Whether you’re a die-hard biker, a speed-loving racer, or just someone who can’t resist the call of the open road, teamwear is crucial for your team.
If you haven’t heard of Harlequin Teamwear, it’s time to pop the bonnet and take a closer look. Trust me, you’ll want to gear up with Harlequin for reasons that are as fun and fast as your favourite ride.
First off, let’s talk about style. Harlequin Teamwear isn’t just your run-of-the-mill, plain-Jane team clothing. Oh no, they’ve got the style that screams, “We’re here to win and look good doing it!” They have custom in-house designers that can design your fresh new look!
Imagine rolling into the pit stop or the local meet-up spot with gear that makes heads turn and jaws drop. Harlequin knows that looking good is half the battle, and they’ve got designs that make professional racing teams stand out from the crowd. That’s exactly why they have half of the British Touring Car grid.
And it’s not just about looking good.
Harlequin Teamwear is built tough. Whether you’re tearing up the track or cruising down the motorway, you need high quality teamwear that can handle the heat (literally and figuratively).
Harlequin uses high quality materials that are as durable as your passion for motorsports. No more worrying about rips, tears, or the dreaded seam blowout just as you’re about to hit that perfect drift.
Now, let’s get to the comfort factor. As a motor enthusiast, you know that comfort is key when you’re out there chasing speed and glory. Harlequins Teamwear is designed with you in mind.
We’re talking breathable fabrics, perfect fits, and all the little details that make a big difference when you’re spending hours in the saddle or behind the wheel. It’s like slipping into the perfectly tuned cockpit of your favourite car – everything just feels right.
When you work with Harlequin, you’re not just a customer – you’re part of the family. Need custom designs? They’ve got you. Want to add your logo or tweak the colours? No problem. Their customer service is as responsive as a finely-tuned throttle.
And let’s not forget the bragging rights.
Wearing Harlequin Teamwear is like having a secret weapon in your racing arsenal. It’s the kind of gear that makes other teams stop and take notice. You’ll be the envy of the track, the talk of the meet-up, and the squad that everyone wishes they were a part of.
Plus, it’s a great conversation starter. “Hey, nice jacket! Where’d you get it?” “Oh, this? It’s Harlequin Teamwear (it does actually say it on the back too!). Only the best for our team.” Boom – instant points.
So, fellow motor enthusiasts, if you’re looking to up your game, make a statement, and keep your team comfortable and stylish, Harlequin Teamwear is the way to go.
It’s time to shift into high gear and show the world what your team is made of.
Remember, life’s too short to wear boring teamwear. Get Harlequin, and let’s ride!
Looking for a dependable and durable vehicle? The Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel is an excellent pick. Our website provides the greatest bargains on Toyota Hilux for sale 4X4 diesel USA. In this article, we’ll look at why the Toyota Hilux is a great pick and how to get the greatest bargains near you.
Why Choose Toyota Hilux for Sale 4X4 Diesel? The Toyota Hilux is well-known for its durability and performance. Whether you need a vehicle for regular commuting or off-road activities, the Hilux 4X4 diesel provides unparalleled power and dependability. Here are some of the reasons that the Toyota Hilux stands out:
Unrivaled Durability: Designed to survive harsh circumstances, the Hilux is a popular choice among those seeking a dependable vehicle for rugged terrains.
Fuel Efficiency: The diesel engine provides superior fuel efficiency, making it a more economical alternative.
Advanced Safety measures: The Hilux is equipped with the most recent safety measures, ensuring your safety on every ride.
comfy cabin: Despite its rough appearance, the Hilux has a comfy and roomy cabin.
Where to Find Toyota Hilux for Sale 4X4 Diesel USA?
Finding the right Toyota Hilux for sale 4X4 diesel in the United States has never been easier. Our online website, Tmore Auto Machinery, provides a diverse selection of possibilities. Here’s how to get the greatest deals:
Visit our website: Explore our large selection of Toyota Hilux models. Our user-friendly layout makes it simple to go through the various options.
Use the Search Filter: Use parameters like price, model year, and location to locate the Toyota Hilux that suits your needs.
Check customer reviews: Read reviews from previous consumers to understand the vehicle’s performance and dependability.
Contact Us For Assistance: Our customer support team can always assist you with any questions or problems.
Toyota Hilux For Sale Near Me: Finding Local Deals: Our website provides a straightforward option if you’re looking for a Toyota Hilux for sale near me. Here’s how to get local deals:
Are you ready to embark on your next adventure? Look no further than the Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel, a rugged and reliable vehicle designed to conquer the urban jungle and off-road terrain easily.
Power and Performance
The Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel is renowned for its robust performance capabilities. Equipped with a powerful diesel engine, this vehicle delivers impressive torque and horsepower, ensuring smooth acceleration and excellent towing capacity. Whether navigating through city streets or traversing rugged landscapes, the Hilux maintains optimal performance and efficiency.
Off-Road Prowess
Designed for the adventurous spirit, the Hilux excels off-road with its advanced 4-wheel-drive system. Thanks to its superior traction and stability, it can confidently tackle challenging trails, muddy paths, or rocky terrain. The Hilux’s durable suspension and ground clearance ensure a smooth ride over uneven surfaces, making it the perfect companion for outdoor enthusiasts and weekend warriors alike.
Safety and Comfort
Safety is paramount in the Toyota Hilux, featuring modern amenities and advanced safety technologies to protect you and your passengers. From comprehensive airbag systems to stability control and anti-lock braking, the Hilux prioritises your peace of mind on every journey.
Inside, the Hilux offers a spacious, comfortable cabin with ergonomic seating and intuitive controls. Enjoy modern conveniences such as climate control, multimedia connectivity, and ample storage options, ensuring a pleasurable driving experience whether on short commutes or extended road trips.
Versatility and Durability
Whether for work or leisure, the Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel adapts effortlessly to various demands. It’s durable construction and robust engineering ensure reliability and longevity, capable of withstanding the rigors of daily use and adventurous escapades.
Find Your Hilux Today
Discover the Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel for sale and elevate your driving experience to new heights. Visit our dealership to explore its features firsthand and embark on your next journey with confidence. Unleash the spirit of adventure with the Toyota Hilux—a vehicle built to conquer challenges and create unforgettable memories wherever the road may lead.
For a second consecutive season, Ty Majeski snapped a yearlong winless drought by recording his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season in the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 19.
The 29-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, led the final 56 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fourth place, but made his presence at the front known by attempting to grab the lead with a three-wide move through the first two turns. Despite settling in the runner-up spot following the opening lap, Majeski remained upfront in the early portions of the race before he was assessed a drive-through penalty for jumping a restart on Lap 49. Despite serving the penalty, Majeski managed to remain on the lead lap at the first stage’s conclusion and he would charge his way back into third place when the second stage concluded.
Restarting in the top five when the final stage commenced with 71 laps remaining, Majeski would then overtake Christian Eckes to lead for the first time with 55 laps remaining. From there, the Wisconsin native navigated through the short track in Brownsburg, Indiana, smoothly for the final 55 laps before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claim both his first elusive checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series victory and a berth into the Playoffs.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Rajah Caruth notched his second Truck pole position of his career and of the 2024 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 108.017 mph in 22.863 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Grant Enfinger, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 107.937 mph in 22.880 seconds.
Prior to the event, the following names that included Ben Rhodes, Johnny Sauter, Matt Mills and Conor Daly dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Rajah Caruth and Grant Enfinger dueled for the lead through the first two turns before Ty Majeski made a three-wide move on both in an attempt to grab the lead entering the backstretch. With all three going three wide through the backstretch, Enfinger managed to prevail from the outside lane as he aggressively muscled his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead as he also cleared both Caruth and Majeski entering Turn 3. As Majeski was trying to overtake Caruth for the runner-up spot through Turns 3 and 4, Enfinger proceeded to lead the first lap. By then, Majeski acquired the runner-up spot as Caruth fended off Christian Eckes for third place.
