Home Blog Page 983

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Epping Post-Qualifying Report – 06.01.24

By
Official Release
-

KALITTA EARNS NO. 1 QUALIFIER IN STRONG TOYOTA SHOWING AT EPPING
Defending Top Fuel Champion’s Third No. 1 Qualifying Position in Four Races

EPPING, N.H. (June 1, 2024) – Doug Kalitta continued his qualifying hot streak by capturing the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel for the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway. His third No. 1 qualifier in four races, and the 56th of his career, Kalitta laid down a blistering 3.700 elapsed time Friday night that held firm after Saturday’s two sessions. The run by Kalitta also marks Toyota’s fifth No. 1 qualifier in the first seven races of the 2024 season.

Steve Torrence earned the No. 2 seed in Top Fuel, narrowly missing out on the top spot by two one thousandths of a second after posting a 3.702 time Friday night. Coupling his strong qualifying, Torrence was also victorious in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, defeating Dan Mercier in the final qualifying session Saturday afternoon. Toyota makes up five of the top six positions in Top Fuel tomorrow with Shawn Langdon in fourth, Billy Torrence in fifth and points leader, Justin Ashley, in sixth.

In Funny Car, J.R Todd was the lead GR Supra Funny Car, earning the third overall position for Sunday’s eliminations. His Toyota teammates, Alexis DeJoria and Ron Capps, qualified eighth and 12th going into tomorrow.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
NHRA New England Nationals
New England Dragway
Race 7 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster1stS. Farley
Steve TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster2ndS. Smith
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster4thS. Reed
Billy TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster5thJ. Salinas
Justin AshleySCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster6thJ. Hart
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster9thT. Stewart

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Austin ProckCornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car1st*M. Smith
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car3rdD. Richards
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car8thC. Green
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car12thM. Hagan

*Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 1st

Is it too early to count points as you guys are looking very strong right now.

“Yeah, definitely appreciate what Mission Foods is doing for us out here and these yellow (No. 1 qualifier) hats. Yeah, my guys really have this car running well, I’m just trying to do my part and go rounds on Sunday. Yeah, it’s probably too early to start counting points, but 20 points a round tomorrow, Sunday, is definitely what we’re looking for. I would love to win here at Epping. They have a great crowd here this weekend. Toyota, Mac Tools and all my sponsors, we’re hoping to have a good day tomorrow.”

STEVE TORRENCE, CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

How does this #2Fast2Tasty win feel?

“Hey, I’ve won these (Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge) before, just not this year! Yeah, thanks to everyone at Mission Foods, everybody that takes care of us. Man, that was a cool race. (Dan) Mercier doesn’t race all the time, but man, he kicks our butt when he does, so I had to get up on the wheel and do the best I could. Props to that team, proud to have them out here. Proud of these CAPCO boys, they were unbelievable. This Toyota Dragster hasn’t been as good as it used to be, but we’re working on getting it back there and we’re working on getting Steve-O (himself) to drive this thing a little bit better. Heck, we won something this weekend, maybe we can win one tomorrow.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 3rd

Take us through your thoughts with the No. 3 qualifying position for tomorrow.

“Yeah, a good qualifying effort, just missed it on Q4. Conditions for race day tomorrow will probably be like Q3 today, so we have a good idea on what to work with for tomorrow.”

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.

Herta Rebounds with First Pole of Season at Hectic Detroit

By
Official Release
-
Detroit, MI - during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of Detroit. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

DETROIT (Saturday, June 1, 2024) – Less than one week ago, Colton Herta’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge ended in 23rd place after he struggled following contact with the SAFER Barrier in the first half of the race.

What a difference six days makes.

Herta earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season by taking the top spot Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the streets of Detroit. Herta drove to his 12th career pole with a lap of 1 minute, .5475 of a second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian.

“A complete 180 and just super happy for the team,” Herta said of his rebound from Indianapolis disappointment. “They worked their tails off in the Month of May. To come back with some redemption, it feels good.”

The pole continued a strong weekend for Herta. He led practice Saturday morning and set a track record with his session-leading lap of 1:00.2304 in the Round of 12 qualifying that preceded the Firestone Fast Six. Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood set the previous track record of 1:01.5305 in June 2023, the first year for this nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit.

Up next is a 30-minute race warm-up session at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network). Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and current points leader Alex Palou will join Herta on the front row after qualifying second at 1:00.6995 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou won this race last year.

Reigning two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden celebrated his contract renewal with Team Penske by qualifying third at 1:00.9607 in the No. 2 Hitachi Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. His teammate Scott McLaughlin will join him in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:01.3344 in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet.

Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon will start fifth after a best lap of 1:01.3905 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Kirkwood rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:04.2926 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. He was third on the provisional grid, but his best two laps were erased as a penalty for overshooting Turn 1 and stalling on his final flying lap, triggering a red flag.

That red flag with slightly more than one minute to go gave the remaining five drivers in the Firestone Fast Six one final lap to gain ground. But none improved upon their existing times due to the difficulty of finding open track during a last-gasp dash on the tight, bumpy circuit.

“This qualifying session is so difficult here at this track,” Herta said. “Obviously, it’s hard to pass, but also it’s so hard to just get a clean lap. It’s probably the most aggressive place we go to as far as bumps and walls, so it feels good to get this one.”

Theo Pourchaire was the top-qualifying rookie, a career-best seventh at 1:00.7342 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES start.

