Corona, Calif. (November 14, 2011)
Nascar Camping World Truck Series
Matt Crafton Rolls Snake Eyes in Sin City with Second-Place Finish. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 16) - Matt Crafton scored a second-place finish in a caution-filled race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, earning his 12th top-10 finish of 2011. After fighting handling issues early in the race and running as far back as 19th, the team perfected the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado by the end of the event, charging to the front of the pack and coming up just shy of a win in the first Vegas day race in nine years.
"This was a great race today," said Crafton. "We fell back at the beginning, but me and the guys never gave up. We just kept adjusting on the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet until we got it right. We were just a little tight there on that last run, otherwise, I have no doubt that we would be in victory lane. We probably could have done it if we had just a few more laps. This was really a lot of fun. If it was up to me, every race would be a day race. I love racing when it's hot and everyone is slipping and sliding. It was really slippery out there and I had a blast." Crafton gained two positions in the driver point standings, now holding the sixth position, 58 points outside the championship lead.
Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model Series.
Billy Moyer, Jr. Sweeps Topeka Weekend. BATESVILLE ARKANSAS (October 11) — Billy Moyer, Jr. powered his #21jr Henderson Motorsports Super Late Model to back-to-back wins at Heartland Raceway Park. Billy started Thursday night by winning his heat race to earn the pole for the main event. At the drop of the green flag, Billy drove to the lead and never looked back. The victory came over John Anderson, Al Purkey, Jeremy Payne, and Jesse Stovall and was his sixth triumph of the season.
Billy made it two-for-two on Friday night at Heartland Raceway Park (Topeka, Kansas) by claiming his second career Lucas Oil MLRA feature win in as many nights.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Ray Cook Impressive Runner-Up in Dixie Shootout; Readies for Lucas Oil Finale at K-C. BRASSTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA (October 9)—Ray Cook and the D&R Motorsports car blasted from mid-pack in his heat race to take the prelim win, which allowed him to start third in the 50-lap feature event. In front of a large crowd and the cameras of the SPEED Channel, the Brasstown, North Carolina native stayed up front and battled for the lead before settling for a strong runner-up performance behind winner Scott Bloomquist.
Formula 3 Italia
American Michael Lewis Wins at Monza, Earns Ferrari F1 test drive. MONZA, ITALY (October 15, 2011)—Michael Lewis took his third Formula 3 Italia win today, clinching the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Rookie Championship. Starting from pole position, the American phenom made a terrific launch when the lights went out and quickly built a two-car lead. Michael stayed focused and built an eight-second lead at the halfway mark, going on to win by 10 seconds over second-place finisher Sergio Campana on the way to setting the fastest lap as well.
Michael remains in second position in the Formula 3 Italia overall points standings, 12 points behind leader Sergio Campana. As a result of earning the F-3 Italia Rookie Championship, Michael has earned a test to drive a Ferrari F-150 Italia Formula 1 car in early November.
Monster Energy Cup Motocross
Brilliant debut performance for Dungey in his debut competition for KTM. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 16)—KTM's Ryan Dungey may have been a last-minute entry for the Monster Energy Cup, but grabbing second overall in his first-ever KTM-mounted competition thrilled his manager Roger "The Man" DeCoster and all of KTM's vast following. After barely two weeks on his new KTM 450 SX-F, Dungey geared up for this inaugural Monster Energy Cup primarily to test how he stacked up against the competition. His success is a huge boost for the KTM US factory team as they start a major push into the 2012 U.S. supercross season.
Dungey: "I'm happy with my overall result today. Of course, you always want to win, but to come out here after only two weeks on the bike and get on the podium is very exciting. We have made great progress with the bike this weekend and we know how we need to move forward with our testing from here."
Eldora Speedway Late Model Series
Jeep VanWormer closes out the 2011 Eldora Speedway and season in grand style. ROSSBURG, OHIO (October 8)— VanWormer's season-ending win followed one of the most hotly contested Late Model events witnessed by the fans in many years. While the score sheets may reflect that VanWormer led all 40 laps around the high-banked one-half mile clay oval, that gives the race no justice. Not one of the 40 laps was easy, as the Pinconning, MI native had his hands full for the entire distance. The waning laps was a classic three-way battle between VanWormer, Heckenast and Feger that included dicing between lapped traffic right to the checkered.
USAC Midwest Ford Focus Pavement Series
Dominant Night Caps Winning Season for Ross Rankine. BROWNSBURG, INDIANA (September 19) — Ross Rankine added an exclamation point to his 2011 USAC Midwest Ford Focus Pavement Championship season by winning the series' last pavement race at Columbus Motor Speedway, also setting fast time in practice and qualifying. The youngster charged through the field to take the win in his National Pride Equipment Nine Racing Ford Focus Midget.
Ross started the main event in 7th position, but drove "an absolutely outstanding race," according to Nine Racing Crew Chief Glenn Martin. "He stepped up." Ross made the pass for the lead on lap 20, closing the door as he disappeared to bring home the checkered flag. "This is definitely the way that I wanted to conclude my first season in the USAC Ford Focus midgets," said Ross. "I want to thank my sponsor, National Pride Equipment, and the entire Nine Racing team who gave me all that I needed to win the series' pavement championship."
Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets
McQueen Racing Makes History With Two Female Heat Race Winners. BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA (October 29)—Shannon McQueen and 16-year-old Oklahoman Harli White showed immense poise and patience, finishing third and fourth in the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Cup at the 1/3-mile Chowchilla Speedway.
Fighting an incident-marred feature, McQueen and White were shuffled throughout the field throughout the opening laps, with an array of yellow flags for multiple spins and one flip on the dry, slick track. Both remained serene, swift and patient, however, with McQueen taking third on lap 10 and White moving into fifth on Lap 11. With McQueen showing veteran poise and White avoiding incidents and running as smooth as many veterans, the McQueen Racing duo piloted their ways to third and fourth place in the curfew-shortened 15-lap feature.
