Author: Official Release

  • Roto-Rooter to Return to JR Motorsports

    Roto-Rooter to Return to JR Motorsports

    Leading Plumbing Company to Partner with Multiple JRM Entries in 2025

    MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 16, 2024) – JR Motorsports announced today that Roto-Rooter, a leading innovator in the plumbing and drain cleaning industry, will return to the organization as primary partner for both Connor Zilisch and the No. 88 Chevrolet, and Carson Kvapil and the No. 1 Chevrolet for two races each during the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. In addition to their return to the NXS, Roto-Rooter will also be part of JRM’s heralded Late Model program as a full-season associate next year.

    “We’re thrilled to welcome Roto-Rooter back to JRM in 2025,” said JRM CEO Kelley Earnhardt Miller. “It’s great to see how much our partnership has grown already in the short time that we’ve been together and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

    The origins of Roto-Rooter can be traced back to 1933, when Samuel Blanc created the first electric sewer-cleaning machine from a 1/6 HP Maytag washing machine motor, roller skate wheels and a 3/8-inch cable to turn the blades. The device could cut tree roots out of sewer lines where no digging was required. Just one year later, this prototype came to fruition and the name “Roto-Rooter” was born by virtue of Sam’s wife, Lettie. Roto-Rooter became one of the earliest franchisors in the country.

    “Roto-Rooter is grateful to be associated with JR Motorsports for another year,” says Roto-Rooter President, Thad Reinhard. “This partnership brings together two hard working household names and leaders in their respective industries. We thank Dale and Kelley for building such a phenomenal team and we look forward to another exciting season on the track with such deserving, young race car drivers.”

    In addition to the extension into 2025, Roto-Rooter will be featured as primary partner with Zilisch in his first NXS start at Homestead-Miami Speedway this October on board the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet.

    Zilisch and the No. 88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet are set to take the green at Homestead on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

    ABOUT ROTO-ROOTER:

    Founded in 1935, Roto-Rooter is the largest provider of plumbing, drain cleaning, and water cleanup services in North America. Many locations offer no-dig sewer repair or replacement. Residential and commercial services are provided by more than 120 company-owned territories and 300 franchise locations across the U.S. and Canada.

    Roto-Rooter service technicians, plumbers, and water cleanup specialists benefit from a solid career with on-the-job training and high earnings potential. Roto-Rooter technicians work with the best equipment available, using proprietary sewer and drain cleaning machines, cable, and blades that are manufactured in Roto-Rooter’s plant in West Des Moines, Iowa.

    Roto-Rooter has one of the most famous jingles in advertising history: “Call Roto-Rooter, that’s the name, and away go troubles down the drain!”

    ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:

    JR Motorsports is the racing operation co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. Now in its 23rd year of overall competition, JR Motorsports competes in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it currently fields four full-time teams and earned championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also owns seven titles in regional Late Model divisions with consecutive championships in 2022-23 and a prized national title in 2020. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

  • Grassroots Racing Extravaganza This Weekend At North Wilkesboro Speedway

    Grassroots Racing Extravaganza This Weekend At North Wilkesboro Speedway

    • Three of the most prominent asphalt short-track racing series on the East Coast will converge at North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend, Oct. 19-20.
    • The zMAX CARS Tour and SMART Modified Tour will hold season finales on Saturday, while the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will contest its penultimate event on Sunday.

    NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (Oct. 15, 2024) – There’s no better place for fans of short-track racing this weekend than North Wilkesboro Speedway as three of the most exciting racing series on the East Coast will come together at the historic .625-mile facility for nearly 500 laps of feature racing.

    The zMAX CARS Tour will hold its season finale, holding features for both the Late Model Stock Car (LMSC) division with the ECMD 125 and Pro Late Model division on Saturday, while the SMART Modified Tour will also hold its season finale on Saturday. Fans can return on Sunday to see the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s penultimate event, the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150, before the championship finale at Martinsville on Oct. 26.

    CARS Tour Points Battles Red Hot Entering Season Finale

    Fan-favorite Brendan “Butterbean” Queen leads Connor Hall in the LMSC division by only eight points entering the ECMD 125 at North Wilkesboro. The dynamic duo has battled each other throughout the season, with Queen overtaking Hall just last weekend at Tri-County Speedway. Queen took the elevator ride to North Wilkesboro Speedway Victory Lane in 2023 and led the most laps in the most recent CARS Tour LMSC event at the facility in August.

    In the Pro Late Model division, Kaden Honeycutt and Spencer Davis are the front-runners for the championship, with Honeycutt narrowing the gap following the most recent race at Tri-County, where he picked up the victory.

    SMART Modified Tour Playoff Drivers Set for North Wilkesboro

    Five drivers will compete for the SMART Modified Tour championship due to a new playoff points system. Luke Baldwin, Carson Loftin, Danny Bohn, Ryan Newman and Burt Myers will put it all on the line to become the 2024 season champion. As points have been reset for the “SMART 5,” they will go head-to-head with the highest finishing driver among them winning the 2024 Championship. Newman may have the advantage as the former Cup Series driver was victorious in one of the SMART Modified Tour races at North Wilkesboro during the Race Track Revival in 2022, however, the new surface on the historic raceway may even the field.

    North Wilkesboro Could Make or Break NASCAR Modified Points Battle

    With just two events remaining in the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, defending champion Ron Silk leads Justin Bonsignore by just five points, and third-place Patrick Emerling by only 21 points. The Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 could make or break a championship run by any of the three. A good run or a win could vault any of them into a solitary lead or alternatively a bad day could ruin the chances of a championship. In last year’s event, all three 2024 championship contenders finished in the top five.

    While Silk holds a slight lead with four wins this season, Emerling has been on a roll of late, picking up three wins in the past five races, while Bonsignore also has three wins on the season including the most recent race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

    Returning to NASCAR’s Roots at Wilkesboro

    The ground-pounding modifieds are one of the first divisions of motorsports to have raced at North Wilkesboro in 1948, and the division has a lengthy history at the storied facility. NASCAR pioneers such as Red Byron, Curtis Turner, Ralph Earnhardt, and Fonty Flock picked up modified wins in those early days. In later years, legends such as Jerry Cook, Satch Worley, Ray Hendrick and Geoffrey Bodine dominated at the track.

