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Andretti Autosport announced today that they have signed a three-year extension with Ryan Hunter-Reay to continue to drive for the organization. AA also signed an agreement for DHL to remain the primary sponsor on the No. 28 for the next three years, as well.

“I’m thrilled to be able to announce today that the relationship between myself, DHL and Andretti Autosport will continue,” two-time ESPYS Best Driver award recipient Hunter-Reay said. “To think back on my career and how far it has come, I know that DHL and Andretti Autosport have been instrumental in great achievements. I’m happy to call both organizations family and proud of how we have grown together over the past years. DHL is an iconic international brand and I can’t thank them enough for not only their support in the team and myself, but also for their trust in me as a spokesperson and representative of their company.

“Every driver strives to find the stability in their career that allows them to continually grow each year; having a home at Andretti Autosport for the last five seasons, working with the same crew and supportive sponsors has no doubt been a key part of our successes. I look forward to all that is yet to come.”

DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry.



”The speed, reliability and dedication exemplified by Andretti Autosport, Ryan Hunter-Reay and the DHL IndyCar team is truly an ideal fit for DHL and we are extremely pleased to continue our successful partnership,” Christine Nashick, Chief Customer Officer for DHL Express, said. “Since we teamed together in 2011, we’ve been able to successfully connect our global brand with the public and promote DHL as the International Specialists. We look forward to more spectacular years of racing with Andretti Autosport and Ryan.”

Hunter-Reay won the championship driving for AA in 2012 and has 14 wins and 18 top-10 finishes in 166 career IndyCar starts. The 33-year-old currently sits third in the standings, 63 points behind Will Power with three races to go.

“Together DHL and Ryan (Hunter-Reay) have won their first series championship and first Indy 500 and we couldn’t be happier to have both returning to the Andretti family,” team owner Michael Andretti. “Having a driver as dedicated as Ryan and a partner as supportive as DHL is what every IndyCar team strives to achieve. I’m happy to have shared the last few years with them and look forward to all of the success that will no doubt be in our future together.”

On Saturday night at Riverside International Speedway, it’d be a storybook ending as hometown hero Donald Chisholm would cruise to victory lane in the Wilson Equipment 300. It marks Chisholm’s first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career victory and comes at his home track, in which his family owns.

“It’s unbelievable,” he commented. “I just can’t honestly believe that it is happening. Like you’ve said, we’ve been fast and just had misfortune, and tonight it just stayed together. Pit strategy was unbelievable and we got so many cars down early that it gave us breathing room at the end. Can’t thank the guys enough for all their work and everybody that helps us. Hopefully it was a good show.”

Chisholm would get the lead with approximately 50 laps to go and was able to hold on the rest of the way en route to victory.

Alex Labbe kept his consistent finishes going, finishing second for the best career finish of his career.

“It’s real fun. My first podium in NASCAR,” he commented. “We had a good car at the end. We struggled at the beginning, but worked our way through the field when we got tires. I’m really happy to get our first podium in Antogonish.”

D.J. Kennington and Andrew Ranger would round out the top-four as only four drivers finished on the lead lap. With no cautions through the middle portion of the race, drivers were forced to pit under green, resulting in the majority of the field going a lap or two down. Kennington and Ranger were able to pass Chisholm in the last 20 laps to get themselves back on the lead lap.

“We started off pretty decent and were getting the cars better,” Kennington commented post-race. “We’ve struggled during the year with the car, but the guys have been working hard and have got it 100 times better. Its just been a rough year for us, but hopefully it’ll get the ball rolling so hopefully we can get on a roll the last three races.”

Mark Dilley would post a fifth place finish on his best track statistically, followed by points leader L.P. Dumoulin. Dumoulin missed qualifying and started at the rear of the field due to a blown engine during practice. J.R. Fitzpatrick finished seventh, followed by Noel Dowler, John Flemming and Matthew Scannell.

Jason Hathaway looked to be headed towards his second victory of the 2014 season when he would collide with the spinning car of Flemming while leading with 60 laps to go. Hathaway would get his Chevrolet repaired and finish 12th, 14 laps down to Chisholm. Stefan Rzadzinski and Scott Steckly also made contact with the wall throughout the night, finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.

The next race for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on August 31st.

Ed Carpenter Racing and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing announced on Saturday that the two teams will merge in 2015 to form a multi-car team called CFH Racing. The team will be headquartered out of SFHR’s current shop. The teams added that additional details such as sponsors, personnel and suppliers will be announced in the future.