Amid the early on-track battles, Majeski then wasted no time challenging Enfinger for the lead as he tried to gain momentum through every turn and corner. With Enfinger retaining the lead over Majeski’s No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 by the fifth lap mark, Caruth also retained third place ahead of Eckes while Tyler Ankrum trailed in fifth place.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Enfinger was leading by three-tenths of a second over Majeski followed by Eckes, Ankrum and Caruth while Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, Daniel Dye, Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez trailed in the top 10. Behind, Luke Fenhaus occupied 11th place in front of Ross Chastain, Dean Thompson, Sammy Smith and Chase Purdy while rookie Layne Riggs, Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Ty Dillon and Jake Garcia were racing in the top 20 ahead of Jack Wood, Timmy Hill, Bayley Currey, William Sawalich and Mason Massey, with Ben Rhodes mired in 26th place.
Ten laps later, Enfinger, who caught the tail end of the field and started to lap those running at the rear of the field, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Majeski while third-place Ankrum and fourth-place Eckes both trailed by three seconds. Behind, Caruth retained fifth place ahead of Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 while Friesen, Corey Heim, Luke Fenhaus and Daniel Dye followed suit in the top 10.
Another 10 laps later, Enfinger, who was continuing to navigate his way through lapped traffic, was still leading by less than two-tenths of a second over Majeski, who managed to close back in on Enfinger for the top spot. Meanwhile, Ankrum trailed in third place by three seconds as Eckes and Caruth both continued to follow suit in the top five.
With the event reaching the Lap 40 mark, Enfinger stabilized his advantage to half a second over Majeski as third-place Ankrum continued to trail by more than three seconds. While Eckes and Caruth continued to run in the top five, Ben Rhodes was mired back in 22nd place behind Taylor Gray and William Sawalich, Sanchez was in 13th place behind Daniel Dye and Ross Chastain occupied 15th place in front of Tanner Gray. In addition, Johnny Sauter was mired outside the top 25.
Two laps later, the event’s first caution period flew as Ty Dillon spun in Turn 3 while Mason Massey limped to pit road with a flat tire and sparks flying out of his No. 02 BRUNT Chevrolet Silverado RST. During the event’s first caution period, the front-runners led by Enfinger pitted, with the latter retaining the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of Majeski.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 49, Enfinger just managed to fend off Majeski through the first two turns and the backstretch to retain the lead and clear the field in the process. With Enfinger leading Majeski, Eckes and Heim battled for third place while Ankrum and Caruth followed suit along with the rest of the field. Shortly after, Majeski was black-flagged and forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road for a restart violation after he jumped the recent start.
With Majeski serving his pass-through penalty, where he managed to remain on the lead lap, Enfinger was trying to fend off Eckes with the lead while Heim, Ankrum and Caruth tried to close in from the top five. Chastain then started to challenge Caruth for fifth place along with Dean Thompson while Nick Sanchez battled Daniel Dye and Sammy Smith for eighth place as Eckes assumed the lead in his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST from Enfinger on Lap 56.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Eckes captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Enfinger followed suit in second along with Heim, Ankrum and Caruth while Chastain, Sanchez, Thompson, Sammy Smith and Dye were scored in the top 10. By then, Majeski, who was mired in 31st place, remained on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, select names, mainly those running in the mid-pack region, pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 68 as Eckes and Enfinger occupied the front row. At the start, Enfinger executed a bold power slide move on Eckes to reassume the lead from the inside lane and despite sliding up the track entering Turn 1. With Enfinger retaining the lead for a full lap ahead of Eckes, Ankrum, Chastain and Heim followed suit in the top five while Sanchez led Caruth, Riggs and a bevy of truck competitors as Enfinger retained the lead by Lap 70.
Within Lap 75, Enfinger retained the lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Eckes, who continued to try to gain runs on Enfinger through every turn and corner. Behind, Chastain occupied third place ahead of Ankrum and Sanchez while Majeski was mired in 15th place and trailing a side-by-side battle between Jake Garcia and Taylor Gray.
Just past the Lap 80 mark and with a flurry of on-track battles ensuing around the short track, Enfinger continued to lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Eckes while third-place Chastain trailed by a second. Top-five competitors Ankrum and Sanchez also followed suit in the top five as they were running ahead of Riggs, Heim, Caruth, Thompson and Fenhaus while Daniel Dye pitted under green to address a flat tire to his No. 43 Bettenhausen Automotive Chevrolet Silverado RST, where he lost a lap to the leaders in the process.
Within the Lap 85 mark, Heim fell off the pace with a flat left-front tire to his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro that left his truck igniting sparks around the track. Shortly after, Conor Daly drew a caution as he had a right-front tire flat to his No. 44 Power Plus Chevrolet Silverado RST as he too drew sparks out of his truck following an incident in Turn 1. During the caution period, Heim, who zipped through pit road with the flat tire, ran into the side of Eckes to express his displeasure over an earlier contact between the two that resulted with the cut tire.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 92 featured Eckes fending off Enfinger with the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch while Enfinger was trying to fend off Chastain for the runner-up spot. With the field behind jostling and scrambling for spots during the proceeding laps, Chastain acquired second place from Enfinger, who was left to fend of Ankrum and Riggs for third place. Enfinger, however, would be overtaken by both by the Lap 95 mark as he had more challenges coming from Dean Thompson, Sanchez and Majeski for more spots while Heim, who remained on the lead lap, charged his way back towards the front as he was up within the top 15 in the leaderboard.
At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Eckes was leading by six-tenths of a second over Chastain as Ankrum, Riggs, Thompson, Majeski, Sanchez, Caruth, Fenhaus and Enfinger were running in the top 10 on the track. As Enfinger continued to backslide and drop out of the top 10 a lap later, Heim bullied his way back into the top 10 as he immediately challenged Fenhaus for more while Majeski, who cycled his way back into the top five, was challenging Riggs for the fourth spot.
By Lap 110, Eckes extended his advantage to two seconds over Chastain as Ankrum, Majeski and Riggs continued to follow suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Heim carved his way up to sixth place after he overtook Caruth, Crafton, Sanchez and Thompson on the track while Enfinger continued to fall back as he was down in 15th place.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Eckes notched his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2024 season and his second of the night as he led by two seconds over Heim. Both Heim and Majeski rallied from their separate instances of on-track issues during the first two stages to finish second and third, respectively, while Crafton, Ankrum, Chastain, Riggs, Thompson, Caruth and Sanchez were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Eckes pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Eckes retained the lead after he exited pit road first as he was followed by Heim, Majeski, Thompson, Sanchez, Caruth, Ankrum, Crafton, Sammy Smith and Riggs.
With 71 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes muscled ahead of Heim to retain the lead while Heim retained second ahead of Majeski, Thompson and a jumble of competitors jostling for late spots. Amid the on-track battles that generated three-wide actions through the corners, Majeski started to challenge Heim for the runner-up spot and Enfinger bolted his way up to sixth place while he started to pressure Thompson and Ankrum for more. In the process, Eckes stretched his advantage to more than a second.
With 60 laps remaining, Eckes stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Majeski while Ankrum, Enfinger and Sanchez were scored in the top five. While Enfinger bolted his way back towards the front, Heim drifted back to seventh as he trailed Sanchez and Riggs on the track while Caruth, Sammy Smith and Chastain were racing in the top 10 ahead of Thompson, Fenhaus, Currey, Tannery Gray and Crafton.
Shortly after, a side-by-side action for the lead between Eckes and Majeski ignited, with the latter trying to use the inside lane to gain a run on the former through every turn and corner. Despite Eckes’ effort in using the outside lane to retain the lead amid strong launches off the turns, Majeski managed to move his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 in front of Eckes in Turn 1 while avoiding the lapped competitor of Thad Moffit to lead with 55 laps remaining. Majeski would proceed to stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Eckes with 50 laps remaining.
Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Majeski continued to extend his advantage as he was now leading by a second over Eckes while third-place Enfinger trailed by four seconds. Ankrum and Riggs followed suit in the top five while Sanchez, Caruth, Sammy Smith, Heim and Chastain trailed in the top 10 ahead of Fenhaus, Thompson, Currey, Tanner Gray and Chase Purdy followed suit in the top 15.
Ten laps later, Majeski stretched his advantage to lead by more than two seconds over Eckes while Enfinger, Ankrum and Riggs continued to follow suit in the top five. Meanwhile, teammates Caruth and Sammy Smith were battling for sixth place as Sanchez, Fenhaus and Chastain were running in the top 10. Heim, however, was mired back in 12th place behind teammate Thompson and his other teammate, Tanner Gray, was running 15th behind Purdy and Currey. Tanner’s brother, Taylor Gray, was mired in 18th place, two spots ahead of Ben Rhodes, Crafton was down in 22nd and Daniel Dye, who was not scored on the lead lap, was mired in 27th.
With 20 laps remaining, Majeski stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Eckes while third-place Enfinger trailed by more than three seconds. Amid lapped traffic, Majeski kept leading by two-and-a-half seconds over Eckes, with Enfinger, Ankrum and Riggs remaining in the top five on the track.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Majeski continued to lead by more than two seconds over Eckes. With Majeski proceeding to lap Heim, who was mired in 14th place, he would also stretch his lead to three seconds over Eckes with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski remained as the leader by a comfortable margin over Eckes. Having no challenges closing in from behind, Majeski cruised his Ford around Lucas Oil IRP for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2024 season as he won the race by four seconds over Eckes.
With the victory, Majeski secured his fourth Craftsman Truck Series career win in his 81st series start and his first since winning at Lucas Oil IRP at year ago, which marks his second consecutive victory at the track and the first to accomplish the feat since Ron Hornaday Jr. made the last accomplishment from 2009-10. The victory was also the first of the season for ThorSport Racing and the Ford nameplate.
Above all, Majeski, who came into Indiana 125 points above the top-10 cutline to make the 2024 Truck Series Playoffs and had clinched his spot based on points earlier in Friday’s event, officially secured his spot into the postseason battle for the title with his victory as he became the fourth series’ regular to win in this year’s regular-season stretch.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[The win]’s huge,” Majeski said on FS1. “Obviously, I made a little bit of a mistake. It was probably a little bit of a close call on that restart [I jumped]. I had to pony up and get it back. Obviously when you make a mistake as a driver, you drive a little bit harder to try and make up for it, but these [No. 98] guys have my back. Awesome pit stops. It’s been an up-and-down year. We’ve had the speed to win. Just haven’t been able to put it together. I’ve had some bad luck around the way. Some of it’s self-inflicted, but man, so proud of this Road Ranger group. So happy to bring the trophy home.”
Christian Eckes, who led a race-high 73 laps and had a post-race conversation with Corey Heim following their earlier run-in, settled in second place for his sixth top-three result of the 2024 season while Grant Enfinger backed up his strong result at Pocono by finishing in third place after he led 71 laps. The third-place result, which left him with a 72-point advantage above the top-10 cutline, was enough for Enfinger to secure his berth into the Playoffs with a single regular-season event remaining on the calendar.
Tyler Ankrum came home in fourth place, which keeps him 78 points above the cutline, as he too secured a Playoff berth. Rookie Layne Riggs finished in fifth place for his second top-five result of the season.
Sammy Smith, Luke Fenhaus, pole-sitter Rajah Caruth, Dean Thompson and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10 in the final running order.
With a 20th-place finish, Tanner Gray occupies the 10th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs by five points over Daniel Dye, who ended up in 28th place. As Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes remain above the cutline, the following names that include Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Chase Purdy, Dean Thompson, Layne Riggs, Jake Garcia, Bayley Currey, Ty Dillon and Bret Holmes are among several who trail the cutline approaching next month’s regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway.
There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps. In addition, 13 of 35 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 15th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes continues to lead the regular-season standings by 50 points over Corey Heim.
Results.
1. Ty Majeski, 56 laps led
2. Christian Eckes, 73 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
3. Grant Enfinger, 71 laps led
4. Tyler Ankrum
5. Layne Riggs
6. Sammy Smith
7. Luke Fenhaus
8. Rajah Caruth
9. Dean Thompson
10. Nick Sanchez
11. Ross Chastain
12. William Sawalich
13. Chase Purdy
14. Bayley Currey
15. Jack Wood
16. Taylor Gray
17. Corey Heim
18. Ty Dillon
19. Timmy Hill
20. Tanner Gray
21. Ben Rhodes
22. Matt Mills
23. Johnny Sauter
24. Matt Crafton
25. Marco Andretti, one lap down
26. Bret Holmes, one lap down
27. Daniel Dye, two laps down
28. Lawless Alan, two laps down
29. Conor Daly, three laps down
30. Jake Garcia, three laps down
31. Tyler Tomassi, three laps down
32. Thad Moffitt, five laps down
33. Stewart Friesen, six laps down
34. Spencer Boyd, 36 laps down
35. Mason Massey – OUT
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, for the lean Harbors 250, which will also serve as this year’s regular-season finale and determine this year’s 10-truck Playoff field. The event is scheduled to occur on August 10 and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Connor Zilisch executed the final two restarts to his advantage to grab a thrilling ARCA Menards Series victory in the Circle City 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 19.
The 17-year-old Zilisch from Charlotte, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 89 of 205 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fourth place and ran upfront in the early stages before he assumed the lead for the first time on Lap 44. Despite leading through the halfway mark on Lap 100, Zilisch lost the lead to William Sawalich amid a restart with 92 laps remaining.
After spending a majority of the mid-race portion trialing Sawalich, Zilisch then executed a restart with 21 laps remaining to force his way past Sawalich as he nearly slid up into Sawalich entering the first turn. After fending off another attack from Sawalich, Zilisch appeared to have the race within his grasp until an incident involving Amber Balcaen sent the field into an overtime attempt. Despite having Sawalich lined up alongside him for the overtime attempt, Zilisch was not to be denied as he motored away from the field amid a strong launch and cruised to both his fourth ARCA Menards Series East victory and his third consecutive ARCA Menards Series victory overall.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, William Sawalich secured the pole position with his best lap occurring at 110.715 mph in 22.306 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Lavar Scott, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 109.921 mph in 22.467 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, William Sawalich and Lavar Scott battled dead even against one another for the lead through the first two turns. Then just past the backstretch, Scott tried to muscle ahead of Sawalich entering Turn 3 from the inside lane, but Sawalich pulled a crossover move on Scott entering the frontstretch and he managed to lead the first lap by a hair.
Sawalich and Scott would duel and cross over one another for the top spot for the following lap before Scott managed to motor ahead of Sawalich and have both lanes to his control by the third lap. He would proceed to lead just past the fifth lap mark while Sawalich, Connor Zilisch, Andres Perez, Lawless Alan and Giovanni Ruggiero trailed in the top six.
Following the event’s first caution period on the ninth lap due to Jackson McLerran spinning his No. 96 Firemark Property Mgrnt/Arylco Toyota in Turn 2, the race restarted under green on Lap 14. At the start, Scott and Sawalich dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch before Scott used the outside lane to muscle ahead and retain the lead for the following lap.
As Scott proceeded to lead just past the Lap 15 mark, Alan prevailed in an early side-by-side battle with Ruggiero for fifth place as they trailed another side-by-side battle for third place between Zilisch and Perez. Amid the early battles around the circuit, Scott would then be challenged by Sawalich for the lead on Lap 18. Despite Sawalich’s attempt to gain a run underneath Scott through the turns, Scott would manage to muscle ahead as he retained the lead by Lap 20.