    Since the revival of the historic facility, “Big Money” Matt Hirschman has won two of three modified races, winning both last year’s NASCAR Modified Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 and a SMART Modified Tour race as part of the Race Track Revival events in 2022.

    Smooth Surface Equals Exciting Racing

    This will be the first look at the repaved surface on the .625-mile facility for the NASCAR Modifieds and the SMART Modified Tour, having raced last year on the aged pavement. A smoother and less abrasive surface promises to provide exciting racing from a series known for fierce side-by-side battles and intense action. Drivers from all levels of motorsports have praised the new surface, remarking that while it is smoother and more cohesive, it still has the character that makes North Wilkesboro Speedway unique.

    TICKETS:

    Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are still available and can be purchased online or at the gate. Adult tickets start at $40 for Saturday and $30 for Sunday, while kids 12 and under get in for $10 each day when purchased in advance. Tickets can be obtained at www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com.

    MORE INFO:

    Fans can connect with North Wilkesboro Speedway and get the latest news by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan.

  • Todd Gilliland Revives All Black gener8tor Scheme for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    Todd Gilliland Revives All Black gener8tor Scheme for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway Competition Notes

     MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 15, 2024) – Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 team head west to Las Vegas, Nevada for 267 laps at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gilliland will drive the fan favorite – all black – gener8tor scheme designed by Gilliland’s Crew Chief, Ryan Bergenty.

    Following an 18th place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Gilliland and the team look to pick up momentum at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gilliland has a career best finish of 23rd at the 1.5-mile venue.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will start the weekend on Saturday, October 19th with practice and qualifying at 4:30 pm ET on USA Network. The South Point Casino & Hotel 400 is scheduled for Sunday, October 20th at 2:30 pm ET. Fans can watch the action live on NBC or listen in via the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90.

    No. 38 gener8tor Mustang Dark Horse:

    DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

    “We have struggled at Vegas, and at the mile-and-a-halfs in general this year, but I have a good feeling about this weekend. We’re at the final stretch of races before the off season, so it’s important to not lose focus and finish out the season with as many points as possible. It’s cool to have the black gener8tor scheme back on the car. It stands out from the rest of the field and it’s fan favorite for sure.”

    CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

    “Vegas has been a difficult track for us, but I think we have a good chance this weekend. It starts with qualifying up front, staying out of the wrecks, and executing. We are down to the last few races, so it’s important to not get lazy and maximize our weekends so we can have the best points finish possible.”

    ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

    Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

  • Michael McDowell & Love’s Ready to Roll the Dice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    Michael McDowell & Love’s Ready to Roll the Dice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway Competition Notes

    MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 15, 2024) – Michael McDowell and the No. 34 team return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with only four races remaining in the 2024 season.

    The No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will feature Love’s Travel Stops colors this weekend as McDowell will make his 22nd start at the 1.5-mile oval, looking to improve on his 25th-place finish in the Spring.

    The NASCAR Cup Series track activity will start Saturday, October 19th with practice and qualifying at 4:30 pm ET on USA Network. The 400-mile race will be Sunday, October 20th at 2:30 pm ET. Fans can watch the action live on NBC or listen via the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90.

    No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

    DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:

    “We’re ready for Vegas. Travis and the team have brought great cars to the race track each week. At tracks like Kansas, Texas and even Las Vegas earlier in the season, we’ve had speed. We just need to execute in every phase of the race to have a good finish.”

    CREW CHIEF TRAVIS PETERSON:

    “We are heading into Vegas with the mindset that we’re going to bring a good car performance wise and get a good finish. There are only a few races left and we want to make the most of them.”

    ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

    Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

  • AUBLIEB Films Announces World Premiere of “Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross” at Newport Beach Film Festival

    AUBLIEB Films Announces World Premiere of “Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross” at Newport Beach Film Festival

    Narrated and Executive Produced by Academy Award-nominated actor JOSH BROLIN

    NEWPORT BEACH, California – October 15, 2024 – Monster Energy and TAUBLIEB Films are thrilled to announce the world premiere of the highly-anticipated documentary Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross, narrated by acclaimed actor Josh Brolin. The film will debut at the prestigious Newport Beach Film Festival on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at 3:30 PM at the renowned Lido Theater.

    Event Details:
    Location: Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA 92663
    Date: October 19, 2024
    Time: 3:30 PM – 5:05 PM PDT
    Tickets: Purchase here

    Watch teaser video below

    This extraordinary full-length feature documentary film captures the thrilling and tumultuous journey of Supercross, the sport that has captivated millions. From its grassroots beginnings to its transformation into a global phenomenon, Pay Dirt offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the sport’s greatest athletes, risks, rewards, and the passion that drives them. With the support of Monster Energy and Feld Motor Sports, Inc., TAUBLIEB Films is proud to bring this story to life.

    “Monster Energy is excited to be a part of Pay Dirt, a documentary that dives deep into the electrifying world of Supercross. This film does an incredible job capturing the raw energy and intensity of our top athletes in the sport while offering an authentic glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of Supercross, making it accessible and thrilling for all audiences,” said Mitch Covington, Monster Energy Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing.

    Featured Monster Energy Supercross athletes include legendary and current icons: Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Villopoto, Brian Deegan, and Haiden Deegan.

    “We’re only here because of the incredible support from everyone involved – from Monster Energy to Feld Motor Sports – and, of course, the riders and production team,” said multi-Emmy-winning filmmaker Paul Taublieb, whose previous feature collaborations with Monster Energy include feature documentaries “Unchained: The Untold Story of Freestyle Motocross,” “FASTEST” and “Blink of an Eye. “This is not a history of the sport, but rather, the story of Supercross, and I’m humbled and grateful to be able to share this first screening at the great Newport Beach Film Festival.”

    “Pay Dirt is a project born from a deep admiration for skill, courage and sacrifices of the incredible athletes who race Supercross, and features an all-star cast of riders including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Ricky Johnson, Bob Hannah, Haiden Deegan, and many others, including, speaking from prison, the man who created the sport, Michael Goodwin,” added TAUBLIEB. “Our goal was to bring their stories to life in a way that not only resonates with die-hard fans but also introduces new audiences to the world of Supercross.”

    Following the Newport Beach premiere, Pay Dirt will have a special theatrical screening tied to the opening of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Anaheim 1. It will then be released in 500 theaters across the country. Shortly after that, the documentary will be available on popular streaming platforms.

