Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Teams Secure Top-10 Intercontinental GT Challenge Qualifying Efforts – Including Two Class Pole Positions – for Today’s Indianapolis 8 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Leads Top-10 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Intercontinental GT Challenge Qualifying Sweep as Winward Racing and SunEnergy1 Racing Secure Class Pole Positions for Today's Indianapolis 8 Hour
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – All four Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams eligible for Intercontinental GT Challenge championship points in today’s Indianapolis 8 Hour qualified inside the top 10 Saturday in a close Pole Shootout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jules Gounon was the fastest of the four Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries in the 15-car shootout in the No. 99 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, turning a top lap time of 1:33.515 (99.667 mph) on the 2.54-mile IMS road course. Marvin Dienst was seventh fastest overall at 1:34.013 (99.139 mph) to win the Silver Cup class pole in the No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 while Mikael Grenier locked down the Pro-Am-class pole in the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a lap time of 1:34.232 (98.909 mph).
Raffaele Marciello qualified eighth fastest overall in the No. 89 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 as Mercedes-AMG was the only manufacturer to place each of its four points-eligible entries in the Pole Shootout top 10. Marciello recorded a top lap time of 1:34.130 (99.015 mph) in the No. 89, which the team took delivery of at IMS for the first time early Saturday morning after a multi-day shipping delay.
The Indianapolis 8 Hour is scheduled to start today at 10 a.m. EDT with live flag-to-flag coverage on the SRO GT World YouTube page and live segment coverage on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSN) from 12 – 2 p.m. EDT and 4 – 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Gounon co-drives with Maro Engel and Luca Stolz in the Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing entry, with Engel slated to start the 8 Hour in the No. 99.
Philip Ellis pulls the opening driving shift in the Winward Racing No. 33 he will share in the 8 Hour with Dienst and Russell Ward.
Marciello’s teammates include Daniel Juncadella and starting driver Timur Boguslavskiy who will take the green flag in the Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP No. 89.
Team owner and driver Kenny Habul will start the 8 Hour in his No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Martin Konrad joining him and Grenier in the driver lineup.
A trio of DXDT Racing entries in the Pro-Am class complete the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams competing in the Indianapolis 8 Hour.
Erin Vogel, Michael Cooper and Thomas Merrill qualified 18th overall and third in Pro-Am in the No. 19 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 while DXDT’s other pair of entries share row 11 on the starting grid.
George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Ben Keating qualified 21st and sixth in Pro-Am in the No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and David Askew, Ryan Dalziel and Scott Smithson roll off 22nd and seventh in Pro-Am in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The DXDT race-starting drivers are Vogel, Kurtz and Askew.
Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 99 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It was very good. I tried my maximum in qualifying, we missed the pole by nearly nothing, but we still have eight hours to make it up tomorrow. We’re going to work even harder tonight to find a solution on the setup. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 feels good on the long runs, so we are really happy to be back and on the second row for the Indianapolis 8 Hour. It’s such a strong field this year so we can be proud of what has been achieved today. This is the first race in two years for Craft-Bamboo, so they too can be proud of their work. Thanks to the engineers and crew for a fantastic car as always. We’ll try to have a clean race, as best as possible, and hopefully we will have big smiles on Sunday night.”
Marvin Dienst, Driver – No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I drove it and I think myself and the team seem to be quite happy with the performance. We were struggling a bit in the first qualifying round, but the average was quite clear, so we made it into the Pole Shootout. We had one shot with a clean lap, and quite a decent lap as well. It was not a maximum push because we’re fighting in the Silver Cup class and didn’t go all in and taking the full risk to get the overall pole. It’s a long race ahead, so we just tried to get the pole position in class. We are starting P7 and P1 in class by quite a bit of margin as well and we cannot complain in any way.”
Raffaele Marciello, Driver – No. 89 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It was not the best qualifying for us. It was not easy getting the car just Saturday morning, so for sure we can do better. We do not start in a very good position, but we have tonight to work and to see what we can improve.”
Mikael Grenier, Driver – No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s not easy getting to the Pole Shootout, so Kenny and Martin did very well. We were hoping for the top five, but we didn’t have any tires ready because we didn’t expect to make it to the Pole Shootout. You have to pre-heat them, they were not really hot, so we missed the peak on the tire, but we can still be happy. At the start of the race, we have to stay out of trouble. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is really good on tire degradation, but it’s pretty cold, so I don’t think anyone is going to suffer too much, but normally the long run is really good. We also focused the setup more for the long run than for qualifying because it’s an endurance race. Kenny and Martin did really well last year, we finished third in Pro-Am, and it’s the same thing this year. The Pro-Am victory is the main goal.”
Fourteen Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Entries from Around the World Travel to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this Weekend’s Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour and Season-Ending SRO America Championships Races Seven Mercedes-AMG GT3 Entries Compete in Dual Intercontinental GT Challenge and Season-Ending Fanatec GT World Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams return to one of the biggest stages in all of motorsports this weekend for the season-ending race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Sunday’s three-hour GT World Challenge America finale serves as an opening act for the highly anticipated Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, which promises to be largest and most competitive North American round of the worldwide Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) powered by Pirelli in the five-year history of the global championship’s U.S. race. The IMS event also includes the season-ending rounds of the Pirelli GT4 America and GT America powered by AWS championships at the “Brickyard,” taking place October 14 – 17.
Everything leads up to Sunday’s featured IGTC Indianapolis 8 Hour, which debuted at Indy last year after the first three editions of the U.S. round took place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca from 2017 through 2019. This year’s eight-hour race on the 2.439-mile IMS road course is scheduled to start this Sunday, October 17 at 10 a.m. EDT.
The 8 Hour entry of 41 cars is the largest field of all-time for an IGTC round in North America. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams account for seven of the 8 Hour entries while seven more Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams – including two Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries and five Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams – compete across the Pirelli GT4 and GT America series. 
In a unique twist, the first three hours of the 8 Hour race double as the GT World Challenge America season finale. Of the seven Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries from five teams scheduled to take the green flag Sunday, four entries will battle for IGTC championship points in addition to overall and class honors in the 8 Hour. Meanwhile, the three-car Mercedes-AMG GT3 team from DXDT Racing is focused in on a strong GT World Challenge America Pro-Am class results at the three-hour mark while also planning to go the full Indianapolis 8 Hour distance. The DXDT team has combined for a trio of GT World Challenge America Pro-Am wins this year, and a fourth victory by any one of the team’s three entries would result in an ideal end to the season. George Kurtz and Colin Braun, who have two Pro-Am wins this season at Sonoma Raceway and Circuit of The Americas (COTA), co-drove to the GT World Challenge Pro-Am victory at Indianapolis last year. They were then joined by Ben Keating in powering through the remainder of the race’s five hours to secure 8 Hour Pro-Am honors. The winning trio reunites this weekend in the No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. 
Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper earned their first GT3 win together in June at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) to highlight their first season of competition with both DXDT and the Mercedes-AMG GT3. They will share the No. 19 in the full 8 Hour portion of Sunday’s race with co-driver Thomas Merrill.
DXDT team owner David Askew and his co-driver Ryan Dalziel still look for their first GT World Challenge Pro-Am victory but ran competitively at Indy last year before losing a wheel late in the race. Scott Smithson joins Askew and Dalziel in the No. 63 as the team’s third driver for the 8 Hour. The quartet of Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams designated as points-earning IGTC entries includes Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing and Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP, two Performance Teams from Asia and Europe, respectively, making their Indianapolis debuts. Familiar teammates Maro Engel and Luca Stolz will co-drive with Jules Gounon in the No. 99 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Indy 8 Hour is Craft-Bamboo’s first IGTC race of the season. 
The No. 89 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be co-driven by the winning and experienced trio of Timur Boguslavskiy, Daniel Juncadella and Raffaele Marciello.
The other two Mercedes-AMG GT3 contenders have already seen major North American endurance racing success in 2021. Winward Racing and SunEnergy1 Racing secured a one-two Mercedes-AMG GT3 sweep in the GTD class in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona and seek similar success this weekend on the equally legendary IMS circuit. Wining Rolex 24 drivers Russell Ward and Philipp Ellis – who shared the Daytona victory with Engel and Indy Dontje – will be joined this weekend in the No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 by Marvin Dienst, competing in the Silver Cup class.
Co-driving with Marciello and Stolz, Kenny Habul and Mikael Grenier finished a close second to Winward at Daytona in the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Habul and Grenier return in the No. 75 at Indy where they once again compete in the Pro-Am class with Martin Konrad. The SunEnergy1 trio drove the No. 75 to a third-place Pro-Am finish in last year’s 8 Hour.
DXDT’s ample armada of Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries also includes a pair of contenders in the single-driver GT America powered by AWS series. Kurtz wheels, a second No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in GT America, competing alongside teammate CJ Moses in the No. 58 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The GT America season wraps up this weekend with back-to-back 40-minute races Friday and Saturday. The five Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries at Indy all compete in the season-ending doubleheader for the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX series that features twin 60-minute races today and Friday.
In addition, RENNtech Motorsports fields both of its entries in the GT4 class in the GT America races.
Chris Cagnazzi drives his No. 39 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 solo in GT America but will be joined by coach and co-driver Guy Cosmo for the SprintX rounds. 
RENNtech’s second entry is Chris Gumprecht’s No. 79 Mercedes-AMG GT4 he shares with Kyle Marcelli in SprintX as well as driving on his own in GT America.
The lone Pirelli GT4 Am-class entry comes from Capstone Motorsports for co-drivers Jon Berry and Kris Wilson. Berry, who is part of the management team at Capstone, steps in for team owner John Allen for the second-straight race in the No. 16 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Recently crowned Pirelli GT4 champions and the series’ most recent race winners complete the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer entries for the Indy finale.
Christian Szymczak and Kenny Murillo co-drove the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to a pair of second place finishes two weeks ago at Sebring International Raceway to clinch the 2021 Pirelli GT4 Silver class team and driver championships a race early on the strength of five wins this season.
Conquest Racing West, and its young driving duo of Michai Stephens and Colin Mullan, have been the hottest team and driver combination in Pirelli GT4 in the final half of the season. Driving the No. 35 Conquest Racing West Mercedes-AMG GT4, Stephens and Mullan swept the overall victories and scored Silver-class honors in both rounds of the recent Sebring race.
The overall and Silver-class victories are the latest achievements in a run of five-straight podium finishes by the No. 35 team and drivers since debuting in both Pirelli GT4 and with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing just three race weekends ago at Road America in late August.
Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 99 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “First and foremost, it’s always amazing to come back to Indianapolis, feel the atmosphere of the track and to see the bricks. It brings to us so many emotions, and we’re blessed to be racing at this fantastic track with this Mercedes-AMG GT3. I’m really proud to be back with Craft-Bamboo, I have a done a race with them in 2016. This weekend could bring mixed weather conditions, and that is actually one of the best points of the Mercedes-AMG GT3. The car is good in any conditions, that’s a big strong point of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 compared to the cars I have driven in the past.” 
Raffaele Marciello, Driver – No. 89 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m happy to be here in America. It’s always nice to come back to this famous race track at Indianapolis, and I cannot wait for the 8 Hour. I hope we can score a good result in the race and do really well with the Mercedes-AMG GT3. I feel quite confident and cannot wait to go on track.”
Russell Ward, Driver – No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m a bit nervous, honestly, here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once you’re in the car everything is fine, but I’m a bit nervous being at such an iconic place. This is one of the most famous race tracks in the United States and the world, and it’s a pleasure to be here, particularly with the biggest GT field in the U.S. history of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Looking at the entry list, we have an incredibly strong lineup in the Silver class. I think as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we’re going to have a good chance to win the Silver class, and if we play things right and get a little bit of luck, we could even be on the overall podium. It just all depends on how the race plays out. It’s going to be tight, there’s going to be some attrition, and it’s going to be fun." Russell Ward, Driver – No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m a bit nervous, honestly, here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once you’re in the car everything is fine, but I’m a bit nervous being at such an iconic place. This is one of the most famous race tracks in the United States and the world, and it’s a pleasure to be here, particularly with the biggest GT field in the U.S. history of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Looking at the entry list, we have an incredibly strong lineup in the Silver class. I think as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we’re going to have a good chance to win the Silver class, and if we play things right and get a little bit of luck, we could even be on the overall podium. It just all depends on how the race plays out. It’s going to be tight, there’s going to be some attrition, and it’s going to be fun." 
Colin Braun, Driver – No. 04 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m excited to be back at Indy. It’s definitely a special place. George, Ben and I love this place, and I think winning last year always helps a driver like a racetrack. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was really competitive through the changing conditions, the different temperatures and the rain, and just the mixed conditions we had last year. This weekend looks similar to that, with different temperatures and different weather, so I think the Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be really strong. I know the DXDT guys have been working hard getting the car prepared and it’s a long race. With so many variables, including way more cars this year, it is going to make the traffic and how the race flows different than last year. There’s even a different track layout, they changed a couple of corners, and I’m looking forward to figuring it all out. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is well represented and hopefully we can finish it off strong and do them proud.”
Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I’m really looking forward to the finale at Indianapolis. I have no experience at all at Indy, so it’s going to be a really big learning opportunity. I’m just really grateful for the whole year, running with Christian Szymczak, it’s been an amazing journey and it’s nice to go into Indy with a lot less stress. We’re just going to go out and have a really good time, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of Indy’s history. My first time here I was 15. I’ve never driven the track. I was working with my dad and doing tires for a Street Tuner (ST) car. After the race, we even get to come back to Indianapolis again for the champions celebration during the PRI Show. It’s a great opportunity at a great show and a great venue, and I’m looking forward to celebrating a lot of hard work that we did over the course of the year.” 
Guy Cosmo, Driver – No. 39 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We’re really excited for Indy. It’s the last hurrah for this season. We came into it late, but we’ve been making great strides. Chris has really been putting in an amazing effort behind the wheel and continuously improving. I’m really impressed with how he’s been in the car so far. He’s raced at Indy in the past several years ago, and I’ve tested there and driven there quite a bit, but I’ve never raced there. I’m looking forward to it because there are a lot of sections there that should suit the Mercedes-AMG GT4. There’s just one final chance to try to maximize what we’ve been working on all year and see if we can put it together and get us back on the podium.” |
Crockett Scores October Victory for Third Consecutive Season Inside Line Promotions - POCOLA, Okla. (Oct. 11, 2021) - Roger Crockett earned a triumph in October for the third straight year when he swept an ASCS Sooner Region and ASCS Mid-South Region event at Tri-State Speedway last Saturday. "I won my first ever ASCS National race there in Paul Silva's car a long time ago," he said. "I don't even know what year it would have been. It was probably 2002 or 2003.  "I like that it worked out we could go run there on Saturday. It's a close track and a really fun race track. We always like going to that place." Crockett maneuvered from fourth to win both a heat race and the main event. "We drew a good heat race and won that from fourth," he said. "Our car was really, really good in the heat. It looked like Blake (Hahn) and I had the fastest cars. On the first start (of the feature) we came out first and second, but that start didn't go. On the start that went I was able to get into second right away. We got into traffic and I was battling with Tim Crawley. I was taking the lead and he got together with a lapped car so that brought out a caution on Lap 7. "Our car was really good. It was fantastic. I never saw another car again. It was our race to lose in traffic. We got into traffic a few times, but there were quite a few yellows. The cushion was propped against the wall so that made it adventurous, but it was a smooth night." The triumph was the second of the season with the ASCS Sooner Region and the first of the year with the ASCS Mid-South Region for Crockett. "We haven't raced a whole lot, but the races we do run we want to run up front," he said. "I think it's really important to run up front whether it's a national race or a regional race. I'm as confident as I've been with driving the car and the handling of the car. I hate for the season to end and I can't wait to get started next year. I feel really good about where we are at. The speed we have is what I expect us to have." Crockett returns to action this Friday and Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Texas Throwback with the Bandits Outlaw Sprint Series. It marks his first time competing at the track since Nov. 1, 2019, when he recorded a career-best run of seventh. Stay tuned to Crockett's social media accounts for a unique throwback scheme as he plans to participate in the event's Best Appearing Car contest as well. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 9 - Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Okla. - Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 1 (4). SEASON STATS - 24 races, 2 wins, 8 top fives, 13 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 18 top 20s UP NEXT - Friday and Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Texas Throwback with the Bandits Outlaw Sprint Series Wilson Ties Season-Best All Star Result During Finale at Fremont Inside Line Promotions - FREMONT, Ohio (Oct. 11, 2021) - Greg Wilson wrapped up the racing season in his home state of Ohio last Saturday during the Jim & Joanne Ford Classic. Fremont Speedway hosted the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions season-ending doubleheader, which lost Friday's opener because of wet weather. Track and series officials worked diligently to get the program in on Saturday and Wilson made the most of it. 
"For as much rain as they got, Fremont and the All Stars did a great job for giving us a track we could even race on," he said. "I was really happy with how the whole night played out and that we rolled the car back into the trailer." The Hercules Tires, Ohio Logistics and DNC Hydraulics supported Seeling Motorsports driver went out late in qualifying and timed in 30th quickest overall, but his time ranked third in his group. It put Wilson on the outside of the front row of a heat race and he won it to transfer into a dash. Wilson gained a position to place second in his dash. That lined him up on the outside of the second row in the A Main. "Early in the race I felt we had a car capable of winning," he said. "We rode in third for a little bit. Between the track conditions and trying to keep all four wheels on the ground the driver gave away a spot or two. Something changed part way through the race. Something seemed like it happened. We couldn't go through the holes later in the race as well as we did earlier in the race. When it's like that it's hard to pinpoint whether the driver made a mistake or if we had something go wrong with the car." Wilson ended with a sixth-place showing, which tied his season-best run with the All Stars. It also marked his 26th top 10 of the season. The team is unsure of its next event with the World Finals in North Carolina tabbed as the season finale. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 9 - Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio - Qualifying: 30; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 2 (3); Feature: 6 (4). SEASON STATS - 69 races, 3 wins, 13 top fives, 26 top 10s, 32 top 15s, 43 top 20s UP NEXT - TBD Big Game Motorsports and Gravel Post Runner-Up Result During Nittany Showdown Finale Inside Line Promotions - PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Oct. 11, 2021) - David Gravel capped the Nittany Showdown with a career-best World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series result at Port Royal Speedway last Saturday. The Big Game Motorsports driver maneuvered from eighth to second place, which was his 38th top five of the season with the series and his fourth podium in the last nine races. 
The event began on Friday with Gravel timing in eighth quickest in his group, which started him on the outside of the second row in a heat race. "On Night 1 we didn't qualify the way we wanted to," he said. "We were off on the race car. We went to work for the heat race and got the car a lot better. We were able to race our way into the dash." Gravel's run from fourth to second earned a spot into the dash. Unfortunately, he pulled the second-highest number - seven - to start on the inside of the fourth row. Gravel ended eighth in the dash and lined up eighth for the A Main. "It's hard to get going there in the fourth row," he said. "We pretty much maintained in the A Main. We weren't bad and weren't great. We just could hang around and ended up sixth." Saturday started on the right note as Gravel set quick time during qualifying for the 17th time this season, which leads the World of Outlaws. "The track was different to start," he said. "It was definitely faster and had more grip. In hot laps, qualifying, the heat race and even the dash the track was pretty fast. We were able to quick time and put ourselves in a good position and win the heat race. I drew another terrible pill for the dash with the seven. We weren't that great at the dash. We tried something a little different there in the feature and it worked out really good. We had a really good race car and I felt like we could pass people and make some stuff happen. It felt really good to finish on a strong note." Gravel's runner-up result was set up by a strong second half of the race. "The wing going back helped, but typically as the race goes on you'll want to get the wing back to chase the race track," he said. "The car liked it. I actually got the wing back too far and it was getting tricky to drive late in the race. You had to be committed to the top. It's a good thing when it's around the top and you're able to pass guys. That shows you're operating well." Gravel remains second in the World of Outlaws standings, but the solid weekend cut the deficit to 92 points with five races remaining. The team is off this weekend before the next World of Outlaws event on Oct. 22 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 8 - Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa. - Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 6 (8). Oct. 9 - Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa. - Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 8 (7); Feature: 2 (8). SEASON STATS - 77 races, 13 wins, 43 top fives, 63 top 10s, 72 top 15s, 75 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 22 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Ramey Earns ASCS Warrior Region and Lake Ozark Speedway Championships Inside Line Promotions - ELDON, Mo. (Oct. 12, 2021) - Gunner Ramey secured a pair of sprint car championships last Saturday thanks to a runner-up result at Lake Ozark Speedway. Ramey tied a career-best sprint car finish with the second-place showing, which earned the Hard Charger Award and wrapped up the ASCS Warrior Region title as well as the track championship. 