At the Lap 30 mark, Scott, who was being mired in lapped traffic, continued to lead by nearly half a second over Sawalich, who was being intimidated by Zilisch for the spot, while Perez and Ruggiero trailed by as far as six seconds in the top five. Meanwhile, Alan, Greg van Alst, Toni Breidinger, Kris Wright and Christian Rose were running in the top 10 ahead of Dean Thompson, Marco Andretti, Amber Balcaen, Isaac Johnson and Zachary Tinkle while Andrew Patterson, Presley Sorah, D.L. Wilson, Michael Maples and Cody Dennison were mired in the top 20 ahead of Tyler Tomassi, Becca Monopoli, Jayson Alexander, Alex Clubb and Braynton Laster.
Ten laps later, Scott, who was continuing to weave his way through lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Zilisch, who nearly pulled a slide job on Scott for the lead amid lapped traffic, while Sawalich trailed in third place by half a second. Behind, Perez and Rugiero remained in the top five while Alan, Van Alst, Breidinger, Kris Wright and Christian Rose occupied the top 10 on the track.
With the event reaching a second caution period on Lap 50 mark due to Presley Sorah wrecking against the outside wall in Turn 3 and just past the backstretch, the start of the next restart period on Lap 57 featured Zilisch, who assumed the lead for the first time on Lap 42, muscling ahead and retaining the lead from the outside lane. Behind, Perez charged his way up to second place while Scott, Alan and Sawalich battled amongst one another for third place. Sawalich would prevail in the three-car battle for third place over Scott and Alan as Zilisch continued to lead on Lap 60.
By Lap 75, Zilisch stretched his advantage to two seconds over Sawalich while third-place Perez trailed by more than five seconds. Behind, Scott and Ruggiero trailed by as far as nearly eight seconds in the top five while Alan, Breidinger, Van Alst, Thompson and Marco Andretti were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Zilisch stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Sawalich while third-place Scott trailed by nine seconds. Perez and Ruggiero continued to run in the top five as Alan followed suit in sixth place ahead of Breidinger, Andretti, Thompson and Wright, with the leaders navigating their way through lapped traffic.
At the halfway mark on Lap 100, a designed caution flew for a mid-race break. At the time of caution, Zilisch was leading by more than a second over Sawalich, who chopped half of his deficit in trailing Zilisch for the top spot, as third-place Scott trailed the lead by 12 seconds. Perez, Ruggiero, Alan, Breidinger, Andretti, Thompson and Wright were scored in the top 10.
During the mid-race break period, which included the race being red-flagged, the entire field led by Zilisch pitted for a non-competitive service, which kept Zilisch in the lead when the field returned to the track under a cautious pace.
With 93 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Zilisch and Sawalich dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Sawalich used the inside lane to muscle ahead of Zilisch. Zilisch then tried to pull a crossover move underneath Sawalich, but the latter would clear the former and retain the lead for the following lap. With Sawalich leading Zilisch with 90 laps remaining, Perez and Scott battled for third place while Alan was up into fifth place ahead of Ruggiero and Breidinger.
Down to the final 75 laps of the event, the caution returned due to Becca Monopoli, who was lapped by the leaders, slipping sideways before she snapped back across the track and hit the backstretch’s outside wall head-on while being dodged by Jackson McLerran. Amid the hard accident, she emerged uninjured. By then, Sawalich had slightly stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Zilisch.
The start of the next restart period with 67 laps remaining featured Sawalich rocketing away from the lead through the frontstretch and the first two turns while Perez also rocketed his way into the runner-up spot. As Zilisch retained third place in front of Perez and Ruggiero, Alan and Breidinger battled for sixth place while both were also trying to pressure Ruggiero for a top-five spot while Andretti and Wright tried to close in from eighth and ninth, respectively. Amid the late on-track battles, Sawalich had extended his lead to more than a second as he continued to lead with 60 laps remaining.
With 50 laps remaining, Sawalich stabilized his advantage to more than a over Zilisch while third-place Scott trailed by four seconds. Behind, Perez retained fourth place ahead of Ruggiero as Breidinger, who was up to sixth place, was trying to pressure teammate Ruggiero for more.
Ten laps later, Sawalich retained his advantage of more than a second over Zilisch, with both competitors logging in fast lapped times. Behind, Scott trailed by more than seven seconds in third place while Perez and Ruggiero remained in the top five ahead of Breidinger, Andretti, Wright, Alan and Thompson.
Another four laps later, the caution flew due to Jackson McLerran spinning in Turn 2 for a second time. In the process of McLerran’s spin, Breidinger, who was trying to navigate her way past teammate Ruggiero for a top-five spot, had slammed on the brakes, smoked her front tires and made light contact with the outside wall to avoid hitting McLerran. Despite hitting the wall, Breidinger remained on the track and retained sixth place.
With the event restarting under green with 29 laps remaining, Sawalich and Zilisch dueled for the lead for nearly a lap until Zilisch nearly slid up the track in Turn 3, which allowed Sawalich to rocket ahead and retain the lead for the following lap. The caution, however, quickly returned as both Alan and Breidinger wrecked up against the outside wall in Turn 2, where the latter was then hit by McLerran as her strong run within the top six came to an end. The incident was enough for the event to be placed in a red flag period as the on-track safety crew cleared the carnage scene.
When the red flag lifted and the race resumed under green with 21 laps remaining, Zilisch wasted no time forcing his way into the lead from the inside lane over Sawalich. Despite running wide through the first two turns, which allowed Sawalich to cross over and duel with Zilisch through the backstretch and prior to hitting Turns 3 and 4, Zilisch managed to muscle ahead from the outside lane and hold the lead with 20 laps remaining. Zilisch then started to place a reasonable gap between himself and Sawalich over the proceeding laps while Perez, Scott and Ruggiero followed suit in the top five.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Zilisch extended his advantage to a second over Sawalich. Zilisch would stretch his advantage to nearly two seconds over Sawalich with 10 laps remaining while Perez, Scott and Ruggiero trailed by as far as five seconds.
With five laps remaining, Zilisch retained his lead to more than a second over Sawalich as he also navigated his way through lapped traffic. In the process, Perez trailed in third place by nearly five seconds as Scott, Ruggerio and Wright followed suit in the top six.
Then just as Zilisch was approaching the frontstretch to take the white flag and start the final lap of the event, the caution flew due to Amber Balcaen spinning as she was battling Zachary Tinkle while entering the frontstretch. Balcaen’s incident sent the event into overtime and spoiled Zilisch’s advantage of nearly two seconds over Sawalich.
The start of the first and only overtime attempt featured Zilisch gaining a strong start from the inside lane as he rocketed his No. 28 Silver Hare Development Chevrolet away with the lead as Perez overtook Sawalich’s No. 18 Starkey/Sound Gear Toyota for the runner-up spot. As the rest of the field, including Perez and Sawalich, battled, Zilisch muscled away from the field.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zilisch remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Perez, who was trying to fend off Sawalich for the runner-up spot. Having a comfortable advantage for a final circuit, Zilisch navigated his way back to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed the checkered flag by nine-tenths of a second over Perez.
With the victory, Zilisch, a development competitor for Trackhouse Racing, is three-for-three in the ARCA Menards Series as he is coming off wins between Flat Rock Speedway and Iowa Speedway. To go along with his first victory at Lucas Oil IRP along with the fourth ARCA East victory of his career and of the 2024 season, Zilisch also racked up his third ARCA Menards Series career victory in the process as this event marked a combined event between the ARCA and ARCA East divisions.
