Monthly Archives: November 2020

Overtime NASCAR restart robs Brett Moffitt of second Truck Series championship

Note: In addition to being a Gander Series Champion, Brett Moffitt is also competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a car owned by Cape Cod’s Chris Our a building contractor from Harwich, MA

Source: Courtesy of Catchfence

TRUCK SERIES

By Chris Knight|

AVONDALE, Ariz: Thinking out loud, it probably seemed like the right call for Brett Moffitt to stay out when the caution flag waved with three laps remaining in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150.

A dominant truck for most of the night at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway seemed to all but ensure Moffitt a second NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship, but a chaotic green-white-checkered restart saw the strong night for Moffitt go dark within a blink of an eye.

Battling with fellow Championship 4 contender Grant Enfinger on the restart, the two veterans stayed out on older tires with a hungry pack of wolves behind them on varying strategies.

Immediately from the green flag, Moffit and Enfinger were under attack from Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Christian Eckes, while the other Championship 4 contenders of Zane Smith and Sheldon Creed had fresh tires and used the grip to their advantage and made their moves entering Turns 1 and 2.

Knocked sideways on the track, Moffitt plummeted through the running order over the final two miles of the season and went from first to 10th in less than 60 seconds.

Visibly frustrated by the outcome of the race, Moffitt stressed that he had one of his best trucks of the season but wasn’t able to execute when it mattered most.

Brett Moffitt (Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images)

Brett Moffitt (Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images)“I don’t have much good to say,” said Moffitt after the race. “We finally hit the setup right and we can’t call a race to save our lives.” It cost us multiple times this year and now it cost us the championship. Thankful to all my partners and this team for working hard. Unfortunate, it’s frustrating to lose like that.

Overall, Moffitt finished third in the championship standings with just one win at Kansas Speedway, 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The win at Kansas in October propelled Moffitt to the Championship 4.

It’s been a year of trials and tribulations for Moffitt.

During Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway race weekend after the race was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, Moffit broke both his legs in a non-racing accident.

Luckily, the pandemic break was enough time for him to heal, but the 2018 Truck Series champion struggled to find his mojo and the strength of his 2019 season didn’t appear until late in the year.

Despite an average finish of 9.7, Moffitt chalked up his third fulltime Truck Series season as a frustrating one.

“I guess if broken legs isn’t enough of a handicap, race strategy is I guess,” vented Moffitt. “It’s frustrating, been a frustrating year on and off the race track and to be honest, I’m glad it’s over.

Moffitt’s plans for 2021 are unknown and despite the defeat, the Grimes, iowa native still gave thanks to team owner Maury Gallagher and GMS Racing for the opportunity.

“I don’t even know what I’m doing next year, so that’s that,” Moffitt said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity with GMS (Racing), but definitely not the year we wanted.”

Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.

Chris Knight

Chris Knight (@Knighter01) has served as a senior staff writer, news editor and director of driver communications for CATCHFENCE.com since 2001.

In his 19 years with CATCHFENCE.com, Knight has covered NASCAR’s top-three series often breaking news, exclusive at-track content, while also providing in-depth race weekend coverage. He also offers insider coverage of the ARCA Menards Series, including the newly rebranded ARCA Menards Series East and West.

In addition to his active duties at CATCHFENCE.com and other Motorsports endeavors, he is also a frequent contributor to SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90

Islip 300 Pole Awards at Riverhead Raceway

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  • POLE AWARDS ANNOUNCED FOR ISLIP 300 TOUR TYPE MODIFIED, CRATE MODIFIED AND INEX LEGEND RACE CAR EVENTS AT RIVERHEAD RACEWAY SATURDAY

Riverhead, NY Nov. 7th
By Bob Finan

Riverhead Raceway officials announced today pole awards for all three classes that will make up the Islip 300 by East West Marine Supply this Saturday. The Tour Type Modifieds, Eagle Auto Mall Crate Modifieds and INEX Legend Race Cars will all determine a portion or all of their starting grid via time trails with qualifying to start the big day of racing at 1:00 pm.

