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Capps Scores First No. 1 Qualifier of NHRA Season at Gatornationals
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By NAPA
Tanner Reif came away with a 12th-place finish in the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Friday night, as he made his first start for Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) in the No. 16
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He battled a vibration and handling issues in the race, which marked the season opener for the ARCA Menards Series West. The event, with 32 entries, also served as a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series.
After starting 20th on the grid in Friday’s race, Reif steadily worked his way forward. He was up to 15th by Lap 11 and 13th on Lap 18. He was on the verge of breaking into the top 10 throughout the second half of the race, but could not gain additional ground and was 12th at the checkered flag.
Reif expressed confidence that the team will have a fast NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet at the next ARCA West race at Irwindale Speedway, where he scored one of his two series wins as a rookie last year and where BMR has collected 17 wins.
“The NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet ran hard and the crew worked as hard as they could, but we just had a couple of things we couldn’t work out on the car,” Reif said. “It had a vibration and was off pace. Just because we had some adversity tonight doesn’t mean it will continue. I think we can make up these points and win a couple of races this year.”
Start / Finish: 20 / 12
Next Race: Saturday, April 1, Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif.
How to Watch or Listen: Live on FloRacing and Tape-Delay CNBC (Sun., April 23, noon ET)
Tanner Reif:
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By NAPA
The first week of March took the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series back to where the 2023 season started: Barberville, Florida. While the annual Bike Week kicked off in nearby Daytona Beach, 23 competitors arrived at Volusia Speedway Park to compete in the Spring Showdown as well as to make up a rained out race from the Dirtcar Nationals three weeks prior.
Brad Sweet, driver of the No. 49
link hidden, please login to view sprint car, was eighth in the qualifying order and hit the charts at 13.930 seconds, placing him seventh overall. That put the Big Cat third to start in Heat Race 1. With a relatively wet track at the green flag of the first heat race, cars quickly spread out and made passing difficult. Sweet finished his heat race where he started in third place.
Placed seventh to start the feature, Sweet and the No. 49 team were looking to advance. At the start, Sweet was shuffled back to ninth when his line was slower on the start. The four-time and defending series champion made every attempts to move forward, but the track was still too fast, and cars were lapping the circuit in a single lane. Battling dirty air from cars ahead, the NAPA No. 49 crossed the checkers in ninth place.
The second portion of Sunday night’s event included the make-up Dash and A-main from the rained-out Saturday night of the Dirtcar Nationals three weeks prior. With a chance to improve the car for the current track conditions, Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 team saw a shot at redemption. Rolling off sixth in the six-lap Dash offered Sweet a six-lap opportunity to earn improve his starting spot in the A-main. From the drop of the green flag, Sweet’s NAPA machine came to life and launched him up to third place. Sweet looked to gain another spot but ran out of time.
With 30 laps to contest in the feature, Sweet was ready to use all 900 horsepower the No. 49 car could offer to make his move to the front. With an ideal setup, Sweet proved quick as the field took off. Running the preferred line, the NAPA driver made several charges to pass the leader. Sweet ultimately crossed the line in second, the podium finish offering redemption for the team’s unremarkable outcome earlier in the evening.
Monday marked the second night of the Spring Showdown and the final night of racing in Florida for the 2023 season. With 23 cars signed into competition, Sweet went out 17th in qualifying and laid down a lap time of 13.668 seconds, good for ninth quickest overall. Starting third in Heat Race 3, Sweet knew he needed to pick up at least one spot to advance to the Fast Pass Dash. When the green flag dropped on his heat race, Sweet launched into second and held the spot, locking him into the Dash.
“We are struggling a little bit, but the Dash gets you those extra laps to get your car a little better,” Sweet said during the Dash draw. “Hopefully we can have a good finish with our NAPA Auto Parts car down here at Volusia. We’ve had a lot of fun, and I’ve been down here quite a bit, so hopefully we can finish strong.”
After drawing the fifth spot to start the Dash, Sweet had six laps to improve his starting spot in the A-main. At the drop of the green, Sweet drove around the outside to claim fourth, holding the spot to the checkered flag.
Sweet focused on making strides toward the front when he rolled off from fourth in the 30-lap A-main. The NAPA driver quickly advanced to third following the drop of the green flag. After a mid-race caution, the No. 49 spun its tires on the restart and fell back to sixth, where the NAPA team ultimately finished.
Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts team will enjoy some days off before they make their way to Port Royal, Penn., for the next Outlaws event.
Start / Finish:
Sunday, Mar. 5, Spring Showdown: 7 / 9
Sunday, Mar. 5, Dirtcar Nationals make-up: 3 / 2
Monday, Mar. 6, Spring Showdown: 4 / 6
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 666 pts. (-56)
Next Race: Friday, March 10, Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, Penn.
