Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Team Battles Challenges in North Carolina

Tanner Foust and Scott Speed post quick lap times throughout the weekend, yet were unable to race in the final.

Herndon, VA — The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team heads home after an unlucky round of racing at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina. While Tanner Foust and Scott Speed posted some of the quickest lap times in practice, that was the limit of their success, as neither of the Beetle GRCs were able to finish respective sessions during the second round of heat races.

Tanner Foust, driver of the No. 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle GRC, was unable to finish his heat race after an on-track collision resulted in a broken left rear suspension, which ultimately brought his weekend to an end.

“What an incredible turnout at MCAS New River today. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to put on an exciting show for these men and women serving our country,” said Foust. “After we suffered a very strange mechanical failure on Friday, we went into the second round of heats and I think the No. 34 showed good potential to get out front. I started from the second row and had a good first corner, but was suddenly hit from the back left. The car was hit hard enough to completely eject the suspension and wheel. Once I brought the car back into the paddock we learned that the hit actually caused damage to the engine as well. It’s unfortunate as I know that the Beetle is really fast and somehow these issues keep coming, but the crew is hard at work so I know we’ll figure it out and get ourselves in a position for the championship.”

Scott Speed, driver of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, pulled off the track half way through his heat due to mechanical issues that forced him to retire early for the weekend.

“It seems that a dark cloud is surrounding our team right now and it will not go away. We started off the weekend fastest in practice and then we didn’t get a chance to qualify, forcing the SHARK WEEK Beetle GRC to start in the back. We ended up working our way to the front and walking away with a win in our first heat. All signs were pointing to a promising round, but we suffered an engine failure today which ended our weekend unexpectedly,” said Speed. “MCAS New River has been the greatest atmosphere of the season, and one of the best events I’ve been to. The Fourth of July celebration yesterday was amazing and it was incredible to see the amount of fans show up to support. I’m glad I could share this experience with family, since North Carolina is our home base. I owe MCAS New River a big thanks for everything they did this weekend.”

In three weeks, the team heads to Detroit for a doubleheader weekend, worth twice the points as a single round race. The event takes place on July 24 – 26. NBC will air the races on Saturday, July 25, at 2:00 p.m. EST and Sunday, July 26 at 4:30 p.m. EST.

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