Nick Rutigliano of Brigandi Brothers Automotive of Nesconset as they have so many time prior have stepped up to post a $300 Islip 300 by East West Marine Supply pole award to the quickest driver in qualifying. Brigandi Brothers Automotive aside from their Smithtown Blvd. state of the art auto repair facility in Nesconset additionally serves as the race car recovery and safety vehicle provider for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series at Riverhead Raceway. “Just can’t thank Nick and the crew at Brigandi Brothers enough not just for sponsoring the Pole Award for the 300 but what they do week in and week out here at the track” Riverhead GM John Ellwood commented.
Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead set the new NASCAR Modified standard just prior to The Bubba 150 at 11.272 on September 19th, 2020 and with cooler temps in the offering for Saturday prior to the 300 could that record be in jeopardy?  Rogers after starting last in accepting the “Tiger” Tom Baldwin Challenge Award in the 150 went out and scored a thrilling victory worth $5,910 for he and car owners Denise & Ken Darch.

Riverhead Raceway also disclosed the fastest qualifier in both the Crate Modifieds and INEX Legend Race Cars qualifying sessions will earn $150 each from Jessica Lynne McDermott @jlynnemortgages “The Racers Mortgage Broker”. While offering the Pole Award sponsorship Jessica explained her motivation for doing so, “I will be forever grateful to the racers at Riverhead Raceway, they got my business off the ground”

Crate Modified teams will be aiming to break the current track record held by former multi-time champion Dave Brigati of Calverton at 12.211 that he set back on May 18th, 2019. Earlier this summer on August 15th George Tomko Jr. of Aquebogue set a new track record for the INEX Legend Race Cars when he went a 13.041 prior to the US Legend Cars National Qualifier. Tomko would finish 4th in that 50-lapper won by Daniel Carter of Cortland, NY.

The excitement is building for another short track Tour Type Modified classic at Riverhead Raceway this Saturday with the 4th annual Islip 300 by East West Marine Supply. Pit gates will open at 8:00 am with qualifying at 1:00 pm. The complete race day agenda can be viewed at www.riverheadraceway.com and click on the Islip 300 banner. If you can’t be at the track and all are welcome you can watch every lap of qualifying and feature racing on RiverheadRaceway.Tv, we go live at 12:45 pm. That link can also be found on the track web site.
In the event of rain the program will be run the next day Sunday November 15th with the same schedule of events in place.

Duane Provost Wins NAPA Auto Parts Late Model Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Speedway

Source: Scott Running/Stafford Speedway PR

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(Stafford Springs, CT)—After racing for 10 years in Stafford Speedway’s Limited Late Model division where he accumulated 2 track championships and 18 feature wins, Duane Provost made the step up to the Late Model division for the 2020 season.  Provost drove his #88 Facchini Law Firm Chevrolet to 2 top-5 and 3 top-10 finishes this season in 12 starts to claim NAPA Auto Parts Rookie of the Year honors.

“It feels really good to be rookie of the year,” said Provost.  “My first goal this season was to win rookie of the year and my second goal was to finish in the top-10 in the points.  I wasn’t able to make the top-10 but it does feel pretty good to check off the rookie of the year box.  I have to thank my sponsors Michael Facchini of Facchini Law Firm and Team Link in Ludlow, thanks to my brother Derek for helping me out, Brian Routhier, Tyler Wood, R.J. Surdell, the RRC Crew, R.A.D. Auto Machine, and Buzzy.”

Provost’s rookie season got off to a slow start with a best finish of 12th over his first 4 races.  But the 5th race of the season marked the high point of the season for Provost as he scored his first podium finish with a 3rd place effort after holding the lead for the first half of the race.  Provost spent the rest of his 2020 season tinkering with his #88 car to try to replicate his podium performance but the best he could manage for the remainder of the season was a 5th place drive on August 28.