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Brad Sweet and the
link hidden, please login to view No. 49 team kicked off a 93-race campaign last week with five consecutive days of racing at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fl. The DIRTcar Nationals hosted two nights of All Star Circuit of Champions racing before the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series officially began, with three additional nights of Outlaws racing to follow. Sweet, the four-time and reigning Outlaws champion, won the All Star feature Tuesday in pursuit of the DIRTcar Nationals’ “gator” trophy and embarked on his championship defense once the Outlaws season was underway.
On Tuesday, the NAPA No. 49 was slated to start fourth in Heat Race 3, and the Big Cat made moves to cross the checkers in second, punching his ticket to the Dash. In the Dash redraw, Sweet drew the third starting spot.
“It’s always a new challenge down here, a lot of competition every year,” Sweet said during the redraw. “I just want to get the NAPA Auto Parts car handling good and have a good, solid first night and have a solid week, so you can set your year up with some good momentum.”
With only a six-lap distance to advance through the Dash field, Sweet was able to pick off one position to finish second, placing him on the front row to start the A-main. Sweet was confident in the setup that Crew Chief Eric Prutzman had provided, and when he rolled off for the 25-lap feature, the Big Cat had his sights set on the golden gator. Off the start, Sweet was shuffled back to third, but it didn’t take the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 long to come to life. Sweet took off like a rocket. For the sixth time in his career, he picked up the Allstar win, crossing the line with a 2.5-second advantage.
Heading into Wednesday night’s program with heavy momentum for the prior night’s win, Sweet looked to continue his success. The No. 49 went out fourth for qualifying among 34 cars in attendance. Sweet clicked off a lap time of 13.749 seconds, slating him to start fifth in Heat Race 1. With a fast, one-lane track, the heat field quickly began to spread out. Sweet finished fifth, putting him toward the back to start the feature. With 25 laps to make his way through the field, the NAPA driver knew he had his work cut out for him. The Big Cat used all 900 horsepower the No. 49 could offer to make a charge. His setup was perfect, and Sweet was red hot; he advanced a total of 11 positions to finish in sixth.
Thursday brought the first official race of the 2023 World of Outlaws season. As Sweet kicked off his “Drive for Five” campaign to defend his title, he also looked to collect his 80th World of Outlaws win and his 10th gator trophy. Volusia had 36 cars in attendance with Sweet heading out 29th for qualifying. A lap time of 14.021 seconds placed him 24th overall and sixth to start Heat Race 4. Sweet attempted to make charges forward in his heat race but had enough dirty air to prevent him from gaining more than one spot. It was enough to allow the NAPA driver to transfer to the feature starting in 20th, but the same issue plagued him in the main event. In the back of the pack with dirty air, Sweet could gain only one position to finish 19th.
Friday night offered the NAPA No. 49 team a chance to hit the reset button. Qualifying 10th of 35 cars in attendance, Sweet clocked a 13.811-second lap for a third-position starting spot in Heat Race 2. Due to earlier rain, the track surface was still a bit greasy when his heat race went green. Competitor Gio Scelzi battled Sweet for third and, with the preferred line, took the position. The No. 49 crossed the checkers in fourth, placing Sweet 14th to start the A-main. When the green flag waved on the 25-lap feature, Sweet charged forward, gaining eight positions. The NAPA driver finished in the sixth spot as fog began to settle on Volusia Speedway Park.
Saturday was scheduled to mark the conclusion of the DIRTcar Nationals. As stormy weather quickly approached the speedway, the program moved swiftly to beat the rain storm. With 36 competitors in attendance, Sweet was slated to go out 25th for qualifying. He hit the charts at 13.845 seconds, placing him second overall and on the pole for Heat Race 2. The Big Cat needed to hold his line to make the Fast Pass Dash. On the drop of the green, the outside line had the advantage, causing Sweet to fall back to second. After stalking the leader throughout the heat race, Sweet finished in second, scoring himself a spot in the Dash. Sweet drew the sixth starting position for the Dash, but a large rain cell soon reached Volusia Speedway Park, canceling the remainder of the event for the night.
Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts team have a few weeks off before returning to Volusia on March 5th and 6th, when they will complete Saturday night’s weather-postponed World of Outlaws Dash and A-main along with the scheduled Spring Showdown at Volusia.
Start / Finish:
Tuesday, Feb. 7: 2 / 1
Wednesday, Feb. 8: 17 / 6
Thursday, Feb. 9: 20 / 19
Friday, Feb. 10: 14 / 6
Saturday, Feb. 11: postponed
Points Standing / Total: 10th / 250 pts. (-50)
Next Race: Sunday, March 5, Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL
How to Watch or Listen:
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