In a race that featured lightening delays and multiple red flags, Denny Hamlin battled through to a runner-up finish to lead Team Toyota at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday evening. Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) joined his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate inside the top-five finishers.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)

World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway

Race 15 of 36 – 300 miles, 240 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Kyle Busch*

2nd, DENNY HAMLIN

3rd, Joey Logano*

4th, Kyle Larson*

5th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

11th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

20th, TY GIBBS

30th, BUBBA WALLACE

34th, TYLER REDDICK

*non-Toyota driver 

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What is your take on today where we saw a little bit of everything?

“Yeah, I thought we were super dialed if it was 95 degrees like it was supposed to be with those delays – it kind of took away from the advantage I thought that we had. I’m proud of this whole Sport Clips Toyota team – pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in it and doing really good on the money stop with about 60 to go. We are going to have to wait another to get that 50th (win).”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

What was the race like with everything you had to deal with?

“It was interesting for sure. For us, we had a really strong Auto Owners Insurance Camry. Started off the race near the front and stayed there through stage one and thought we could get a little bit better and maybe have a shot at the couple, three in front of us. We had a pit road penalty and had to go to the back, and it was just an uphill climb from there. Just really tough to get through the field. We got some damage from when someone’s brake rotor exploded, that slowed us down even more. Really with all we went through today, a top-five is a really good day for us. I’m proud of the effort.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

What happened?

“Our day kind of went bad early on, but our McDonald’s Camry was able to get through traffic pretty well, but as the track stated to cool off, it just started going away from us. It was starting to get frustrating out there for sure, to have a car that good, and it feltlike it was just going away. I had a bad feeling that was coming soon. I was just getting ready to have to back off with how soft the brakes got, but I obviously should have been thinking about that a lap or two sooner.”

TRD PR

Q. Kyle Busch starts from the pole. Had a lot of work in the middle to get there, Kyle, but you complete the perfect weekend.

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, absolutely. That was pretty awesome. Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR. Just win, baby! Thanks to Team Chevy, appreciate 3Chi. Don't forget, guess what, the No. 8 special, free chicken tenders at Cheddar's on Monday, hey! All the fans go out and celebrate with us. We're going to have a great time with this one. This one is is pretty cool.

NASCAR PR

Precision paid off for Alex Palou on Sunday in Detroit.

NTT P1 Award winner Palou used his smooth driving style to prevail on one of the toughest circuits in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, capturing the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the streets of Detroit. Spaniard Palou kept the lead during two late restarts in the No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing and beat the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power to the finish by 1.1843 seconds.

SEE: Race Results

It was the sixth career victory for 2021 season champion Palou and his second in the last three races this season, as he also won the GMR Grand Prix on May 13 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

“The No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants car was on point today,” Palou said. “Super proud of the job we did. It was tricky there at the end, man, with those (worn) tires couldn’t really get to temperature (on restarts).”

Felix Rosenqvist finished a season-best third in the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet after muscling past teammate Alexander Rossi during a spirited duel in the closing laps on the nine-turn, 1.7-mile temporary street circuit.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, putting two CGR cars in the top four. Rossi rounded out the top five in the No. 7 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Palou led from the drop of the green flag in the 100-lap race under sunny skies. He stretched his advantage to 9.1 seconds by Lap 21 after starting on the Firestone alternate tires, whose softer compound has more grip but less durability. Power started seventh on Firestone primary tires and used the longer wear on those tires to cut Palou’s lead to 1.5 seconds by Lap 29.

At that point, Chip Ganassi Racing elected to call Palou to the pits for Firestone primary tires, the same rubber as Power. Six laps later, Power pitted for the first time, opting for his mandatory run on Firestone alternates that use sustainable rubber from the guayule shrub, and handed the lead back to Palou.

After Power blended back into the race from his stop, Palou gradually built his lead to four seconds. But that gap evaporated on Lap 43 when Pato O’Ward crashed in Turn 9 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Palou held off Power on the restart on Lap 49, but the caution flag flew during the first lap of green after the restart when rookie Sting Ray Robb went deep into the runoff area in Turn 3 in the No. 51 biohaven Honda.