Formula 2 champion Pourchaire just missed earning a spot in the Firestone Fast Six for the first time by .0287 of a second. His previous best starting spot was 18th at the Sonsio Grand Prix last month on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Qualifying Results

DETROIT – Qualifying Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.645-mile streets of Detroit circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

  1. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:00.5475 (97.808)
  2. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:00.6995 (97.563)
  3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:00.9607 (97.145)
  4. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:01.3344 (96.553)
  5. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:01.3905 (96.464)
  6. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:04.2926 (92.110)
  7. (6) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 01:00.7342 (97.507)
  8. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:00.7612 (97.464)
  9. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:00.8505 (97.320)
  10. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:01.0351 (97.026)
  11. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:01.1663 (96.818)
  12. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:03.0479 (93.929)
  13. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 01:01.3930 (96.461)
  14. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:01.1336 (96.870)
  15. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 01:01.4933 (96.303)
  16. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 01:01.3684 (96.499)
  17. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:01.5905 (96.151)
  18. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 01:01.5566 (96.204)
  19. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:01.6040 (96.130)
  20. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:01.7406 (95.917)
  21. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:01.6297 (96.090)
  22. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 01:01.7441 (95.912)
  23. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 01:01.7770 (95.861)
  24. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 01:01.8454 (95.755)
  25. (51) Tristan Vautier, Honda, 01:02.2091 (95.195)
  26. (66) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:01.9687 (95.564)
  27. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:02.1185 (95.334)

Newgarden inks new multi-year contract extension with Team Penske

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Joe Skibinski (IMS Photo).

Josef Newgarden has inked a new multi-year contract extension to continue to pilot the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, beginning in 2025.

The news comes as the two-time IndyCar Series champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is coming off his second consecutive triumph in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he led 13 of 200 laps and overtook Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward on the final lap en route to the victory. As a result, Newgarden is the first competitor in 22 years to win back-to-back Indianapolis 500s, a feat last made by Helio Castroneves between the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and he delivered the record-setting 20th Indy 500 victory for team owner Roger Penske.

“Driving for Roger Penske and this iconic team is a dream that I never thought I would realize,” Newgarden said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the opportunities that I’ve been given during my time at Team Penske. I have a great amount of respect for the individuals that comprise our group, incluidng the partners who support us. Our time together has been filled with hard work, teamwork and dedication; and I’m so excited that we will continue on for many more years to come. I’m sure we can achieve much more in the future. I still believe we haven’t reached our full potential together just yet.”

Newgarden, who first competed in IndyCar in 2012, was announced as a Team Penske competitor for the 2017 season in early October 2016. Three races into the 2017 season, he secured his first victory as a Penske competitor at Barber Motorsports Park. He would proceed to claim three additional victories and a total of nine podiums while contending for the driver’s championship throughout the 17-race schedule. With a runner-up finish in the season-finale event at Sonoma Raceway, Newgarden claimed the title by 13 points over teammate Simon Pagenaud and became the first American competitor to win an IndyCar championship since Ryan Hunter-Reay made the last accomplishment in 2012.

In the six-plus years that follow since winning his first championship during his first season with Team Penske, Newgarden recorded a second IndyCar title in 2019 after beating Pagenaud for a second time, this time by 25 points. He also achieved his first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2023 after overtaking and fending off the 2022 Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson during a one-lap dash to the finish. As a result, he became the 75th competitor overall and the first American competitor since Alexander Rossi made the last accomplishment in 2016 to win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” event at Indianapolis.

To date, Newgarden has recorded 27 victories, 17 poles, 43 podiums, 3,432 laps led and an average-finishing result of 7.7, all while competing for Team Penske. With his three other victories occurring between CFH Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Newgarden sits in 13th place on the all-time IndyCar wins list at 30.

“Josef Newgarden is a true winner, and we are excited that he will continue as a part of Team Penske for years to come,” Roger Penske added. “What he did Sunday in the Indianapolis 500 shows how Josef consistently delivers for our team and our partners on the track, and he is just as impressive off the track as well. We are proud to have Josef continue with our organization as his skill and passion embody what it means to be a Team Penske driver.”

Newgarden is currently ranked in seventh place in the 2024 driver’s standings, where he trails the points lead by 61 points. His second Indy 500 victory rallies him and the No. 2 team from their disqualification from winning the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for violating the sport’s push-to-pass regulations in February, an issue that also affected Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin.

With his future set, Josef Newgarden’s quest to win a third NTT INDYCAR Series championship in 2024 continues with this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at the Streets of Detroit, Michigan, where he is set to start in third place after posting the third-fastest qualifying lap at 97.145 mph in one minute, 0.9607 seconds. The event is scheduled to commence on Sunday, June 2, and air at noon ET on USA Network.

Outside pole for ABEL Motorsports at Detroit

By
Official Release
-
  • INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel will start Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the outside of the front row in the series 500th race
  • Teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earns a season-high qualifying position of ninth

DETROIT (1 June 2024) – INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel scored his fifth straight front row start on Saturday, while teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earned his season’s best starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the streets of the Motor City.

This weekend, Abel carries a color scheme on his No. 51 Dallara that represents the new BlueOval SK pair of facilities: a six square mile auto production complex in Tennessee and a pair of plants in Kentucky that will manufacture the next generation of electric vehicle batteries. The BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky., ABEL Construction Company’s largest project to date, will create 5,000 new jobs when it reaches capacity.

Drivers Jacob Abel (Louisville, Ky.) and Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Oconomowoc, Wis.) came into the weekend determined to post top finishes in the INDY NXT series’ 500th race. Teams had a total of 90 minutes of practice time between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning sessions to dial in the pair of Dallaras. With Abel and Sundaramoorthy each working on finding the balance between speed and consistency on the bumpy streets of Detroit, their combined practice times put them in fourth and 18th, respectively.