“I took as many notes that race as I could and I tried to get the car back to where it was that night,” said Provost.  “I got the car close a few times but it didn’t quite work out for me.  I definitely felt like I could get back on the podium this season.  We finished 6th in the 50-lapper and we finished 5th the race before that so I knew I wasn’t that far off.  I was trying to chase that 3rd place finish for the rest of the year but I couldn’t quite get there.  I thought I should have gotten back up there on the podium but overall it wasn’t a bad performance this season.”

Provost faced several challenges this season in making the move from the Limited Late Model division up to the Late Model division, including the increase of laps and getting used to having a spotter. 

“The first couple of races this season was an adjustment going 30 laps instead of 20 but I think by about the 3rd or 4th race I kind of knew what I needed for 30 laps,” said Provost.  “I think the majority of the races we finished higher than where we started so for the most part it was a forward moving year.  Inside the car it was all about getting used to having a spotter.  Once I had a few races together with my buddy Tyler, who was spotting for the first time this season, I think having that extra set of eyes really helped me out.”

Provost’s rookie campaign also served as a season of learning as he went through trials and tribulations in making adjustments to his #88 car in order to be among the fastest cars on the track.

“I took a lot of notes and learned a lot of things that are completely different between the Limited and Late Model cars as far as handling and setup and all the things we can change or adjust,” said Provost.  “I found out quite a few times what not to do to the car.  I remember at the first race I was trying to make wholesale changes to the car and these cars are real sensitive.  When you put anything more than 1 round of wedge into the car during a race it completely changes the car and that first race I went with 2 or 3 rounds and the car completely went away so I learned no more making big changes like that.  We had a lot of fun this season.”

With a season’s worth of experience and notes to work off of for the 2021 season, Provost is looking forward to getting back out on track after a crash on Sept. 25 brought a premature end to his 2020 season.

“The last race I ran my practice times were in the top-5 and I was looking forward to that race but my night ended pretty abruptly,” said Provost.  “I had some miscellaneous things happen during the year like a shock came off one night, so I’ll be working on some things to make the car a little more consistent for next season.”

For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.

Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com

Paddon: Rallying risks being “left behind” by not embracing green technology

Source: Auto Sport

  • By Jason Craig
  • Published on Wednesday November 4th 2020

Former Hyundai WRC driver Hayden Paddon has warned rallying runs the risk of being “left behind” the longer it takes to embrace less polluting renewable energies.

Paddon made the comments at the official unveiling of his new electric car at Hyundai Motors in New Zealand, a project that has taken only eighteen months and just over 10,000-man hours to complete.

Work was due to be completed by April only for the deadline to be pushed back due to the coronavirus health pandemic.

Based on the Hyundai Kona crossover road car, 80 per cent of the competition version was penned in-house at Paddon Rallysport, with the Rally Argentina winner having a say in the chassis and suspension design as well as the car’s steering set-up, aerodynamic and cooling properties.

Austrian company Stohl Advanced Research and Development came on board to provide guidance as a technical partner.

Although the car tips the scales at 1400Kg, positive ride and handling have been promised because it runs a specially constructed MacPherson strut system that incorporates five-way adjustable dampers.

“The car is faster on paper than an ICE (international combustion engine) rally car, it has better weight distribution and it’s more reliable as there are fewer moving parts,” said Paddon who claims to have made a futuristic but practical design a priority for the Kona EV rally car.

“The potential with the technology, electronics and design of the new car is endless – it is simply a new era of rallying that has new limits,” he added.

“The sport of rallying needs to evolve and quickly before it gets left behind. And EVs are the solution.”

The team’s efforts will now turn to learning more about the Kona EV Rally car on the stages, with the testing phase expected to last eight months.

“The EV package is capable of over 800kW but we have focused on building this car to have comparable power to a current ICE rally car and aim for it to be winning rallies against normal ICE cars from 2022,” he said.

“A lot of work needs to happen between now and then, and we’re confident that EV technology is going to work in a normal rally environment.”