The ensuing restart on Lap 56 was about the only spot of bother all day for Palou. Power, on grippier alternate tires, dove under Palou for first in the Turn 3 hairpin at the end of the long back straightaway. Palou’s car seemed to pause at the exit of that corner, apparently due to a problem that forced him to cycle through the emergency electronics mode on the wheel before normal service was restored.

Reigning and two-time series champion Power had pulled away to a 2.8-second lead over Palou two laps after that restart. But Palou collected himself, focused forward and dove under Power in Turn 3 on Lap 65 to regain the lead.

“We had an issue that was probably my fault, but then we got stuck there,” Palou said. “I couldn’t really upshift. Proud that we got it back and that we got another win this year.”

After the field cycled through its final pit stops, Palou led by nearly five seconds when Romain Grosjean crashed in Turn 4 in the No. 28 DHL Honda on Lap 82, triggering another full-course caution. Palou held off Power on that restart on Lap 87, another on Lap 91 after David Malukas crashed in the No. 18 HMD Trucking Honda during the previous restart and yet again on a final restart on Lap 96 after Santino Ferrucci’s No. 14 Sexton Properties/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet and Robb’s car went deep into the Turn 3 runoff while dueling for position.

There was plenty of muscular driving and contact over the last five laps, including Dixon running into the rear of Power’s car on the final restart and spirited, aggressive swaps of position by Arrow McLaren teammates Rosenqvist and Rossi. Palou levitated in front of the mayhem and cruised to victory, leading 74 of the 100 laps.

“I did everything I could to get Palou,” Power said. “He was just too quick, man. Too good today.”

Palou will split $10,000 with Chip Ganassi Racing and his chosen charity, The American Legion, for his victory as part of the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge. He has won two of the three legs needed to earn a $1 million bonus, with a win on the road course at IMS and the street circuit at Detroit. Palou can secure the bonus with a win in any of the three remaining three oval races, a doubleheader July 22-23 at Iowa Speedway and Aug. 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR on Sunday, June 18 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

NTT IndyCar Series PR

CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 7 SCHLUTER SYSTEMS CAMARO ZL1

Broken brake rotor during Stage Two forced the No. 7 Camaro ZL1 team to retire early from the race.

What a day you had going. How would you assess your first time in a Cup car today up to that point?

“I thought it was great. I had a blast. Just so thankful for the opportunity. I don’t have a job for next year. I know Al Niece and Cody Efaw wants me to run for them and I will forever run a race or however many. But man, I’m just so thankful that they gave me the opportunity – the opportunity to drive a Xfinity car and now driving a Cup car. I was running 16th.. just so surreal for the first time ever. I thought we were going to have a good day and be in a good spot for Schluter Systems, Celsius, Spire Motorsports, Ryan Sparks and the No. 7 Chevy team. Hopefully that call for a Cup ride isn’t the only one I get in my life.” 

GM PR

Proving both exciting and tricky from green flag to the checkered flag, Chevrolet raced to two of three positions on the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix podium in the hometown event for General Motors.

As the race returned to the streets of downtown Detroit for the first time in 32 years, Will Power, driver of the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished second, and Felix Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, finishing third.

Discussing his race day and the tight racing that occurred, Power reflected on the 100-lap event saying, “It was a great day. Had a good strategy there with the red tires and tried everything to get (Alex Palou). Unfortunately, I didn’t know (Scott) Dixon was on my inside. I didn’t see the replay. I hope I didn’t do any damage to him and affect his race. Great day for the Verizon Chevy. Would love to get one step up on the podium.”

Also discussing tight racing with Arrow McLaren INDYCAR teammate Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet, Rosenqvist noted “It was tight at the end, maybe a bit too tight for comfort. Unfortunately, we were in the situation now with Arrow McLaren that we’re fighting each other at the front almost every weekend. It’s a good problem to have, let’s say. Obviously, we don’t want to put each other into the wall or anything, but we raced each other really hard a couple of times, me and Alex (Rossi) all season.”

Further discussing the first event underneath the shadows of General Motors World Headquarters in over three decades, Rosenqvist said, “They did an awesome job here with this race at the waterfront in Detroit. I think it was a good show for the fans. They put this together in a pretty short time, so I’m just super happy to be part of this race.”

