Press & Media
Reporters and editors covering the program: this page is the starting point. Press contact, latest releases, the QCG fact sheet, interview availability, and brand assets are below. We respond to media inquiries the same business day where possible.
One inbox. Same-day response.
PRESS CONTACT: Jack Beckett
PRESS EMAIL: hello@qcgarage.com
PRESS PHONE: 704.666.4820
RESPONSE TIME: Same business day where possible
EMBARGO POLICY: Honored when set in writing
INTERVIEWS: Dylan Smith and Michael Faulk available
via the press email aboveOn the record. On file.
Wire-style releases the program has distributed to NASCAR press. Each carries the date it was sent, the author of record on the press contact line, and the same fact set NASCAR editors received. Earlier releases are archived below the most recent one as the program publishes them.
↓ PDFProject Never Lift Debuts Saturday at Florence
Queen City Garage will field its No. 25 in the Limited Late Model class at Florence Motor Speedway on May 9 — the first competitive outing for Project Never Lift, the Mopar Direct Connection 5.7L Hemi development program Dylan Smith originated. Mopar Heaven on the hood. B/R Racing on the quarter panels. Chassis benchmark precedes engine introduction.
Earlier releases will be listed here as the program publishes them.
What Queen City Garage is.
Quick-scan reference inline below; designed PDF for distribution and editorial files. Same fact set in both. Updated as the program develops.
ENTITY: Queen City Garage, LLC
LEGAL ADDRESS: 4030 Wake Forest Rd Ste 349, Raleigh, NC 27609
FOUNDED: 2025
FOUNDER: Dylan "Mamba" Smith
CATEGORY: Stock car development program
PLATFORM: 5.7L Dodge V8 — next-generation Hemi
APPLICATION: Late Model Stock — CARS Tour
ENGINE PARTNER: Mopar Direct Connection
(Stellantis performance parts program)
TEAM PARTNER: Lee Faulk Racing (Mooresville, NC)
Dev lead for PNL: Michael Faulk
DEV STATUS: Active — engine in certification
NEXT EVENT: Florence test-car shakedown · 2026/05/09
PROPERTIES: QCG Racing
↓ PDFQCG Fact Sheet
One page. Reference data, program description, people & partners, schedule. Designed for editorial files.
Two people on the record.
Dylan “Mamba” Smith
Founder of Queen City Garage and driver of record for Project Never Lift. Randolph, Vt. native. NASCAR Drive for Diversity alumnus, ARCA Menards Series competitor, Late Model competitor nationwide. Dodge brand ambassador since 2019. Drove the No. 170 Lee Faulk Racing entry in Direct Connection paint at the 2022 South Carolina 400 — the run that originated the development program QCG is now executing.
Off-track: NASCAR analyst. Co-host, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour on Fox Sports. B/R Racing Special Correspondent. Contributor on TNT Sports’ NASCAR broadcasts.
Best for: program origin, OEM partnership context, driver perspective, multi-network media lens
Michael Faulk
Development Lead for Project Never Lift — the program QCG is executing under Mopar Direct Connection’s engagement to test and certify the next-generation 5.7L Hemi. Operates Lee Faulk Racing in Mooresville, N.C. (owned by Lee Faulk), the team-side development partner. Built the 2022 No. 170 South Carolina 400 entry in Direct Connection paint.
Best for: engine certification process, chassis and team operations, OEM/team partnership structure
On the record, elsewhere.
Where the program has been covered so far — NASCAR media, Charlotte business coverage, and historical record. Editors researching QCG, Project Never Lift, or Dylan Smith’s Dodge brand work can use these as starting points. New coverage is added here as it lands. Coverage by publications under shared ownership is disclosed inline.
The Charlotte Mercury
Shared ownership · disclosed
Queen City Garage Launches Its Charlotte Development Program at Florence This Weekend
Charlotte business launch coverage. Frames QCG’s competitive debut at Florence and the three-leg program arc — engine, drivers, crew. Filed by Jack Beckett under the business beat.
Grand National Today
QCG-published · disclosed
Mopar’s First NASCAR-Certified Late Model Crate in Years Is in the Pipeline. QCG Is Doing the Work. Lee Faulk Racing Has the Receipts.
NASCAR engine-development industry frame. Treats the 5.7L Hemi as the start of a new manufacturer cert process in Late Model Stock racing, with QCG running the cert testing program out of Lee Faulk Racing’s Mooresville shop. Filed by John Speedway under the racing beat.
NASCAR.com
Mamba Smith and Dodge Mopar Motorsports Partner for South Carolina 400 at Florence
The original announcement of the 2022 South Carolina 400 run that originated the Direct Connection Hemi development effort. No. 170 Lee Faulk Racing entry. Direct Connection paint.
