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Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Bristol Post-Race Report – 06.09.24

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Official Release
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KALITTA, TODD RUNNER-UP AT THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
Toyota extends finals appearance streak to 31

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 9, 2024) – In Sunday’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Doug Kalitta led the Toyota Top Fuel dragster contingent by earning the runner-up spot. Though he was the No. 14 seed to start the day, the defending Top Fuel champion methodically worked his way through the category bracket to make his 115th career final round appearance, ultimately falling to event winner, Tony Schumacher. With his performance today, Kalitta takes over the Top Fuel points lead. Steve and Billy Torrence, along with Shawn Langdon, advanced out of round one on Sunday, but went no further.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd also made the final round on Sunday after starting the day No. 11 overall. Todd defeated the likes of John Force and Toyota teammate, Ron Capps, to make the final round, but was narrowly defeated by Austin Prock at the end of the day. Capps and Alexis DeJoria both advanced to round two.

With the finals appearances by both Kalitta and Todd on Sunday, Toyota has now reached the final round in 31 consecutive NHRA events in either Top Fuel and/or Funny Car.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has a week off before racing at Virginia Motorsports Park, June 21-23 for the NHRA Virginia Nationals.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
NHRA Thundery Valley Nationals
Bristol Dragway
Race 8 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Doug KalittaMark III Employee Benefits Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalistW (3.723) v. A. Brown (3.782) W (3.767) v. S. Torrence (3.775) W (3.800) v. B. Force (4.204) L (4.890) v. T. Schumacher (4.236)
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW (3.739) v. S. Reed (5.031) L (3.835) v. T. Schumacher (3.815)
Steve TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW (3.773) v. C. Krohn (3.901) L (3.775) v. D. Kalitta (3.767)
Billy TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW (3.768) v. J. Hart (3.830) L (3.820) v. B. Force (4.228)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFirst RoundL (3.782) v. D. Kalitta (3.723)
Justin AshleySCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFirst RoundL (3.764) v. B. Force (3.733)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarFinalistW (3.999) v. T. Haddock (4.097) W (3.977) v. R. Capps (4.001) W (4.012) v. J. Force (4.060) L (4.022) v. A. Prock (3.989)
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSecond RoundW (3.938) v. D. Richards (4.242) L (4.088) v. J. Force (4.010)
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSecond RoundW (3.962) v. B. Hull (4.176) L (4.001) v. J. Todd (3.977)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Mark III Employee Benefits Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Final Result: Finalist

What are your thoughts after another strong race day?

“Great to make it to another final with this Mark III Employee Benefits Dragster. Can’t thank everyone from Mark III enough for stepping up and jumping onboard with our program, really wish we could have got the win for them at their first race in the sport. We are going to continue to build and do it again at Richmond. All three of the Kalitta (Motorsports) cars are running strong right now and it’s a big testament to everyone’s hard work.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Final Result: Finalist

How would you describe your day?

“It was definitely a good way to rebound after qualifying. After qualifying, our ladder was not ideal. Kind of got your back up against the wall and don’t have lane choice in the first round. But it didn’t seem to really matter the way the weather changed today compared to the way it was all weekend. Really proud of the guys for digging deep, giving me a consistent car. I was just a tick behind those guys all day long. Yeah, had some struggles spinning down track and dropping cylinders and what have you. It did it again in the finals. Came up a little short in the final round against those guys (Austin Prock and John Force Racing). They have the best car out here right now. But we’re going to the later rounds every week and that’s what you need to do to stay in the hunt.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the culkktural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships. 

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th 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 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

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

Chadwick Drives into INDY NXT History with Road America Win

By
Official Release
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Elkhart Lake, WI - during the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sunday, June 9, 2024) – Jamie Chadwick became the first woman to win an INDY NXT by Firestone race since 2010 – and only the third female driver to win in the INDYCAR development series – with her victory Sunday in the Grand Prix of Road America.

English driver Chadwick led all 20 laps from the pole in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global to become the first female winner in INDY NXT since Pippa Mann in September 2010 at Kentucky Speedway. Ana Beatriz is the other female winner in the series, with single victories in 2008 and 2009. Chadwick is the first female to win an INDY NXT race on a road or street course, as Beatriz and Mann won on ovals.

“I have no words,” Chadwick said. “Honestly, I’m a bit emotional. We’ve had an unbelievable car this year and just haven’t been able to do anything about it. I’m just so happy we held on there.”

Chadwick drove to victory by .8203 of a second over Andretti Global teammate Louis Foster in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car. Foster edged series leader Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports by .0236 of a second at the finish to hang on to second and cut into Abel’s championship lead. Abel leads Foster by 19 points.

“Massive congratulations to Jamie,” Foster said. “She’s done an amazing job. She was the woman to beat this weekend. Really, really fast. More than happy for the team. One-two, you can’t ask for anything more.”

Reece Gold finished a season-best fourth in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports car, while HMD teammate Caio Collet placed fifth in the No. 18 car as the leading rookie in the race.

Chadwick became the first woman to win a pole on a road or street course in INDY NXT by Firestone history Saturday, and she never relinquished that spot in the race. But the drive was far from easy for Chadwick, in her second INDY NXT season after winning three championships in the European-based, all-female W Series.

Abel jumped from the fourth starting position to second and immediately applied pressure to Chadwick on the first lap of the race after Foster’s move for the lead went wide in Turn 1. But she managed, maintaining a gap of about seven-tenths of a second through two caution periods in the first half of the race.

Then Foster passed Abel with an inside move in Turn 1 on Lap 13, giving Chadwick 1.3 seconds of breathing room as the two title rivals dueled side by side. But Foster drove right up to Chadwick’s gearbox two laps later, but she parried his move for the lead in Turn 13.

Foster and Abel then continued to dice side by side for second on Lap 15, giving Chadwick a margin of seven-tenths of a second. Then series rookie Myles Rowe spun off track in Turn 1 in the No. 99 HMD with Force Indy car on Lap 16, collecting the No. 21 ABEL Motorsports machine of Jordan Missig. Neither driver was hurt.

That incident triggered a red flag from race officials to provide time for a green-flag finish. Chadwick led the field to green on Lap 19 in a two-lap dash for the checkered.

She built a lead of seven-tenths of a second over Foster as the white flag flew and never was challenged on the final lap under bright Wisconsin sunshine.

“With the red flag at the end, I was like, ‘Come on,” Chadwick said. “We started to lose the tires a little bit. So, I just knew I had to be aggressive. I knew they (Foster and Abel) have a championship to worry about, and I just had to get my head down. I really wanted to win today.”