Up next for the Team Chevy drivers and teams is the Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America Sunday, June 18. With 55 laps, or 220.55 miles, determining the winner in Wisconsin, the race broadcast airs live Sunday starting at 1 p.m. ET on USA Network. Additional coverage is streamed by Peacock, and also with radio coverage from INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RACE RESULT:

Pos.  Driver

2nd    Will Power

3rd     Felix Rosenqvist

7th     Scott McLaughlin

10th   Josef Newgarden

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES)

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I’ll be honest I’m ready to get to Nashville, hang out with Kota and Ashley and rest for a couple days. It’s been a long week where I wasn’t able to fully tune into the team. For us to come here – a brand new circuit, make the Firestone Fast Six and have a shot at a top-five finish shows the makeup of this Hitachi Chevy team. It got a little rough out there at times and we were on the receiving end of it, but you’ll have that on a street course. That stuff always comes back on you, like it did later in the race. Aside from all that, to see what kind of event this city just put on is incredible. There will be key learnings that are taken away to make it better for the future, but everyone involved should be thrilled with how the first year came off.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“The incident with Grosjean basically destroyed our day. Getting into turn 1 – pit exit is a little bit awkward, but he just drove straight for the apex. I was already committed, braking as deep as I could, and he just drove straight to the apex. I had nowhere to go. It’s the duty of all of us to get out of that area cleanly and I don’t think he cared where I was and turned across my nose. It is what it is. That Gallagher Chevy was fast. We hammered through those last few restarts. I think we started 12th and came through to seventh. It was definitely a reasonable recovery but overall, pretty gutted with the day.”

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“It was a great day. Had a good strategy there with the red tires and tried everything to get (Alex Palou). Unfortunately, I didn’t know (Scott) Dixon was on my inside. I didn’t see the replay. I hope I didn’t do any damage to him and affect his race. Great day for the Verizon Chevy. Would love to get one step up on the podium. Seconds aren’t what you look back on when you lose a championship. You had to be aggressive (today) to keep position and get position. This is IndyCar these days. So tough, so many good drivers. You fight for every inch.”

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

“Well, I got into the marbles when I had to get by Santino (Ferrucci) because if (Alex) Palou would get us we were going to go a lap down. My push-to-pass was disabled, as expected, because we were lap down. I was pretty boxed in as to what I could do, and it was either race over or trying to get passed but ended up being raced over. It is what it is. Honestly, our race went upside down on that pitstop and all downhill from there. We’ll move on to Road America.”

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“I mean, I was on the inside and (Alexander Rossi) squeezed me quite a lot on the first apex. I had to run into him otherwise I was going to clip the left wall, and on the exit, you’re just racing out of the corner. I think I was a fair bit ahead, so he played it hard on entry and I played it hard on exit. So I think it was fair. We’ll discuss it. It’s never optimal to do that with teammates, but if you race hard, you have to race hard back. It’s all good. It’s always tough out there in IndyCar. I shouldn’t be ashamed of being elbows out. I think it was all fair play. It’s tough. Obviously, I don’t want to race teammates too much, it’s never fun, but that’s the way it is. That’s IndyCar.”

“It was tight at the end, maybe a bit too tight for comfort. Unfortunately, we were in the situation now with Arrow McLaren that we’re fighting each other at the front almost every weekend. It’s a good problem to have, let’s say. Obviously, we don’t want to put each other into the wall or anything, but we raced each other really hard a couple of times, me and Alex (Rossi) all season. Unfortunate and good at the same time but I was happy to see he didn’t fall back too much in the field. He was struggling a bit after the restart and we were quite a bit quicker. I was on the inside, and he gave me not enough room on the entry, and you know I think he played it hard on entry, I played it hard on exit so it was kind of fair, I’d say. We, obviously, don’t want to have that situation. It’s something we’ll talk about internally.”

"That was a hell of a race, I’ve got to say. They did an awesome job here with this race at the waterfront in Detroit. I think it was a good show for the fans. They put this together in a pretty short time, so I’m just super happy to be part of this race. Arrow McLaren, we were up there fighting for the podium again, so it’s just phenomenal."

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“I mean, it's tight. We all knew it was going to be chaotic around here, but I think the race went on very well from our side. Starting 13th, we had a hole to dig ourselves out of. The team did a great job from a car setup standpoint, strategy was great stops were great. We kind of inherited second when there was a bit of a melee, and then we just ended up kind of back where we started. So, we struggled to switch tires on restarts, we'll look into that. And yeah, taking our top-five and move on to Road America.”