With two ARCA Menards Series East races remaining on this year’s schedule, Zilisch continues to lead the series standings by 23 points over Sawalich.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“This Silver Hare Racing, Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet was so fast,” Zilisch said on FS1. “I kind of messed up two restarts in a row. Luckily, I got a third shot at it and I could just hear Josh Wise and Scott Speed in the back of my head, telling me what to do. We’ve prepped for this race for weeks now. It just feels good to have that prep pay off and get my team a win in this critical situation. We’re racing for a championship. These wins matter a lot.”
“I just wanted leverage,” Zilisch, who stood by his decision to restart on the inside lane that led him to victory, added. “When I’m on the bottom [lane], I have more control than when I’m on the top. As long as I beat [Sawalich] to the start/finish line and got a good run, I could kind of slide myself and get clear off of [Turn] 2. It’s all about leverage in these games and obviously, me and [Sawalich] had a little bit of history. I just didn’t want to take a chance on it. I’m glad it paid off.”
Andres Perez, the current points leader in the ARCA Menards Series division and who is still searching for his first ARCA career victory, managed to fend off William Sawalich to claim the runner-up spot as Lavar Scott and Giovanni Ruggiero finished in the top five. The runner-up result, which marks Perez’s best result in the series, allowed him to retain the lead in the ARCA standings by 46 points over Greg Van Alst and 45 over Lavar Scott.
Kris Wright, Marco Andretti, Greg Van Alst, Dean Thompson and Isaac Johnson completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were four lead changes for three leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 44 laps. In addition, nine of 31 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Connor Zilisch, 89 laps led
2. Andres Perez
3. William Sawalich, 72 laps led
4. Lavar Scott, 44 laps led
5. Giovanni Ruggiero
6. Kris Wright
7. Marco Andretti
8. Greg Van Alst
9. Dean Thompson
10. Isaac Johnson, one lap down
11. Zachary Tinkle, three laps down
12. Andrew Patterson, three laps down
13. Amber Balcaen, four laps down
14. Cody Dennison, five laps down
15. Michael Maples, six laps down
16. D.L. Wilson, six laps down
17. Tyler Tomassi, seven laps down
18. Jayson Alexander, eight laps down
19. Braynton Laster, 11 laps down
20. Rita Goulet, 13 laps down
21. Alex Clubb, 16 laps down
22. Christian Rose – OUT, Accident
23. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident
24. Toni Breidinger – OUT, Accident
25. Jackson McLerran – OUT, Accident
26. Casey Carden – OUT, Mechanical
27. Becca Monopoli – OUT, Accident
28. Nate Moeller – OUT, Mechanical
29. Presley Sorah – OUT, Accident
30. Dale Shearer – OUT, Mechanical
31. Brad Smith – OUT, Mechanical
Next on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule is the Salem ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 27, with a start time at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO STREETS OF TORONTO TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT JULY 19, 2024
SANTINO FERRUCCI AND AJ FOYT RACING LED TEAM CHEVY IN FIRST PRACTICE ON THE STREETS OF TORONTO
Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, set the pace for Team Chevy and finished sixth in the first practice on the Streets of Toronto.
Chevrolet finished the session with four in the top-10, including Ferrucci in sixth, Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi in eighth, and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Rossi, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, made contact with the Turn 8 wall late in first practice resulting in a broken right thumb. Rossi will be unable to compete in Sunday’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. A substitute driver will be announced by Arrow McLaren.
Saturday sees a second practice session at 10:30 a.m. ET, as well as qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six at 2:45 p.m. ET. Both sessions are broadcast via Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218.
TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT: Pos. Driver 6th Santino Ferrucci (01:02.0519) 8th Alexander Rossi (01:02.2747) 9th Scott McLaughlin (01:02.3324) 10th Josef Newgarden (01:02.3361)
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“First off, I’m thinking about my teammate right now and am just gutted for him. As for the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, it was a tough day. We had a hybrid water coolant issue that we’re still investigating, which meant that we didn’t get to run on the Firestone Alternate tires. It was a tough session; not just for us, but others as well, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“It was a bit of a hectic session. The grip was very low at the start, and the track changed quite a bit throughout the session. I think it will continue to evolve through the rest of the weekend. We don’t really know where we’re at, but we will continue to work to get better. Of course, I am thinking about my teammate Alex and am crushed to hear about the injury.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“First of all, I’m very thankful for all the men and women on the INDYCAR medical team and for all the great work they do. I do have a broken right thumb. It’s unfortunate because the injury occurred when I almost made it around the corner and I didn’t want to give up on it, so I didn’t quite get my hands off the wheel in time. However, everyone seems optimistic about the kind of injury it is. We’re going to take the next steps here and get ready for Gateway.”
Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:
“We are just gutted for Alex and the entire 7 crew. We’ll do everything we can to support him, and that is really what matters today. We had an issue on Pato’s (O’Ward) car that was related to the hybrid coolant pump. We don’t know the exact details yet, but we’re looking into it. We will focus on getting the most that we can out of the weekend. We continue to race for Bob (Jeffrey), and we will do what we do and carry on.”
Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“We finished today P17. It was a difficult session for our team because we tried some new things, but it was a good lesson. We are going to try and do some changes for tomorrow to improve on how we have the car.”
SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – End of Day Press Conference:
THE MODERATOR: Currently joined by the sixth-place driver in the practice session, Santino Ferrucci. This will be his third start on the streets of Toronto. Best finish came his rookie year.
Nice start to the weekend for you. Your thoughts.
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, it’s definitely a solid start. Obviously want to keep that top 10 momentum going for us and the team. It’s very important. Really do love this place. I think I can do quite well here. I’ve had some really good street racing success this year. It’s good to roll out of the trailer and be somewhat competitive.
THE MODERATOR: What is about this place you like so much?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Very flowy. Has the Detroit Belle Isle feel with the chicanes, high-speed corners, some massive brake zones. Track has a lot of character. It’s a lot of fun.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.
Q. What’s better for AJ Foyt Racing right now than it’s been? What is going the right direction?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Honestly, it’s everything. Continuity as a driver. Engineering, staffing, mechanics. Just talent across the board has been really good. The guys have been real fired up. The mentality is in another place it’s never been before.
Working with Larry (Foyt), he’s really wanted to make a difference in this team. The Team Penske alliance is another big thing. It’s everything that is making a difference. It’s not like all of a sudden we have the Penske alliance and it’s plug-and-play and it’s done.
Like I’ve been telling everybody, if you look at the start of the year, it was really rough. We were nowhere in pre-season testing, terrible in Thermal, not great in Long Beach. All of our testing was abysmal. We found more things that we hated about the car than we actually liked.
Now we’ve put all our minds to it, it’s starting to actually come together. We’re trying to minimize mistakes on every weekend because we have a chance for fighting for top fives. In Iowa last weekend we probably could have fought for the win in race one.
It’s a complete team effort. It’s everybody and everything that’s starting to gel together now.
Q. This circuit was under water just a few days ago. Does it feel, the grip level, dramatically different?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: It’s the cleanest it’s been, to be honest with you. It looks like they came through and scrubbed the place. It’s awesome.
Even walking the track yesterday, most street circuits have time to build, with the traffic in Toronto, the city trying to make it as good for people that live here as possible. Honestly, it’s in great shape.
Happy they repaved the brake zone into eight as well and fixed the bump in the middle of nine or 10. Some really big changes that needed to be done. You don’t often see that in street courses. Happy that the track and the promoters managed to make that happen.
Q. With the hybrid, does it feel like you have to attack the track differently?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Hybrid, we were so scary last year that the car feels amazing right now. I can definitely feel the weight of it moving comparatively to last year.
I mean, going back to 2019, the aeroscreen and all that, all the weight tacked on, is a better reference for me. You can tell the brake zones are a little bit more difficult.
Our car, we’re really struggling with rotation. Actually the first street course where I haven’t had that issue.
No, it’s been great. Honestly the hybrid is changing every weekend for us. You’re learning more with it. I really love the system. I do like the regen for my driving style because I like the nose to be planted off a brake.