Wagner Unstoppable in Mid-Ohio Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2 Victory

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Official Release
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 9, 2024) – After finishing third in Saturday’s Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin race, Gresham Wagner (No. 5 McCumbee McAleer Racing) got the job done on Sunday by winning Round Eight. Wagner led a McCumbee McAleer Racing podium sweep that included Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) in second and Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing) in third.

Like Saturday’s race, Wagner started from pole position for the 45-minute, all green flag race. Unlike Saturday’s race, he took a decisive 0.537-second victory over Fletcher, his MMR teammate. In doing so, he became the first repeat Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup race winner of the year.

Wagner and two-time Mazda MX-5 Cup Champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) led a pack of four cars that slowly pulled away from the rest of the field, with Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) and Fletcher in third and fourth, respectively. The quartet played the long game, running in that order for 22 laps.

With two laps to go, Fletcher took a look at Jeansonne for third in the Hairpin. Jeansonne’s attempt to defend his spot unfortunately resulted in him hitting his teammate, Thomas, who slid into the gravel trap and became stuck.

The incident gave Wagner more than enough breathing room on the final lap to get his second win of the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Cup season.

“I had a different mindset coming into the last five minutes, of what I could do different from yesterday,” Wagner said. “But that was kind of a moot point because of the incident that happened. I was prepared to have to race them a bit different and pull out some tricks from yesterday and then it kind of just fell in my lap coming to the white flag. That’s not necessarily what you like to see at the end, but I led every lap, I was fast, and I thought I earned that win. I’m happy to get a double podium on the weekend and become the first repeat race winner. Sometimes you have good waves and sometimes you have bad, so it’s good to be riding a wave of good momentum heading into the second half of the season.”

Following the contact between the JTR teammates, Fletcher was able to sneak past Jeansonne and into second. With just a lap and a half left in the race, Fletcher was unable to catch Wagner and challenge him for the win.

“At the start of the race I had a similar thing happen but the opposite,” Fletcher said of the contact. “Somebody came in kind of late and hit me. I tried to go for a fake out on Aaron [Jeansonne] and he bought it and ended up going too deep and sadly they had contact, but luckily, I stayed clear. I tried to run down Gresham but couldn’t catch him. I can’t thank the McCumbee McAleer guys enough; I mean, we’re 1,2,3! I also want to thank my grandparents the Holster Store, Home Restoration Exchange, Home Decor and More and everyone that’s been able to put me in this position.”

Jeansonne recovered from the incident at the Hairpin and crossed the line in third but was deemed responsible and issued a drive-through penalty. When the drive-through equivalent time was added to the results it dropped Jeansonne to 14th and promoted Cicero to the final podium spot.

“It was a pretty lonely race for a while,” Cicero said. “We had a little gap to the front group, and I had [Nathan] Nicholson behind me but either Connor [Zilisch] spun him or he spun by himself. Connor and I got to working together for a while. We saw Jared [Thomas] get hit by Aaron [Jeansonne] I think, so I knew there was going be a penalty or something and I had to get in front of Connor. There was a little bit of contact, some rough racing, and then he and Weston [Workman] got together in the last corner, so I over-undered them and was able to get third. I’ll take it on a rough weekend.”

Workman (No. 13 BSI Racing) came out the winner of that final corner contact, finishing fourth, the highest of the rookies. Zilisch (No. 72 BSI Racing), who was Saturday’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race winner, finished fifth.

It was a banner weekend for Sally Mott (No. 15 Spark Performance) who captured two 13th-place finishes on the weekend. This earned her a total of $4,000 as the highest finishing female driver in both races. Mott is the 2023 recipient of the Mazda Women in Motorsports Initiative Scholarship, which won her $75,000 toward this MX-5 Cup season.

“I feel like I really had a lot more pace than every other week,” Mott said. “I think I’m really getting comfortable with this car and starting to feel a lot better. It’s like we’re chipping off smaller and smaller amounts now and it’s really about working on racecraft.”

Next up for Rounds Nine and 10 of the Mazda MX-5 Cup, the series heads back to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the first time since 2016. The doubleheader takes place July 12 – 13.

About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250

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Official Release
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Shane van Gisbergen wins the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro

  • Shane van Gisbergen and his WeatherTech team won their first pole award of the season earlier Saturday afternoon and started the 79-lap event in Sonoma from the first position. Van Gisbergen held on to the lead from drop of the green flag and lead every lap in stage one. Under the stage one break, the WeatherTech team hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
  • With varying pit strategies at the end of stage one, Van Gisbergen restarted the second stage in seventh on lap 25. With his WeatherTech Chevrolet feeling better this run, Van Gisbergen cracked the top five by lap 30. Continuing to run the fastest lap times during the stage, Van Gisbergen ended the stage in second on lap 45.
  • Following a trip to pit road under the stage two caution break, Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage in fifth. The caution flag waved just after the restart with Van Gisbergen scored in fourth. Staying out under the caution, the WeatherTech team restarted fourth on lap 56. Van Gisbergen took over the second spot on lap 57 and then took over the lead with 10 laps remaining, ultimately crossing the finish line and earning his second-consecutive win.

“What a great day! I’m so thankful to WeatherTech, Chevrolet, all the men and women at Kaulig and Trackhouse racing for the support. It wasn’t easy, but we battled all day and ultimately came home with the win!” – Shane van Gisbergen  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro

  • AJ Allmendinger qualified fourth for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250.
  • On lap one, Allmendinger took over third place. By lap five, Allmendinger was running fifth reporting his No. 16 Celsius Chevy was loose. When the first stage ended on lap 20, Allmendinger was running second, earning nine stage points. The team came to pit road during the stage break for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.
  • Allmendinger restarted the second stage in 13th place. Early in the run, Allmendinger reported his race car was loose. Allmendinger came to pit road under green from 13th place on lap 42 for a scheduled green flag pit stop. Crew chief, Alex Yontz, called for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Allmendinger finished the second stage in 34th place.
  • After the field came to pit road, Allmendinger restarted the third stage in third place. The No. 16 took second place on the restart and maintained that position as the caution came out the first lap back green. Allmendinger restarted in second on lap 55 and fell to third by lap 56. The caution came back out on lap 66; Allmendinger was scored in third. The team stayed out and restarted on lap 69. On the first lap green, Allmendinger spun after contact with the No. 18 and fell back to 25th place. The No. 16 finished in 17th place.