    Quotes from Early Viewers:

    Motorsports journalist and publisher of Racer Magazine Paul Pfanner shared his thoughts after a sneak preview:

    “I’ve watched Pay Dirt and I am awe-struck by the way this incredibly complex and nuanced narrative is crafted. This film touches my soul. There’s nowhere to hide in Pay Dirt – it feels like a confessional with my heroes and friends…and those whom I consider villains. That’s why I love it.”

    Former Supercross rider Jimmy Button, who makes a powerful appearance in the film, added: “This movie does so much more than educate you on the sport of Supercross. Whether you’ve ever thrown your leg over a dirtbike or not, this film captivates your senses and emotions. You’ll learn something new, be moved emotionally, and come away dazzled.”

    Supercross legends Brian Deegan and Haiden Deegan were equally impressed:

    Brian: “Great storytelling about the incredible highs and lows of racing a dirt bike. Whether you’re a fan of dirt bikes or not, you’ll love this roller coaster ride of a film.”

    Haiden: “Quite simply, a motivating documentary, so well made and so interesting. Don’t miss it.”

    We look forward to sharing this first viewing of Pay Dirt with you and building anticipation for its nationwide release in January 2025.

    About Monster Energy:

    Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes, and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at www.monsterenergy.com.

    About Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship:

    Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing championship on the planet. Founded in America and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) since 1974. Over 17 weeks, Supercross attracts some of the largest and most impressive crowds inside the most recognizable and prestigious stadiums in North America to race in front of nearly one million live fans and broadcast to millions more worldwide. For more information, visit SupercrossLIVE.com.

    About the SuperMotocross World Championship:

    The SuperMotocross World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the SuperMotocross World Championship combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship into a 31-event series that culminates in a season-ending two round playoff and SuperMotocross World Championship Final.

    Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

    About Feld Motor Sports:

    Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting specialized arena and stadium-based motorsports entertainment. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the SuperMotocross World Championship. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, Inc. Visit monsterjam.com, SupercrossLIVE.com, and feldentertainment.com for more information.

  • NHRA BREAKFAST AT 2024 SEMA SHOW TO FEATURE NHRA STARS AND A SURPRISE GUEST DISCUSS STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

    NHRA BREAKFAST AT 2024 SEMA SHOW TO FEATURE NHRA STARS AND A SURPRISE GUEST DISCUSS STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

    INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 15, 2024) – The NHRA Breakfast, which is always one of the most popular events of the annual SEMA Show, is slated to take place Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Westgate Las Vegas Casino Paradise Event Center, hosting four NHRA stars – plus a legendary surprise guest – as part of a can’t-miss event and unique topic.

    The NHRA Breakfast, a staple of the SEMA Show for more than two decades, takes place from 7:30-9 a.m. with a special topic: “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.” NHRA stars Ron Capps, Tony Schumacher and Austin Prock, along with crew chief Jim Oberhofer will appear – as well as a celebrated surprise guest – to discuss the “giant” that helped start their drag racing career.

    Capps will speak about his start with Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and later racing for Don Schumacher, while T. Schumacher will share about his time racing for his father. Oberhofer will discuss his extensive time working with legendary Connie Kalitta, and Prock will talk about his time racing for the legendary John Force and now being tuned by his father, Jimmy Prock, who is widely considered one of the greatest nitro crew chiefs of all-time.

    For the sixth time, NHRA on FOX announcer Brian Lohnes will be the panel moderator for the thrilling show, asking each member of the legendary panel detailed questions about racing for some of the biggest names in NHRA history. Everyone in attendance will get the chance to listen to incredible stories from the four panel members – as well as the special guest – in a fun and festive setting at the NHRA Breakfast.

    “This year’s SEMA NHRA Breakfast is going to be fantastic,” Lohnes said. “It is one thing to hear the stories of heroes, but what about the people those heroes inspired to become pro drivers and crew chiefs? Whether they are family members, legendary racers, hall of fame drivers, or the sport’s biggest personalities, this is going to be a unique experience to hear what it’s like to stand on the shoulders of giants in NHRA drag racing.

    “The stories will be unfiltered, unedited and only heard live in ONE place!

    “What was Prudhomme like as a new team owner? Learning to tune a Top Fuel dragster with Connie Kalitta? Having your dad be Don Schumacher!? Oh, and maybe being in the middle of one of the best Funny Car seasons in history with your pop and brother as a crew chief. You’ll never get this anywhere else!”

    Schumacher is the most successful driver in Top Fuel history, picking up 88 career victories and eight world championships, while Capps has been a star driver for three decades, picking up 76 wins and three Funny Car world championships. Oberhofer has been a top-notch crew chief for years for a multitude of teams, while Prock, the 2019 NHRA Rookie of the Year, is the current points leader in Funny Car, racking up seven wins during his memorable 2024 campaign.

    In addition to the must-see topic, the popular trivia questions at the end of the show will continue with NHRA prize packs, which will include tickets to the upcoming In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, which takes place Nov. 14-17 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip to close out the 2024 NHRA season.

    The NHRA stars will also appear at the NHRA Booth (#22619) at the SEMA Show for an autograph signing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

    The NHRA Breakfast at the SEMA Show will be held Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 7:30–9 a.m. at the Westgate Las Vegas Casino Paradise Event Center. The annual NHRA Breakfast is part of the 2024 SEMA Show, the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world which draws the industry’s brightest minds and products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center, Nov. 5-8, 2024.

    The NHRA Breakfast is open to all registered SEMA Show attendees at no cost — however tickets are required. A continental breakfast will be served. To order your event ticket or register for the show, click here: Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week – 2024 SEMA Show – Special Events


    About SEMA Show Industry Night: Featuring The Goo Goo Dolls

    Tuesday, November 5: Kick the week off in Las Vegas style with an industry party like no other, featuring Opima Unlashed as well as performances from REIGNWOLF, O.A.R. and the legendary GOO GOO DOLLS. Gates open at 4;00pm with music from 5:00pm – 9:30pm. Don’t miss this opportunity to forge new relationships and celebrate our industry.

    For more information and to purchase your tickets CLICK HERE.