“I mean, I really enjoyed this whole weekend. You know, I think, you know, the city of Detroit and Penske Corp and GM did an amazing job with this facility and the fan turnout was amazing. So I know there was a lot of kind of suspicions going into it, but I thought it was a good race. In certainly next year, we'll have a better idea of what we need to do to be better but you know, I think that was another classic IndyCar race and hopefully everyone enjoyed it.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

"After sorting through some of that chaos at the beginning of the race, we weren’t bad. We were trying to run with Rinus (VeeKay) but had to switch to the other strategy pretty quickly. We just lost out a little bit on some of the strategy side of the race. At the end, the car was good enough to make some moves on some people and try to improve our position. Not the most fun racetrack, but we salvaged something today. This is one of of our better street course finishes in a while, so that is good."

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“I worked pretty hard and was in the Top 10 quite a bit. On the last restart, I was hit from behind and lost momentum. I had to go on the defense there and got too many marbles on my tires, then I couldn’t turn anymore. It was tough. I struggled to keep my car on the track, which I did, but it was only enough for P18. There was way more in the car. I am very bummed. I learned a lot and it is nice to have a weekend off before Road America."

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Very uneventful day for us in the 14 Chevy. Brake bias adjuster broke probably first or second stint. Just got locked out at 63 percent. Nothing I could do, just lost all front grip, calipers got hot, pedal got really long. So it just made it for a difficult day. Just need to regroup after this weekend and figure out where our car is at and move on to Road America.”

Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Pretty eventful day. Honestly, it was looking really good. We were on track to likely get into the top-10. Unfortunately got caught up in a collision with other cars with some tricky circumstances that happened on the track that were out of my control, and ultimately led up to a bit of collisions. We’ll look into why that happened, but we were able to get the car restarted and going right away. The team did a great job recovering, and making changes right away in pit lane. P20 in the end, ahead of quite a few guys who are around me in the championship, so we’ll move up a little more. It’s a little bittersweet today, because we had very good pace. We’re coming forward with the set up, we just need a little luck to come our way. On to Road America testing and the next event.”

Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“Pretty premature end to our race. I feel quite bad. Just misjudged it on the last part of the braking. The cars in front, unfortunately it was Kyle (Kirkwood), and I clipped his wheel and took off. To be fair, I wasn’t carrying too much speed compared to him, but as soon as I hit the wheel, it took off. Big shame. Sorry to the team and to Kyle (Kirkwood). I think we would have had a good result. The car was quick. I felt quick in warm up, so big shame but you live and learn, and on to the next one.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“We did a great race today. I’m really happy and for the guys, the team, that was really good racing because we crashed on Friday, and now we finish P14. Doing really good, a lot of good overtakes, fighting with some guys at the top teams. I’m really happy for the rest of today.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET, and WILL POWER, NO. 12 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – End of Day Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by the second-place finisher and last year's winner of this event, Will Power.

Second podium of the season for you. Some craziness there at the end. Pleased with your podium today?

WILL POWER: Yeah, very satisfied. Good strategy. I mean, starting on the blacks, everything played out as we thought. I guess we were worried when the yellow came. Everyone packs up. But then we got a yellow again, so that kind of helped us. We had 10 laps to push hard. I got Palou on the restart. Then they went off, he got me back. Yeah, I couldn't get him. I tried everything.

I think my one chance was when Dixon got into me a little bit, I was trying to switch back and get a run, get him into four. Apart from that, yeah, the next restart was in third so I didn't have another shot at him.

Very good job. Man, you're never looking back on seconds as a bad day. Although the guy I was needing to close points to was the guy that won. We limited the damage.

THE MODERATOR: Consistency was your key last year, too.

WILL POWER: Yeah, that's why I kick myself for the tiniest mistake at Indy. Caught me a chance to win. Just got the wall. That was a big chunk of points.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Will Power.

Q. Was that one of the most aggressive drives you've had in the last couple years? When you were coming up through the field, it was pretty fierce.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, no, pretty measured moves. But yeah, I was never going to do something that I didn't feel was going to be pulled off. I've been around too long to try that.

Yeah, we're in the situation to be aggressive. That's why we start on blacks. We're too far back to try to play conservative. We've got to attack every chance. That's why I'm trying to do as hard as I can right now.