“We didn’t have the speed we needed to go win the race. We fought really hard to put ourselves in position to make the most out of our day until we were spun at the end. Proud of my team for their effort all week to get this car race ready.” – AJ Allmendinger  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

  • Josh Williams qualified 28th for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250.
  • Williams began a slow march forward by picking off three cars in as many laps. His progress slowed as the segment progressed, but after moving into 23rd on speed, he finished stage one in 17th after multiple frontrunners pitted.
  • Williams came down pit road for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the stage caution. He restarted in 21st on lap 24 and once again began methodically marching through the field, taking 17th on lap 38. After another set of green flag pit stops made by some front runners, Williams took the second green-white-checkered flag running in 12th.
  • Williams pitted for tires, fuel and a minor trackbar adjustment, and after a quick stop from the Alloy Employer Services pit crew, he rolled off for the final stage in 11th on lap 49. On the restart, Williams was involved in a race-ending wreck, forcing him to retire the No. 11 Chevy Camaro. He finished 37th.

“I wouldn’t call that a momentum killer. I mean, we went from 28th up to 11th halfway through the race. We were gonna have a good day. [Crew chief] Kevin Walter and our pit crew did a great job with the adjustments.” – Josh Williams  

About Kaulig Racing

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

Stewart-Haas Racing: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 from Sonoma Raceway

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Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250

Date: June 8, 2024
Event: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 (Round 14 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: 79 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/34 laps)
Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 12th / Finished 9th, Running, completed 79 of 79 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 15th / Finished 13th, Running, completed 79 of 79 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (1st with 509 points)
● Riley Herbst (7th with 403 points, 106 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Sonoma.
● This was Custer’s second straight top-10. He finished sixth last Saturday at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.
● This was Custer’s second straight top-10 at Sonoma. He finished sixth in the Xfinity Series’ inaugural race last June.
● Custer has never finished outside the top-10 at Sonoma.
● Custer finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.
● Herbst earned his eighth top-15 of the season and his second top-15 in two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Sonoma.
● Herbst has never finished outside the top-15 at Sonoma.
● This was Herbst’s second straight top-15. He finished 10th last Saturday at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.
● Herbst’s 13th-place finish bettered his previous best finish at Sonoma – 15th, earned in the series’ inaugural race last June.
● Herbst finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point.

Race Notes:

● Shane van Gisbergen won the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 to score his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season, and his first at Sonoma. His margin over second-place Sheldon Creed was 1.323 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 14 laps.
● Twenty-eight of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Custer remains the championship leader after Sonoma with a 12-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.

Sound Bites:

“Overall, it was just a really hard-fought day. I think we had the speed to run top-five, but we got spun late and we didn’t have it all work out for us. I’m really proud of us that we came back for a ninth-place finish. We had to go to the back twice and then figure it out. So it was a hard-fought day for our No. 00 Haas Automation team with a decent finish. I wish we had a little more out there, but the race didn’t work out the way we wanted, and we found some bad luck. On to the next one though.​” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Sonoma is always tricky, but I feel like we just struggled to get everything right this weekend. I was just loose the entire race, and we couldn’t get our handling just right. On top of that, we had several mistakes on pit road that cost us a lot of spots. We were able to recover for a top-15 finish, but we need to minimize the mistakes if we want to compete for wins. I’m glad that the road courses are done for a few weeks, and we can go back to some intermediate tracks that I really enjoy. We’ll learn from this and keep moving forward.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the HyVee Perks 250 on Saturday, June 15 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing – NXS Sonoma Post-Race Report – 06.08.24

By
Official Release
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CREED FINISHES SECOND IN SONOMA
Scores fifth top-five result of season

SONOMA, Calif. (June 8, 2024) – Sheldon Creed scored a second-place result in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Creed made his way through the top-five late in the race in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 GR Supra to earn the runner-up result, marking his fifth top-five finish of the season. The California-native, who is searching for his first Xfinity Series victory, earned his ninth career second-place finish in the series.

Ty Gibbs ran in the top two for much of the race, leading 26 laps and winning stage two, before being involved in an on-track incident on lap 49 that collected a number of cars, including Gibbs’ Toyota GR Supra. The damage suffered ended Gibbs’ day early.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Sonoma Raceway
Race 14 of 33 – 157.21 miles, 79 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Shane Van Gisbergen*
2nd, SHELDON CREED
3rd, Sam Mayer*
4th, Austin Green*
5th, Austin Hill
7th, CHANDLER SMITH
8th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
15th, ED JONES
35th, TY GIBBS
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 MRC Construction Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Early unscheduled pit stop, but you were able to battle back to finish second. Can you talk about your race?

“I don’t even know how many second places that is – number nine or something? I don’t know – I guess I just had a silly set of tires that blistered – had an unscheduled stop there and had really good adjustments. I knew we were really good the second half of stage two, and stage three after that first caution came out. Just knew I had a really fast car after the first few laps. I want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – I had a really fast MRC Construction Toyota GR Supra. I really want to say thank you to MRC Construction for coming on board this weekend, Mike Avila (owner) and his family – thank you guys. I don’t know – I don’t want to say that we need more laps, because I know the 97 (Shane van Gisbergen) probably wasn’t going his hardest at the end, but I just wish maybe I could have started on the front row with him and wasn’t part of the chaos there. I wheel-hopped into the 16 (A.J. Allmendinger) – so I know an apology doesn’t do much, but that is not what you want to do – wheel hop into your competitors and take them out and ruin their day. We will move on to Iowa next week and keep trucking along.”

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 QuickTie Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

How were you able to come back and finish seventh with so much damage to your car?

“To be honest with you, this No. 81 QuickTie Products Toyota GR Supra is just bad fast. It was bad fast, especially there at the very end. Got that damage after that wreck when we went three wide, that put us behind the eight ball. Then got wrecked right after I went to the back there and that really put us behind the eight ball, but that caution kind of saved us and we were able to march forward pretty quickly. I can’t say enough about everybody on this group today. We had adversity right from the get-go with our tachometer. It somehow got goofed up and our pit road lights weren’t right. With everything that happened on the track today, we were still able to have a decent stage points day and a decent finish and a really solid car even though it was torn up. Super proud of everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing and looking forward to Iowa.”

TY GIBBS, No. 19 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 35th

How frustrated are you to be out of the race early after how fast your car was in today’s race?