    About SEMA Fest

    Friday, November 8 – SEMA Fest brings together the captivating world of automotive culture that can only be found at the SEMA Show with some of the biggest bands in music: Cage The Elephant, Sublime, Fitz And The Tantrums and Petey! It’s a one-of-kind live and epic event that will also feature Optima Unleashed for motorsports thrills. This is a true bucket list experience for music lovers and car enthusiasts all held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Gates open at 3:00pm with live music from 4:00pm – 10:00pm.

    For more information and to purchase tickets CLICK HERE.

    About Mission Foods

    MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/

    About NHRA

    NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

  • Ford Performance NASCAR – 2024 Las Vegas Playoff Advance

    Ford Performance NASCAR – 2024 Las Vegas Playoff Advance

    LAS VEGAS 2

    Saturday, October 19 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (CW)
    Sunday, October 20 — NASCAR Cup Series, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

    The playoff season continues to get more intense and this weekend figures to be no different as the Round of 8 begins for the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers still alive for their respective championships. All three of Ford’s contenders still alive have won championships with Joey Logano holding a pair (2018 and 2020) and Ryan Blaney in the midst of defending his Cup title from a year ago. Cole Custer is also bidding for a repeat in the Xfinity Series.

    FORD DRIVERS IN THE CUP PLAYOFFS

    ROUND OF 8

    Ryan Blaney – 5th (-4 below the cut line)
    Joey Logano – 8th (-11)
    Note: Top 4 advance after Martinsville

    FORD PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT LVMS

    Ryan Blaney: 16 starts, 0 wins, 6 top-5, 10 top-10
    Joey Logano: 22 starts, 3 wins, 7 top-5, 13 top-10

    BLANEY STILL LOOKING FOR VEGAS WIN

    Ryan Blaney will be making his 17th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend and while he’s been consistently up front with six top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes, he’s still looking for his first victory. Blaney, who won the pole in 2018 and finished third earlier this season, is making his fifth appearance in the Round of 8.

    VEGAS PROVES TO BE LOGANO’S BEST

    Joey Logano has three career victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and those wins have helped make the track one of his best statistically on the circuit. Logano sports a 9.9 average finish in 22 career starts, which is the best among tracks he’s started 10 or more times. Besides his three Vegas victories, Logano has 7 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes since joining the series in 2009.

    RYAN BLANEY: “I love going out to the track in Vegas. I enjoy that it has two dates on the schedule and enjoy that it’s in playoffs because it does put on a really good race. I feel like that track is very underrated as far as race-ability and the type of shows that it puts on, but I think everyone loves that track. It has so much character in it and you always have to worry about the bumps. They get worse every year and the wind is always a factor because you’re out there in the desert and never know which way it will swirl. It’s a good track to kick off this round, not only for the drivers and teams, but I think for the fans to come and watch a great event. Vegas has always been a good track for us, not only as the 12 team but for Team Penske as well. It’s one of those tracks where I feel we always run really strong at, but I haven’t won there yet. I feel like we’re always there and in contention and that’s what you have to do. You have to put yourself in contention to win these races and this is a place where we’ve been really good in the past and you hope that what you learned since the spring at that race can apply.”

    JOEY LOGANO: “The Vegas entertainment part, you’re talking to someone who might be a little boring when you’re talking about Vegas since you’re just going there for a work trip. I’m there to win a race, so if you want to know what the most fun thing to do there is there’s a place inside the racetrack called Victory Lane. That’s the best place to be in Vegas, so I’m gonna try to drive my car there and enjoy my time when I get there.”

    ROUSH RULES

    There have been two RFK drivers who have posted consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jeff Burton won in 1999 and 2000 while Matt Kenseth did it in his championship season of 2003 and 2004. In fact, RFK has been a force in both the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series at the 1.5-mile facility. The organization has posted seven NCS wins and six NXS victories for a total of 13 overall, which includes back-to-back weekend sweeps in 1999 and 2000. In addition, RFK has three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series triumphs.

    SWEEP DELIGHT FOR KESELOWSKI

    Brad Keselowski completed a weekend sweep in 2014 after taking the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events on consecutive days. Even though Keselowski led the most laps in the NCS race, he needed a little bit of luck and got it on the final lap when Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was in conservation mode, ran out of gas on the back straightaway. That enabled Keselowski to win going away and post the first of his six victories that season.

    COLE CUSTER REPEAT BID STILL ALIVE

    Cole Custer’s bid for a second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series championship is still alive after he advanced to the Round of 8 last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Custer, who posted wins this season at Pocono and Bristol, comes into this three-race stretch seeded second, 11 points above the cut line. In eight career series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Custer has four top-5 and six top-10 finishes with his best effort being earlier this year when he was second.

    FORD’S LAS VEGAS CUP SERIES WINNERS

    1998 – Mark Martin

    1999 – Jeff Burton

    2000 – Jeff Burton

    2003 – Matt Kenseth

    2004 – Matt Kenseth

    2008 – Carl Edwards

    2011 – Carl Edwards

    2014 – Brad Keselowski

    2016 – Brad Keselowski

    2018 – Kevin Harvick (1) and Brad Keselowski (2)

    2019 – Joey Logano (1)

    2020 – Joey Logano (1)

    2022 – Joey Logano (2)

    FORD’S LAS VEGAS XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

    1999 – Mark Martin

    2000 – Jeff Burton

    2002 – Jeff Burton

    2005 – Mark Martin

    2009 – Greg Biffle

    2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    2013 – Sam Hornish Jr.

    2014 – Brad Keselowski

    2017 – Joey Logano

    2020 – Chase Briscoe (Sweep)

    2023 – Riley Herbst (2)

  • Joey Logano Preparing for Round of 8 and Las Vegas Opener This Weekend

    Joey Logano Preparing for Round of 8 and Las Vegas Opener This Weekend

    Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
    NASCAR Cup Series
    South Point 400 Advance | Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Tuesday, October 15, 2024

    Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, will be competing in the Round of 8 which begins this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The two-time champion opens the round in eighth place, 11 points below the cut line. He was a guest earlier today as part of a NASCAR conference call in which he answered media questions. Following is a full transcript:

    JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THE 48 WAS BEING DISQUALIFIED AND YOU WERE IN THE ROUND OF 8? “I was obviously surprised. I heard rumors before that of a delay in tech and some of those things going on. Usually, nothing happens. It was kind of a surprise to hear that. Typically, by the time you roll the car off the scales, they give them the opportunity to put weight in the cars and you’re usually fine, but in this case that wasn’t the case and I was like, ‘Well, would we be in?’ That’s the first question you have to ask and obviously the answer was yes, and then you’re still kind of cautiously optimistic because you’re thinking, ‘Well, there probably will be an appeal if there is and we may not know until later,’ so you kind of keep going on with your life and preparing for the next race. Obviously, it came out yesterday that they’re not appealing, so we move on and into the Round of 8 and off we go.”