Last month the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council agreed on the the hybrid element for the next generation of World Rally Car, with the technical regulations for ‘Rally1’ introducing a 100kW plug-in hybrid system.

As well as giving crews a power boost on special stages, the technology can also be used on road sections in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions.

Another F1 Team Reports COVID-19 Cases; Formula 1 Should Just Shut it Down for 2020

Courtesy of Auto Week

Give Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton the big F1 prizes and send everyone else home until March.

BY MIKE PRYSON NOV 6, 2020f1 grand prix of emilia romagnaDAN ISTITENE – FORMULA 1GETTY IMAGES

  • Williams F1 team is reporting a number of COVID-19 positive cases this week.
  • The Formula 1 season has four races remaining on the 2020 schedule.
  • The Constructors’ Championship was won last week by Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton has a insurmountable lead in the Drivers Championship.

Kind of lost in the sea of United States election news, NASCAR championship week and the celebration in Formula 1 of a seventh consecutive Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes, was the report of more COVID-19 positives in F1.

This time, it was the Williams F1 team. Williams on Wednesday reported “a number of positive COVID-19 cases” from the past two races in Portugal and Italy.

Maybe it’s a good time to to just shut the whole thing down, four races short of the finish line, for 2020 and try again in March. Clearly, this pandemic and the health of the teams’ personnel is more important than the battle for third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Plus, F1 has already announced that races at Istanbul on Nov. 15 and the season-ending race at Abu Dhabi (Dec. 13) will be locking out fans. The other two races, both in Bahrain (Nov. 29, Dec. 6), are hoping for limited attendance. It’s not like F1 will be turning people away at the gate like what happened in Melbourne in March, when it was decided mid-weekend to send everyone home.

Williams posted the news on its website.

“Williams can confirm that we have had a number of positive COVID-19 cases during the course of the Portuguese and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix, and whilst we will not be detailing any individual’s private information, we can confirm that all cases have been managed in line with the FIA COVID-19 guidelines, working with the FIA and with the ongoing safety of our people a priority. In order to ensure we follow these guidelines; several members of our trackside team are also isolating as a result of being identified as close contacts of these positive cases.

“As per our internal COVID-19 protocols, a number of factory-based team members will therefore fulfill these roles for the upcoming Turkish Grand Prix weekend. We ask for understanding that we will not be adding any additional information on this subject, but we would like to extend our thanks to all our traveling and factory based team members and their families, for their continued work and support during what is an extremely challenging time.”

OK, so it’s Williams, a rather insignificant backmarker this year (and last year, to be truthful). Big deal, right? It’s not like they’re winning races (2012 was the team’s last win, for those scoring at home) or in the hunt for much of anything.

Formula 1 has been hit harder than most racing series by the pandemic.

Well, just one positive test from a McLaren crew member in March—back when we actually went to the local grocery story without a mask—was enough to shut down an entire sport for the safety of the participants and fans. Now, it seems, the racing world has become numb to yet another report of a positive test.

Formula 1 has been hit harder than most racing series by the pandemic. That’s probably to be expected from a series that travels through several countries which all have different infection rates and different protocols for handing the virus.This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Racing Point has had both of its drivers—Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll—miss races. McLaren and Mercedes have both reported positive tests among crew members. There are probably others that have flown under the radar.

We can now add Williams F1 to the list of teams scrambling to fill spots in the lineup because of COVID-19.

Now is as good a time as any to just shut it down. European countries are in different, in many cases elevated, stages of lockdown. Teams are already having to get creative and apply for waivers from governments so that they can go about their business and travel about and return home.

Sure, F1 will lose some valuable TV money by skipping out on the next four races.

Losses of team personnel would be a lot worse.

MARK’S NORTHEAST MOTORSPORTS EXPO SET FOR MID-MARCH 2021 AT THE BIG E IN W. SPRINGFIELD, MA


Custom and classic cars, hot rods, oval track race cars, drag racing cars and many things automotive are always part of the Annual Mark’s Northdeast Motor Exponat the Big E in W. Springfield, MA. (Credit: Swap n Sell Show photo.)