With the series splitting the 21-car field into two groups for qualifying, Abel started in group one – which turned out to be the unfavorable draw, as the IMSA sports car warm up had deposited a different kind of rubber on the racetrack just before the session. Undeterred, Abel immediately went to the top of the time sheets, holding P1 as the field decreased their times with each lap. But with six minutes remaining, a car in the turn 1 tires brought out a red flag. The session went green again with just enough time for Abel to post one timed lap but not enough time to get the tires up to temperature, as he took the checkered flag in P1 by half a second over James Roe, guaranteed a front row start.

“Our car was strong from the start of the weekend,” said Abel. “There was way more in it – being in the first group with the IMSA rubber down put us behind, so we knew it was going to be tough to get pole. Then the red flag made it pretty much impossible. But we’ll definitely take the front row start, especially given how tough the circuit is. It’s tight, and traffic is always a problem, but we were able to put it together in qualifying, we were just in the wrong group. We know how tricky turn 1 is here so we’ll watch the starts from last year to see what the best course of action might be.”

In group two, Sundaramoorthy was determined to move up the timing sheet, pushing hard early – hard enough to glance off both the turn 6 and turn 7 walls, bending the toe links and setting the steering wheel askew. But Sundaramoorthy refused to relent, continuing the charge and posting a lap just over a tenth back of Abel’s before a late red stopped the action. With only one timed lap possible when the green came back out – and knowing from the previous session that the tires would not come up to temperature – Sundaramoorthy returned to pit lane to conserve his tires, having put himself into a season-high ninth place on the grid.

“I guess I would have been P2 in the first session!” said Sundaramoorthy. “I messed up on lap two and hit the wall, I think we had much more in it, but I got a decent lap and worked on bringing it home. Both toes were off, but I still think we could have gone faster. A long race tomorrow to make some moves.”

ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports and OMP for their continued support.

The INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday, June 2 at 10:20 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

About BlueOval SK
BlueOval SK is the joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On to produce batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. SK On is a subsidiary of SK Innovation and has deep expertise in battery production. BlueOval SK will operate twin battery manufacturing facilities in Glendale, Kentucky and one battery plant in Stanton, Tennessee starting in 2025. BlueOval SK will electrify the future of mobility with innovative technology.

About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.

Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.

About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.

ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.

ABEL Motorsports social media

Facebook: ABEL Motorsports
Twitter/X: ABEL Motorsports
Instagram: ABEL Motorsports

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT DETROIT: Team Chevy Qualifying Report

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT

JUNE 1, 2024

TEAM PENSKE’S JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN REPRESENT TEAM CHEVY IN THE SECOND ROW AT DETROIT

  • Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet (third), and Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet (fourth), represented Team Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six and will start in the second row of Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit, Michigan.
  • Théo Pourchaire, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified seventh and narrowly missed the Firestone Fast Six in what is his highest NTT INDYCAR SERIES career qualifying effort so far.
  • Rounding out the top-10 in qualifying, Team Penske’ s Will Power will start Sunday’s 100-lap event eighth, with AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci starting 10th.
  • Representing the Bowtie brand, Team Penske’s McLaughlin and Newgarden transferred to the Firestone Fast Six from the second round.
  • Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward transferred to the second round representing Chevrolet from Group 2.
  • Group 1 of qualifying saw Arrow McLaren’s Pourchaire (first in the group), Team Penske’s McLaughlin (second in the group), Newgarden (third in the group), Power (fifth in the group), and AJ Foyt Racing’s Ferrucci (six in the group) transfer to the second round.
  • Race day on the streets of Detroit kicks off with warm-up at 9:30 a.m. ET. The 100-lap, 164.5-mile Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag live on USA Network at 12 p.m. ET. Additional coverage can be found on Peacock, as well as INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 218.

TEAM CHEVY FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver
3rd Josef Newgarden (1:00.9607)
4th Scott McLaughlin (1:01.3344)
7th Théo Pourchaire (1:00.7342)
8th Will Power (1:00.7612)
10th Santino Ferrucci (1:01.0351)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“First off, I just want to say sorry for what I said, and how I acted to Kyle (Kirkwood) and towards Colton (Herta). They’re great competitors. I was definitely hot out of the car, and I love racing. It’s good now, but this is where I kind of feel the 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet should be. I feel like we’re a top-10 car. I kind of missed it on the lap a little bit to move it a little further forward. It’s real tight. Looking forward to a good race tomorrow. Obviously, I actually had no idea it was (Romain Grosjean). I thought it was Will (Power) because that’s the last car that I passed and Larry (Foyt) just reading off gaps and trying to do a cool down and push. It’s tight here, man. It’s tough. If INDYCAR’s not calling it, it’s really not a big deal. He honestly didn’t look that close to me when checking the mirrors. It’s just a small track, short track racing on a street course.”

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

“A little disappointed with the result in qualifying. I thought we had a better car than that yet again, but good to see Santino (Ferrucci) do well. I think we had a good idea of where we need to be. Little changes here and there make a big difference around this place. We’re in the window and we weren’t too far off. A little bit here and there with the Goodheart Chevy, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow.”