    HOW DO YOU LOOK AT SOMEONE FAILING TECH FOR BEING TOO LIGHT? “I can’t speak on the specifics of what happened and how it happened. It’s obvious that NASCAR gives us half-a-percent of the total weight of the vehicle after the race. That rule is there for multiple reasons. In the past, obviously, there are games played there. What they are and how it works, you’re talking to the wrong guy on that, but some rules are gray that you can interpret two different ways and some are black and white. When it comes to numbers and the weight of a vehicle, it’s a little bit easier to look at and say it’s either black or white, but I can’t speak to the specifics of how it happened or what games are played and how often it happens. I can’t answer those.”

    WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THIS SECOND CHANCE? HOW DO YOU ATTACK IT? “The same way we would have if we’d made it any other way. You go out there and you attack. The positives, I feel like we’ve been steadily getting better and improving throughout the season to where we are now. I feel confident in the speed we have in our car. Kansas, we had a lot of speed and almost won the first stage there. We have to clean up a couple issues on the execution side. Talladega is Talladga. We got caught up in the big crash there, but the speed we also had this weekend at the Roval looked pretty solid to me, to where we are a Championship 4 caliber race team. The stats may not look like it. It may look like we’re underdogs from the outset looking in, but internally we feel very confident in our race team that we can make a run at this thing and get ourselves into the Championship 4. We’ve seen it in the past where you get in there and anything can happen at Phoenix. The goal right now is to look at the next three races and how do we maximize that. We can point our way in. We’re only 11 out, so it’s not a lot of points by no means. It can happen very quickly, so one race at a time. Right now, the focus is Vegas and we’ll try to maximize the day there.”

    YOU ARE A THREE-TIME WINNER AT VEGAS. DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE A STRONG OPPORTUNITY THERE TO WIN OR GET YOURSELF SOLIDLY IN THE TOP FOUR? “We’ve done it before, we can do it again.”

    ON PIT ROAD YOU SAID YOU WERE ANGRY AT THE MOMENT. WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS IN THE CAR ON THE WAY HOME WHEN YOU STARTED TO HEAR THE RUMORS? “I was starting to move forward. You get there literally the moment we get out of the race car. It takes a little bit to get your thoughts collected and, honestly, by the time I was driving home my wife and I were talking about something far more important than what we were doing at the racetrack. My mind was already starting to shift on what were the next moves and kind of getting over the race. Then I started hearing the rumors from there and the phone started to ring shortly after.”

    WHEN YOU GET A RARE SECOND CHANCE IS THAT MOTIVATING EVEN JUST A LITTLE BIT? “I don’t know if they let us in. The race is something that starts the day they start building the race car. That’s when the race starts. You guys see the results every weekend and what goes on during the race, but weeks beforehand is when the race starts and so that all matters. We talk about how this is a team sport and it takes everybody that builds the race car to make this work, and we were able to do what we needed to do at the Roval to move forward. Now, does it motivate us more that we’re in still? No. I mean, we’re a motivated race team any way you look at it. The parts that I was most proud about after the Roval was that we showed up with our backs up against the wall in a situation where we needed to really show up and we qualified well, we scored the second-most points on the day. The goal was to score a bunch of points. We missed that by one point. I feel like we had a championship-winning execution when it comes to road courses when you have to not flip the stages and you have to take the stage points and put yourself behind at some point. It’s really hard to get a solid finish after doing that and I’m proud of the team for being able to accomplish that.”

    WE’VE SEEN THE PENSKE TEAMS GET STRONGER AS THE PLAYOFFS MOVE FORWARD IN PAST YEARS. HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO WHAT YOU’RE SEEING THIS SEASON? “Trends are trends for a reason, right? I don’t know why or what that is, but it does seem like Team Penske does a good job rising to the occasion when it matters during the playoffs. I feel like that happened a little sooner this year. We started to make that turnaround a little bit quicker than last year and still last year Blaney was able to win the championship. Yeah, I feel great about it because we’ve done this before. Like I said before, from the outside looking in you look at it and say, ‘Well, they haven’t had as many top fives. They haven’t had as many top 10s. They haven’t been as competitive.’ Who cares? We’ve lived this story many times before. Yeah, would it be easier if you had more playoff points? Yeah, but you know what? You win this weekend and you’re sitting as the favorite going into Phoenix, so it changes like that and that’s with the playoff system that we have. Every point matters throughout the whole season. I’m not discounting that, but you have to be your absolute best at this point in the season or else those points don’t even matter, so I feel confident in our team that we’ve got that. We’re still alive. We’re still going and that’s the name of the game in these playoffs. You just have to stay alive long enough. I said it last year that we did not accomplish that. This year, we’re gonna keep the pressure on all the way through.”

    HENDRICK HAD UNTIL 5 PM TO APPEAL. WHAT WAS THAT UNCERTAINTY LIKE AS YOU WENT THROUGH YOUR NORMAL PROCESS THAT THINGS COULD CHANGE AGAIN? “To be honest with you, you control the things that you can control. I don’t work at Hendrick. I don’t know the situation that happened and how it happened. I can’t sway their opinion on whether they’re gonna appeal it or not, so what am I gonna do? All I can do is do us at that point – do what we typically do, which is our typical Monday and go through it and prepare for the next weekend. Does the goal change because we’re in the Round of 8 versus not? No, because we were still in the owner’s championship anyway. We still had that that we needed to continue to fight for, so the goal doesn’t change, the strategy wouldn’t have changed. Nothing changes in our minds because that owner’s piece of this whole thing is ultra important. That’s where the money is at. We don’t talk about it much, but it’s important, so we wouldn’t have changed our mindset one bit.”