Date: Mar 12 – Mar 14, 2021Location(s): Better Living CenterCategory(s):Car Show

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Mark’s Northeast Motorsports Expo

March 13: 4pm – 8pm
March 14: 10am – 8pm
March 15: 10am – 5pm

Mark’s Northeast Motorsports Expo will feature classic cars, custom cars and trucks, rat rods, imports & tuners, motorcycles, exotics, race cars, off-road vehicles, special interest vehicles, trucks, new car displays and much more. Bring the family for plenty of activities to enjoy, from race track displays and a Pit Crew Challenge to activities for kids, food concessions and motorsports vendors. Presented by Mark’s Auto Recycling Industries and Trantolo and Trantolo.
Admission:
Adults: $15
Children under 7 years old: free
Friday Veterans free w/ID
Purchase Tickets

Parking: $5 (collected by ESE Fairgrounds)

www.marksnemotorsportsexpo.com

All information subject to change.

Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail..com

Hirschman Claims Pole Hunting for Another Shootout Win

Courtesy of Speed51.com


06 NOV

Hirschman Claims Pole Hunting for Another Shootout Win

Matt Hirschman is a six-time winner in the North-South Shootout, with two of those wins coming at Caraway Speedway in 2011 and 2013.  While the event hasn’t been at the Sophia, North Carolina facility since 2014, Hirschman already looks poised to continue those winning ways.

WATCH THE NORTH-SOUTH SHOOTOUT ON SPEED51.TV

Hirschman set fast time in qualifying Friday at Caraway, clocking in at 15.747 seconds around the 0.455-mile oval.  While “Big Money” hasn’t competed often at Caraway since those North-South Shootouts of years past, he is confident entering the event’s return to the track.

“I feel pretty good,” Hirschman told Speed51.  “I haven’t raced here much recently, but it seemed the same characteristics of the track are here that were there when the Shootout was here from 2011 to 2014.

“It’s a long race.  There’s strategy involved in when you take your tires and how you approach that.  No one car here is going to dominate and lead the whole race.  It will be interesting.  Hopefully we make the right decisions and give ourselves an opportunity to win.”

Hirschman’s prior North-South Shootout wins at Caraway were like badges of honor for the Pennsylvania driver, beating Southern Modified stars on their own turf.  However, he acknowledges that his trips over the years give him a leg up on the competition now.

“Back then, it was a big deal when we won because those guys raced here so much.  It seemed like the Whelen Southern Tour raced here five or six times a year.  Recently, they don’t race here quite as much, but there are guys who have a lot of laps around here.  Still, you add up all those races, and I’ve got 800 or 1,000 laps around this place.”

New York’s Craig Lutz will join Hirschman on the front row for tomorrow’s 150-lap Tour-type Modified feature, with a trio of North Carolinians completing the top five in Brian Loftin, Jason Myers and Burt Myers.

The Super Late Models also qualified for their 150-lap feature on Friday night.  Brandon Setzer was quickest in that division, with a lap of 16.492 seconds.

For Setzer, the speed is the result of a return to basics for his team.

“I was really happy with the car in practice,” said Setzer.  “We worked a little bit in the shop, went over all the basics and squared everything back up like we thought it should be, and it’s made a pretty big difference.  It seems like the car is back to how it was when it was pretty good.  Hopefully, it can continue that in the race and we’ve got a pretty good piece.”

With a limited availability of Super Late Model races in the Carolinas during the 2020 season, Setzer is making his first start in several months.  He is excited to be back behind the wheel of a race car.

“It’s been since the spring, it’s been six or seven months since I’ve driven anything.  I got to shake down at Hickory earlier in the week.  It’s been a blast to get back in this thing.  These Supers are so fun to drive, so I’m looking forward to doing battle for 150 laps tomorrow.”

