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Thad Moffitt will have additional support to his growing race program. Today, the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver announced that Apple Spice will serve as an associate sponsor of his No. 46 Chevrolet in ARCA and NASCAR Late Model competition this season. Apple Spice will debut with Moffitt at the Daytona International Speedway in the ARCA Racing Series.

Robin Pemberton Joins Andretti Autosport for GT4 America Series Effort
31 Jan 2019 Written by Adam SinclairRobin Pemberton has joined Andretti Autosport to oversee the team’s newest racing initiative in the Pirelli GT4 America Series. With over 10 years served as NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition, and four decades of racing involvement, Pemberton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the pedigree team. “The new Andretti Autosport GT4 program is an incredible opportunity for the team and McLaren to come together,” said Pemberton. “I’m excited to be involved and we are all working together to get the program off the ground. After spending time with Jarett at sprint car races last season, I’m impressed by his determination. He is a good talent with a bright future. I look forward to working with him and the entire Andretti Autosport team in this new challenge.” “We’re really pleased to welcome Robin to the Andretti family to oversee our new GT4 effort,” said Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti. “A lot of effort goes into building a new program from ground up, and we think Robin’s experience and expertise will be a great asset as we get up to speed. We’re looking forward to a successful first year in the Pirelli GT4 America Series.” Pemberton’s motorsport career started in 1979 with Petty Enterprises, where he worked his way to the role of crew chief for both Richard and Kyle Petty. The New York state-native went on to crew chief with teams such as Roush Fenway Racing and Penske Racing. His record as a crew chief shows 28 victories and 39 pole positions. Before moving to NASCAR in 2004, Pemberton spent nearly two years as Field Manager for Ford Motorsport’s NASCAR programs, leading development of the Ford Taurus program. With pre-season testing in full swing, Andretti Autosport will make its GT4 America Series debut March 1-3 at Circuit of the Americas with Jarett Andretti behind the wheel of the new McLaren 570S GT4. |
Gordon and Brabham Victorious at SST Race of Champions Mexico as Brabham Clinches 2018 SST World Championship Title
31 Jan 2019 Written by Adam SinclairSPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks concluded the extended 2018 SST World Championship season this past weekend in conjunction with the Race of Champions event at Foto Sol in Mexico City, Mexico.
Race of Champions is an annual event featuring champion drivers from all over the world competing head to head on a unique technical track to test their skills in various unique race vehicles.
Operating in direct conjunction with the Race of Champions; 10 Stadium SUPER Truck drivers would have the opportunity to compete head to head for two knock out elimination races on the same exact Race of Champions track, but with the addition of two SST signature 36-inch tall aluminum ramps.
After the completion of an hour-long practice and qualifying session Friday evening, Orange, California driver; Robby Gordon would claim the number one seed for Saturday’s race as the quickest qualifier with his familiar bright orange SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires/ KMC Wheels entry.
Round one on Saturday would feature five elimination races immediately cutting the field in half.
The number one seed of Robby Gordon would line up his Toyo Tires against the tenth seed of Baja 100 Off-Road Champion Apdaly Lopez of Tecate, Mexico for three laps with the fastest time of the two competitors advancing. Lopez would immediately hit a cone inquiring a five second penalty to his overall time easily allowing Gordon to advance to the second round.
The second race would put Yucca Valley, California driver Blade Hildebrand alongside Alpine, California racer Jerett Brooks driving the vibrant blue United Fiber and Data machine. Hildebrand would complete the three laps the fastest eliminating Brooks early from the competition.
Jeff Hoffman of Phoenix, Arizona in the LIVE/Think Loud entry would line up against United Fiber and Data driver Casey Mears of Scottsdale, Arizona in the third race. However, Mears would hit a cone applying a five second penalty to his overall time handing the victory over to Hoffman.
The fourth match up to hit the track would feature the SST Championship Points Leader of Matt Brabham from Gold Coast, Australia against Scottsdale, Arizona native Cole Potts. Brabham would race smart and consistent avoiding any cones to easily beat Potts to advance to the next round.
Gavin Harlien in the United Fiber & Data truck would match up again the VP Racing Lubricants and Oil driver of Davey Hamilton Jr. Harlien would lay down one of the fastest laps of the day beating Hamilton Jr. to move on.