    CAN YOU EMPATHIZE WITH WHAT ALEX BOWMAN MUST HAVE FELT WHEN HE FOUND OUT BECAUSE YOU GUYS DON’T PREPARE THE CAR? “Yeah. It’s hard. I’ve been there. If you’ve done this stuff long enough you as a driver find yourself in these scenarios and it’s not easy from any level. One, you’ve got to answer questions from you guys. The impact that it makes for your race team. There’s nothing good that comes out of it and it’s frustrating on top of it, but, like I said, I don’t know how it happened – if it’s a mistake or something, I don’t know. Is it was something that was intentional? Is it something they just pushed too far? I don’t know. That probably affects the way you think after something like this happens.”

    WHAT ARE THE EMOTIONS LIKE KNOWING YOU ARE GOING TO ONE OF YOUR BEST TRACKS IN VEGAS? “Like I said, you’re right back in it and the goal was the same, whether we were in the driver’s championship still or not. The owner’s side of it still mattered to us, so the mindset doesn’t change. The energy doesn’t change. We’re still going out there to maximize the day and win it if we can. That’s the goal, so I can’t say it changed much. Did it bring some excitement that this piece of it is still there? Yeah, absolutely. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel that way, but it doesn’t change much from the way it affects us as a race team.”

    WHAT IS THE KEY TO WINNING AND HAVING SUCCESS AT HOMESTEAD? “I would say Miami, I think every driver loves going there because there are just so many options. You can run the very bottom. You can run the very top. There’s a lot of tire fall off. It makes it very challenging to set up your race car because do you want to be good on the short run or the long run? I always pick both. Can we get everything? But a lot of times you have to compromise and pick something to be stellar and it’s fun because you have a lot of those challenges you have to go through throughout the day and strategy. I can’t say I’ve completely looked at the strategy yet and the tire limits of how that works there, but there if there are a lot of cautions you can run up against your tire allotment pretty quickly there because you’re gonna want them pretty much any chance you can, so it makes for a really fun track. I think everyone enjoys going to Miami. I think the teams, not just the drivers, I think everyone likes going down there this time of year anyways.”

    IS THIS SORT OF A SURREAL YEAR FOR YOU? “It’s NASCAR, man. I don’t know what to tell you. Expect the unexpected. You’ve got to go and just roll with the punches and go with the flow and just continue on. I feel like these days more and more there are just seasons like this. There’s just more crazy things that can happen than ever before and a lot of that is due to the Next Gen car, but it just seems like the simple – last night I was putting my son to bed and he likes reading those yearbooks on how the season went. We were reading one from ‘20 or ‘21, I’m not sure, and he started reading the finishing order and the top 10 was almost the same every weekend. It was the same top 10 drivers and now you look at the top 10 and it’s different every week. There are people in and out of that thing. It’s not like you’re clicking off twenty-something top 10s. There’s 10 cars doing that throughout the year. It doesn’t happen anymore. The game has changed. This car has completely changed everything that we used to know about NASCAR and now, like I said, I just go with it because it’s just the craziest things we do now. You look at the way we race on the track, the tracks that we go to, you name it and it can happen.”

    WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING WHEN YOU COME TO VEGAS BESIDES THE TRACK, AND LARSON HAS WON TWICE IN A ROW THERE. IS HE ONE OF THE GUYS TO BEAT THIS WEEKEND? “The Vegas entertainment part, you’re talking to someone who might be a little boring when you’re talking about Vegas since you’re just going there for a work trip. I’m there to win a race, so if you want to know what the most fun thing to do there is there’s a place inside the racetrack called Victory Lane. That’s the best place to be in Vegas, so I’m gonna try to drive my car there and enjoy my time when I get there. Until then, I’m not gonna be working. As far as the competitor there, yeah, you look at the top eight right now and you can pick and choose any of them. They’re all really strong. You can look at it and if you were to look at the playoffs when they started, those are probably gonna be the majority of the cars that everyone would pick to be in this round. There is no one that is knocked out of the playoffs right now that you would say, ‘Man, that is a big surprise.’ There’s no one that had a ton of playoff points that got knocked out is what I’m trying to say, so all the cars that are in it are tough. I don’t think you can discount anybody going to Vegas.”

    TEAM PENSKE WON THE IMSA WEATHERTECH GTP CHAMPIONSHIP. DO ANY OF THE ENGINEERS OR PEOPLE WITH THAT TEAM WORK WITH YOUR TEAM? “No, as closely as a lot of us work together it’s still so different. Those cars are light years different than what we race. I know we are a step closer to that direction with the Next Gen car, but you hear some stories about their races and race cars in talking to drivers and you’re like, ‘Huh.’ That’s still a lot different, so I don’t there’s a whole bunch of information that is transferred back and forth between those cars. They’re still very different.”

    WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE. AS A DRIVER CAN YOU TAKE ME THROUGH WHAT IT’S LIKE FROM THE TIME YOU WAKE UP UNTIL WHEN THE RACE ENDS? “It depends on the scenario you’re in because by the time you get to Martinsville you know what you have to do. You already went through Vegas. You already went through Miami, so you have an idea of like, ‘OK, am I do or die? Do I have to win the race or I’m out? Or, maybe you’ve already won and you don’t have to worry about it at all, or you’re pointing your way in or a similar scenario that we were in at the Roval, so it’s too early to say how you’re gonna feel that morning, but that’s what you’re gonna have to work through. We’ve seen crazy things happen there. What Ross did a couple years ago. You never know what’s gonna happen.”

  • A pair of top 4 finishes at Road Atlanta for Sedgwick and PT Autosport

    A pair of top 4 finishes at Road Atlanta for Sedgwick and PT Autosport

    BRASELTON, Georgia (October 15, 2024) – PT Autosport with JDX Racing scored a pole position and top four finishes in a typically hard-fought pair of Porsche Carrera Cup North America races at Road Atlanta last weekend.

    Driver Alex Sedgwick heads to the doubleheader season finale at Circuit of the Americas this weekend holding second position in the point standings but by a slim margin over the exceptionally competitive field.

    Sedgwick and the JDX team came into the weekend determined to hold that position in the title chase on Road Atlanta’s challenging 12-turn, 2.540-mile road course located an hour northeast of Atlanta. Job one was setting up the No. 98 PT Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car to handle the high-speed corners and elevation changes through the pair of 40-minute races in varying temperatures and track conditions.

    The team worked on the car through two practice sessions on Wednesday – one in cooler morning conditions and the other in the late afternoon, which meant that the day mirrored the conditions the team would experience in each race. Sedgwick handled the track well, overcoming a few issues to post the second quickest time in practice one and the fifth fastest in practice two.