"It's definitely cool," he said. "This year is really my first full year. Last year I ran about 15 shows. To have a partial season and then now in my first full season to grab two championships is really cool and it gives us momentum going into next year." The Terry Doogs Racing competitor began the night by advancing from fifth to fourth place in a heat race. He made the feature redraw, but pulled the second-highest number to line up on the inside of the fourth row in the A Main. "I only passed one car in the heat race, but we made the redraw because there wasn't much passing in the heat races," he said. "I was the last car to make the top-eight redraw and we drew the No. 7. "We were good the whole race, but we really came on the last half of the race. Thankfully they worked the track a little bit at intermission to make it better for the feature. There was a red on the initial start and then after that it went green to checkered. I got to fourth and was hoping I could catch back up to the leaders. They got to racing pretty hard and I clicked laps off and the next thing you know I was on their bumpers. The top four were going back and forth for about 10 laps. We were all racing pretty hard. We got to second and I tracked the leader down a little bit, but we needed to be there sooner or have a yellow to bunch us back up. It was a fun race and a good race. "It's a good way to cap off the season around here. I felt like most nights we had the best car in a lot of these series races so it's good to have something to show for it." Ramey will be off this weekend before ending his season Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 9 - Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. - Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 2 (7). SEASON STATS - 32 races, 0 wins, 6 top fives, 12 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 27 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Burke Builds Momentum and Confidence Throughout First Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Season Inside Line Promotions - ALVIN, Texas (Oct. 12, 2021) - Trey Burke's first season as a full-time Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship driver was a success. Joe Dooling Autosports created a team prior to the 18-race season and the 16-year-old made the most of the opportunity. Burke improved throughout the year and finished as the series' Hard Charger Award winner for passing the most cars. 
"I think we met the goals in terms of doing everything we wanted to during the process of building the team and learning on this level," he said. "Sometimes the lows hit us pretty hard, but also gave us motivation to keep pushing. "The goal is to keep carrying momentum into next year. If we look back at the dirt stuff I've done momentum does carry over. If we can keep the progress moving forward I think we'll take leaps next year." Burke produced a season-best performance of 21st to 13 th during the final feature of the season a week and a half ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. In fact, Burke delivered his three best results of the season during the final four rounds of the season. With momentum on his side and a year under his belt Burke said the biggest benefit coming in Year 2 will be returning to numerous tracks for the second time. He only had one repeat track on the 2021 schedule. "I think that's huge," he said. "If you look at Mid-Ohio, where we went back a second time, it yielded us our best finish of the year. I think it's obviously to us what going back a second time does for us. It takes away the unknown and allows us to focus on greater aspects of the setup." The offseason will be anything but dormant for Burke, whose first test session is this weekend. "We have a lot of big testing stuff planned," he said. "We want to continue to figure out the car and improve. Maybe last time we wrote something down setup-wise we wanted to test, but didn't get the chance to because we were racing. These tests allow us to learn without the pressure of points being on the line." The 2022 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship season is slated to begin Feb. 17-18 at Homestead Road Course in Homestead, Miami. SEASON STATS - 19 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 12 top 20s MEDIA LINKS - Website: http://treyburke.myracepass.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/treyburkeracing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/treyburkeracing/ SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Dooling Machine Products Dooling Machine Products is a machine shop located in Freeport, Texas, that specializes in rotating equipment. For more information, visit http://www.DoolingMachine.com. "My grandfather has known Joe Dooling's dad for a long time," Burke said. "They raced together and so our families go way back. My dad and Joe are good friends and our families are close. Joe has helped my racing career and we're grateful for the support from the Dooling Family." INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS - Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors. To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com . For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com. *PHOTO BY GAVIN BAKER PHOTOGRAPHY / ROAD TO INDY*
Hagar Claims Flip Flop 50 Opener Before Charging From 22 nd to Third in Second Feature Inside Line Promotions - WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2021) - Derek Hagar recorded a career-best performance during the famed Flip Flop 50 last weekend at Riverside International Speedway. Hagar added another win to his list, capturing the opening race of the twin-feature format for the USCS Series. He capped the event by charging from 22nd to third in the second A Main.  "I feel pretty good," he said. "If they'd made it 30 laps I think we might have been able to pull off one of those deals of winning from the back." The event began on Friday with Hagar maneuvering from seventh to fifth place in a heat race. "We didn't have too good of a car on Friday," he said. "It was a little free and I really couldn't make up ground on the guys in front of us. Passing two cars wasn't good enough to put us in the scramble." That relegated Hagar to the third starting position in a B Main to kick off Saturday's program. "We got the lead fairly quick and won it, which put us starting 10 th in the first feature," he said. "In that race everybody would go to the bottom or middle and I could rip the top. There were a couple of times passing cars down the front straightaway where we'd get squeezed toward the wall. We got to second within 15 laps. I could see the leader in front of me up in traffic, but I wasn't gaining a lot of ground. Then we had a caution. I anticipated that he was going to run the top, but he slid himself. That messed me up and he got away from me. We got back to traffic and I was able to reel him back in. I was able to get a run on him and slide him in turns one and two coming to get the white flag. He tried to slide me back the next lap, but I had a good enough run on top to drive back around." The charge from 10th to win was Hagar's seventh victory of the season. The second main event started Hagar at the rear in 22nd. "The way they have the format now all the lapped cars aren't part of the invert and we lapped up to ninth so they had the fastest cars up front," he said. "It was eventful getting through there. I knew I was passing a lot of cars. With about three laps to go there was a caution and we were fifth. I slid Morgan (Turpen) on the restart and then in turns three and four I got Hayden (Martin). I was chasing Dale (Howard) and Marshall (Skinner), but ran out of time. We had a winning car and I think we could have got it done with a few more laps." The rally from last to third was one spot better than Hagar's previous top performance in 2017 when he won the opening race before hustling from 22 nd to fourth in the second feature. Hagar plans to take this weekend off before ending his season Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 8 - Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. - Heat race: 5 (7). Oct. 9 - Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. - B Main: 1 (3); Feature #1: 1 (10); Feature #2: 3 (22). SEASON STATS - 43 races, 7 wins, 15 top fives, 24 top 10s, 30 top 15s, 33 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour | Conquest Racing West Secures Fourth-Straight Pirelli GT4 America Overall Victory after Indianapolis Weekend Sweep as Murillo Racing Adds Two More Overall Podium Finishes to List of Championship-Winning Season Achievements Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Teams Conquest Racing West and Murillo Racing Complete 2021 Pirelli GT4 America Season with Series-Leading Five Overall Victories |
 INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team Conquest Racing West closed out the 2021 Pirelli GT4 America racing season with the team’s fourth-straight overall victory Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Co-driving the No. 35 Conquest Racing West Mercedes-AMG GT4, Colin Mullan and Michai Stephens won both races this week at IMS after sweeping the doubleheader two weeks ago at Sebring International Raceway. Combined with Murillo Racing’s overall win in June at VIRginia International Raceway, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 was driven to a series-leading five overall victories in the year’s 14 Pirelli GT4 America races.