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

“I was just trying to get out of the way. Honestly, we shouldn’t have even transferred into Q2 just because I was in Felix’s (Rosenqvist) gearbox, and everybody is trying to lap. There’s cars on fliers that come out before the sequence I guess, and you can’t back up because then you’re going to mess up their lap. You also can’t speed up because you’ll ruin your own chance to get a lap in. (Kyle) Kirkwood was coming behind me, and I knew there was still going to be stack up later on after turn five. So I decided to give him room here because that was probably the best area to kind of give him a chance and not get a penalty. Sadly, these cars don’t have rear-wheel steering. I couldn’t get the radius down and then I stalled the car whenever I tried to get it back into neutral. It’s a new week, a new race weekend. I think we had an opportunity get into the Fast Six. It’s just, it’s so tight. You can’t be playing around with gaps. You either have to give up with an extra laps and just get three clean laps, or you’re going to end up like me or (Will) Power.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“That’s what this place is all about, just hustling it through! Just so close! I felt pretty maximized on my lap in terms of what we were able to do. In past qualifiyings, I always come in and say “Ok, there’s a little more to gain here” or “a bit more to gain there,” today; I felt like we got everything out of it and I am happy about that! But to miss advancing by that little, you just want it that much more!”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“That was a tough qualifying. We struggled much of Practice 2 to get tire temperature up, so we made the choice to go out on greens and stay on greens for the full session. I am pretty happy with my lap, I pushed as hard as I could. Our strategy just did not work out with the track’s evolution. It was worth a try! A lot of stuff can happen tomorrow and I am looking forward to the race to see what we can do. A tough one for us, but good job by Christian!”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“They need to do a better job of not blocking people; not crashing people. Just being aware of who is around them. He screwed me in qualifying. I don’t know what he slowed on his lap. I was seven tenths down on my lap, he was three tenths down and I lost four tenths behind. I called out INDYCAR race control. If that’s not blocking, I don’t know what is. I’m really…I know we’ve had a tough weekend, but I think the car came alive during qualifying. I just couldn’t get my lap. Too many mistakes on our end. Pressure just not right, and we’ve been suffering from lack of top speed. But that one is not on us.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“Every time we have the same issue. Every time we are good in practice, we are not good in qualifying. It is what it is. Last time I started 18th I think and finished ninth, so it isn’t such a bad of position, of course in the middle of the war. I am going to try to survive and do the best I can.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Some frustration because if you are the last one across the line in that situation, the track is just better. The first part of my lap is just slippery, then it was a very good last sector. I’m not just frustrated because I didn’t make it. It’s a tough field man. And I just needed the littlest bit. If you went out last, you would have had a better shot, but it is what it is. It’s fine. I’ve been good. I just know when it is that close, where you go really matters. We could have controlled that, but again, you can get caught out by a yellow as well when you are the last one to cross the line. It’s one of those things. It’s tough.”

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.

Foster Smashes Track Record To Win INDY NXT Pole at Detroit

By
Official Release
-

DETROIT (Saturday, June 1, 2024) – Louis Foster obliterated the INDY NXT by Firestone track record Saturday to win the pole for the Detroit Grand Prix.

Foster earned his first pole of the season and fifth of his career in the INDYCAR development series with a top lap of 1 minute, 5.1079 seconds in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Autosport.

English driver Foster, who has led all three on-track sessions this weekend, broke the track record of 1:06.8374 he set last year in the debut of this nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit. He also enters this event with the momentum of his first win of the season, at the most-recent event May 11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

“It’s about time, really,” Foster said. “We’ve had a lot of pace. It’s nice to get the monkey off the back, so to speak. Tomorrow we can have a good race.

“We’ve been fast all season. Just haven’t had the best of luck and a few mistakes by me. Happy to get a pole, and hopefully we can get a win.”

Live coverage of the 45-lap race starts at 10:20 a.m. ET Sunday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

The starting grid was determined after the field was split into two qualifying groups. Championship leader Jacob Abel will start second after leading the first qualifying group at 1:06.0048 in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports.

Rookie Caio Collet will start third in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports machine after his best lap of 1:05.4952 in the second group. Jamie Chadwick will join him in the second row after her best lap of 1:06.5050 in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global. That was a career-best start for second-year driver Chadwick, whose previous best was fifth earlier this season at Barber Motorsports Park.

Rookie Michael d’Orlando qualified fifth at 1:05.6157 in the No. 3 Flat Rock Motorsports Park/Rising Stars machine fielded by Andretti Cape INDY NXT. Callum Hedge was the third rookie to qualify in the top three rows, as he will start sixth after a best lap of 1:06.7954 in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car.

Another rookie, Myles Rowe, suffered a tough break late in the session. Rowe was quick enough to secure the No. 3 starting spot late in the second group when he crashed the No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy car in Turn 9, triggering a red flag and losin

MCDOWELL SETS TRACK RECORD IN EARNING NASCAR CUP SERIES POLE FOR ENJOY ILLINOIS 300

By
Official Release
-
Michael McDowell of Front Row Motorsports wins the Busch Light Pole Award during Saturday’s qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Photo credit: World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • Michael McDowell of Front Row Motorsports breaks the World Wide Technology Raceway track qualifying record for his third pole of the season.
  • Enjoy Illinois 300 will be televised Sunday on FS1, beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT.

MADISON, Ill. (June 1, 2024) – Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell broke the NASCAR Cup Series track qualifying mark en route to collecting the pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

McDowell recorded a pole-winning lap of 138.598 miles per hour (32.468 seconds) in his No. 34 Ford to break the previous record of 138.274 mph established by Chase Briscoe in the inaugural 2022 race. The pole was the third of the season for McDowell and gave him a share of the Cup Series lead with Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports.

McDowell will lead the 36-car field to the green flag for the 240-lap Enjoy Illinois 300 at 2:30 p.m. Sunday (TV: FS1, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM, WNOI 103.9 FM).

“Today we executed well and did everything we needed to do,” said McDowell, who is looking for his first win of the season. “If we do that tomorrow, we’ll have a shot at winning the race. But to win a Cup race you have to be perfect.

“We know what we have to do. We’ve been in this spot before as far as needing a win to get in the playoffs and having speed. We have to rise to the occasion, and I think we will.”

McDowell, whose previous best start at World Wide Technology Raceway was 17th in 2022, was followed by the Team Penske duo of Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney.