“It’s definitely frustrating for sure. I don’t really know what happened. I haven’t really seen a good replay. I know somebody spun out and everybody just booked it and held it wide open. We caught up in that and got hit like six or seven times after that. It’s just unfortunate, but we had a great car. I feel like I learned a lot. Thank you to Starkey and Soundgear and the Sawalich family for letting me run this race, and Toyota and Monster Energy. Definitely not the most ideal way to end it, but I feel like we were really solid and wish we could stay out there and had a shot to win, but that’s just the way it goes.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th 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 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

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

Shane van Gisbergen muscles to second consecutive Xfinity victory of 2024 at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 08: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway on June 08, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images).

On the heels of notching two firsts between two road course venues in two West Coast states, rookie Shane van Gisbergen accomplished another first by notching back-to-back victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the first time after scoring a dominant victory in the second annual running of the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 8.

The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led twice for a race-high 32 of 79 scheduled laps in an event where he led the field to the green flag from pole position for the first time in his career. After taking care of business early by winning the first stage period on Lap 20, he was shuffled back into the top 10 for the start of the second stage period after pitting during the first stage’s break period. Nonetheless, the New Zealander methodically carved his way back towards the front, where he would run for the remainder of the event.

After challenging Austin Hill for the lead before a late-race caution for rookie Jesse Love spinning with 15 laps remaining, van Gisbergen capitalized on the ensuing restart period with 11 laps remaining by making contact with Hill entering the first two turns. The contact got Hill loose and shuffled him back to fifth place while van Gisbergen reassumed the lead. Despite battling a voltage issue to his No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet entry since the midpoint region, van Gisbergen managed to muscle away from Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed in the closing laps with enough power to claim the checkered flag.

It was his second consecutive victory in the Xfinity Series in Sonoma, California, one week after achieving his first series victory at Portland International Raceway.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, rookie Shane van Gisbergen notched his first Xfinity pole position of the season and of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 95.933 mph in 74.677 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 95.458 mph in 75.049 seconds.

Before the event, Boris Said dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Friday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Shane van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs dueled for the lead through the first turn and approaching the uphill turn to Turn 2 before he managed to launch ahead of Gibbs prior to entering Turns 3 and 3A. As the field behind jostled for early spots, van Gisbergen retained the lead through Turns 4 and 7, including the circuit Chute corner, before navigating through a series of right and left-hand turns through Turns 8 and 10. Once he navigated his way through Turns 11 and 12, van Gisbergen proceeded to lead the first lap over Gibbs while AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill and rookie Jesse Love followed suit.

Over the next three laps, van Gisbergen maintained and stretched his advantage as high as eight-tenths of a second over Gibbs throughout the circuit’s 12 turns while Allmendinger, Hill and Love continued to trail in the top five.

Through the first five scheduled laps, van Gisbergen retained the lead by half a second over Gibbs as Hill, Love and Allmendinger followed suit in the top five. Behind, Justin Allgaier trailed closely in sixth place ahead of teammate Sam Mayer, John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed and Sammy Smith while Cole Custer, Parker Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Anthony Alfredo and Parker Retzlaff were racing in the top 15 ahead of Riley Herbst, Jeb Burton, Ed Jones, Austin Green and Ryan Sieg. Meanwhile, Jeremy Clements was mired in 22nd, three spots ahead of Josh Williams. In addition, Boris Said was back in 31st behind Brandon Jones and Hailie Deegan was in 37th while racing in between Matt DiBenedetto and Garrett Smithley.

Five laps later, van Gisbergen stabilized his advantage to half a second over Gibbs, who kept van Gisbergen close in front of him as he continued to try to narrow the deficit, while Hill, Love and Allmendinger continued to trail in the top five. As Allgaier retained sixth place ahead of teammate Mayer, Nemechek and Creed, Kligerman navigated his way into 10th place after he made contact with Custer in Turn 11 before proceeding to overtake Sammy Smith on the track. Sammy Smith would then battle Chandler Smith and Custer for 11th place during the following lap while Kligerman proceeded to battle Creed for ninth place.

On Lap 14, Creed pitted due to a vibration concern to his No. 18 MRC Construction Toyota Supra entry under green. Prior to Creed’s pit service, Hill slid his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro entry into the Turn 11 outside tire barrier while running in third place, but he proceeded without drawing a caution and without sustaining significant damage. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen continued to hold a narrow lead over Gibbs by the Lap 15 mark.

Then starting on Lap 16, a first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Mayer, Allgaier, Custer, Austin Green and Ed Jones pitted their respective. Gibbs would then surrender the runner-up spot to pit his No. 19 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota Supra during the following lap along with Love as Allmendinger moved into second place, all while van Gisbergen remained on the track with the lead.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, van Gisbergen claimed his first Xfinity stage victory of the season and his career. Teammate Allmendinger trailed in second place by a distance along with Hill, Kligerman and Nemechek while Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Alfredo, Retzlaff and Herbst were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by van Gisbergen pitted while the rest led by Gibbs, including those who pitted before the first stage’s conclusion, remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Herbst was penalized for speeding on pit road while Allmendinger endured a slow pit service due to the front tire changer’s hose getting caught on the splitter of Allmendinger’s entry.

The second stage period started on Lap 24 as Gibbs and Love occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs muscled ahead of Love to retain the lead through the first turn and as he entered the uphill climb to Turn 2 while Love was trying to fend off JR Motorsports’ Mayer and Allgaier for the runner-up spot. A series of on-track battles and contact within the field ensued through the Chute and entering Turns 7 to 10 as van Gisbergen, the first competitor who exited pit road first, charged his way back into the top five on four fresh tires. With van Gisbergen starting to intimidate Creed for fourth place, Gibbs retained a steady advantage over Love and Mayer as Leland Honeyman went off the track and spun just past Turn 1.

At the Lap 26 mark, Gibbs was leading by six-tenths of a second over Love while third-place Mayer trailed by a second. Behind, van Gisbergen trailed the lead by three seconds in fourth place while Creed settled in fifth, with Allgaier, Custer, Hill, Kligerman and Nemechek racing in the top 10.

By Lap 30, Gibbs continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Mayer and by more than a second over third-place Mayer. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen settled in fourth place along with fifth-place Creed while Custer fended off Allgaier in a battle for sixth place. Allgaier would then be pressured by Hill, Kligerman, Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Allmendinger for seventh place while Sammy Smith, Austin Green and Retzlaff trailed in the top 15.

Shortly after, Boris Said, who was piloting the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry for Hendrick Motorsports, spun in Turn 7A after he got hit by Alex Labbe while battling within the top 20 on the track. Nonetheless, Said managed to proceed without drawing a caution as Gibbs continued to lead. Gibbs would then proceed to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Love by the Lap 35 mark.  