Conquest and Murillo were the class of the Pirelli GT4 field in the final six races of Pirelli GT4 season. Both teams finished on the overall podium in each of the year’s final four races, and the last time an overall podium did not include at least Conquest or the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and team drivers Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak was back in August’s race at Road America.
The teams also combined to finish one-two in the Silver class in the year’s final doubleheaders at Indy and Sebring, a closing run of consistency that let season-long competitors Murillo secure the 2021 Pirelli GT4 driver and team Silver-class championships by the conclusion of the Sebring weekend. 
As they did at Sebring, Conquest and Murillo achieved their success at Indy through clean driving on the track, well executed race strategy and driver-change pits stops.
In both Thursday’s first 60-minute race and Friday’s hour-long season finale, both Conquest and Murillo fell out of the top 10 after mid-race pit stops before fighting back to the front.
Mullan, who drove the No. 35 to the finish in Thursday’s victory, and Friday’s winning closing driver Stephenson, were each more than 10 seconds behind the leader in the later stages of each race.
Mullan caught the leader for the race-winning pass with 11 minutes to go on Thursday while Stephens erased his 10 second deficit and passed for the lead with two minutes remaining on Friday for a 2.447 second margin of victory.
Murillo finished second overall and in the silver class on Thursday while Szymczak secured another second-place Silver finish and third-place overall Friday.
The final podium showings were the crowning touches on the Murillo team’s and driver’s championship-winning season that included five Silver division victories and 11 total class podium finishes in the year’s 14 races. 
With the Pirelli GT4 America season now in the record books, the remainder of the IMS weekend will see two more SRO America Championship series close the curtain on 2021 and Sunday’s featured Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) Indianapolis 8 Hour.
The final 40-minute race of the single-driver GT4 America presented by AWS series takes place Saturday at 12:05 p.m. EDT.
The IGTC Indianapolis 8 Hour will see the 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge championships decided in the race’s first three hours. The 8 Hour is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
Michai Stephens, Driver – No. 35 Conquest Racing West Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We’d be nothing without the machine. What we’re looking to do out here is find that perfect match with the machine, and we have it with the Mercedes-AMG GT4. As I’ve alluded to before, it’s beautiful when you feel like something can give you super-human powers. That’s what the Mercedes-AMG GT4 platform does for us. It keeps you safe, it keeps you on the performance curve, and you know you can have trust in it to get you to the end. Now what we do is reflect on all the races where the spirit tells us to never to give up. That’s true to the Mercedes-AMG brand, and that’s true to ourselves as well. We really enjoy just continuing to drive no matter what the odds are.” 
Colin Mullan, Driver – No. 35 Conquest Racing West Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It’s just amazing. This Mercedes-AMG GT4 platform has been so good to us, especially on these Pirelli tires. Our pace definitely comes in the second half of the race. We’re really good on our tires, that’s our main strength, and it makes for a nail-biter to the end, that’s for sure. It’s been incredible to grab hold of all of this momentum that the team has had over the past few race weekends. Four straight overall wins definitely doesn’t happen too often in this series with how competitive it is, so we’re just soaking in the moment. It’s an amazing way to cap off the 2021 season in GT4 America and hopefully we can take some momentum into next year.” 
Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “The satisfaction level of the entire year is really good. We knew what we could accomplish, and we did it, which is a really good feeling. As for my driving over the year, it’s been improved, and I can’t thank Christian and everyone involved at Murillo Racing. It’s just propelled my career to another level. I’m really grateful to have my first opportunity to run a full season. I wish we would have had a couple more wins in the end, but we’ve got really good competition now and we will come back even stronger. It’s really important to keep the momentum up in the initial stages of your career.” |
Inside Line Promotions - COLUMBIA, Mo. (Oct. 13, 2021) - Scott Bogucki has tabbed veteran sprint car driver Johnny Herrera to pilot his SawBlade.com sponsored No. 28 this weekend during the 48th annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals. Bogucki is the best man in a wedding, which was postponed from last year because of COVID-19. He elected to fill his seat with Herrera for the action this Friday and Saturday at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, where the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour visits for its penultimate event of the season. 