I’m always at max regen, always trying to get more out of it.
It’s been fun a lot of fun. There is a lot of tune-ability around it. Indy I was in manual. Here, so busy with your hands on a street course, you’re trying to get the most out of it. It’s obviously a tough thing.
You see struggles on the short oval obviously from qualifying. There’s obviously a lot of unknowns, series trying to overcome a hurdle.
Yeah, what we’re doing, I feel like it’s pretty good.
Q. Obviously group two doesn’t get much running, if any, on the alternates. Group one got all the running. Is there any perfect formula to figure out something with practice so it’s more equal for everyone?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: I think it’s a good job they did with groups. As drivers it’s something we came up with on the off-season. It’s going to work or not. I think it’s way better now than it was. When you have 27 of us 1.9 miles all running green at the same time.
Even though group didn’t get a run in, it’s not great for them. I mean, it’s up to every driver to keep everything in one piece to get the run in, so…
Q. Both drivers had the same incident in turn eight, Rossi and Lundqvist. What is the difficult there? On entry? Under the braking for that?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Braking for me.
Yeah, it’s a bump the wrong way, doesn’t matter, hybrid, no hybrid, new tires, old tires, if you lose it, you lose it, so…
Q. Santino, you gave us more fireworks than anyone last weekend. How did you make that high line work?
SANTINO FERRUCCI: As all of us want to do that high line practice, that’s super important, not just for revving on the track, but getting confidence in your car to go up top.
I tend to run a looser car on the ovals. It benefits more on the top line. I feel like every time, if anyone ever went up there, they understeer and push off, versus for me, I was able to have room on the tools, enough front wing to just kind of go up there and hang it around the fence.
Yeah, I feel like I got a really good feeling around the short oval on the outside lane, and I’m comfortable sliding the car at those speeds. Obviously it will bite you when it bites you.
The scary part about going up there, you have to know who you’re racing. Like (Rinus) VeeKay, for example, trying to fight for the top five. I lifted out of it because I watched him get a wiggle. If I kept pushing the air off of his floor, he probably would have lost it, hit me, took us both off in the wall.
It was a lot of fun. I feel like it’s cool. Also I have never come back from a lap back in race one and finished as well as I’ve done. That’s honestly a big thing of the team, crew, big stops, good balance adjustments.
The first stint in race one, I don’t know if anyone has onboard, I think I crashed three or four times in that stint, and somehow just was praying to pit. Got lucky with the yellows. Pulled three turns of front wing out of it.
No, it was fun. I hope that Iowa either repaves the rest of the track, or like Graham said earlier today, we run more high line practice, because that is one of the best tracks on the calendar. We made it unfortunately one of the most boring races I feel like we’ve had all year.
The track deserves a lot more than that. Hy-Vee deserves a lot more than that. All the fans that come out to bake in the 100-degree sun deserve more than that.
Q. (Question about the difference in time compared to last year.)
SANTINO FERRUCCI: Part of it is due to the repave. The track is quicker. We’re not going to go faster everywhere. There’s no way.
It’s a good car. What’s nice about the series, everyone calls for a new car, right? Our racing is good. With the hybrid, it has changed a little bit. Hasn’t been as great. It’s all about finding the happy medium. Once we get another boost in power or maybe a bigger tire, then I think we’d be fine.
We need all the weight for the safety of the car. Look at Sting Ray’s crash. The dude literally walked away. That’s about as big as it gets nowadays.
THE MODERATOR: Great start to the weekend. Good luck tomorrow.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
TORONTO (Friday, July 19, 2024) – Five Honda-powered drivers topped the overall time sheet in Friday’s first practice for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, although it likely doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field at the final street race of the season.
The final minutes of Friday’s practice saw two drivers – Alexander Rossi and rookie Linus Lundqvist – hit tire barriers on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit, reducing the amount of time left for half of the field to complete a final timed lap.
Rossi was seen and released from INDYCAR Medical Unit, but the incident resulted in a broken right thumb, knocking the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner out of the weekend’s race.
Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta finished with the day’s fastest lap at 1 minute, 1.0399 seconds, but he knows others will be coming for the top spot the rest of the weekend.
“Overall, the car was really nice,” said Herta, who has a pair of top-three finishes on street circuits this season and won the pole for last month’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. “(It) feels like the same car that we brought last two years, which we’ve had podium results. And so hopefully that bodes well for us.”
Herta finished third in last year’s race and was second in 2022.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda) had Friday’s second-quickest time at 1:01.3323 and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong (No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) was third at 1:01.7791.
Rounding out the top five was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) at 1:01.8717 and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal (No. 15 United Rentals Honda) at 1:02.0162.
AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet) had the day’s fastest lap by a Chevrolet driver at 1:02.0519.
Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award is Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET, and recent history suggests it will be important for drivers to perform well in the session. The past four Toronto race winners have started on the front row — two from the pole, two from the No. 2 starting position. This race is the last of four on street circuits this season. Dixon has won the past two.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda) won last year’s Toronto race from the pole, and he led 54 of the 85 laps. While his margin at the finish line was 11.7893 seconds – the third-largest of the season – Alex Palou and Herta drove from the 15th and 14th starting positions to finish on the podium. Lundgaard’s best lap Friday ranked 12th on the speed chart.
Three-time Toronto race winner Will Power had the first incident of Friday’s practice. He spun his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet without contact in Turn 9, then was able to use the series’ new hybrid until to restart the car and continue without requiring a caution flag. Agustin Canapino spun his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet harmlessly minutes later in Turn 8, and he kept the car running.
Later, Rossi and Lundqvist hit the tire barrier in nearly the same fashion.
Series points leader Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda), who was seventh Friday, has a 35-point lead over Power in the standings as both drivers try to score their third series championship. Sunday’s race is one of six remaining events on the calendar. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) has climbed from sixth in points to third in recent weeks. He is 52 points behind Palou as he chases his first series title. O’Ward’s best lap Friday was good for 16th place.
This field includes Hunter McElrea, who finished second last season in the INDY NXT by Firestone standings. Driving the No. 18 Courtesy Corporation Honda, the 24-year-old New Zealander became the 44th driver to make their series debut with Dale Coyne Racing, including four this season. That group includes Toby Sowery, who is making his second series start this weekend in the team’s No. 51 Global Karting League/Vuzix Honda. They finished 18th and 25th, respectively, in Friday’s practice.
Saturday’s action begins with the weekend’s second practice at 10:30 a.m. ET. The final practice is Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. All sessions will air live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, July 19, 2024) – Tyler Reddick led practice Friday for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, as the NASCAR Cup Series is back on the fabled oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2020.
Reddick paced the 50-minute session with a top lap of 182.582 mph in the No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR Cup Series star Denny Hamlin. Reddick won the Cup Series race on the IMS road course in 2022 and could become the first driver to win Cup Series events on the 2.5-mile oval and 2.439-mile road course at the Racing Capital of the World.
The NASCAR Cup Series raced on the IMS oval from 1994-2020 in the Brickyard 400 before three consecutive years on the 14-turn road course.
“I didn’t know what the sensation of speed was going to feel like (on the oval), but it just feels like the center corner speeds we carry in this car, you feel tense in the car,” Reddick said. “There’s such a fine line to hit here. A foot up or down could be the difference between a really good lap or having to check up and not hit the fence.
“The room for error here is very, very fine, even in a stock car.”
This is the first time the Next Gen car is competing on the IMS oval, as the new car was introduced to the Cup Series in 2022.
“It’s interesting how the draft works,” Reddick said. “There is some sort of tow out that you get out there, but also the dirty air that comes with it is a challenge. It was just a big learning session, I guess.”
Reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney was second at 181.928 in the No. 12 Menards/Atlas Ford fielded by Team Penske. Hamlin was third at 181.561 in the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota of 23XI Racing.