Nearing the Lap 40 mark, a series of battles started to ensue within the circuit as Kligerman was trying to fend off Allgaier, who was slowly losing spots, and Nemechek for ninth place while van Gisbergen was closing in on Mayer and Love for top-three spots. Allgaier would then be overtaken by Nemechek for 10th place as Green, Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Retzlaff all tried to close in on Allgaier for more. Soon after, van Gisbergen made a bold move beneath Mayer to move into third place and he proceeded to track Mayer for the runner-up spot while Gibbs stretched his advantage to four seconds.

With three laps remaining in the second stage period, select names including Hill, Mayer, Green and Allmendinger pitted under green, with Mayer only opting for two fresh tires for his entry. Amid the pit stops Gibbs remained on the track with the race lead while Love was being pressured by van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 45, Gibbs claimed his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season while van Gisbergen, who overtook Love for the runner-up spot a lap earlier, retained the spot. Creed and Custer followed suit in the top five while Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Kligerman, Allgaier and Retzlaff were scored in the top 10. Amid the conclusion of the second stage period, Sammy Smith pitted to address a broken axle to his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro, an issue that would send him to the garage and pin him multiple laps behind.

During the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Gibbs pitted while select names including Hill, Green and Allmendinger remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Custer exited pit road first as he was followed by van Gisbergen, Mayer, Creed, Allgaier and Kligerman. Amid the pit stops, Nemechek and Clements were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road while Herbst was penalized for a second time, this time for pitting his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang outside of his pit box. In addition, Boris Said was sent to the rear of the field for a safety violation.

With 30 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Austin Hill and Austin Green occupied the front row. At the start, Hill muscled ahead with the lead while Allmendinger made his way into second place over Green. The caution then quickly flew when Chandler Smith, who was battling for a top-10 spot, got bumped and sent sideways by Jeb Burton in between Turns 2 and 3 as he bounced off of Josh Williams and triggered a multi-car wreck that stacked up the midfield region. Among those involved included Burton, Brandon Jones, Ed Jones, Herbst, Kyle Weatherman, Ryan Sieg, Retzlaff, Preston Pardus, Josh Bilicki, Said and Gibbs, who restarted in the mid-pack region after enduring a slow pit service during the second stage period and had his hopes of winning spoiled with a wrecked race car. Amid the carnage, Hill retained the lead as he was followed by Allmendinger, Green, van Gisbergen, Custer and Mayer.

Following an extensive caution period to have the multi-car carnage cleared, the event restarted under green with 24 laps remaining. At the start, Hill and Allmendinger dueled for the lead through the uphill first turn until Hill managed to muscle ahead with the lead. As Allmendinger tried to keep Hill close in front of him, he was pressured by teammate van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot. Van Gisbergen then made a bold move beneath teammate Allmendinger to overtake him from the runner-up spot while Hill retained the lead during the next lap. Amid the battle towards the front, Custer was rammed by Mayer and sent for a spin in Turn 11. Not long after, Chandler Smith spun in Turn 7A, but the event remained under green as van Gisbergen started to close in on Hill for the lead.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hill was leading by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging van Gisbergen while third-place Allmendinger trailed by two seconds. Mayer and Kligerman trailed in the top five while Creed, Green, Allgaier, Love and Nemechek were racing in the top 10 ahead of Alfredo, Ryan Sieg, Alex Labbe, Retzlaff and Herbst.

Five laps later, Hill continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over van Gisbergen, who began to report a voltage issue to his car. Amid the issues, van Gisbergen started to close in on Hill for the lead, where he then tried to make a move beneath Hill in Turn 11, before the caution returned as Love slipped sideways and spun his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro in Turn 10 while running in eighth place.

During the caution period, select names including Kligerman, Blaine Perkins, Love, Brad Perez, Custer and Ryan Ellis pitted while the rest led by Hill and van Gisbergen remained on the track.

As the event restarted with 11 laps remaining, Hill briefly muscled ahead from the inside lane approaching the uphill first turn before van Gisbergen drew even against Hill entering Turn 2. Van Gisbergen then kept his foot on the throttle and ran into the side of Hill, which resulted in Hill getting loose, briefly dropping off the pace and losing spots as van Gisbergen rocketed away with the lead. Behind, Mayer moved into the runner-up spot followed by Green while Allmendinger followed suit in fourth place. Allmendinger was then sent for a spin in Turn 7A after getting hit by Creed as he plummeted below the leaderboard. With the event remaining under green flag conditions, van Gisbergen retained the lead with 10 laps remaining.

Down to the final five laps of the event, van Gisbergen stretched and stabilized his advantage to a second over Mayer’s No. 1 myRTIC Chevrolet Camaro while third-place Creed trailed by two seconds. Behind, Green retained fourth place ahead of Hill while Nemechek, Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Retzlaff were in the top 10.

Two laps later, Creed made his move beneath Mayer through Turn 11 to assume the runner-up spot. With Mayer trying to keep Creed in pace along with Austin Green, Ryan Sieg and Preston Pardus both wrecked separately in Turn 3A, but the event remained under green flag conditions as van Gisbergen retained the lead by more than two seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, van Gisbergen remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Creed as Mayer and Green followed suit. Having a comfortable lead to his advantage, van Gisbergen cruised his No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro smoothly around Sonoma’s 12-turn circuit for a final time before he cycled his way back to the frontstretch and claimed his second consecutive checkered flag in the series, where he beat runner-up Sheldon Creed by more than a second.

With the victory, van Gisbergen became the first competitor to record his first two career wins in the series in back-to-back races since Austin Cindric made the last accomplishment in 2019 and the 132nd competitor overall to achieve multiple victories in the Xfinity circuit. He also joins Aric Almirola as the only other competitor to win an Xfinity event at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, with the New Zealander etching the 25th Xfinity career win for Kaulig Racing.

“Firstly, I got to thank these guys so much [at] Kaulig Racing,” van Gisbergen, who kicked another rugby football into the frontstretch’s stands, said on FS1. “Our WeatherTech Camaro got beat up again, but man, what a race. Adventure up and down all day. That last restart [with 11 laps remaining], I was just giving it all I had. Two guys going for the same real estate come together. It was pretty awesome, a lot of fun. Hope everyone enjoyed the show. Pretty awesome, back-to-back weeks for us. It’s awesome and the work we did between weeks to make the car better again. It’s special to win two road courses in a row and one day, dream about winning on an oval.”