"I wanted someone who would run good and represent our team and SawBlade.com well," Bogucki said. "Johnny is going to do his best and will look after our stuff so it was kind of a no brainer." Herrera competed in the event last year when he advanced from 21 st to 14th during the finale. His most recent win at Devil's Bowl Speedway was in October 2016 during the Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals. He also was victorious at the track during an ASCS race in 2013. Bogucki's SawBlade.com backed team enters the event ranked sixth in the ASCS National Tour championship standings despite missing multiple races this year. Bogucki will return to his sprint car the following weekend to wrap up the year at the Short Track Nationals hosted by I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. SEASON STATS - 42 races, 5 wins, 15 top fives, 20 top 10s, 27 top 15s, 30 top 20s UP NEXT - Friday and Saturday at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the 48 th annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour JEFF DYER HEADS NORTH TO LEMOORE FOR THREE NIGHT CALIFORNIA CUP RACE (Yucca Valley, CA, October 13, 2021) Shaking off a night when the “jaws of defeat” snatched a victory away with two laps to go at the Ventura Raceway, Jeff Dyer is headed north for the annual “California Cup” at the Lemoore Raceway. The three-day event will take place this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
This will be Dyer’s third straight appearance at the prestigious race on the track located in the small town of Lemoore, which is 33-miles south of Fresno in the rich agricultural Central Valley of California. The “California Cup” will include six different classes of cars and had 160-pre-entries as of Wednesday morning. Dyer will be in the Mini Sprint 1200 class which had 21-entries. This weekend’s races will be numbers 24, 25, and 26 for the Yucca Valley, California based driver in 2021. In his first 23-races of the year, the driver known as “Ponch,” contested 16 Lightning Sprint Car races, six 410 Sprint Car races and one 360 Sprint Car race. Those appearances have been spread over 10-different tracks in three-different states. Thus far he has finished in the top ten 12 times, and he has six top five finishes. His best results thus far have been a pair of seconds. One came at the Mojave Valley Raceway in the POWRi Southwest Series on March 27th and the other came on June 5th at a California Lightning Sprint Car Series race at Ventura. For fans wishing to attend this week’s races, the track is located at 1750 Highway 41 in Lemoore (93245). The Thursday and Friday shows will be preliminaries with the Finale on Saturday. For information regarding ticket prices and starting times, the track is website http://www.lemooreraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (360) 393-0197. For fans who cannot make it to the track but who would like to watch the race, it will be available on FastFour Media. Information is available at https://fastfourmedia.com/ Two weeks ago at Ventura, Dyer suffered a bitter disappointment in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series. After a second-place finish in his heat race, the Yucca Valley, California resident started on the outside of the front row in the main event. He shot into the lead on the start and proceeded to lap all the way up to the fifth-place car. With less than two laps to go, he was in full control and seemed destined for his first win of the 2021 campaign. However, disaster struck less than 20-seconds from the checkered flag when his clutch gave out. That knocked him from a sure win back to a sixth-place finish. Throughout the 2021 campaign, Dyer will be racing in memory of his grandfather, Glenn Sels. Dyer Motorsports would like to thank the following for making the 2021 USAC/CRA and California Lightning Sprint Car Series racing seasons possible. Glenn Sels Engineering, Cal Smith Racing, John Springstead Racing, Say No To Drugs, T Shirts By Timeless, Specialty Fasteners, Justice Brothers, LDS Investigations, Hair Cuts by Susie, Darrien Racing, Amsoil, Dependable Machines, Tucker Racing, JC Auto and Repair, Homeland Hearth, Schweitzer Racing and Crutchfield Race Engines. If you would like to be a part of the team in 2021, call or send an Email to the contact information at the top of this page. Jeff Dyer’s 2021 Racing Results 3-12 Kern County Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 14th A Main 3-13 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 15th A Main 3-26 Mojave Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 8th A Main 3-27 Mojave Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 2nd A Main 4-3 Barona Speedway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 11th A Main 4-10 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 20th A Main 4-17 Merced Speedway California Lightning/BCRA Civil War 7th A Main 5-15 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 3rd A Main 5-22 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 17th A Main 5-29 Central Missouri Speedway POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals 4th A Main 5-30 Central Missouri Speedway POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals 12th A Main 6-5 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 2nd A Main 7-3 Santa Maria Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 11th A Main 7-3 Santa Maria Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 13th A Main 7-17 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 12th A Main 7-24 Santa Maria Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 6th A Main 8-21 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 12th A Main 8-28 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 4th A Main 9-18 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 2nd A Main 9-19 Kern County Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 7th A Main 9-19 Kern County Raceway USAC West Coast Sprint Cars 9th A Main 9-25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 14th A Main 10-2 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 6th A Main SEXTON GATLIN RACING ADDS A.J. BENDER FOR THIS WEEK’S CALIFORNIA CUP AT LEMOORE RACEWAY
(Lakeside, CA, October 13, 2021) If the normal Sexton Gatlin Trio of Brent Sexton and his teenage sons Grant and Dalton was not causing enough grief for the competition, the team has added USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series rising star A.J. Bender to the roster for this week’s “California Cup” at the Lemoore Raceway. Thursday and Friday will be preliminary nights at the Central Valley track with the finale to follow on Saturday.
Bender, whose three victories are second best in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series in 2021, has the weekend off in both USAC/CRA and CLS. He recently purchased a car from SGR and the team offered him a ride in one of its other cars for this weekend’s prestigious race. The San Diego, California resident is currently ranked 6th in CLS points and is 13th in USAC/CRA.
Leading SGR’s charge into this week’s races is the youngest member of the Lakeside, California based team, 17-year-old Grant Sexton. After a second-place result at the final Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series race at the team’s home track, the Barona Speedway on October 2nd, the teen has a 122-point lead in the SWLS standings with only two races to go. Overall, he has started 19 races in 2021. In those 19 events he has 13 top five finishes, 10 top three finishes, and five victories. Four of his wins have come at Barona and the other came at Minnesota’s Norman County Raceway. His last victory came at Barona on September 18th.
Brent Sexton is 13th in the SWLS standings and has a pair of wins. The Tennessee native’s last victory was at Barona on August 21st. Dalton Sexton, who does not contest every race, has a single triumph this year and it came at Barona on April 17th.
For fans wishing to attend this week’s races, the track is located at 1750 Highway 41 in Lemoore (93245). The Thursday and Friday shows will be preliminaries with the Finale on Saturday. For information regarding ticket prices and starting times, the track is website http://www.lemooreraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (360) 393-0197. For fans who cannot make it to the track but who would like to watch the race, it will be available on FastFour Media. Information is available at https://fastfourmedia.com/ After this week’s three nights of racing, SGR will get one week off before returning to action with the CLS on Saturday, October 30th, at the Ventura Raceway. It will be the team’s first race at Ventura since 2019.
To keep up with all the exploits of the Sexton/Gatlin Racing Team, be sure to visit the team Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sexton-Gatlin-Racing-1173560279445564/
Sexton/Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2021 season possible. Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, Swift Powdercoat, Maxima Oil, Infiniti Shocks and an extra special thanks to Scotty and Jimmy Keys.