Q. Went up on two wheels there. It was obvious what you were trying to do. What comes over you guys going into a turn like that with a race on the line?

WILL POWER: For me, it was just trying my absolute best to get Palou in a clean way. I wasn't going to do any sort of dive bomb.

Yeah, as it gets down to it, depending on who's in the game, obviously Palou had the most to lose because he's leading by a chunk, but there's a few guys in there that don't have as much to lose. I was one of 'em. I'm thinking in my head I've got to try to get this guy, if I can, to limit the damage.

Q. Do you ever think, We put on a heck of a show?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I did. I said it coming up the elevator, It's a pretty good race from the outside. Some pretty big moves in there from people. I can't imagine what it was like back in the pack. Looked like it was a great race.

THE MODERATOR: Also joined by the third-place finisher, Felix Rosenqvist. First podium of the season, fifth of his career.

Felix, great way to finish out this weekend for you.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, that was an awesome race. I have to say, I was really impressed what GM and Chevy have done to make this happen. There was some criticism to start the weekend, but it all played out really nicely. I have to say it was a fun racetrack, it raced really well.

That long straightaway, we picked a low downforce option and we were able to pass on cars at the end of the straight. Yeah, it was awesome. I thought it wasn't going to be a lot of passing, but it raced super well. Big thanks to GM and Chevy.

Yeah, good race. I thought it was good to be back on the podium. It's been a while. We'll take that.

THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions.

Q. Will, when you won last year at Belle Isle, you used the alternates on the last stint of the race. What was the reason you went for the alternates the second stint this time around?

WILL POWER: Yeah, to protect from losing too much 'cause if they happen to go off badly, you have a full stint, the last stint was going to be the longest because you're always going to pit on the early side and save fuel for the chance of getting caught by a yellow and the pits are closing, you're done, everyone's got you. That was the reason.

Try to minimize the amount of laps basically.

Q. Felix, how great is it you have the momentum coming in now going into Road America?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think we needed it. We've been pretty much up there every weekend. We had three DNFs which hurt.

It seems this year in the championship a lot of the top runners have had tough races as well. I think we can recover if we keep the momentum going.

It's nice. I think all the boys and girls on the 6 car, Arrow McLaren, really deserved it. We've been up there sniffing for a long time. Hasn't worked out.

It was a fun race. Felt like we were just quick all through it. We went up every stage of race. We were in a position where we could maybe win it in the end. Yeah, it was a bit dicey on the restarts in the end. The second to last there, Dixon went wide. I had to grab the clutch. I think Will had the same. That potentially could have cost us a bit.

I'm happy to finish on the podium after all the close calls.

Q. Felix, the thing with Rossi at the end. You have been racing around each other all year. A thing at Toronto. Have you talked to him before? How do you work through it?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, we race hard, but I think we also race fair. Obviously we like each other. We don't have any intentions to put each other in the wall.

But, yeah, it was tight. I think the move wasn't really high-risk. I was completely alongside him into three. Yeah, just gets tight, man. It's so close. He squeezed me a little bit on entry, I squeezed him a little bit on exit.

Yeah, I think it's a good problem to have. The Arrow McLaren cars have been up there every race. You're going to find yourself in a situation where you're fighting teammates. I think it's something we'll discuss internally if we can manage it differently. Obviously there were no team calls on this one, which is cool. They let us battle it out on the track.

I think Will can explain how it works when you have a lot of good cars at the front. It's good problems to have.

Q. Will, can you give us the entire Flavor Flav story, how he got your T-shirt?

WILL POWER: I was just sitting and talking to Roger and Tim yesterday. No, we were watching an interview of Kevin Lee, an interview of Flavor Flav. I said, If he's here, he's got to come over.

I got to meet him. Then he came on to my truck. He had the Will Power shirt on. His girlfriend had the same. A couple of my boys from Toowoomba said, You have made it. We all listened to Public Enemy in the '90s. Flavor Flav was someone I thought I would never meet.

He is the most (indiscernible) dude you will ever meet. I thought he was going to come to the podium. I think if I won, he would have.

Pretty cool experience. Pretty cool to put it on your personal Facebook. All your friends that you went to school with, This man is big-time, he's hanging out with Flavor Flav.

