Author: Mike Haag

FORT WORTH – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Cole Custer missed the opportunity to celebrate his Tesoro (Calif.) High School graduation as a result of Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rattlesnake 400, but Texas Motor Speedway officials ensured the 18-year-old got to bask in the glory of his accomplishment. Custer took part in a special graduation ceremony during pre-race activities prior to driver introductions. Dressed in his Tesoro High cap and gown, Custer made his way across the frontstretch stage to the music of “Pomp & Circumstance” and received his Tesoro High diploma from the Dean of Motorsports…

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. – Ron Capps set a track record and raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car on Friday at the NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 10th event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Capps, a two time winner this season, powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to a Raceway Park elapsed time record with a 3.870-second pass at 318.62 mph in the first session…

FORT WORTH – Carlos Munoz was devastated when he didn’t win the historic 100th Indianapolis 500 two weeks ago. The Colombian was able to gain a little solace today by taking the Verizon P1 Award and will start from the pole position in Saturday’s Firestone 600. Driving the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda, Munoz earned the first pole of his four-year Verizon IndyCar Series career with a two-lap qualifying average of 217.137 mph on the 1.455-mile oval at Texas Motor Speedway. The 24-year-old’s best qualifying effort in 45 previous starts was in his very first race, second at the 2013…

FORT WORTH – Here is a random sampling of quotes from the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers after qualifying for the Firestone 600 on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “Disappointed that we didn’t qualify better today. For some reason our car was slow. We’ll just have to look at things tonight and see what we can do to have better results tomorrow.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet): “We’re very happy with the qualifying results. And not surprised at all. The AAA Insurance Chevrolet team is the best and…

FORT WORTH – A photographic look of Friday’s Verizon IndyCar Series practice at Texas Motor Speedway.  All photos provided courtesy of Michael C. Johnson.

FORT WORTH – The following is an event recap from Thursday’s media event with Verizon IndyCar Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya and Robosaurus. Montoya helped pilot the world’s largest transformer as the two wreaked havoc in downtown Dallas. Event Recap Verizon IndyCar Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya helped save downtown Dallas earlier today as he co-piloted Robosaurus to crushing a car instead of causing havoc near the iconic Reunion Tower. Montoya helped the 30-ton, 40-foot tall, fire-breathing T-Rex transformer stay on track by doing what it does best – crushing cars. Robosaurus used its 28,000-pounds per square inch of jaw…

FORT WORTH – Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage says that “Big Hoss,” the world’s largest TV and Guinness World Record holder that towers over the backstretch of Texas Motor Speedway, is about to get even bigger and better. Track officials have announced that they will expand the Panasonic-built “Big Hoss” with an additional 2,071 square feet on the lower portion of the behemoth to construct a ribbon-style, high-definition scoreboard for fans to follow the lap count, running order and more for its NASCAR and INDYCAR events. The scoreboard, which has 16 mm pixel resolution as a surface-mounted diode compared to…

Track: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.455-mile oval Race distance: 248 laps / 360.84 miles Entry List:  Firestone 600 (PDF) Firestone tire allotment: Eleven sets for use through the weekend Twitter: @TXMotorSpeedway @IndyCar, #Firestone600, #IndyCar Event website: www.TexasMotorSpeedway.com INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com   2015 race winner: Scott Dixon (No. 9 Energizer EcoAdvanced Chevrolet) 2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), 47.9410 seconds, 218.519 mph (two laps) Qualifying record (two laps): Will Power, 47.7960 seconds, 219.182 mph, June 7, 2013 NBCSN television broadcasts: Practice, noon ET Friday, June 10; Qualifying, 6 p.m. ET Friday, June 10 (tape…

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. — Jerry Savoie admitted to being a slow starter throughout the course of his Pro Stock Motorcycle career. That appears to have changed during the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and the result could spell more success at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the site of this weekend’s 47th annual NHRA Summernationals. Savoie enters as the defending event winner on his Savoie’s Alligator Farm Suzuki. His win at Raceway Park one year ago got his season going. Savoie had not yet won a round entering the race in 2015, but his start to 2016 has…

FORT WORTH – A Metroplex Olympic Gold Medalist and a heroic Fort Worth police officer highlight the honorary positions for this Saturday’s Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m., TV: NBCSN / Radio: 95.9 The Ranch (Local) / IMS Radio Network / Sirius Channel 212, XM Channel 209). Carly Patterson, who won the All-Around Gymnastics Olympic Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, will serve as the honorary starter for Saturday night’s Firestone 600 Verizon IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Patterson will have the honor of waving the green flag to start the…