Sheldon Creed settled in the runner-up position for the second time of the 2024 season and the ninth of his career while Sam Mayer rallied from a 28th-place result last weekend at Portland to finish third. Austin Green, son of former Xfinity Series champion David Green, piloted the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a career-best fourth-place finish in his third series start while Hill, who led 21 laps, ended up in fifth place.

During van Gisbergen’s post-race burnout around the Sonoma circuit, Hill kept his No. 21 Chevrolet running in front of van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolet as the race-winning driver did a full course burnout and refused to let the latter pass until he pulled into his pit stall while van Gisbergen celebrated with more burnouts on the frontstretch. Amid the disappointment, Hill, who endured an earlier run-in with van Gisbergen at Circuit of the Americas while battling for the victory in late March, minced his words and spoke little about his perspective towards the contact with van Gisbergen that dropped him out of race-winning contention.

“I’m gonna leave it to the keyboard warriors on this one,” Hill said. “I’ll let them figure out what happened. I’m sure no matter what comment I say, it’ll be wrong. I plead the Fifth [Amendment]. I’m not gonna say anything about [the contact]. We’ll just go onto the next [race]. Good hard racing. We were holding off [van Gisbergen] there for a while, had that caution [with 15 laps remaining], I knew it was gonna be tough on the restart. Didn’t work out, but we had a good points day, finished in the top five. Can’t ask for more than that.”

Justin Allgaier settled in sixth while Chandler Smith rallied from being involved in two separate incidents to finish seventh. John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Parker Kligerman finished in the top 10.

There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 14 laps. In addition, 28 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 14th event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Cole Custer continues to lead the regular-season standings by 12 points over both Austin Hill and Chandler Smith, with Justin Allgaier trailing by 24 points and rookie Jesse Love trailing by 74 points.

Results.

1. Shane van Gisbergen, 32 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Sheldon Creed

3. Sam Mayer

4. Austin Green

5. Austin Hill, 21 laps led

6. Justin Allgaier

7. Chandler Smith

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Cole Custer

10. Parker Kligerman

11. Parker Retzlaff

12. Jesse Love

13. Riley Herbst

14. Brennan Poole

15. Ed Jones

16. Josh Bilicki

17. AJ Allmendinger

18. Blaine Perkins

19. Alex Labbe

20. Ryan Sieg

21. Matt DiBenedetto

22. Jeremy Clements

23. Kyle Sieg

24. Brad Perez

25. Preston Pardus

26. Ryan Ellis

27. Garrett Smithley

28. Boris Said

29. Leland Honeyman, one lap down

30. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

31. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down

32. Hailie Deegan, seven laps down

33. Sammy Smith, eight laps down

34. Thomas Annunziata – OUT, Transmission

35. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident, 26 laps led, Stage 2 winner

36. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

37. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

38. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 15, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Chadwick Drives To Historic INDY NXT Pole at Road America

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Official Release
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Elkhart Lake, WI - during the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Saturday, June 8, 2024) – Jamie Chadwick made history by winning her first career INDY NXT by Firestone pole position Saturday for the Grand Prix at Road America.

Chadwick, from England, turned a top lap of 1 minute, 51.0333 seconds in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global to become the first female driver to earn a pole on a road or street course in the history of INDYCAR’s development series. She also became just the third female driver to win an INDY NXT pole and the first since Pippa Mann in October 2010 on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval.

“I’m so happy,” Chadwick said. “We struggled a little bit this weekend chasing balance. When (teammate) Louis (Foster) did the lap he did, I knew we would have a good car. Track conditions improving, this is our shot in our group, as well. I really thought we could make the most of this opportunity.

“It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but I’m confident in what we can do.”

Live coverage of the 20-lap race starts at 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Chadwick’s previous best starting spot was fourth last Sunday on the streets of Detroit, as her speed continues to accelerate in her second INDY NXT season. She was a member of the second qualifying group today at Road America in the split-session format used by the series on road and street courses, and drivers in that group benefited from the rapidly drying 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit as all-afternoon rain gave way to clearing skies about 30 minutes before qualifying began.

Foster locked out the front row for Andretti Global, as he will start second after his best lap of 1:51.0541 in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car. Foster will try to become the first driver since Linus Lundqvist – who won his first career pole earlier in the day for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race – in 2022 to win three consecutive INDY NXT races.

Josh Pierson recorded a career-best starting spot of third at 1:51.1621 in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports machine. His previous best was sixth in May 2023 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Championship leader Jacob Abel will start fourth at 1:51.2702 in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry of Abel Motorsports.

HMD Motorsports teammates Reece Gold and Caio Collet will occupy the third row. Gold qualified fifth at 1:51.5069 in the No. 10 machine, with Collet as the top-qualifying rookie in sixth at 1:51.4054 in the No. 18 car.

CHEVROLET NCS AT SONOMA: Kyle Larson Media Availability Quotes

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAILABILITY QUOTES
JUNE 8, 2024

 Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of his NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Kyle, you had a great announcement this week with the Kyle Larson Foundation. You guys are auctioning off some race-worn visors from this weekend. Talk a little bit about that.

“Yeah, it’s a cool program. There are 26 Team Chevy drivers involved in it. They’re going to hand over their race-worn visors after the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races this weekend. In partnership with Chevrolet and Pristine Auction, we’re going to auction those off to benefit the Urban Youth Racing School through my foundation. Pretty neat deal. The bidding starts today and goes through June 12th. Hopefully we can raise a lot of money and get to support Anthony and Michelle (Martin) even more.”

How does it feel to have the whole waiver thing behind you? What was it like leading up to that announcement?

“Yeah, I mean obviously there’s definitely relief on my end, even though I really wasn’t paying a ton of attention to it.. to the waiver. At least now knowing that I do, personally, get to race for a championship feels good. Yeah, I mean I know there was a lot that went into it on NASCAR’s end; a lot of discussion and just wanting it to be right. I think we all, probably even them, figured we would get the waiver. I think they were just trying to make sure they had all their ducks in a row first. Yeah, I’m appreciative of it, for sure. Look forward to getting through this weekend and hopefully, after this press conference, not have to talk about waivers again. It feels good and just thankful that nobody has to deal with the drama going forward.”

Did you have any conversations with people at NASCAR about the waiver over the last two weeks, or was that all done by Hendrick Motorsports executives?