I sat next to Ice-T at dinner. I have also had dinner with Slash from Guns N' Roses. No one cares about race cars or I won the Indy 500, it's like, You had dinner with Slash, you know Flavor Flav.

Q. Did he buy the T-shirt?

WILL POWER: I think he went to the (indiscernible) and bought the T-shirts.

Q. Do you have a favorite Public Enemy song or album?

WILL POWER: I said this morning to Flavor Flav, People today are going to have to fight the power. That's what I said. It was true. They have to fight the power.

Q. (No microphone.)

WILL POWER: Yeah, he lives here. Should get Eminem. I'm more of a '90s rap guy. If I met Eminem, that would be epic. If I could meet Ice Cube or Snoop Dogg in Long Beach. Why doesn't someone bring them to Long Beach? Maybe they should have an Ice Cube day. It would be dope.

Q. (No microphone.)

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I'm older than you think (smiling). I'm 10 years older than Pato, nine maybe. I'm getting there.

THE MODERATOR: This is your wheelhouse? Something you understand?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah.

Q. The fact that you said it needs to be discussed internally, you're racing for position at the end of the race, racing for a victory. What is there a reason to discuss?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I don't know. I mean, we'll talk about it. As I said, I didn't think committing to the move was high risk. I wouldn't want to do it high risk. With a teammate, you never want to.

Yeah, we'll talk about it. We'll get through it. Alex is a good dude. As I say, we've been fighting each other before, and a lot this year. We've pretty much been around each other all season.

Yeah, we're probably going to keep doing it.

Q. He squeezed you going in, you kind of squeezed him going out, but nobody hit the wall.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I mean, I think he actually hit the wall, but I think he got out in the marbles. I think it's a good thing he was able to get back in.

I have to say, I pretty much didn't have any more room on entry. I was just trying to not go into the wall on apex. After that, I just tried to get out of the corner as quick as I can, give him the room he needed.

As I say, we'll talk about it. No biggie. I'm just happy we both finished up front, so...

Q. People criticized this track. When did it become apparent to y'all it turned into a pretty good racetrack? Did it become apparent yesterday or in the race?

WILL POWER: Yeah, like second session you started to like it, like the challenge of it. Yeah, racing perspective, having that long straight with the hairpin is definitely good. I think next year if they resurface the second half of the straight you would have more passing. It was tough to go on the outside.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I think the track really came alive during the race. It seems like this track, every session the track goes more slippery. As you do more laps it gets grippier and grippier, more than other street courses.

I thought during the race it really came alive. It was cool. The steering was heavy, you're carrying a lot of speed. Even on full tanks, we were doing like qualifying lap times.

This is cool, you're doing some good corner speeds. You have to be so focused. Bouncing between the walls, it's insane how much effort goes into it mentally to do a hundred laps out there, especially when you have to race other guys around you.

I think it was a cool challenge and awesome show for everyone.

Q. You said it got really grippy. We also saw a couple drivers that got a hair offline, found themselves in the wall. Was it that slick out there because of the marbles or that much different based on what had built up?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: If you go out there, it's not fun. You don't want to be offline there.

But I think surprisingly on the braking, the inside line was really good. We have some tracks like St. Pete, if you do a dive bomb into one, you just go straight because there's so many marbles. Actually here was fairly clean.

I don't think the fact that we all like swerved left on the straight was actually good for the marble pickup, allowed you to do some good passing.

GM PR

You have no doubt heard Robert Burns’ phrase, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”  That certainly could have labeled the start of Grant Sexton’s night at the annual Salute to Indy at Perris Auto Speedway.  However, in typical Sexton fashion, the 18-year-old turned a negative into a positive by placing ninth and winning the “In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award” by coming from last to finish ninth in the 30-lap main event.  

The scenario began when the Sexton Gatlin Racing team hauled four cars to Perris for the important night of racing. Included were Grant’s #22 410 USAC/CRA sprint car, a #22 360 sprint car that his father Brent was going to race in The PAS Senior Sprints, a #44 POWRI Southwest Lightning Sprint for Brent, and a #3 for Geoff Dale to race in the lightning sprints as well.