Carson Kvapil qualified second for the Super Late Model portion of the North-South Shootout, with Justin Crider, T.J. Duke and Kyle DeSouza completing the top five.

Racing will begin for the 2020 North-South Shootout at 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Caraway Speedway. Fans unable to attend the event will be able to watch live on Speed51.TV.

-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51 Content Supervisor – Twitter: @ztevans

-Photo credit: Speed51 Photo

North-South Shootout Qualifying Results

Tour-type Modifieds

  1. Matt Hirschman
  2. Craig Lutz
  3. Brian Loftin
  4. Jason Myers
  5. Burt Myers
  6. Ronnie Williams
  7. Ron Silk
  8. John Smith
  9. Patrick Emerling
  10. Tommy Catalano
  11. Max McLaughlin
  12. Jeff Fultz
  13. James Civali
  14. Bobby Measmer, Jr.
  15. Austin Kochenash
  16. Anthony Nocella
  17. Chris Finocchario
  18. Johnny Kiezman
  19. Daniel Yates
  20. Jim Gavek
  21. Carlos Gray
  22. Calvin Carroll

Super Late Models

  1. Brandon Setzer
  2. Carson Kvapil
  3. Justin Crider
  4. T.J. Duke
  5. Kyle DeSouza
  6. Jacob Perry
  7. Tyler Church
  8. Michael Ritch
  9. Tony Black

Sheldon Creed wins 2020 Gander Trucks championship; Brett Moffitt ended up 10th in that race. Brett also placed third in the Championship standings. The former NASCAR Gander Series Champion also races in the Xfinity Series in Cape Cod’s Chris Our entry

Sheldon Creed | Drivers Edge Development

By Staff Report NASCAR.com November 6, 2020

Sheldon Creed, a breakout star in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, completed his run to the top by winning the 2020 championship Friday at Phoenix Raceway.

Creed finished ahead of fellow Championship 4 contenders Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith at the 1-mile track to claim the crown in his second full-time season driving for GMS Racing.

Creed was running third before a caution came out with three laps remaining. The No. 2 team elected to pit for four fresh tires, which allowed Creed to quickly move up through the field after restarting ninth and take the lead from Chandler Smith on the second-to-last lap.

“My teammate (Moffitt) was going to win the championship and I was going to run third,” Creed said. “I pride myself on my restarts week in and week out and just nailed the restart there. Driving this thing as hard as I can. I want this so bad.

“I don’t know how I did it, I just drove as hard as I could,” he added. “My whole family … we have like 20 camp spots out here. I’m going to drink some cold beer tonight.”

Moffitt, who was the leader on the overtime restart, got pressure from third-place driver Ben Rhodes as the trucks went three-wide through the dogleg and into Turn 1. While Creed used the apron of the race track to move to the front, Moffitt slide back to a 10th-place result for third in the playoff standings.

Smith finished second to earn the same result in the final playoff standings, while Enfinger finished 13th to place fourth out of the Championship 4 contenders.

Creed, 23 from Alpine, California, has raced in 53 career Gander Trucks events. He recorded his first win earlier this season at Kentucky Speedway. He also had wins at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Texas Motor Speedway in the Round of 8 to advance to the Championship 4.

Creed improved in every major statistical category in 2020 when compared to his first full-time season in 2019. That first year included 11 top-10 finishes and four top-five results in 23 races, and he ended the season ranked 10th in the standings. This year, he entered the Phoenix finale with four wins, eight top-five finishes and 12 top-10 results.

Creed started out the 2020 season with a ninth-place finish at the Daytona oval and then posted two more top 10s at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. After falling out of the top 10 in his next two races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, Creed got back up to third at Pocono Raceway before delivering his first series win at Kentucky.

That win came in a rain-shortened event when Creed made a bold three-wide move to grab the lead from ThorSport Racing’s Rhodes and teammate Zane Smith before the race was halted for weather. At the time, Creed said, “Really wish I could have gotten to the finish line and finished that out right, but I’ll take this win.”