Cindric (138.134 mph / 32.577 secs.) will start on the front row beside McDowell while Blaney will start third (137.982/32.613). Both have earned top-10 starting positions in all three Cup Series races at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Rounding out the top five were Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell (137.669/32.687) and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick (137.585 / 32.707), respectively. Defending Enjoy Illinois 300 winner Kyle Busch will start 10th (137.02 / 32.842).

For more information on the NASCAR race weekend, please visit www.wwtraceway.com.

Ford Sweeps Top-Three Qualifying Spots Behind McDowell’s Pole

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Enjoy Illinois 300 Qualifying | Saturday, June 1, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
1st – Michael McDowell
2nd – Austin Cindric
3rd – Ryan Blaney
7th – Brad Keselowski
12th – Joey Logano
21st – Justin Haley
23rd – Chase Briscoe
27th – Noah Gragson
29th – Josh Berry
30th – Harrison Burton
32nd – Ryan Preece
34th – Cody Ware
35th – Todd Gilliland

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Siteman Cancer Center Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I had a bit of a moment there in Turn 3 and got a little loose and had to catch it but luckily I was able to recover quickly and get back in the throttle. I am so proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I know this is our third pole of the year, but to do it at a short track, a flat track, not a superspeedway, I am really proud of everybody. We have Siteman Cancer Center on the car this weekend, the first time for them. I am excited to start from the pole tomorrow. I am really proud of everybody. It is a team effort here.”

HOW IMPORTANT IT THIS FOR YOU GUYS TO HAVE THE NUMBER ONE PIT SPOT TOMORROW? “It is huge here. They widened pit road here a few feet but we have seen it where it is just really critical to get off pit road here. It is tight, especially when these guys do two tires or four tires. Having that first stall and being able to launch from your box and have a clean shot at it will be a big deal tomorrow. But right now we are going to celebrate today. We will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow morning. It is a great effort by everyone and all of our partners. We have great partners and this is a great race team. Big news for Front Row getting a third charter this week. There is a lot of momentum happening. We need a win. We need a win to get into the playoffs and we are going to fight hard for it.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I got really good exits which made watching that really frustrating because you know they are all going to pass you on entry. It was just whether or not you got enough. The 34 guys did a great job. Michael (McDowell) had two really great laps. I felt like I got it all on our end after leaving a little bit on the table the first round. The Freightliner Ford Mustang is fast. It is great to be on the front row for tomorrow.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It is a good day for Ford taking the top three spots. We had a lot of speed in those Mustangs today. I was happy with the speed in our car throughout the day and in qualifying. It is a pretty good day. I wish we would have been closer to the pole, but overall a very solid day and I feel good about being able to put together a good day tomorrow as wel.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL POLE WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE POLE. OBVIOUSLY A GOOD LAP TODAY: “Yeah, it was great. I’m so thankful that we got practice and qualifying in. When we looked last night and this morning, we were like, ah, not sure if this is going to happen. But really, this practice went really smooth. We unloaded pretty close. Had to work a little bit on the balance, but with this type of practice and qualifying, you just have to be close when you unload. And Travis Peterson and Griff and all the guys did a great job of bringing us a fast Ford Mustang again. The second round isn’t new to us this year but I feel like we’ve got into the second round several times and then not made that next jump in that next round where we might be third, fourth or fifth that first round and then end up eighth, ninth or tenth in that second round so I’m just thankful that we were able to you know make all the right adjustments and give ourselves a great shot at getting the pole. I mean obviously we had tremendous speed and so that was a lot of fun. There’s a couple Ford Mustangs up front so that’s good and tomorrow with track position and pit stall selection and all the things that are super important here. This is a great start of the weekend for us. We just have to maximize the opportunity. We got to capitalize and we have to execute. We need to win desperately to get into the playoffs. We know that and we know that the next four to five weeks are great opportunities for us. We’re kicking it off right.”

YOU AND CINDRIC WERE THE ONLY TWO GUYS TO GO TO THIRD GEAR IN THE LAST TWO CORNERS. HOW DID YOU FIGURE THAT OUT? “Oh, I don’t want to answer that. A study in preparation and execution. Well, I’ll run you through it okay, because everybody’s gonna look anyway. So last year we were third or fourth in practice. Had a really fast car. We were on the 10 lap average. Everything was really good, top-five car. I thought with the speed that you’d pick up in qualifying and the extra grip that you had that extra downshift would probably overslow it and would hurt you. My plan last year was to run run fourth in three and four, and I did. I lost a tenth and a half in that corner compared to all the guys that downshifted and so studying that, looking at it and highlighting it I just knew that that’s what I needed to do. Then the flip side of it the only one that made the second round before I went out that downshifts was Austin Cindric and everybody else ran fourth in turn three and so then you’re scratching your head as you’re sitting in the car. All that studying and all that planning, what do you do? The thing that I’ve learned with this car and maybe it’s with experience but I feel like in particular with this car when it comes to qualifying you just have to execute your plan, and I planned all week to do that and I’m just going to execute my plan right, wrong, or indifferent. So I just committed to it and fortunately we’re on the right side of it because it could easily have gone the other way. That’s what’s tough about this car is you’re really splitting hairs trying to find that extra tenth, right? And that’s what the difference was. It was a tenth between had I downshifted last year versus not and you don’t want to leave anything on the table and so just really had a plan, executed the plan and it turned out to be the right one.”