    In qualifying Friday morning, Sedgwick fought oversteer early in the session – while still posting the second quickest time. As the team contemplated bringing Sedgwick in for fresh Michelin tires, he posted a lap of 1:20.998 that put him into P1, a time that held through the remainder of the season for his fourth pole of the year.

    “We had a few problems to work through yesterday,” said Sedgwick. “Cody (Wollenslegal), my crew chief, worked hard to figure things out but it did mean that we were going into qualifying a bit blind. But it was good – the car just had a bit of a different balance. It was early in the day, which meant the track was fairly cold, so it just took a bit longer than expected to get everything up to where it needed to be. But it all kind of came together and I just managed to get a lap in time before we had the red flag.”

    Taking the green flag later Friday afternoon, Sedgwick got a good jump at the start but lost the lead in Turn 2 when the car behind got the draft. He stuck to his bumper and made a move at the top of Turn 11 – but with the leader putting a wheel off and losing momentum, with the top three going three wide coming down the hill. Sedgwick got the worst of the ensuing chaos, heading into Turn 1 in fourth position but ready to pounce, until a full course caution shortly thereafter slowed the action.

    With 15 minutes remaining, the race returned to green, but with the top four back on the gas quickly, Sedgwick couldn’t make a move. Battling steering issues, he took the checkered flag in fourth position.

    “Bit of a missed opportunity there,” said Sedgwick. “It wasn’t a great first lap, but we were in a position to recover from it. We had the pace to get back to the lead, but I got blocked a few times. That’s how close these cars are, how close everyone is. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to move forward or make a gain.”

    Sedgwick started race two in third position and at the drop of the green, the top four – also the top four in the series point standings – began jockeying for prime real estate through the first several corners. When the dust settled, Sedgwick once again lay in fourth, but looking for a different result from the day before.

    On lap five, Sedgwick and points leader Loek Hartog commenced a side-by-side, tooth-and-nail battle, with each driver taking the lead clear ahead, but with the other coming back. With the points leader seemingly determined to crash, Sedgwick wisely settled in behind to look for a more reasonable option, but with a substantial amount of tire degradation which left him no choice but to settle for fourth.

    “I got a good start, a really good launch, to the point where I was thinking I was going to get into second by the first corner,” said Sedgwick. “But the outside lane got a good push and I found myself significantly further back. I raced my teammate through three corners but then had to fall into line in fourth. But there wasn’t a lot of racing room to be had out there and late in the race I’d used up my tires, so fourth was all I had. Disappointing, but we’ll come out swinging at COTA.”

    PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers appreciated the chance to race at historic Road Atlanta and despite the difficulties in each race, came away with plenty of positives from the weekend – and hopefully plans for Sedgwick’s future.

    “Every time I come to this track feels like the first time,” said Myers. “I forget just how magical this place is. The rolling hills, the elevation, the fans. Alex’s weekend started out great with him taking pole by a decent margin. After that it was a bit unfortunate, with Alex securing two fourth place finishes after being met with some tough racing out there. Thankfully, the weekend’s low points were polarized by a series of meetings from interested parties in regards to Alex’s 2025 and beyond plans. While the race this coming week at COTA is our immediate priority, our sights are now focused firmly on the future – and where to take our young superstar in the obviously upward trajectory of his career.”

    PT Autosport would like to thank partners STEAM Sports Foundation, Classic Car Club Manhattan and New Jersey Motorsports Park, as well as JDX Racing partners Byers/Porsche Columbus, and Renier Construction.

    PT Autosport and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America head straight to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas next week for the season finale doubleheader in support of the Formula One United States Grand Prix. The races will be broadcast live in the U.S., on IMSA.tv, the NBC Peacock streaming app and PorscheCarreraCup.us.

    About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.

    PT Autosport, based at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ, campaigns rising star Alex Sedgwick (UK) in the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series with JDX Racing, 2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Henry Drury (UK) in the Toyota GR Cup North America series with Precision Racing LA.

    PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.

    A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.

    PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.

    PT Autosport social media

    Instagram: @pt_autosport
    TikTok: @ptautosport
    Twitter: @PtAutosport
    Facebook: PT Autosport
    YouTube: PT Autosport

  • Fanttik Racing: Noah Gragson Las Vegas Advance

    Fanttik Racing: Noah Gragson Las Vegas Advance

    NOAH GRAGSON
    Las Vegas Advance
    No. 10 Fanttik Ford Mustang Dark Horse

    Event Overview

    ● Event: South Point 400 (Round 33 of 36)
    ● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 20
    ● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    ● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
    ● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400.5 miles
    ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
    ● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Notes of Interest

    ● Noah Gragson is a Las Vegas native and the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway serves as a homecoming for the 26-year-old racer. Gragson’s racing career began on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway campus, specifically at The Bullring located just outside turns one and two of the 1.5-mile oval. The Bullring is a .375-mile asphalt oval that hosts a variety of racing series, from Bandoleros and Legend Cars to Late Models, the NASCAR Southwest Series and the ARCA Menards Series West. It was in Bandoleros – a small, spec-series racecar that puts out 30 horsepower via a Briggs & Stratton 570cc Vanguard engine – where a 13-year-old Gragson made his first laps on his road to the NASCAR Cup Series.

    ● With only 71 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Gragson is still relatively new to the Cup Series, but he is not new to NASCAR. Gragson spent 2015 and 2016 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, known today as the ARCA Menards Series. He then ran the full NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2017 and 2018 before graduating to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In four fulltime seasons (2019-2022) in the stepping-stone division to the elite Cup Series, Gragson won 13 races and finished among the top-10 in points each year, earning the series’ most popular driver award in his final season. Gragson made it to the Championship 4 twice, finishing third in 2021 and second in 2022 with a series-high eight victories.

    ● Gragson won twice in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October 2017 and Kansas Speedway in May 2018 – and finished second in the 2018 championship, where he picked up the Truck Series’ most popular driver award. Those Truck Series results were a continuation of the kind of talent Gragson showcased in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Gragson raced in this developmental league, regionally split into two divisions – K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West – for two years (2015-2016), winning six races between the two entities and narrowly missing out on the 2015 West title by a scant seven points, but handily securing the rookie-of-the-year title.