Sexton Gatlin Racing 2021 Results March 26 Mojave Valley Raceway David Bezio 2nd – Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 8th March 27 Mojave Valley Raceway Brent Sexton 1st – David Bezio 3rd – Rudy Padilla 4th – Grant Sexton 6th April 3 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 2nd – David Bezio 3rd – Dalton Sexton 10th April 10 Bakersfield Speedway Brent Sexton 4th – Grant Sexton 5th April 17 Barona Speedway Dalton Sexton 1st – David Bezio 7th – Grant Sexton 9th May 1 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – Dalton Sexton 2nd – David Bezio 3rd May 15 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – David Bezio DNS May 29 Central Missouri Speedway Grant Sexton 19th – Shane Sexton 8th in B Main – Brent Sexton 9th in B Main – Dalton Sexton 13th in B Main May 30 Central Missouri Speedway Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 16th – Shane Sexton 17th – Dalton Sexton 19th June 12 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – David Bezio 2nd July 24 Santa Maria Raceway Grant Sexton 4th – Brent Sexton 5th August 7 Barona Speedway David Bezio 1st – Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 12th August 11 Norman County Raceway Grant Sexton 1st - Dalton Sexton 4th – Sheldon Creed 21st – Brent Sexton 11th B Main August 13 River Cities Speedway Sheldon Creed 6th – Brent Sexton 7th – Grant Sexton 8th – Dalton Sexton 10th August 14 Greenbush Race Park Brent Sexton 6th – Grant Sexton 7th – Dalton Sexton 9th – Sheldon Creed 10th B Main August 15 Buffalo River Speedway Sheldon Creed 2nd – Grant Sexton 4th – Dalton Sexton 6th – Brent Sexton DNS August 21 Barona Speedway Brent Sexton 1st – David Bezio 5th – Grant Sexton 6th – Dalton Sexton 13th Sept. 18 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – Brent Sexton 3rd – David Bezio 5th – Dalton Sexton 15th October 2 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 2nd – Brent Sexton – 3rd – David Bezio 8th Williamson Earns Hard Charger Award After Run From 14th to Second Inside Line Promotions - POCOLA, Okla. (Oct. 11, 2021) - Garet Williamson is 2-for-2 in his career on earning second-place finishes at Tri-State Speedway. The Bryant Paver Motorsports driver hustled from 14th to second during the ASCS Sooner Region and ASCS Mid-South Region event last Saturday. The performance earned the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars. 
The night began with Williamson placing fifth in a heat race, placing him 14th in points to line up on the outside of the seventh row in the main event. "The track was gut slick in the heat races," he said. "I was on the bottom and spun the tires down the frontstretch. I think we were in sixth going into turn one. The outside lane just drove by everybody. "I knew we'd be fast in the A Main though. We made some changes. The top got so treacherous. The curb was gnarly and that defined whether you'd be fast or not. There weren't too many people up there. They'd enter off it or slide into it. Not too many people would commit to it and we did." Running on the ragged edge paid dividends as Williamson rallied into the runner-up position and had a pair of late restarts with the leader right in front of him. "We had two restarts in the final few laps," he said. "The first one we made a lap and the yellow came back out. The second one I could have thrown an absolute haymaker into turn one, but I didn't want to push the issue. I was hoping he'd bobble a little bit. He bobbled once in turns three and four and I really made up some ground, but was just not close enough to throw a slider at the end." Williamson will take this weekend off before wrapping up the season Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 9 - Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Okla. - Heat race: 5 (3); Feature: 2 (14). SEASON STATS - 49 races, 1 win, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s, 25 top 15s, 30 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 22-23 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Dominic Scelzi Wins Trio of Races During 36th Annual Cotton Classic Inside Line Promotions - HANFORD, Calif. (Oct. 11, 2021) - Dominic Scelzi soaked up the success of another stout weekend as he picked up a trio of feature victories during the 36th annual Cotton Classic to push his season win total to 21 triumphs. "I'm over the moon happy," he said. "We had a great weekend and are closing in on 23 wins this season, which would give me 50 career. If I can hit 27 wins, which I know is a long shot, that would match the number of wins I earned in my first nine years of racing." 
Scelzi swept the night at Keller Auto Speedway on Friday, winning the Kings of Thunder 410ci winged sprint car feature as well as the Sprint Car Challenge Tour main event. Scelzi qualified ninth quickest and placed fifth in a heat race to open the 410 action. That lined him up on the inside of the fifth row in the A Main. "We didn't qualify very good in the 410," he said. "We were a little bit tight. Then in the heat race the track was fairly slick, but really dirty. We didn't get a very good start and fell to sixth. We got back to fifth and finished there. "In the feature we picked someone off every couple of laps. I got to fourth and then (D.J.) Netto and (Justin) Sanders hit each other. I was able to get to second. I felt good prior to that, but that helped out a ton. We restarted second and I felt like I tricked Bud (Kaeding). I got him to run the bottom in turns one and two. I ripped the top and hit the bottom in turns three and four to drive by him with a few laps remaining." Scelzi pulled away for the victory to add to his lead in the Kings of Thunder standings. He was just as efficient during 360 competition as he advanced from seventh to third place in a heat race and from fifth to win a qualifier. That started him on the outside of the front row in the main event. "The scoring loop went out and they weren't able to qualify us so they lined the heats up by pill draw," he said. "We did really well and passed some guys. In the qualifier we methodically worked our way through there. That put us starting second in the feature. The race went green and the polesitter beat me into turn one. He missed the bottom into turns three and four and I got by him. We ran the top and bottom throughout the race. I got through traffic pretty good. I felt really, really good and we were able to lead all 30 laps to get the win." Saturday started with similar success for Scelzi, who timed in fourth quick in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series qualifying. A heat race win was followed by a dash triumph, which put Scelzi on the pole for the feature. "We went out 18th in qualifying and the track had slowed down tremendously," he said. "I was a little worried about getting a good time. I felt we had a hell of a lap. We got into the cushion perfectly and didn't spin the tires where the cushion fell off the edge. "In the heat race we passed Kyle (Hirst) around the top in turns one and two and then got to the bottom in turns three and four. We were around the bottom the rest of the heat race. For the dash we got put on the pole, which is awesome. We won that and started on the pole of the first feature. "I ran the middle for most of the race, but I was able to run the top, the bottom, everywhere. The track was really slick and wide. There were three lanes of racing and we used all of them." Scelzi led the distance during the first of twin 20-lap main events. He was credited with 20th in the second feature, which was completely inverted. Scelzi exited the weekend having virtually locked up the series championship. Scelzi was also strong in the 360 portion of the night, setting quick time during qualifying, winning a heat race and finishing second in the dash. The main event wasn't run because of a medical emergency in the pits. This weekend will be dormant for Scelzi, whose next event is the Trophy Cup Oct. 21-23 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 8 - Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) - Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 1 (9). Oct. 8 - Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) - Heat race: 3 (7); Qualifier: 1 (5); Feature: 1 (2). Oct. 9 - Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) - Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature #1: 1 (1); Feature #2: 20 (27). Oct. 9 - Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) - Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (4); Dash: 2 (2); Feature: Cancelled (2). SEASON STATS - 63 races, 21 wins, 45 top fives, 53 top 10s, 58 top 15s, 60 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 21-23 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., for the Trophy Cup Flud Produces Three Preliminary Night Victories During Show-Me Showdown Inside Line Promotions - SWEET SPRINGS, Mo. (Oct. 12, 2021) - Frank Flud garnered three feature triumphs and a trio of runner-up results last weekend during the Show-Me Showdown. Flud captured the preliminary victory in the Stock Non-Wing, Winged 'A' Class and Winged Outlaw divisions before placing second in each of the main events during the finale of the marquee micro sprint event at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex. 