That bold style Creed used to get his first win could be traced back to his dirt background.

“That guy can go out there and wheel the thing slap sideways all day and he don’t care,” Creed’s teammate at GMS Racing, Tyler Ankrum, said.

Learning to master the line between taking risks and keeping control has been something Creed said has been the key to his success this season. Creed used those learnings to come on strong at the end of the year with the No. 2 Chevrolet team. In addition to the win at Texas, he also had second-place finishes at Las Vegas and Kansas Speedway during the playoffs.

Creed is signed on again to drive for GMS Racing next year, along with Ankrum, so he will get the chance to defend his title.

Creed also has a title in the ARCA Menards Series he won in 2018 while with MDM Motorsports. Before that, Creed cut his racing teeth in BMX racing and off-road truck racing, where he was a champion in 2015. He also has an X-Games gold medal to his credit.

It was particularly heart-wrenching for Creed‘s teammate Moffitt, who led a race best 78 of the 156 laps and had held the front position for 59 laps when that final caution came out for Dawson Cram‘s spinning No. 41 Chevrolet. The 2018 series champion, Moffitt, was essentially left helpless on the restart as all the trucks with fresh tires — plus a pair of title contenders — came at him in a five-wide title-on-the-line run for the checkered.

“It‘s frustrating losing like that,” Moffitt said. “It would have been an honor to win with this paint scheme in honor of [NASCAR Cup Series champion] Jimmie Johnson,” said Moffitt, adding, “I guess if broken legs isn‘t enough of a handicap, race strategy is.”

Moffitt, driver of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet, was referring to an accident he had prior to the COVID-19 NASCAR pause in competition, that broke both his legs. He recovered and valiantly made a run for the title despite the physical setback.

PR1/MATHIASEN WINS LMP2 TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP AND PATRICK KELLY WINS THE LMP2 DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP

 
Monterey, California. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports won the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title in the LMP2 category at the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and Patrick Kelly clinched the LMP2 Driver Championship.The No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 was the only LMP2 entry racing at Laguna Seca, with drivers Simon Trummer and Patrick Kelly. Although there was no competition during the event, the team took the opportunity to test in preparation for the Season finale. The goal is to get the driver endurance championship for Simon Trummer, which he currently leads. The next event in the schedule for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, November 11 – 14. 

Bobby Oergel – Team Principal
“As a team we are so happy to be able and have the driver for Pat, the team endurance and season long championships all decided going into the last race of the year, especially with it being as tough of a race as Sebring 12hr. Now we have our sights set to get the driver endurance championship for Simon which he currently leads. I personally can’t thank the whole crew and all our drivers in our program this year enough, in the current climate and conditions of how we are all having to live these days it’s amazing to have these accomplishments together like this.” 

Ray Mathiasen – Team Principal
“What a great weekend for the first event we were able to attend since the Daytona race. With the unfortunate lack of competition in LMP2 it did give us the opportunity to get some valuable testing time for the future. Also, our P1 finish did allow us to wrap up both the team and driver championships for 2020 at our ‘home track’. We’re so proud of what Bobby and team were able to accomplish this year while persevering through a very difficult season. Congratulations to Pat Kelly for his awesome performance in winning the driver championship and to Simon Trummer who just missed out by one race. Also a big thank you to the other drivers who helped us win the championship: Scott, Spencer Gabi and Nick.” 

Patrick Kelly – Driver of the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2
“Winning the Championship is a lifelong highlight for me. Winning was much more than a team effort – it was a group of friends doing their best at what they love most. That part is really the best. I kind of think of the Championship as a bit of a cherry on top of that!” 

Simon Trummer – Driver of the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2
“It was a great weekend. We were alone, but we showed great pace and did important work prior to Sebring. Congrats Pat and team on the titles, now we focus on Sebring.”  Follow us:    Contact

Source :Speed Group

PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Media
Speed Group
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