“I, personally, didn’t have any communication with NASCAR, but I know Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews and Rick Hendrick were in constant communication with them. I was appreciative of the support through my race team and just kind of let them handle it. I didn’t really know if there was anything I could say. I’m pretty bad with words sometimes, so maybe I could have just dug myself a hole a little bit if I was to communicate.

But no, again, I’m just thankful that we don’t have to deal with it again. I’m happy to get to race for a championship. Thanks to everybody there.”

Speaking of digging yourself into a hole with words.. you did say at one point, that you didn’t care if you got the waiver last week. So, I’m curious, I assume you cared, but maybe you were just kind of over it, or you race and whatever you’re racing for, you’re going to race for?

“Yeah, I cared. But the thing that I cared most about was the owner’s championship, at least in that moment, because that’s what pays the bills. So that’s kind of where I was coming from there. I was a little less stressed out about it than I think what everybody would imagine you to be. But yeah, I’m just happy that if I do win the championship now, I can have my name on the record books.”

How does it feel to be back racing at your home track? It’s resurfaced and faster.. How is that going to work for you this weekend?

“Yeah, I always love coming here to Sonoma Raceway. Home track or not, it’s just a great area. Really just kind of spend this week as a vacation and then there happens to be a race on the weekend. Yeah, we came out here Wednesday morning. It’s really been the first – like Wednesday and Thursday were the first two days off I’ve had off in I don’t even know how long. So, I was happy to lay by the pool all day on Wednesday and do some day drinking.. haven’t gotten to do that in awhile (laughs). Brought William Byron out here too and got to go do some wine tasting; took him on his first wine tour on Thursday. Got to have dinner with David and Matteo Abreu. So, it was just a fun couple of days. And then got to get on track yesterday; see what the new surface felt like. It’s weird.. you’re going out there seconds faster, but to me, it doesn’t feel any different. Like the way you drive it, even the lap times being faster, it doesn’t feel way faster to me. It still feels kind of like a slower road course. Yeah, that was interesting, but it should hopefully race good.”

Now that the whole Indy experience is done – I guess on a scale of the plan goes perfect is a 10, it turned out to be a 1.5 or a 2. But how do you feel about the whole thing now that the waiver is in place and you still get to run for the championship?

“Yeah, well I’ve said it all along, I really enjoyed the experience. I wish it would have panned out differently with the weather and really could have showcased Kyle Larson and doing the double, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. But also, I think reflecting on it, I’m very fortunate to get to be one of just a handful of drivers to have done it and attempted it. Getting to race on two big platforms like that is awesome. Getting to race the Indianapolis 500 and then getting to race a Cup car for a living, I’m pretty fortunate to be one of those guys. Yeah, America is in a great spot for motorsports. Fortunate, but wish it would have just gone according to plan. Hopefully there will be another year.. I would love to do it because I really don’t feel like I got to do it. But yeah, we’ll see… hopefully I can.”

By not being able to race at Charlott Motor Speedway, you gave up the regular season point lead. You haven’t fallen that far behind, but how do you feel now about, instead of having the lead, now you’re going to have to scramble your way back to get those 15 bonus points?

“Yeah, I mean I think really, just keeping doing what we’ve been doing. I think not overreacting on that is important because if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing, in my mind, we can get the point lead back. We’re not that far out of it. We might even still be leading it in the owner’s points. Yeah, I would ultimately love to win that regular season championship, just because of the 15 bonus points.

But yeah, like I said, just don’t overreact. Keep executing, which I feel like we’ve done a really, really good job of executing every race this season, besides maybe one race. That’s not an area where I feel like I’m very good at throughout a season, so I’ve been proud of that. Just have to keep it up and then I think we can get the lead back.”

Since last year with Shane van Gisbergen coming over and now there’s more Supercars talent, as well as all of the things that the Next Gen car does on road courses – how much more difficult is it for you to go out and win, or a Chase Elliott to go out and win, like they used to in the previous car and now with the new talent that is showing up?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think as competitors, we all want to compete with the best. I really look forward to the opportunity when those guys have been able to come over. Especially with Shane (van Gisbergen) and how he smoked us at Chicago last year – I get excited now when you have other guys come in and get to race with us. We can kind of not only see how we compare against them, but it’s an opportunity for us to all get better and look at different areas on how we can improve our skill sets. I was just talking to Will Brown before I came in here. Just listening to him and how he talks about what a race weekend looks like over there and kind of how they strategize a weekend is pretty interesting compared to what we do here. Just communicating with him, I learned a lot. Those guys have more experience doing this. Even though this is their first race in a Cup car, they’re still more experienced than us. You can learn from that experience and become better, so I think it’s good.”

Curious about the new surface and whether you think tire management is going to play as big of a role now?

“Well, I think, yes – I think there’s still always tire management. Maybe before it was more managing the heat and wear. Now, we’re probably just more – we’re doing it the same way. You’re not wearing the tire; you’re just managing the heat. To me, I don’t foresee a stint to look much different in how you approach your driving technique. I think you’re still going to try and slip the tire as little as possible. Yeah, it was tough to pass before.. the last couple of years of the Next Gen car. I think it will be just as tough now. I really don’t feel like the racing is going to look any different than it did before. Yeah, I don’t know.. I think repaves – like we’re less sad, or at least I’m less sad, about a repave at a road course than I would be at an oval, just because road courses are already pretty tough to pass.”

With the new wall in turn 11, did approaching that corner feel any different?

“It’s just a little harder to kind of see around the corner, but I thought it might be worse than what it was once I got out there. I’ve been pretty cautious with it because it’s kind of like in a blind spot a little bit – with the way the body, the roof and all that is, and where you look out the windshield when you’re turning sharp like that. But yeah, it’s fine. It’s no different. Before, you were trying not to hit tires, and now, you’re trying to not hit a wall. The tires will probably swallow you up maybe more than grazing the wall would.”

Unlike last year, we’ll have the stage cautions back. How is that going to change the strategy?

“Yeah, I’m not sure on the strategy piece yet. I haven’t talked to Cliff (Daniels) or the engineers about that. But I’m imagining, if it’s like a typical road course, you flip the stages. If you qualify well and are running upfront, you can flip the stages and still get pretty good stage points. Maybe not the stage win, but you can still get good points throughout the day. It puts a lot of emphasis on qualifying, as always, so hopefully we’ll have a good day today.”

As much dirt racing that you race and the variety of the way those races are, as far as qualifying and inverting, do you think that will ever make it to NASCAR?