AND SECOND JUST HOW BIG A SOURCE OF PRIDE IS IT TO DO THIS ON A 1.25 MILE QUIRKY SPEEDWAY RATHER THAN THE SUPER SPEEDWAY? “Yeah, Talladega and Atlanta were special. They are. Getting the pole there was special because it always is every weekend such a team effort. We all know that you can’t go fast without fast race cars, but in particular at Talladega in Atlanta, the driver’s not a big part of whether or not you’re going to qualify well. You still have to execute. You still have to get through the gears. And so I don’t want to take anything away from, from that standpoint but it really is a matter of how fast of a race car your team brought you right? It’s still the same today it really is like even today the poll today is because I had a really fast race car. I had more pressure to execute my part at a flat track like this where you’re up shifting twice, down shifting twice each corner, heavy brake zones, all those things. So it’s more rewarding from that standpoint to go out there and execute and do it. And the biggest thing is over the years I haven’t had a lot of opportunities at this to qualify on the pole or have a shot at the front row and things like that. As crazy as this sounds, I just had to remember to 15 years ago, 16 years ago when I sat on like 10 ARCA poles, and I just didn’t overthink it. I just went out there and did my deal. If your car’s fast enough, you get the pole, right? And so I just went into that second round thinking like that. Like, you don’t have to do anything special. You don’t have to overthink it. You just have to go execute what you know you have to do and not overdo it. So I’m glad it worked out because there have been times this year where I felt like we’ve had shots at the pole, maybe not quite as fast as we were today, but third, fourth place car, and like I said we ended up sixth or seventh and you kind of leave bummed. Today we did everything right and the car was really close from the time we unloaded and made all the right adjustments and so I’m proud of the total team effort that we have and you know there are a lot of good things that are happening at Front Row right now and you know with the news this week of expanding to three charters and the growth that we’re seeing and the performance that we’re seeing is awesome. To back that up this week with a poll on a legit hard racetrack to go get a poll I feel like is validating for everything that they’re doing.”

HOW PROUD ARE YOU IN YOUR ABILITY AND YOUR TEAM’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO PERFORM AT THIS HIGH LEVEL CONSIDERING YOUR STATUS FOR NEXT YEAR AND THE WHOLE LAME-DUCK THING? “Yeah, I mean obviously we’re not a lame duck. I don’t really know where the terminology originates from. You probably could tell me because you’re pretty good with words. You’re a wordsmith I feel like. But I hate lame duck. It’s so lame. It’s a lame term. I am as motivated as I’ve ever been to make sure that we win and make the playoffs. And for so many reasons, right? But more than ever, because I am making a change and I want to finish what we started and I want to do what I know we can do. We have a group of people right now that we can win races and I just have to do my part. To me, it’s more of not letting those guys down. Also to me, it’s Bob Jenkins has taken me from a guy that was running 30th every weekend to winning the Daytona 500 and winning Indianapolis and sitting on three poles this year. I’m going to give them everything I have because that’s what you do when somebody has changed your life, right? And so it’s the only way that I know that we can do it.”

IS THERE ANY ANIMOSITY AT ALL KNOWING THAT YOU’RE KIND OF GETTING TRADED IN FOR A NEW MODEL? I KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE 110% BECAUSE YOU’RE A RACER AND YOU DON’T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT THAN THAT. BUT I ASKED JERRY WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AND HE SAID, WELL, I WANT TO FIND SOMEBODY LIKE MICHAEL MCDOWELL, THAT I CAN MOLD INTO MICHAEL MCDOWELL. AND IT’S LIKE, WELL, IF YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL, WHY WOULD YOU SCREW AROUND WITH THAT? I’M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, DOES IT CHAP YOU A LITTLE BIT THAT YOU JUST COULDN’T FINISH OUT YOUR CAREER THERE? “That’s a great question. It’s an honest question and I appreciate it. I think that the first week or two as I was navigating what was in front of us, maybe a little bit, but not now. And the reason not now is because it always works out. I know in my heart what I was supposed to do. I think Bob knew in his heart what he was supposed to do, even though it doesn’t always make sense. It doesn’t always make sense, but there are so many moving parts behind the scenes that not everybody knows. I don’t mean like gossip, that’s not what I mean, but probably the best thing for Front Row Motorsports and for Bob Jenkins is for me not to be in that 34 car, as crazy as that sounds. Because of what it’s going to allow him to do and what it’s going to allow him to build his race team into. And yes, I’m disappointed about that sometimes a little bit, but I also know for me that I have a great opportunity in front of me and I have a long future in front of me and obviously I’m not done yet, right? So I feel great about my decision and I think Bob feels good about his decision as well and there’s no animosity. There are no hurt feelings. Sometimes it’s just the way it works out and I feel that this is how it’s supposed to work out.”