Round two of head to head knock out racing would see Gordon claim victory over Hoffman, Brabham defeat Hildebrand, and Harlien easily working his way past Potts the Round 1 lucky loser. All three drivers would move on to round three.
The third round would see Gordon defeat Harlien to move on to the finals against Brabham whom would easily claim victory over the fastest loser Potts in the second semi-final.
Race of Champion Saturday Finals would see Brabham go head to head with Robby Gordon for the victory. In the closest race of the day Gordon would inch past Brabham by mere seconds to capture the win.
Saturday Results
January 19, 2019
Round 1
Robby Gordon Def Apdaly Lopez
Blade Hildebrand Def Jerett Brooks
Jeff Hoffman Def Casey Mears
Matt Brabham Def Cole Potts
Gavin Harlien Def Davey Hamilton Jr.
Fast Loser: Cole Potts
Round 2
Robby Gordon Def Jeff Hoffman
Matt Brabham Def Blade Hildebrand
Gavin Harlien Def Cole Potts
Fast Loser: Cole Potts
Round 3
Robby Gordon Def Gavin Harlien
Matt Brabham Def Cole Potts
Final
Robby Gordon Def Matt Brabham
Final Results
- Robby Gordon
- Matt Brabham
- Cole Potts
- Gavin Harlien
- Jeff Hoffman
- Blade Hildebrand
- Jerett Brooks
- Casey Mears
- Davey Hamilton Jr.
- Apdaly Lopez
For the Sunday afternoon SST Race of Champions Final drivers were re-seeded based on their results from Saturday’s event.
Round one would feature five elimination races replicating the exact format that was done on Saturday.
The first race Sunday would feature the Devilbiss/BulletLiner driver of Matt Brabham lining up against Davey Hamilton Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana for three laps. In a very close race Brabham was able to defeat Hamilton to move on to the second round.
In a rematch of Saturday’s Round 1 Jeff Hoffman would line up against United Fiber & Data driver Casey Mears. Mears looking for revenge on Hoffman would keep a consistent pace and win the event, but would be penalized for hitting a cone handing the win back over to Hoffman.
Also in a rematch of Saturday’s Round 1 Blade Hildebrand in the Empire Destructive Racing truck would face fellow Southern California Off-Road racer Jerett Brooks. Hildebrand would complete the fastest laps eliminating Brooks from competition for the second day in a row.
Saturday’s Race of Champions SST winner Robby Gordon would match up against Cole Potts with a battle of the SPEED Energy back entries. Gordon would advance to the next round with the fastest time.
The fifth and final race of Round 1 would feature Gavin Harlien of Mesa, Arizona in the United Fiber & Data truck go against Tecate, Mexico Baja Champion Apdaly Lopez. Harlien would easily capture the victory over Lopez to move on to the second round.
Round two of elimination racing would see Hoffman claim victory over Hildebrand, Brabham nipping Harlien by the closest of margins to advance, and Gordon easily working his way past Potts the Round 1 lucky loser.
Round three would feature a rematch of Saturday’s Final round seeing Brabham defeat Gordon to move on to the finals to compete against Hoffman whom claimed victory over the fastest loser Potts in the second semi-final.
As Brabahm and Hoffman would go head to head inside the Foto Sol for three laps looking to drive as cautious and smooth as possible. Hoffman would go on to win the final round in dominating fashion, but a :05 penalty was issued by USAC’s Jason Smith after completion for hitting a marker cone handing the SST Race of Champions Sunday victory to Brabham.
After placing second in Saturday’s event, and claiming victory in Sunday’s finale Brabham would be crowned the overall Race of Champions winner.
Saturday’s race winner Robby Gordon, after being knocked out in the Semi Finals in a rematch of Saturday’s Final would place in second overall with Cole Potts claiming the third overall position.
With claiming victory in the overall weekend, and knocking runner-up Gavin Harlien out in Round two was enough for Brabham to secure the 2018 Stadium SUPER Trucks World Championship title.
“The weekend was a great event and I could not be happier to cap off the title by winning the final event of the season.” Explained an enthusiastic Brabham.
After dominating the season, finishing every event on the podium. It was a tremendous reward for Brabham to end the season on top after loosing the 2017 Championship by a single point to fellow Australian Paul Morris.
Brabham’s excellent season featured 13 podiums, including six wins and five fast qualifier awards.