“I don’t know.. I mean we try stuff. The All-Star Race, I think that’s a good race to try some things. But I don’t know.. I think simple is still the best. Qualify on the pole, start on the pole.”

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.

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT ROAD AMERICA: TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
ROAD AMERICA
ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP
JUNE 8, 2024

TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

· Team Chevy drivers Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, and Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet qualified for the Firestone Fast Six run for the NTT P1 Award for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America

· A total of five Chevrolet powered drivers progressed to the Fast 12. In addition to Newgarden and Power were Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

· The heavy rain ended after the second round of qualifying started, but the wet track conditions persisted, only starting to dry with minutes remaining in Q3 making for treacherous conditions

· Power lost the back of the car in Canada Corner on his first flyer lap in the Firestone Fast Six. Because of the subsequent red flag, he was relegated to the fifth starting position

· On his last lap, shortly after the Q3 clock had expired, Newgarden dropped a wheel off the track coming out of the Carousel, lost control and crashed hard. He was seen and released by INDYCAR Medical Unit. The team is going to a backup car, and his Chevrolet engine will be replaced as a precaution without loss of his 6th starting position

· Race day starts with a warm-up at 12:15 p.m. ET, and the race takes the green flag at 3:30 p.m. with practice on Peacock and the race on NBC, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULTS:

5th Will Power

6th Josef Newgarden

8th Scott McLaughlin

9th Alexander Rossi

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“We’re not where we wanted to qualify. I think we have a better car than that. Just hindsight’s twenty-twenty and we just made ourselves a lot of work for Sunday.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Tough qualifying session again. The rain was interesting, I thought that we would have had a little bit more similarities to what we had in practice, but it felt like a different car so really surprised and disappointed with the results. I think that to be a long day tomorrow to race forward. But I’m hopeful that we can get a good strategy call; it’s been chaos the last few races in IndyCar so maybe at this point in the chaos will help us out.”

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

“It was a slippery day today, both in practice and qualifying. I thought we had a little bit more pace to find, maybe even enough for the Firestone Fast 6. We just got stuck there a little bit in Round 2 and couldn’t really get what we needed from the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. We’ll have to work hard and see what we can do tomorrow to make our way forward.”

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“I’m disappointed because I feel like I had the pace today to possibly make my first Firestone Fast 6. We had a few issues, and that’s tough because the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was great in those conditions. It will be difficult to start so far back on this track, but we have the race tomorrow to move forward. I’m still learning, but I think I drove pretty well. We just need to communicate better and we will get the results we’re looking for.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a slippery day today, both in practice and qualifying. I thought we had a little bit more pace to find, maybe even enough for the Firestone Fast 6. We just got stuck there a little bit in Round 2 and couldn’t really get what we needed from the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. We’ll have to work hard and see what we can do tomorrow to make our way forward.”

Christian Rasumussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“The time was in it! We were sitting pretty good, you have to push hard on a lap like that. You get new tires and you have to push the limits because it just gets more and more dry. I thought there was a little more in Turn 8 and that’s where I went wide. I lost somewhere around 1.2 seconds in that sector, so that’s very frustrating. We would have transferred without my mistake and that’s on me.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“We definitely have much more speed in the Direct Supply car than where our qualifying position shows. The guys who took a second set of wet tires were able to go faster than us there at the end. It is disappointing to be starting so far back but I love this track and I love passing people so we’ll try to have some fun tomorrow.”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“I think we messed it up. We had low pressure and the grip was coming, and then I caught Sting Ray Robb, and he was not very fast, so I backed off. I wanted to go for one more lap, and the boys were like “coming,” and then we had the red flag. I knew one lap, we just didn’t have it. The car was pretty good. It was just took time to generate the grip, and we didn’t have it. I really think that red flag hurt us a lot, and it’s not a bad place to start. 14th is a place we can overtake. Of course, we’re on the back foot on the dry, so no warm up will be great. I’m a bit disappointed because I thought we had a better car. I mean, (warm up) is always important for tire wear and tire degradation, but tomorrow for us, it’s also balance work. I trust the boys have done a good job in getting it set up right. I’m just a bit sad today because I really think we had a shot at doing better.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“There’s so much to learn. In practice, we actually didn’t end up getting a timed lap with all the red flags, so this is the first time I went through turn one in the wet. It’s tough. I think it was alright. A lot of people pitted for a second set and we stayed out just because of the way the session was going for us. I had to make a gap that we should’ve pushed through and then pitted. A little bit unlucky, but overall I think we’re in a good spot and I’m learning a lot. Everyone’s getting along here. Just so much to learn from the people, to the car, to the conditions. I think the race is going to be dry. We’ll put this behind us. Ultimately, it’s not that bad of starting spot. We’re ahead of a couple of people at least so we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“I’m good. Glad I got to see the replay. What happened is what I thought would happen. I feel like an idiot. I just got a little bit wide. You can’t do that is this condition. Look, this is INDYCAR. It gets tight. I pushed it a little too hard there. I apologize to my guys. Man that was a rocketship car. Man it was good. I don’t know if the lap was good enough, but it was going to be in the rhelm of something decent. So I was definitely trying to go for it like everybody and just overstepped.

“It was slick, but I think if you don’t drop a wheel like I did, you were okay. If you look at the lap times, they were getting very close to dry conditions. It was a mistake from my side which caused that which is unfortunate. The car was really good and we were going for it. We were in the Firestone Fast Six and we could have gotten this PPG baby on pole with Team Chevy, so disappointed to make a mistake for the team. But I think the encouraging bit is we should have a fast car for tomorrow, but I feel terrible for my guys, they are unfortunately going to have a long night.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“That’s not bad for a shot, I guess. Always, you want more. Got to learn these tires a little bit. Probably went a little bit too hard on my warm up lap and turned them out a little bit. I really didn’t have much. I’ve got a bit to learn, but there’s a first for everything. Qualified eighth. We’re 10 spots higher than where we were when we qualified in the dry, so that’s fine. You’re also trying to judge traffic, and get out of the way of people and also find a nice gap. Ultimately, it’s technical but you’ve just got to trust your guess. I did that time. The Xpel Chevy has been good all week. I think our dry car is really strong. We’re in a good spot. We can do business from there.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It feels really good to get through all of the rounds. Very tough conditions and easy to make a mistake and I did. I feel really bad for Josef. That was like an oval hit crashing in that corner. Very easily done in these conditions. So I hope he is okay. P6 A bit of a mixed up grid in the front. GoABOUT 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 heartbeat, 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

ing to be an interesting race 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 heartbeat, 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

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