TO WIN TOMORROW, WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT THIS TRACK? “Well, it’s going to take track position, which we start out with and we have, and so we got to execute that. I’ve seen it be really powerful here before. In 2022 I believe, we stayed out and took the lead and led like 50 or 60m I don’t know but a decent amount of laps. That was really eye opening of like, hey, we just got to get out in front and we’re going to be okay. And last year we had a top 10 car here as well. I’m not super shocked by our speed. I think it was exceptional today in qualifying for sure. Tomorrow it’s just about executing that initial start and pit stops. There are so many variables. There are so many things that happen. When you’re the leader or if you are still leading different strategies that people take. Two tires here is an option and staying out and different things have been an option here. So you’re going to have to be versatile. You’re going to have to be able to keep the lead and then if you do lose track position because of altering strategies you have to be able to get through traffic. So much happens on a race day. I always say this and this is not just because I’m sitting here right now but Saturday is a race of its own and today we won the race and tomorrow we’ll focus on winning that race but today we executed well and did everything we needed to do and if we do that tomorrow we’ll have a shot at winning the race. But to win a Cup race you have to be perfect and we’ve seen it. It’s tough, right? You have past champions that haven’t won a race in a long time. We’ve seen really, really good guys and really good teams that have the speed and are so close, but everything has to go perfectly. So we know what we have to do. We’ve been in this spot before as far as needing to win to get into playoffs and having speed. We have to rise to the occasion. I think we will.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO WIN TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AS FAR OUT AS YOU ARE? “I think I do. If we run like this every weekend and can score 20 stage points each week, then no, but the way that it looks right now I think that we have to win. And honestly, that’s the approach. That’s always been the approach for us. Even last year when we were close to pointing our way in, which we would have pointed our way in, even without the win, we knew that we were going to Sonoma, and we were going to Indy, and we were going to Chicago Road Course, and we were going to those places to win the race and our strategy was to win the race. It’ll be the same this time. We’re not trying to score points to point our way into the playoffs. If we happen to do that because we are that fast and we are executing that well, then great but I’m not counting on that. I’m counting on going and winning in the next two or three weeks and not having to worry about it.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT LARSON HASN’T GOTTEN A WAIVER YET? DO YOU HAVE ANY OPINION ON WHETHER HE SHOULD GET A WAIVER FOR NOT MAKING IT TO THE START? “I don’t see the other side of this point at all. I think if it was me and I did it and I think that’s a different situation and I hate to say it like that, but Kyle Larson is going to win five or six or seven races this year. To sit here and say that he’s not going to get a waiver because he tried to do the double and brought a tremendous amount of eyeballs on our sport and a tremendous amount of eyeballs on IndyCar and just helped motorsports all together is crazy. So I know that there’s arguments to that, but I mean, come on, we’re talking about the best driver that’s ever sat in a stock car and we’re not going to give him a pass? That’s crazy.”

HOW DID YOUR CAR HANDLE IN TRAFFIC DURING PRACTICE? I KNOW CONDITIONS WILL BE DIFFERENT TOMORROW FOR THE RACE, BUT IT IS SUCH A CRITICAL THING, TRACK POSITION IN THIS RACE. “One of the things that was fun about today’s practice was it wasn’t split, right? All of us out there at once, so like it or not, you were going to be in traffic. There was no clean racetrack, which kind of reminded me of the old days of happy hour, right? You’d roll out for happy hour and there’d be 43 of you and you’d be nose to the tail and you’d roll out and give yourself two or three car lengths gap and hammer down. We didn’t run a whole lot in clean air. I was always catching somebody or attempting to catch somebody or passing somebody. I think that I got a good feel for what we need for tomorrow. But when it’s 8 a.m. or whenever we rolled out, right, 8:30, it’s cool, overcast, slightly misty, that’s not going to be tomorrow. I really separate the two days. Today’s all about one lap or two laps. It’s about qualifying and tomorrow we know what we need to do. We’ve raced here before, we have a good notebook, but practice is not an indication of what you’re gonna have tomorrow. It’s just not. We just have to make the right adjustments overnight, knowing that it’s going to be warmer and sunnier. The track’s gonna lose a tremendous amount of grip compared to what we had and it’s gonna take a lot of rubber and you’re gonna move around and you’re gonna be up in that third lane on both ends. You gotta have a good notebook that you can lean into. And like I said, I feel good about that just based on the fact that we had a top 10 car here last year.”

KALITTA, PROCK AND ENDERS RACE TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

By
Official Release
-

EPPING, N.H. (May 31, 2024) – Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta made the quickest run of both sessions on Friday at New England Dragway, taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the 11th annual NHRA New England Nationals.

Austin Prock (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the seventh of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta went 3.700-seconds at 332.84 mph under the lights in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster as part of a thrilling side-by-side run with Steve Torrence, maintaining his No. 1 spot from earlier in the day. It puts the veteran in position for his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 56th in his career. New England Dragway is also the only track on the NHRA tour where Kalitta hasn’t won, which is something the 53-time event winner would love to change this weekend.

“I was really confident and real hopeful,” Kalitta said. “The car left good and smooth and really happy once I figured we got the quick time. This track is on my radar [as the last one] to get to a final and finally get a win.

“This is last on the list and the history here is incredible and the area around this place is fantastic. Hats off to Alan Johnson and Mac Savage and all the guys working on this thing. The Toyota guys have been helping us with the track and I can’t thank them enough. All our cars ran well that session.”

Torrence took the second spot with a strong 3.702 at 335.23 and Brittany Force, who did not qualify at the most recent event in Chicago, jumped to third with a 3.715 at a track-record 335.57.

In Funny Car, Austin Prock continued to impress in qualifying on Friday, delivering a standout run of 3.837 at 336.23 in his 11,000-horsepower AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. It puts Prock, who is second in points, on track for an impressive fifth No. 1 qualifier in the first seven races of the season as the former NHRA Rookie of the Year continues to show his talents in a new category. Prock has adjusted well in his first year in the loaded Funny Car ranks and made a pair of solid runs on Friday as he attempts to pick up his first career victory at New England Dragway.

“It’s surreal just holding on to the wheel,” Prock said. “Kudos to my dad [Jimmy] and brother [Thomas]. They’re making really smart decisions, and it’s really impressive watching them work. They’ve been in the right spot at right time and we’re getting the job done.

“I got a little John Force in me. I never know where I’m at. On the first run, I didn’t have it staged shallow and it cost me the top spot. I had to walk back to the trailer with my tail between legs. It was so bad, my dad could see it. As soon as I crossed the finish line I apologized on the radio but on the second run they bailed me out with a 3.83 with a really good mph.”

Prock’s boss, legendary Funny Car racer John Force, is in second with a run of 3.865 at 333.16 and J.R. Todd is in third after the first two qualifying sessions, going 3.865 at 327.74.