Sunday Results
January 20, 2019
Round 1
Matt Brabham Def Davey Hamilton Jr.
Jeff Hoffman Def Casey Mears
Blade Hildebrand Def Jerett Brooks
Robby Gordon Def Cole Potts
Gavin Harlien Def Apdaly Lopez
Fast Loser: Cole Potts
Round 2
Jeff Hoffman Def Blade Hildebrand
Matt Brabham Def Gavin Harlien
Robby Gordon Def Cole Potts
Fast Loser: Cole Potts
Round 3
Matt Brabham Def Robby Gordon
Jeff Hoffman Def Cole Potts
Final
Matt Brabham Def Jeff Hoffman
Final Results
- Matt Brabham
- Jeff Hoffman
- Cole Potts
- Robby Gordon
- Gavin Harlien
- Blade Hildebrand
- Jerett Brooks
- Davey Hamilton Jr.
- Casey Mears
- Apdaly Lopez
Round No. Race Location Race Date Winner
1 Lake Elsinore, California January 27, 2018 Bill Hynes
Overall: Jeff Hoffman
2 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 2, 2018 Cole Potts
3 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 3, 2018 Robby Gordon
4 Adelaide, SA, Australia March 4, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
5 Long Beach, California April 14, 2018 Gavin Harlien
6 Long Beach, California April 15, 2018 Matt Brabham
Overall: Matt Brabham
7 Perth, WA, Australia May 5, 2018 Arie Luyenkdyk Jr.
8 Perth, WA, Australia May 6, 2018 Jeff Hoffman
Overall: Matt Brabham
9 Detroit, Michigan June 2, 2018 Gavin Harlien
10 Detroit, Michigan June 3, 2018 Arie Luyendyk Jr.
11 No Limits, Texas June 10, 2018 Gavin Harlien
Round 1: January 27, 2018; Lake Elsinore, California
Round 2: March 2, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 3: March 3, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 4: March 4, 2018; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Round 5: April 14, 2018; Long Beach, California
Round 6: April 15, 2018; Long Beach, California
Round 7: May 5, 2018; Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Round 8: May 6, 2018; Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Round 9: June 2, 2018; Detroit, Michigan
Round 10: June 3, 2018; Detroit, Michigan
Round 11: June 9, 2018; Fort Worth, Texas
Round 12: June 9, 2018; Fort Worth, Texas
Round 13: August 24, 2018; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Round 14: August 25, 2018; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Round 15: October 27, 2018; Sydney, NSW, Australia
Round 16: October 28, 2018; Sydney, NSW, Australia
Round 17: December 1, 2018; San Bernardino, California
Round 18: December 2, 2018; San Bernardino, California
As the race got underway, managing battery and tyre temperatures would prove to be key. On the opening lap, both Bird and Frijns made up ground and, by the halfway stage, Bird was lying second with his team-mate already up to seventh.
Bird, who has now competed in all 48 Formula E races for the team, said: “That was a great, but challenging race! No-one really knew going into this race how the battery and tyres would react in these extreme temperatures. The whole race we were going into the unknown. But to get the result we did is fantastic, and my thanks goes to everyone at Envision Virgin Racing for once again putting in the hours to give us this win. It’s been a steep learning curve for the team, with the limited testing we’ve had, so to find ourselves in a situation where we’re winning races – to go with pole positions and podiums from previous races – is an incredible achievement.”
Race results: Santiago E-Prix – Rd 3:
2. Pascal Wehrlein, Mahindra Racing, +6.489s
3. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, +14.529s (FL)
4. Eduardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E, +17.056s
5. Robin Frijns, Envision Virgin Racing, +20.276s
6. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +23.755s
7. Alexander Sims, BMW i Andretti Formula E, +27.590s
8. Oliver Turvey, NIO Formula E, +45.059s
9. Jose Maria Lopez, Geox Dragon, +45.376s
10. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Mahindra Racing, +46.984s
[Pole position = Sebastien Buemi]
1. Sam Bird, 43pts
2. Jerome D'Ambrosio, 41pts
3. Antonio Felix da Costa, 28pts
5. Robin Frijns, 28pts
2. Mahindra Racing, 59pts
3. DS Techeetah, 47pts
4. BMW i Andretti Formula E, 46pts
5. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 30pts
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There have been plenty of wild finishes in the 57 editions of the iconic Rolex 24 At Daytona. But arguably none have been wetter than Sunday’s rain-shortened conclusion of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, in which the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team, with its all-star driver lineup of Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande, Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso, weathered treacherous conditions to score its second victory in the last three events at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
One of those wild Rolex 24 finishes came just two years ago, when Taylor’s older brother and then co-driver Ricky Taylor won a furious battle in the closing minutes to earn the Taylor brothers their first career Rolex 24 victory alongside third and fourth drivers Max “The Ax” Angelelli and four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.