ECR was established in 2012 and has captured three victories this season with Mike Conway winning Long Beach and Toronto, while Ed Carpenter won at Texas. Carpenter has also won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 the past two years.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity to merge Ed Carpenter Racing with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in CFH Racing,” Carpenter said. “We had success together in 2011 and have always had a great relationship. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that we won our first race together at Kentucky Speedway.

“I look forward to getting started with this new team and continuing to add to the success that each of our teams have had in the past. There will be a lot of work to do this offseason to bring the two teams together to form one new team, but we feel that it is a great opportunity for all of us to grow and reach new heights of success. There are a lot of details we will need to finalize after the season comes to a close, so for now we are focusing on finishing this season on a high note for Ed Carpenter Racing.”

SFHR was founded in 2008 and is co-owned by Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman. The team won their first race in 2011 with Carpenter behind the wheel and has been in contention to win races this year with Josef Newgarden at the wheel. Fisher became the first female team owner in the IndyCar Series in 2008; she retired from driving in 2010.

“The merger of the two teams is a big-picture plan,” she said. “At the nucleus of all parties, there is a lot of synergy that has great potential for the future. Working with Ed, and capturing that first win, was a foothold in our team, and I look forward to the many more that will come as a result of bringing all the parties together.”

Hartman, a successful businessman in Wichita, Kan., and owner of Hartman Oil, joined Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing as co-owner in December 2011.

“I am excited about the opportunity for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing to join with Ed Carpenter Racing to create a top-tier Verizon IndyCar Series team,” he said. “The newly formed collaboration as CFH Racing will allow us to double down on our commitment to be successful on and off the track.”

There’s no place like home. Those words are fluttering through the mind of Donald Chisholm as he would score his first career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 Pole Award at the end of qualifying for the Wilson Equipment 300. Chisholm would lap the 0.333-mile oval in 14.541 seconds earlier this afternoon. Chisholm hopes to best his career-best third place finish from 2011 tonight on the track that his family owns.

Andrew Ranger would qualify second as he looks for his third victory of the 2014 season, with 2013 series champion Scott Steckly qualifying third. Steckly is hoping to score his second victory of the season after winning St. Eustache earlier this year. Defending race winner and final practice leader Jason Hathaway qualified fourth, with D.J. Kennington rounding out the top five.

Stefan Rzadzinski, who is filling in for Alex Tagliani, would qualify sixth, followed by Joey McColm, Alex Labbe, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Mark Dilley.

Points leader L.P. Dumoulin would not post a time in qualifying as his team was in the process of changing the motor following a blown motor at the end of the second practice. He will start 15th of the 16 cars entered, as Paul Jean failed to post a lap as well.

The Wilson Equipment 300 is scheduled to go green at 8 p.m. ADT. Fans can follow along with the live updates from the track at the NASCAR Home Tracks website.

So far this year, Jason Hathaway has been quick on the ovals, posting a victory earlier this season. He also comes into this weekend as the defending race winner.

Hathaway would keep the positive trend going, posting the quickest lap during practice as he lapped the 0.333 mile oval in 14.453 seconds. Hathaway is hoping to have a good weekend to keep himself up in the top-five in points after surviving Trois-Rivieres with a top-10 finish.

P1 after #NCATS practice @Riverside_NS. Tough field of cars here. Going to be a great show @NASCARHomeTrack @Rockstar69CAN @princessauto

— Jason Hathaway (@JasonHathaway3) August 16, 2014

Alex Labbe was second quickest with a lap of 14.478 seconds after a posting a fourth place finish earlier this year at Circuit ICAR. J.R. Fitzpatrick is hoping to turn his season around after a couple of sub-par finishes and was third quickest in practice with a lap of 14.496 seconds.

Track has changed a lot over the winter..lots.of.speed but very rough In 3/4 ..gonna sort It out..hopefully — J.R. Fitzpatrick (@J_R_Fitzpatrick) August 16, 2014

Teammates Scott Steckly and Stefan Rzadzinski rounded out the top-five. Rzadzinski is filling in for Alex Tagliani this weekend as Tagliani is at Mid-Ohio to run the Nationwide Series race for Team Penske.

DJ Kennington was sixth quickest, followed by points leader L.P. Dumoulin, Andrew Ranger, Donald Chisholm and Mark Dilley.

Chisholm, whose parents own the track, would lead the first practice with a lap of 14.586 seconds ahead of Hathaway, Dilley, Steckly and Kennington.

Qualifying is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. EST with the race scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. Fans can follow live updates from the track via the NASCAR Home Tracks website.