

The benefits go beyond just recreational users. Construction workers, trades people, and emergency services need these systems to power their tools and communication gear in remote areas. This flexibility in different situations shows why many people call a camping battery setup a must-have investment rather than just an upgrade.

Final Thoughts

Dual battery systems are game-changers for serious outdoor enthusiasts. These setups deliver reliable power that turns simple camping into comfortable off-grid living when you select and install the right components.

A well-designed dual battery system gives you genuine freedom to visit remote locations without worrying about power. These systems consistently prove their worth by powering a camping fridge for weekend trips or supporting extended off-grid stays with dependable performance.

The greatest advantage of a dual battery setup is peace of mind. You can focus completely on adventure instead of power management because your vehicle will start reliably while powering essential equipment. The system also offers flexibility to add solar charging, which creates eco-friendly power solutions for experiences of any length.

Real-world scenarios and user feedback show that a proper camping battery setup isn’t just an upgrade. It’s an essential investment for serious outdoor enthusiasts. Smart choices today lead to countless worry-free adventures tomorrow.

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