Grant came into the night leading the Rookie of the Year points chase.  However, disaster struck almost immediately when his oil pump broke.  When repairs could not be made, he jumped into the 360 Brent was slated to drive in the Seniors.  At the time, it seemed like he was bringing a knife to a gunfight giving up 50 cubic inches and a lot of horsepower to his competitors in USAC/CRA.  It appeared he would go out and make some laps and score minimal points.

With everything going on in the pits, Grant missed qualifying.  That was followed by a seventh-place finish in his nine-car heat race.  The handwriting appeared to be on the wall.  Then again, heat races and qualifying do not pay a lot of points.  It is all about the main event.

For the 30-lap main, Grant started dead last in the 18^th spot. Once again, he was giving up cubic inches and all that horsepower. Even though he is a talented young driver, just like his heat race the odds were stacked against him.  Apparently, nobody told that to the affable teen.  He kept out of trouble – and there was a lot of that going on in the race – and began to move forward.   In the race’s late stages, he swept into the 10^th spot and when the Steve Russell checkered flag ended the race, he was in ninth.

In addition to being the Rookie of the Year point leader, Grant jumped another spot in the standings and is now eighth in USAC/CRA points.  Next up for him will be the Bubby Jones/Ray Sheetz Memorial at Perris on June 10^th.

On the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car portion of the program, Brent Sexton, the 2021 champion, and Dale gave a very good account of themselves.  Brent, who won the last race at Perris on April 15^th, started fifth in the heat race, and finished second.  Dale, who was contesting his first-ever SWLS race, began the heat in seventh and finished sixth.

The two drivers started in the same spots in the 20-lap main event.  Brent moved forward early on and was looking fast.  However, in the latter stages of the main event, it became obvious that he was losing speed.  He managed to hang onto the second-place spot.  When the crew examined the car in the pits after the race, they found the culprit of his decreasing momentum.  He had a badly cracked front axle.

Dale gave a great account of himself.  Picking up speed throughout the night, he ended up finishing fourth and nabbed the race “Hard Charger” award.

If you or your company is interested in becoming a partner with Sexton Gatlin Racing in 2023, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to.

Sexton Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2022 season possible. Keys Brothers, East County Electric Works, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, and Swift Powdercoat.

SGR PR

Just 24 hours after one of the most heartbreaking races of his career, sweet redemption came Sunday for Nolan Siegel. 

Rookie Siegel earned his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory on the streets of Detroit, taking the lead on Lap 2 from his No. 3 starting spot in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR car and holding off his rivals on two restarts. Siegel crossed the finish line .6559 of a second ahead of championship leader and teammate Christian Rasmussen in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine. 

SEE: Race Results 

Siegel, 18, who graduates from high school this Friday in Northern California, led by more than five seconds with two turns to go in the first race of the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix on Saturday when a driveshaft broke while the checkered flag was waving. He limped across the finish in eighth place in the 45-lap race won by Reece Gold. 

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Siegel said. “Yesterday was obviously super disappointing. I think we deserved two (wins) this weekend. But to get it today after what happened yesterday, it’s not losing – it’s how you come back from a loss like that and how you come back from a bad day. We came back from a bad day and won. 

“I think that shows a lot about our team, and I think we’re going to be up here a lot more.” 

Pole sitter Louis Foster finished third in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car Sunday, followed by Andretti Autosport teammate Hunter McElrea in the No. 27 Smart Motors car. Danial Frost rounded out the top five in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine. 

Foster and Rasmussen drag-raced down the long back straightaway on E. Jefferson Avenue at the start of the 45-lap race on Lap 2 after the initial start was waved off, with Rasmussen on the outside. Both drivers went wide in the Turn 3 hairpin corner at the end of the straight, leaving an opening for Siegel to dart through for the lead. 

Siegel then showed the same smooth speed and composure on display Saturday when it appeared he was cruising to victory, building a gap of one second before the field bunched for a full-course caution on Lap 15 when Jagger Jones hit the barrier at the exit of Turn 2 in the No. 98 Lead Sled car fielded by Cape Motorsports. 

Rasmussen pulled on the outside of Siegel in the Turn 3 hairpin on the ensuing restart on Lap 20, but Siegel stayed tight to the apex of the corner and kept the lead. Siegel then gradually drove away from the field, building a lead of 1.6 seconds when Kyffin Simpson hit the barrier in Turn 9 in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR car, triggering the third and last full-course caution of the race. 