Christopher Bell ended up fourth at 181.371 in the No. 20 Rheem Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing. Alex Bowman rounded out the top five at 180.930 in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, which has won a record 10 Brickyard 400s.
2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was sixth at 180.774 in the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet. This is Larson’s second time competing this year on the IMS oval, as he also was named Rookie of the Year in the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May after qualifying fifth and finishing 18th in a Hendrick Motorsports-Arrow McLaren entry.
Cup Series drivers will qualify at 1:05 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by the 160-lap Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
In NASCAR Xfinity Series action earlier in the sunny afternoon, Chandler Smith led the sole practice for the Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts race. Smith drove the No. 81 QuickTie Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing to a top lap of 166.756.
“It’s incredible,” Smith said. “This is where it all started for me, as far as where the interest came about. I’m from Georgia, so the first time I saw the (IMS) racetrack was when I was quarter-midget racing. They set up a little quarter-midget track in the infield. I always dreamed of racing here on the oval in a competitive car in one of the top three series in NASCAR, and here we are.”
Parker Kligerman was second at 166.571 in the No. 48 Spiked Lite Tropical Coolers Chevrolet fielded by Big Machine Racing, followed by Indianapolis 500 veteran and Indianapolis native Conor Daly at 164.995 in the No. 26 Polkadot Toyota of Sam Hunt Racing.
Brandon Jones was fourth at 164.781 in the No. 9 Menards/Pennington Chevrolet of JR Motorsports, with Riley Herbst rounding out the top five in the 38-car field at 164.736 in the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing.
Up next for the Xfinity Series is qualifying at 12:05 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by the 100-lap Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts race at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Visit IMS.com to buy tickets or for more information on Brickyard Weekend.
INDIANAPOLIS (July 19, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin, along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, were made available to the media on Friday after practice for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Was there dirty air out there today?
“Very dirty, very dingy. Very dirty, very air. It’ll be extremely difficult to pass (on Sunday).”
Where would a Brickyard 400 win rank on your accolades?
“I mean, I think probably, next to the Southern 500s, I would say. Obviously, it doesn’t have the prestige of the (Daytona) 500s, but I would say, the Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400 to me is kind of equal in its prestige. So, you know, we’ve got three of those Southern 500s, so it put its right there with that Coke 600 and Southern 500s.”
How frustrating was it to not have a chance to come back and win here after that incident in 2020?
“You know, I always thought we were going to come back here (oval) one day. Just never resigned to the fact that the road course here was going to be a permanent thing. But, I just didn’t know how long my career would go at that point, right? I was 40 (years-old) and so, I mean, I don’t have that many chances left. It’s less than what’s on my hand, I think. So, you just have to take advantage of every opportunity. Twenty-twenty was an enormous opportunity. Twenty-eighteen was a very underrated opportunity. Brad (Keselowski) caught a big yellow that was just untimely for us. Overall, I feel like I’ve always been in contention here, just never gotten it done.”
How much emphasis has your team put on to win this race?
“A lot. Certainly, from my standpoint, you know there’s only so many more opportunities I’ll have here at the oval. So, it’s a big emphasis because it’s a gaping hole on the résumé and would complete all the majors. But Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) wants it pretty bad, too. He’s a little hurt over 2020 and how that ended. I think, without a doubt, going into this weekend, he had spent a little extra time on this car making sure all the details were looked after and he brought me the fastest car he could.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Impressions from practice today?
“Yeah, it was interesting. Feel like the track is the same as it’s always been. Just trying to figure out how to get the Next Gen car around for the first time. Yeah, it was an interesting practice. We didn’t really have what we hoped for, but got a good direction for tomorrow and hopefully, we can make the changes we need and get going better.”
What’s your outlook on the racing for Sunday?
“I don’t know. This car’s not generally been good when there’s one preferred groove and that’s what we have here. Guess we’ll wait and see, see how the restarts will go and things. But it’s going to be huge challenge making passes. You’re going to have to be significantly faster than the guy in front of you to do that. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
What does it mean to have another opportunity at winning on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval?
“Yeah, it’s huge. The history here and what this track means for motorsports in general across the world. It’s very cool to get to come here. I wish we were a little bit faster today as qualifying and track position is going to be everything, so tomorrow is very, very important. But having a chance to win here is huge and special. Someone’s going to have a big day on Sunday.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
You’re nearing 600 laps led on the season. Do milestones like that mean something to you?
“Yeah, it is, and it’s definitely something that we’ve been focusing on this year. Being in position to lead laps. Hopefully we can keep building that number.”
How does it feel to be back on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval?
“Very refreshing. No matter how it turns out, I think it’s very important that we race on the oval.”
Why do you think that?
“It’s Indianapolis. You don’t (pause), whenever you think of Indianapolis, you don’t think of a road course. So, it’s the Brickyard 400 and it’s a marquee event and no matter how the race turns out, it’s the right thing.”
How was your car out there today?
“I was happy with it. It’s going to be hard to pass. The race is probably going to look similar to all the races we’ve had here in the past. But yeah, it’s you know what you’re going to get whenever you come here and it hasn’t changed.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
You seem to have a really fast car this weekend.
“That’s good! I mean, it seemed pretty solid. When you come to a place like this, that’s always something you hope for. I’ve been fortunate, we’ve run the road course here, and we’ve been really, really strong. Obviously, it seemed like Denny (Hamlin) had a really good test and we were able to get some good data from him. Yeah, tracks like this, it’s always a question mark to some degree, you know? How close is your sim preparation going to be? But it seemed like everyone did a pretty good job. Yeah, pretty happy with how the car drives. Certainly, it’s interesting how the draft works. I do feel like there is some sort of tow you can get out there, but also, the dirty air that comes with it is a challenge. So, it was just a big learning session.”
So, there will be tow and dirty air out there?
“What it seemed like. I mean, if, you know, the car you’re running behind would miss the bottom a little, it was somewhat manageable from like 15 (car lengths) back. You can get a tow down the straightaway it seemed like. But yeah, if they hit the bottom, it was tough to manage. I don’t how that’s going to work as we were all pretty spread out. You know, we can all run some sort of a good pace. I think, I would expect a lot of mistakes in the race on Sunday once we’re all packed up on restarts.”
Was there any tire fall off you could tell from the session?
“It was really hard to figure that part out. A lot of times, you kind of get running a pace, you get a feel for the car. Someone would pull onto the track in front of you and you’d run down the car in front of you and just what dirty air is like in these cars at these fast tracks. It’s kind of hard to tell what’s dirty air. Did you just get your stuff hot running behind somebody? And what’s natural tire fall off.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 26 electrified options.
NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT JULY 19, 2024
Bowman Leads Chevrolet in NASCAR Cup Series Practice at Indianapolis
· For the first time since the 2020 season, drivers and teams of the NASCAR Cup Series turned laps on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval configuration this afternoon for a 50-minute practice session in advance of Sunday’s Brickyard 400. The return of the series’ crown jewel event will mark the first for the Next Gen cars.
· Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman led Chevrolet on the speed chart at the conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session – posting a fastest-lap of 49.743 seconds, at 180.930 mph, in his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 to land fifth-fastest overall.
· Four Team Chevy drivers posted lap times in the top-10 of the final speed chart, with Bowman leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson in fifth and William Byron in ninth, with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar rounding out the top-10.
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
o In 27 NCS races on the IMS oval, Chevrolet has earned 17 victories – a record more than double the next leading manufacturer, Ford, with six victories.
o Of those victories includes a streak of 12-straight, recorded between Aug. 2003 to July 2014.
o Career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, leads the series with five Brickyard 400 victories, including the inaugural event in Aug. 1994.
Team Chevy Top-20 NASCAR Cup Series Practice Results:
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1
Drivers in the top-10 positions of the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, including Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Alex Bowman, met with the media following the series’ 50-minute practice session.