    ● The South Point 400 will mark Gragson’s fourth career NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas. Gragson earned a solid 11th-place finish in October 2022 during his Las Vegas Cup Series debut when he drove for Hendrick Motorsports in place of the injured Alex Bowman. In Gragson’s return to Las Vegas in March 2023, he finished 30th driving for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. In his most recent Cup Series start at Las Vegas in March, Gragson put on an impressive drive, rallying from his 30th-place starting spot to finish sixth.

    ● In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Gragson proved to be a strong bet at Las Vegas. In eight career Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Gragson never finished worse than sixth. In fact, his sixth-place drive in September 2019 – which came in just his second Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas – was his only finish outside of the top-five. Even though Gragson never won an Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas, he finished second three times (September 2020, March and October 2022). And with two other third-place results, Gragson’s average Xfinity Series finish at Las Vegas is a stout 3.4 with 142 total laps led.

    ● Gragson has also made three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Las Vegas with a best finish of 12th in March 2018. Gragson led laps in each Truck Series race he competed in at Las Vegas, pacing the field for 12 laps in September 2017, another 12 laps in March 2018, and then 33 laps in September 2018.

    ● Fanttik, the trailblazing and award-winning brand in the automotive accessories industry, will serve as the primary partner for Gragson and the No. 10 team of Stewart-Haas in the South Point 400. Fanttik is a youthful, dynamic brand dedicated to outdoor, household, sports and automotive products that cater to every need for the perfect adventure. In a short span of time, Fanttik has garnered extreme acclaim from enthusiasts, social media influencers, digital media and consumers. It has earned the internationally revered Red Dot Design Award multiple times, along with the prestigious IF Design Award. Fostering the motto, “We explore, we innovate and we make it happen,” Fanttik has brought trailblazing experiences in the automotive arena to the most diverse audience. For more information, please visit Fanttik online at Fanttik.com and on social at Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit and Quora.

    Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Fanttik Ford Mustang Dark Horse

    You finished sixth at Las Vegas earlier this year, which was just your third start with Stewart-Haas. How important was that result to establish yourself at Stewart-Haas and also get it at your hometown track?

    “It was cool. We had a really good car that day and I wish I qualified a little better, but we had a smooth, solid day, gained positions all throughout the race. We qualified 30th, mainly due to my lack of experience qualifying there. I just didn’t want to wreck in qualifying, so I really underdid it. But yeah, we had a strong day, which was good to start the season off that way.”

    What’s the key to having another strong performance at Las Vegas?

    “You definitely have to have good handling there. You always want to carry momentum at all these places, but having a car driving good and being able to hook the line in (turns) three and four and get it down there without skating off the bottom is really key. So yeah, definitely, handling is important, especially through the bumps in turns one and two.”

    Your prior race at Las Vegas took place in early March. In the seven months that have passed since that race, how have you evolved this year at Stewart-Haas, and how do you feel your time spent at Stewart-Haas sets you up for next year when you’re with Front Row Motorsports?

    “Just collecting notes from this year and building chemistry with the team and understanding how these cars work better, and just trying to learn as much as possible on the track, off the track, all that will definitely start me off better for next year.”

    What does it mean to race in your hometown of Las Vegas?

    “It’s exciting to go back to Vegas. It feels different. For me, it’s always been special and I feel like it’s a different special because it’s home for me. I probably don’t get excited about the things that other people who aren’t from there get excited about just because it’s normal, but I get excited just because I get a ton of support from the hometown crowd and a lot of friends and family come out to the race. I try to go out there a couple of days ahead of time and spend time with my friends and family before it’s time to get to work. And I enjoy the Vegas track, regardless of it being in Vegas, and have always run well there, which is a good thing.”

    You’ve literally grown up at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway complex, beginning with Bandoleros at the Bullring to today at the 1.5-mile oval. What’s it been like to have so many career moments at your hometown track?

    “It’s special. Outside of turns one and two is the Bullring. It’s a three-eighths-mile short track. That’s where I ran my first-ever racecar, a Bandolero, when I was 13 years old. I kind of got a late start, but I always remember pulling into the pits and being at that track where you can see the banking on the big track not far away, just across the street, on the other side of the parking lot. That was always the goal, to get any kind of laps on the big track, whether it be in the NASCAR Experience ride-along cars, I always thought that would be cool to do one day. And then to actually be able to race a real stock car around there with a race team, getting over there in the Truck Series. Cut my teeth in Bandoleros, Legend Cars, Late Models, ran all those things at the Bullring. I had a lot of wins and a lot of good memories there, and to be at the big track now, it’s something I’d always dreamed of when I first started, and now it’s a reality, so it’s very special.”

    You’re competing in the NASCAR Cup Series after successfully climbing the NASCAR ladder. What was it like racing in all the different feeder series on the way to your ultimate goal of racing in Cup?

    “I love the feeder series up into the top-three series of NASCAR. You’ve got the K&N Series back in the day, and then the ARCA Series, racing Super Late Models, that’s what we grew up doing, Legend Cars, Bandoleros. Every next step was always what I was eyeing. If I’m in Bandoleros, I’m eyeing to get to a Legend Car one day, hopefully. Then you get to a Legend Car and you’re like, ‘Man, I’m good at this,’ and then you start winning in that and you feel good and look at Super Late Models or K&N and start winning in that. I kind of got a late start compared to most guys. I started when I was 13 years old where they start in karts when they’re 4, 5, 6 years old. So having the support from friends and family and my team, and then my own drive, as well, I was always driven to be the best that I could be. Those days, I miss them, they’re fun. Those are the real fun days because you’re just going and racing and having fun with your team.”

    No. 10 Fanttik Team Roster

    Primary Team Members

    Driver: Noah Gragson

    Hometown: Las Vegas

    Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

    Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

    Car Chief: Jerry Cook

    Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

    Engineer: James Kimbrough

    Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

    Spotter: Andy Houston

    Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

    Over-The-Wall Members

    Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

    Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

    Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

    Hometown: Arlington, Texas

    Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

    Hometown: King, North Carolina

    Jack Man: Sean Cotten

    Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

    Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

    Hometown: Fortuna, California

    Road Crew Members

    Mechanic: Chris Trickett

    Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

    Mechanic: Beau Whitley

    Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

    Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey

    Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

    Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

    Hometown: Monroe, New York

    Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper

    Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

    Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

    Hometown: Augusta, Georgia