"It was really good weekend," he said. "Considering it's one of my worst race tracks, we did really good. We walked away with three preliminary wins and three seconds. Right out of the box being able to pull off what we did with our new car, I'm super stoked about it." Flud was efficient throughout the weekend, which began on Thursday with the Winged 'A' Class preliminary night. He qualified sixth quickest before advancing from eighth to third in a heat race, from fifth to third in a qualifier and from fourth to win the main event. Friday also showcased success as Flud set quick time, hustled from eighth to second in a heat race and claimed the feature win from the pole in Non-Wing competition. He was fifth quickest in Winged Outlaw before winning a heat race from seventh and the main event from third. "I wasn't the fastest car, but I was able to get the wins," he said. "On Friday I felt like I might have been barely a top-five car in Non-Wing, but in Winged Outlaw I felt dominant." A second-place showing in all three divisions on Saturday concluded the event. "I wasn't the fastest car again, but I was able to pull together seconds," he said. "I was fine with that because we had a second-place car. My normal stuff that I'm used to doing wasn't working like I'm used to the last five years so I had to figure out the car. I missed it, but the track was still where you could make stuff work." Flud plans on returning to action Oct. 21-23 at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., during the KKM GiveBack Classic. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 7 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Winged 'A' Class) - Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 3 (8); Qualifier: 3 (5); Feature: 1 (4). Oct. 8 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Non-Wing) - Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 2 (8); Feature: 1 (1). Oct. 8 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Winged Outlaw) - Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 1 (7); Feature: 1 (3). Oct. 9 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Winged 'A' Class) -Feature: 2 (4). Oct. 9 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Non-Wing) - Three Wide Shootout: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1). Oct. 9 - Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, Mo. (Winged Outlaw) - Three Wide Shootout: 2 (1); Feature: 2 (3). SEASON STATS - 89 races, 31 wins, 70 top fives, 77 top 10s, 84 top 15s, 87 top 20s UP NEXT - Oct. 21-23 at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., for the KKM GiveBack Classic Skinner Rallies for Flip Flop 50 Feature Win at Riverside International Speedway Inside Line Promotions - WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2021) - Marshall Skinner overcame a crash during Friday's preliminary night to capture the second USCS Series Flip Flop 50 feature on Saturday at Riverside International Speedway. Skinner rolled off sixth on the starting grid for the second feature of the night after finishing fifth in the first race at the event, which includes two 25-lap contests.  "I really had no idea what position I was in for most of the race," he said. "It was 22 cars on a bullring with a lot of two- and three-wide racing - darting, diving, splitting cars every lap. "Late in the race, I saw Howard Moore and Jeff Swindell battling in front of me. Then with three laps to go, Howard had contact with a lapped car. That brought out the caution and he pulled in with damage to his car. Then I found out over the RACEceiver that I had been in second and Howard was trying to lap Jeff. With Howard out now, I had the lead on the restart. I led the final three laps for the win." The racing began on Friday night when Skinner won his heat race from the pole. That placed him in the third starting spot in the 10-car scramble, which set the lineup for Saturday's first feature. "Brad Bowden and I were racing hard, our cars touched and we both went for a ride," he said. "It totaled his car and I had to take the motor out of mine on Saturday to straighten the frame. It was a racing deal. Brad and I are good about it. It's just bullring racing." Skinner was successful in his return on Saturday, maneuvering from ninth to fifth in the opening feature before advancing from sixth to claim the second race. The win was Skinner's third 360ci sprint car feature victory of the year and sixth overall, including trips to Victory Lane during 305ci competition. "It's been a pretty good year," he said. "I won the most money I've ever won in racing earlier this year at the memorial race at Riverside. Saturday night paid well, too. First place was $2,500 plus fifth-place money in the other feature." The next race for Skinner will be in 305 competition at Riverside International Speedway for the Grass Root Nationals on Saturday followed by a return to 360 racing the ensuing weekend at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 8 - Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. - Heat race: 1 (1); Scramble: 9 (3). Oct. 9 - Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. - Feature #1: 5 (9); Feature #2: 1 (6). SEASON STATS - 31 races, 6 wins, 15 top fives, 20 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 25 top 20s UP NEXT - Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. Dover Wins Steve King Memorial Opener Before Placing Third During Event Finale Inside Line Promotions - DODGE CITY, Kan. (Oct. 12, 2021) - Jack Dover scored his sixth triumph of the season last Friday during the opening round of the Steve King Memorial hosted by Dodge City Raceway Park. It marked the first time in a little more than five years since Dover visited the track, but that didn't slow him down. He hustled from seventh to fourth during a heat race on Friday.  "The track was kind of heavy and on a heavy track everybody is fast," he said. "We had to make our moves fast and then fall in line." The performance earned the outside front row starting position in the main event and Dover capitalized, leading the distance to return to Victory Lane. "We got a good jump on the start and went into turn one side by side with the polesitter," he said. "I was able to come out ahead of him in turn two and we never looked back. Traffic was interesting. I got slowed up a little. I knew I slowed my pace up so at that point I had to make some risky moves. We were able to get through. Two yellows came out toward the end of the race, but I had really good restarts and never saw anybody's nose." Dover ranked third in event points following the opening round. Qualifiers were inverted to begin Saturday's finale and once again Dover rallied from the fourth row - eighth - to place fourth. "The track started to rubber up in the qualifier," he said. "We got up to fourth right away. It seemed we were catching the guys in front of us, but it would have taken a long time to get to them." Dover started the main event on the outside of the second row. "They reworked the track twice throughout the night and it was a really good track," he said. "The race went green to checkered. We rode around in fourth for a while. Once we got by Chris Martin we were able to run down the leaders, but it was too late. I think if it was five or six more laps we might have had something for them. I'd say 90 percent of the race was up top, but if you had to go to the bottom you could." Dover's third-place result was his 30th top five of the season. That's his most top fives since 2011. "I'm very pleased," he said. "Our main goal was to finish top three both nights to make for a good weekend and we were able to accomplish that." Dover plans on racing this Friday and Saturday at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, during the 48th annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. He has recorded top 10s at Devil's Bowl Speedway in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019 and last year. Additionally, Dover produced a podium during the event each of the last two years. "I feel pretty good," he said. "We need to do well in the heat race to put ourselves in a good spot come feature-time. Last year I think we started 14 th and ran up to fourth during the finale. I know we have a fast car. We just need to put ourselves in a good spot." QUICK RESULTS - Oct. 8 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 1 (2). Oct. 9 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Qualifier: 4 (8); Feature: 3 (4). SEASON STATS - 55 races, 6 wins, 30 top fives, 37 top 10s, 42 top 15s, 44 top 20s UP NEXT - Friday and Saturday at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the 48 th annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour MEDIA LINKS - |