The race was decided on a two-lap dash to the checkered after the restart on Lap 44. Siegel got a good jump on E. Jefferson Avenue and never was challenged into the Turn 3 hairpin, pulling away over the last two trips around the nine-turn, 1.7-mile temporary street circuit with no mechanical gremlins before the finish. 

Rasmussen kept the championship lead with his runner-up finish by just two points over the surging Siegel, 178-176. 

The next race is the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 18 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. 

Indy NXT PR

Flowdynamics drivers Logan Williams and Matt McCarthy recorded season-best finishes in the annual Salute to Indy last Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway.  Williams came home fifth at the end of the 30-lapper and McCarthy placed eighth.

The annual Salute to Indy began in 1948 and has been contested more than 70 times.  However, when legendary Ascot Park in Gardena closed at the conclusion of the 1990 season, the race was put on ice until Perris Auto Speedway brought it back during its first season of operation in 1996.  Since then, the prestigious event has regained its luster and it’s one of the most coveted sprint car races on the West Coast.  It is a big deal for all drivers, including McCarthy and Williams, to be a part of the once-a-year show.

Things began well for the flow dynamics team from the get-go on Saturday. Williams, who makes his home in Yorba Linda, California was the sixth-fastest qualifier in the 18-car field with a time of 16.901. Directly behind him with a time that was less than a tick of the clock slower was McCarthy who was seventh fastest at 16.907.

For the first time this year, the teammates were not matched against each other in heat race action.  While McCarthy was not competing against Williams in the first heat race of the night, he was competing against Williams two older brothers. At the end of the 10 Lapper, the Riverside, California racer ended up finishing sixth.  Moments later Williams finished fifth in his heat.

Coming into the main event, McCarthy had 15^th and ninth-place finishes this season. Williams had a 22^nd-place finish and a seventh.  The two friendly drivers lined up next to each other in row four. Williams was on the inside in seventh and McCarthy was starting just to his right in the eighth position.  In the fast 30-lapper, Williams, the son of National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Rip Williams, advanced two spots to fifth.  It was his first top-five finish of the year.  McCarthy was in the middle of a multi-car war and finished in eighth.

So far in 2023, the Flowdynamics duo has confined its racing to Perris Auto Speedway. That means they have contested three of the 10 USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series races.  Despite that fact, Williams is ranked 19^th in the series point standings and McCarthy is six points behind him in 21^st.  Williams is only 10 points out of 16^th.  That makes McCarthy 16 points out of the same spot.

Whenever you get the chance to meet the Flowdynamics drivers in person, be sure to visit them in the pits.  They will be glad to sign autographs for you and each will have their fine-looking team shirts available.

If you or your company would like to be a part of one of the West Coast’s most prominent sprint car teams for the upcoming season, please contact John McCarthy at 909 930-5522 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

McCarthy and Williams would like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2023 season possible. Flowdynamics Inc., PurgePlugs.com, Cal Therm Mechanical Insulators, JFK Design Build, So Cal Racing Fuel, and Full Throttle Lift.

Flowdynamics PR

What a day. Parker Kligerman and the Spiked Coolers No. 48 started on a high note with a P1 in practice.

Then, in qualifying, a gear box problem meant the crew had to climb under the car and make a change. That meant starting the race in the back of the pack.

But Parker and the team scratched, clawed and powered their way back to P2.

With a caution at the end of the race, it was time too go for it.

After a Lap 73 yellow flag for debris on the track, Justin Allgaier held the lead for the overtime restart on Lap 76. Right behind Allgaier, Kligerman steered to the inside and charged the first corner, carrying Allgaier wide and knocking Sheldon Creed off the track.

From the inside lane, Cole Custer took the lead through Turn 1. Allgaier got to Custer’s bumper on the final lap, but he couldn’t make the pass for the win. Custer won by .142 seconds, his first victory of the season.

“I went for it. It was the correct move to make to win,” says Kligerman. “Just mis-timed.”

Parker’s 14th place finish keeps him in 14th place with 307 points for the season.

The team heads down the west coast to Sonoma for the DOORDASH 250, this Saturday June 10.

Race starts at 5:00 pm pacific time.

Watch it on FS1 and hear the radio broadcast on Sirius/XM channel 90 and PRN affiliates nationwide.

BMR PR