A two-time Pro Stock winner at New England Dragway, defending world champ Erica Enders enjoyed a terrific start to her weekend, going a blistering 6.488 at 211.79 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car. Should that hold, Enders would pick up her third top spot of 2024, as Enders was the only driver to reach the 6.40s on Friday. The biggest thing for Enders is picking up her 50th career national event victory, something she’s been chasing for a handful of events now. After Friday’s terrific start, it could happen this weekend for Enders.

“Well, my guys have really been studying up and have been working hard this past week and put their heads together,” Enders said. “We’re running our race car just a little bit differently. Earlier in that session, the starting line wasn’t there but the air was. We thought we could go .49 then with the sun down and cooler track temps, we thought we could get after it a little bit more and we threw a .48 on the board. I love racing up here in Epping and I’m just really grateful and I’m having fun again.

“When I let go of clutch the wheels were up and that makes you think you’re on a run. Then you’ve just got to keep it in groove and hit all your shifts, and I was able to do that. I could tell it was good when my guys were excited on the radio.”

Troy Coughlin Jr. is currently second thanks to a run of 6.510 at 211.46 and points leader Dallas Glenn is third after going 6.529 at 210.57.

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway.

EPPING, N.H. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 11th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, seventh of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.700 seconds, 332.84 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.702, 335.23; 3. Brittany Force, 3.715, 335.57; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.722, 330.23; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.744, 332.43; 6. Justin Ashley, 3.754, 328.22; 7. Clay Millican, 3.759, 332.43; 8. Tony Stewart, 3.762, 323.12; 9. Antron Brown, 3.766, 330.80; 10. Dan Mercier, 3.777, 328.38; 11. Josh Hart, 3.795, 327.98; 12. Jasmine Salinas, 3.812, 320.20; 13. Shawn Reed, 3.820, 324.20; 14. Smax Smith, 5.286, 127.45; 15. Tony Schumacher, 5.679, 114.41.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.837, 336.23; 2. John Force, Camaro, 3.865, 333.16; 3. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.865, 327.74; 4. Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.899, 329.91; 5. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.910, 322.96; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.923, 333.41; 7. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.945, 319.22; 8. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 3.956, 325.53; 9. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 3.958, 315.64; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.965, 323.27; 11. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.990, 322.11; 12. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 5.567, 135.85; 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 6.288, 114.94; 14. Buddy Hull,

Charger, 7.443, 89.82; 15. Cory Lee, Mustang, 7.628, 83.56.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.488, 211.79; 2. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.510, 211.46; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.529, 210.57; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.530, 211.59; 5. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.530, 210.28; 6. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.534, 210.67; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.540, 210.93; 8. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.541, 209.92; 9. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.543, 209.82; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 209.95; 11. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.549, 210.77; 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.558, 209.30; 13. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.564, 210.64; 14. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.582, 209.82; 15. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.606, 208.39; 16. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.962, 160.48.

Not Qualified: 17. Val Smeland, 7.758, 130.32.

MAJESKI WINS NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES TOYOTA 200 POLE FOR SECOND SEASON IN A ROW

By
Official Release
-
Ty Majeski of ThorSport Racing wins the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series pole during Friday’s qualifying for the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Photo credit: World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski becomes the first NCTS driver in World Wide Technology Raceway history to win consecutive poles.
  • Toyota 200 is set for 12:30 p.m. CT Saturday and will be televised live on FOX.

MADISON, Ill. (May 31, 2024) – Ty Majeski of ThorSport Racing became the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver in World Wide Technology Raceway history to win back-to-back poles when he captured the top spot during Friday’s qualifying for the Toyota 200.

Majeski posted a lap of 138.568 miles per hour (32.475 seconds) on the 1.25-mile oval in his No. 98 Ford to capture his series-leading third pole of the season and eighth of his career. His other two this season came at Daytona and Martinsville.

With his second career pole at World Wide Technology Raceway, Majeski joins Greg Biffle (1998, 2000) and Ted Musgrave (2001, ’05) as the only multiple pole winners at the venue.

Majeski will lead the 32-truck field to the green flag at 12:30 p.m. CT Saturday for the 160-lap Toyota 200 (TV: FOX, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM, WNOI 103.9 FM locally).

“Hit it good today,” said Majeski, who is fourth in the NCTS points standings but still looking for his first win of the season. “Had a pretty good history qualifying here. I think we sat on the pole here last year as well. Similar setup. Hopefully, we can close the weekend off this year.

“We had a good team meeting this morning. Try to collectively get everybody moving in the right direction. The speed is there. That is not a concern. We just have to make better decisions when it counts. These races will come together. When you have speed like that it’s inevitable.”

McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes, the series points leader, was 0.124 of a second off Majeski’s pace to earn the other front-row spot with a lap of 138.041 mph/32.599 seconds. It will be his seventh top-10 starting position in as many races at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez (137.994 mph/32.610) will start third, TRICON Garage’s Dean Thompson (137.961/32.618) fourth and teammate Tanner Gray (137.489/32.730) rounds out the top five. The top four drivers were separated by .143 and the top 23 drivers by less than a second (0.976).

World Wide Technology Raceway will serve as the second leg of the three-race CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Triple Truck Challenge. Sanchez won the first leg last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Eligible drivers who have elected to earn series championship points will receive a $50,000 bonus for one win. If a driver wins two out of the three races, they will be awarded $150,000. If a driver wins all three Triple Truck Challenge races, a $500,000 prize will be awarded.

In addition to the Toyota 200, the NASCAR Cup Series will be on track Saturday with opening practice and qualifying. Practice will run from 8:30-9:15 a.m. and be immediately followed by pole qualifying. The two-round format will be single-vehicle, one-lap qualifying runs.

For more information on the NASCAR race weekend, please visit www.wwtraceway.com.

1...982983984...6,687Page 983 of 6,687