Team Chevy Driver Quotes:
William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
9th fastest in practice
Given your win here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series and just Chevy’s dominance when it comes to Indianapolis, how do you feel about returning to the oval on Sunday?
“I love it. I enjoy Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It has those good memories for me, so anytime you come back here, it’s special. Obviously this place is as special as it is, but that memory in 2017 and what that did for my career, that was a really big moment for me. I enjoy coming back here.”
You’ll find out where you’ll lineup after tomorrow’s qualifying session, but given the time in the practice session that you had, how do you feel about your car for Sunday?
“I feel pretty good. I feel like we could stand to work on a couple little things here and there. I think we were ninth overall on speed, so not bad. We never really did a perfect lap on sticker tires. I just felt like I was always kind of missing the corner here and there. I think we can be better than that. Qualifying will be really important because track position is always big here, so I just feel like we have to work on a little tightness in our car and just try to get a little bit faster.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
5th fastest in practice
What are your goals for the remainder of the regular season?
“Just to continue to improve our program and try to get better at the places that we lack. We weren’t amazing today, so there’s work to be done for Sunday. Really just to continue to try to make our team better and try to be ready for the playoffs.”
What did you notice about how the Next Gen car goes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval versus the Gen-6 car?
“I mean, similar but different. I think a lot of throttle time, for sure. Passing is going to be super difficult. I was talking to Tyler (Reddick) on the way over here. He’s the fastest thing here by a mile and ran me down like I was tied to a post, and I couldn’t do a damn thing. It’s going to be difficult, for sure. It’s going to be a track position race. This place is unique, right? It’s narrow. It’s really sensitive with this car. If you get a little bit too high, you’re on ice. It’s definitely tricky.”
So the hope that passing might be a little bit easier because the wake wouldn’t be as bad, that’s not really panning out?
“I don’t know. It’s hard because we haven’t raced here back-to-back. It’s been four years or whatever, so it’s hard to say if it’s better or worse than the last car. But it’s still extremely difficult, for sure. Anything is though, right? The INDYCAR guys get aero-tight and stuff. The INDYCAR, I feel like, gets such a big run down the straightaway compared to the Cup car. Obviously it doesn’t seem like we’re building those big runs, so it makes it tough.”
Kyle Larson was saying this week that he expects restarts to be as aggressive as they’ve ever been, or more aggressive than the last time you guys were here..
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s different, right? It’s so narrow, so there’s not as many options as – like into (turn) one at Pocono (Raceway), you’re five or six-wide. Hopefully we don’t get there here, right? But guys are going to be aggressive because you’re never going to get those spots back. You’re never really going to get a shot to be side-by-side with somebody I feel like, unless they mess up pretty bad. Yeah, I mean if you hit your marks and hit the line, it’s going to be really difficult for anybody to do anything with the other lines.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Rajah Caruth zipped his way to the second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole of his career and of the 2024 season for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) on Friday, July 19.
The 22-year-old Caruth from Washington D.C. posted his best qualifying lap at 108.017 mph in 22.863 seconds, which was enough to claim the top starting spot by 0.017 seconds over Grant Enfinger in his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports.
With his accomplishment, Caruth, who finished in seventh place in his first Truck event at Lucas Oil IRP in 2023, earned his second career pole position in the Truck Series and his first since Las Vegas Motor Speedway in early March, where he would proceed to claim his first career victory. Despite being currently ranked in fifth place in this year’s Truck Series regular-season standings and trailing points leader Christian Eckes by 188 points, he is guaranteed one of 10 spots in this year’s Playoffs with his Vegas victory.
The pole position left Caruth surprised after he posted the 23rd-fastest time during Friday’s practice session, but looking ahead for momentum as this year’s regular-season season reaches its conclusion.
“I was honestly surprised [with our qualifying run],” Caruth said on FS1. “I was enthused with our HendrickCars.com Silverado. Kind of after a long run in practice, I’m honestly really surprised by the qualifying speed. Gotta thank the men and women at Spire Motorsports…We’ll hopefully have a good night this evening and something good for my team to think about for the Olympic break.”
Enfinger, winner of the 2022 Truck Series event at Lucas Oil IRP, will start alongside Caruth after he posted his best qualifying lap at 107.937 mph in 22.880 seconds. He is coming off a strong runner-up result from Pocono Raceway, which currently places in seventh place in this year’s regular-season standings. Above all, he is 46 points above the top-10 cutline to make this year’s Playoffs.
Tyler Ankrum, who is ranked in sixth place in the standings and 49 points above the cutline, will start in third place and share the second row with Ty Majeski, winner of last year’s Truck event at Lucas Oil IRP and who was the fastest during Friday’s practice session. Matt Crafton, three-time champion of the series, will line up in fifth place alongside Christian Eckes, this year’s leader in the regular-season standings.
Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen, Corey Heim and Chase Purdy will start in the top 10 while Nick Sanchez and Sammy Smith will follow suit in 11th and 12th, respectively.
Notably, Taylor Gray and Ben Rhodes, both of whom are currently above the cutline, will start 13th and 15th, respectively, while names including rookie Layne Riggs, Jake Garcia, Dean Thompson, Ty Dillon, Tanner Gray and Bayley Currey, all of whom are below the cutline, will line up 17th to 22nd, respectively. In addition, Ross Chastain, who is pulling double-duty between Lucas Oil IRP and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will start 16th, William Sawalich will start 26th and Johnny Sauter will start 28th in the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota entry.
In addition, the following names that include Spencer Boyd, rookie Thad Moffitt, Matt Mills and Conor Daly will round out the 35-truck field after all lined up based on owner points.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Rajah Caruth, 108.017 mph, 22.863 seconds
2. Grant Enfinger, 107.937 mph, 22.880 seconds
3. Tyler Ankrum, 107.786 mph, 22.912 seconds
4. Ty Majeski, 107.730 mph, 22.924 seconds
5. Matt Crafton, 107.313 mph, 23.013 seconds
6. Christian Eckes, 107.299 mph, 23.016 seconds
7. Daniel Dye, 107.174 mph, 23.043 seconds
8. Stewart Friesen, 107.122 mph, 23.054 seconds
9. Corey Heim, 107.053 mph, 23.069 seconds
10. Chase Purdy, 107.011 mph, 23.078 seconds
11. Nick Sanchez, 106.928 mph, 23.096 seconds
12. Sammy Smith, 106.821 mph, 23.119 seconds
13. Taylor Gray, 106.766 mph, 23.131 seconds
14. Luke Fenhaus, 106.591 mph, 23.169 seconds
15. Ben Rhodes, 106.568 mph, 23.174 seconds
16. Ross Chastain, 106.536 mph, 23.181 seconds
17. Layne Riggs, 106.471 mph, 23.195 seconds
18. Jake Garcia, 106.183 mph, 23.258 seconds
19. Dean Thompson, 106.169 mph, 23.261 seconds
20. Ty Dillon, 106.146 mph, 23.266 seconds
21. Tanner Gray, 106.069 mph, 23.283 seconds
22. Bayley Currey, 106.028 mph, 23.292 seconds
23. Jack Wood, 105.728 mph, 23.358 seconds
24. Lawless Alan, 105.651 mph, 23.375 seconds
25. Timmy Hill, 105.260 mph, 23.462 seconds
26. William Sawalich, 105.148 mph, 23.487 seconds
27. Mason Massey, 105.844 mph, 23.555 seconds
28. Johnny Sauter, 104.826 mph, 23.559 seconds
29. Marco Andretti, 104.675 mph, 23.593 seconds
30. Bret Holmes, 104.335 mph, 23.593 seconds
31. Tyler Tomassi, 103.896 mph, 23.770 seconds
32. Spencer Boyd, owner points
33. Thad Moffitt, owner points
34. Matt Mills, owner points
35. Conor Daly, owner points
The 2024 TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is set to occur on Friday, July 19, and air at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