More coverage listed here as it lands. Reporters with published QCG, Project Never Lift, or Dylan Smith program coverage can flag it for inclusion via the press contact above.
Press kit, logos, fact sheet.
QCG Press Kit (2026.05.07)
Everything in one ZIP: latest press release PDF, fact sheet PDF, both logo SVGs, and a README with naming conventions and contact details. Drop straight into your editorial folder.
// Or grab individual assets
For headshots, high-resolution rasters, or additional formats, email hello@qcgarage.com with the outlet and the story you’re working on.
Direct to inbox. No noise.
Reporters and editors covering Project Never Lift, the engine program, or QCG’s broader work can subscribe below. Press notifications, embargo releases, partnership announcements — same delivery as the build log, with the press tag.
We send when there is something worth sending. Not before.
Press List
Press notifications, embargo releases, and partnership announcements. Same delivery as the build log.
On the beat.
Naming conventions, story angles the program is happy to discuss, and a small glossary of the terminology this beat uses. Aimed at editors new to the development-program coverage area.
COMPANY: Queen City Garage (never "The Queen City Garage")
SHORT FORM: QCG
PROJECT: Project Never Lift (short form: "Never Lift")
DRIVER: Dylan "Mamba" Smith (subsequent: Smith)
Mamba is acceptable on second reference
DEV LEAD: Michael Faulk (subsequent: Faulk)
NAMESAKE: Lee Faulk (still active; the 25 is his number)
TEAM PARTNER: Lee Faulk Racing (LFR acceptable on second reference)
ENGINE: "next-generation Hemi" (lowercase "next-generation")
ENGINE PARTNER: Mopar Direct Connection (not "Dodge")For sanctioning-body references regarding Project Never Lift, please contact us before publishing.
2022 hypothesis → 2026 program
The 2022 South Carolina 400 run tested whether grassroots stock car racing was waiting on a real alternative engine option. The Mopar Direct Connection development program QCG is now executing followed the answer.
Grassroots driver to OEM partner
How a driver-led market hypothesis becomes an OEM-funded engine certification program — a pattern that may shape how the next generation of stock car platforms gets developed and certified.
Drive for Diversity alumni founding programs
Smith is one of a cohort of NASCAR Drive for Diversity alumni founding development programs and team-side ventures in the Charlotte stock car ecosystem. The cohort itself is a story.
Build in public, on the record
QCG publishes its development log, certification milestones, and chassis benchmarks as the program runs. The transparency model is unusual for stock car development and worth covering as process journalism rather than results journalism.
Multi-network NASCAR media on a Late Model car
Smith holds active roles on Fox Sports (co-host, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour), TNT Sports (NASCAR broadcasts), and B/R Racing (Special Correspondent) while driving a Late Model program he founded. The car carries B/R Racing on the quarter panels. The cross-network media presence is a story about how grassroots racing reaches NASCAR audiences in 2026.
Terminology this beat uses, plain-English. Editors new to development-program coverage can skim this before drafting.
- CARS Tour
- A regional stock car series with Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model classes, primarily in the Carolinas and Virginia.
- Late Model Stock (LMSC)
- The Late Model class structure used by CARS Tour and many Southeast short tracks. Distinct from Limited Late Model and Super Late Model.
- Limited Late Model
- The class Project Never Lift is running for its May 9 Florence outing. A Late Model class with restricted engine modifications.
- Mopar Direct Connection
- Stellantis’s performance parts brand, revived in 2021. Engine partner for Project Never Lift. Use the full name; do not abbreviate to “Dodge.”
- Mopar / Stellantis / Dodge
- Mopar is the Stellantis-owned performance parts and services brand. Stellantis is the parent OEM. Dodge is one of the marques under Stellantis. When referring to the engine partner specifically, use “Mopar Direct Connection.”
- Drive for Diversity
- NASCAR’s development program for drivers and crew from underrepresented backgrounds. Formal name: NASCAR Drive for Diversity. Smith is a program alumnus.
- Chassis benchmark
- A development phase where the chassis runs sourced equipment with a known performance profile so the team can baseline the chassis independently before introducing the engine under development. Standard practice in OEM engine certification programs.
- Certification
- The process of testing and validating a new engine for sanctioned-body competition. Includes dyno data, on-track performance under defined conditions, and milestone documentation cleared for publication as the program develops.
- Project Never Lift / PNL
- The first project of Queen City Garage. The development program retained by Mopar Direct Connection to test and certify the next-generation 5.7L Hemi for stock car racing applications.
The story is the build log.
Reporters following Project Never Lift can subscribe to the build log itself. Every entry, dated, in the order it happened.