This year, the younger Taylor brother was joined by 2018 full-time co-driver van der Zande alongside former Formula One and current World Endurance Championship regular Kobayashi, and two-time Formula One world champion Alonso. And the fearsome foursome turned a highly anticipated Rolex 24 victory into reality with their driving consistency and ability to stay out of trouble through all hours of the day and night, in conditions that ranged from fast and dry to chilly and extremely wet.
Together, they led a race-high 249 of 593 laps around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile superspeedway road circuit from the sixth qualifying position earned Thursday by Taylor, who equaled the two career Rolex 24 victories earned by his three-time sportscar-racing-champion father and team owner Wayne Taylor, and helped his teammates each earn his first career Rolex 24 win. Alonso, in fact, became just the third Formula One world champion to win a Rolex 24, joining Phil Hill and Mario Andretti. The Spaniard also scored a first career victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June.
“I’m disappointed because, now, Jordan’s won as many Rolex 24s as I have, and I never wanted that day to happen (joking),” Wayne Taylor said. “But I can’t even put into words how great this win is for us. I want to thank Rick Taylor, Michael Mathe, everyone at Konica Minolta, Mark Reuss at GM, Steve Carlisle at Cadillac, all our commercial partners for believing in us and making all of this possible. Everything has to come together to win one of these, on and off the track. And to do it with this particular group of guys, it’s going to be a racing memory I will never forget.”
After struggling to crack the top-five all through practice and qualifying in lead-up to Saturday and Sunday’s twice-around-the-clock endurance marathon, it took little time for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R to find its way to the lead. Taylor’s ultra conservative opening stint yielded just one lap led during a round of green-flag pit stops. But once Alonso got behind the wheel for his first race stint just shy of the two-hour mark, the sleek, black racecar found itself in and out of the lead for the remainder of the event. Alonso promptly raced his way into the lead, and logged 44 laps led before turning the car over to van der Zande just past the four-hour, 30-minute mark.
The 32-year-old Dutchman, who most recently brought home a thrilling win for the team on the last turn of the last lap of last year’s season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, played it relatively conservatively during his opening stint and led 18 laps before handing the car back to Taylor in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The racecar remained strong through Taylor’s second stint, in which he led 45 laps before turning things over to Alonso just short of the 15th hour of the race.
But, shortly after Alonso took over, expected rain showers finally arrived, and varying degrees of precipitation would remain through the rest of the day. He led 49 laps in all during the mostly wet stint, which included an almost two-hour red-flag period for extreme wet conditions through the track at the 16-hour, 43-minute mark.
Alonso continued for a short time after the race resumed at the 18-hour, 31-minute mark, leading several more laps before handing the car back to Taylor just short of the 19-hour mark. Taylor’s final stint of the weekend netted 17 of 43 laps led through very wet conditions. It featured a powerful pass of the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R of Pipo Derani at the 19-hour, 20-minute mark, then a remarkable maneuver to avoid a spinning GT-class car ahead of him under heavy braking into turn one.
Then came the final stint for Alonso, who resumed in third place and carefully bided his time before positioning himself to take advantage when Derani’s teammate Felipe Nasr ventured off course in turn one and giving the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R the lead for good at the 21-hour, 54-minute mark.
The race was red-flagged three laps later as Alonso and most of the rest of the field reported near zero visibility under heavy rains just short of the 22-hour mark.
Officials waited for a chance to restart the race until the 23-hour, 49-minute mark before waving the checkered flag, and celebration ensued in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R camp.
“I think it was an interesting race with the conditions changing, very tough, but I think, like everyone else says, everyone did their job,” said Taylor, who scored his 21st career victory. “All four drivers led in their own right and drove to the lead, different parts of the race, and it was all about survival. You saw a lot of guys taking a lot of risk early in the race, but we waited with the game plan of running our own race and not getting caught up in anyone else’s battles. I think it was the right game plan. We stayed out of trouble, no car damage, no one went off the track. That’s the way you win these 24‑hour races, and we kind of came into the grid thinking almost every single car can win the race, and you see guys making little mistakes here and there, and this team has now done six out of seven years finishing on the podium without issues. I think it’s a huge testament to Wayne Taylor Racing.”
“I’m super happy,” said van der Zande, who scored his 12th career victory. “Fantastic. I think I said before the weekend, I think to the team, Wayne and Max (Angelelli, team owner), fantastic that they put such little pieces together. It’s a big puzzle and it comes together in this victory here right now. Thanks a lot to my teammates, the whole team, and I’m very happy to bring home a (Rolex) watch and a lot of victory feelings. What more to say?”
“I’m so happy to be here, and obviously I think. like the 24‑hour race, it’s never easy even when you have a good car or whatever because you have so many issues, problems,” Kobayashi said. “I think today we had really extremely difficult conditions. I think all the team guys, the drivers, did a great job. I think the team did a really, really good job, and obviously the car was really good.”
“I’m very, very proud of the job that we achieved today, but it was not a one‑day job, it was a one‑month job,” Alonso said. “For me, in December we started preparing for the race and receiving all the documents, how the Cadillac works and how Wayne Taylor Racing works, some procedures that maybe are different compared with other teams. We tried to have a quick integration, Kamui and myself, trying to learn as much as we could from the team in the Roar (Before the 24 test days) and then, on the race itself, it was very, very difficult. Conditions were changing all the time.”
Round two of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 16, at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, where newly announced third driver Matthieu Vaxiviere of France will join Taylor and van der Zande behind the wheel of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. Live television coverage begins on CNBC at 10:30 a.m. EST and concludes on NBCSN 3:30 to 11 p.m.
Indianapolis 500 veteran Conor Daly will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May piloting the No. 25 U.S. Air Force Honda with five-time Indy 500 champions Andretti Autosport. Daly completes a five-ship, All-American Indy 500 lineup, joining teammates Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Zach Veach.
“I couldn’t be prouder to represent the Air Force for a second consecutive year at the Indianapolis 500,” said Daly. “I would not be here without the effort from everyone at Andretti Autosport to make sure this program is structured for success. It means a lot to see the commitment that Air Force has shown in me, and the chance to have a shot at winning the biggest race in the world.”
Making his sixth Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt in 2019, Daly holds five previous starts at the famed 2.5-mile oval with a best starting position of 22nd. The second-generation racer holds wins in both Indy Lights and the Pro Mazda (now Indy Pro 2000) series and claimed the 2010 Pro Mazda championship. Daly holds 43 career IndyCar Series starts with 10 top-10 finishes.
“To be teamed with some of my best friends at undoubtedly one of the best teams on the grid is going to be a lot of fun! I’ve never had the chance to be on a team with multiple 500 winners so I am beyond excited to learn from them and ready to get to work,” Daly added.
Additionally, the Air Force will become a full-season associate partner of Andretti Autosport with branding across the four full-season entries of Rossi, Hunter-Reay, Andretti and Veach, solidifying the team-work effect. Capitalizing on teamwork is how the U.S. Air Force accomplishes its mission.
“This partnership closely correlates with how we fly, fight and win,” said Maj. Ross McKnight, Chief, Air Force National Events Branch at Air Force Recruiting Service. “We don’t send one aircraft to accomplish a mission, we build a strike package with multiple aircraft. The ability to sponsor Andretti Autosport’s five cars at the Indy 500 ties in greatly with how we accomplish our mission.”
“We’re really happy to welcome the Air Force to the Andretti family for the Indy 500 with Conor, and full season across all our cars,” said Michael Andretti, CEO, Andretti Autosport. “Having five American drivers represent the team at America’s biggest race is very special and we’re proud to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the brave men and women of the U.S. Air Force.”
“The Air Force is excited to partner with Andretti Autosport for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing and the IndyCar Series,” said Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, Air Force Recruiting Service Commander. “These types of events are amazing venues for engaging with future Airmen. Like Andretti Autosport, the Air Force is committed to leading edge technology, teamwork and excellence in all we do.”
The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race goes green Sunday, May 26, with live broadcast on NBC. Daly and the team’s qualifying effort can be viewed Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19 via NBC platforms.
For more information please visit AndrettiAutosport.com.