It had been a season of frustration for Ryan Blaney through the opening 13 races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. However, in race No. 14, Blaney flipped the script as he captured his first victory of the season in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday evening.

RESULTS: Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville

Blaney said, despite the rough luck through the season’s opening 13 races, he never gave up hope because he knew his team had been bringing him really fast race cars to the track each and every week.

“I never gave up hope, that’s for sure,” Blaney said in his post-race interview on Prime Video. “We’ve had great speed all year. It just really hasn’t been the best year for us as far as fortune. But the 12 boys are awesome, they stick with it, no matter how it goes. And it was great to finish one out tonight.”

Blaney and crew chief Jonathan Hassler used a strategic two-tire pit stop call to get track position in Stage 1, and once they got track position, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse proved to be the best car in the 39-car field.

“I thought it was a good call. We drove up to [the] seventh [position] there in the first Stage. I thought two tires were great, my car was really good, and that really set us up for the rest of the race,” Blaney explained. “Great job by [Hassler] as always. All of the 12 boys appreciate what they do. The pit crew was great.”

Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has secured his berth in the 2025 Playoffs with his 14th career NASCAR Cup Series win.

As he crossed the finish line on Lap 300 to register his race-high 139th lap led, Blaney defeated Carson Hocevar for the win by a margin of victory of 2.830 seconds.

Hocevar was slicing chunks off of Blaney’s lead in the early laps following the final pit stop of the night, but once he was trapped in lapped traffic, he stalled out and could never catch up to the eventual race winner.

“I was probably being a lot more vocal on the radio than I needed to be, but you’re just trying so hard and trying to find something that’s just not there,” Hocevar said. “We’re one spot short, again. But hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”

For the 22-year-old Hocevar, this marked his second runner-up finish of the season. The driver feels, despite the disappointment of finishing one spot short of the win again, that his No. 77 Spire Motorsports team is making some solid progress.

“I mean, it just proves how strong this group is. To go from the disappointment last week to having a really bad qualifying draw, qualifying really bad[ly], and sticking through it and having a shot. A shot, like a straightaway. But just proud of this group, Zeigler Auto Group, everybody that puts into this racecar, they deserve good finishes,” Hocevar stated.

Hamlin, the third-place finisher, made career start No. 700 on Sunday night, but it wasn’t a sure thing that he would race as his fiancee Jordan Fish reached her due date for the couple’s third child on Sunday. However, Fish didn’t go into labor, and Hamlin was able to race at Nashville.

The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the opening Stage of the race, but down the stretch, he lost the air flow to his helmet, and his drinking system in the car malfunctioned, which made things quite toasty inside the car. But regardless if those systems were working or not, Hamlin says he lacked speed on the long run to compete with Blaney for the win.

“I was hot. I don’t run a cool shirt or anything like that, so, that’s three elements that the other drivers had that I didn’t have. So, yeah, I got hot. I had to Carson Hocevar the helmet visor up there to try to get a little air in,” Hamlin quipped. “But just couldn’t run with [Blaney] there on the super long run, right? After 40 laps, I could maintain with him, but after that, he just pulled away and stretched it on us.”

Joey Logano, the defending winner of this event, came home in the fourth position, and he was followed by William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell inside the top-10.

With his fifth-place finish, Byron extended his NASCAR Cup Series regular-season point lead over Kyle Larson to 48 points. Bell sits third in the standings at 88 points back, and Hamlin is fourth, 104 points back.

Chase Elliott, who finished 15th on the night, is now 105 points behind Byron in the standings.

Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is a trip to Michigan International Speedway. The FireKeepers Casino 400 is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, and that race will be televised on Prime Video beginning at 2:00 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast for the race.

Amazon Prime is already setting the standard for NASCAR broadcasts. Hopefully Fox is taking notes.

Sunday’s Cup Series race at Nashville — won by Ryan Blaney — was the second Amazon race of the season after the internet behemoth made its NASCAR broadcasting debut at the Coca-Cola 600. So far, its two telecasts have been sharp, professional, devoid of nonsense and informative. Simply put, it’s the type of coverage that NASCAR fans deserve.

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Look, complaining about TV coverage is rote. Fans of every sport can easily nitpick broadcasts and there are significant subsets of every fan base that thinks broadcasters are biased against their favorite team.

But NASCAR fans have been dealt a tough hand in recent years. As Fox is in its third decade of covering NASCAR, it’s felt all too often like the network is mailing it in.

Nearly 25 years ago, Fox was in the same position Amazon is in. The network’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was the fateful 2001 Daytona 500. Fox’s entry into the NASCAR world was a pivot point for the sanctioning body. It had officially gone mainstream.

The early Fox years were glorious. Especially compared to other broadcasts. Fox set the standard for what NASCAR coverage should be, even if you weren’t a fan of “Digger” and the embedded camera on the apron in the corners of racetracks across the country.

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But something has changed in recent years. We’re not the only ones who have noticed, either. NBC’s coverage has put Fox’s to shame since the network took over the second half of the season from ESPN, and Fox hasn’t upped its game. Kevin Harvick is an insightful analyst. But he can’t overcome the hokeyness that permeates Fox’s broadcasts.

To be fair, Amazon isn’t starting from scratch. Like Fox, the streamer acquired NFL rights before it jumped into NASCAR. And its booth of Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte have plenty of experience calling races. Alexander has been a main Xfinity Series play-by-play voice for years, and Junior and Letarte form the best analyst pairing in NASCAR from their years at NBC. The two worked together as driver and crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports and their chemistry is apparent on screen.

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But Amazon is nailing the production details that Fox isn’t. The broadcast is all about the race and doesn’t feature myriad cutaways to children watching in the grandstands. The camera shots follow what the booth is talking about. The graphics and picture quality are markedly better. There are no full-screen commercial breaks during green flag racing. And Amazon hasn’t gone to commercial with less than 10 laps to go.

It’s been a breath of fresh air for the NASCAR fans who have been able to watch. It’s no secret that NASCAR’s audience skews older than most other professional sports and the viewership gains that NASCAR saw in the 18-49 demographic during the 600 came at the vast expense of those 50 and over.

But it’s also no secret that streaming is the new cable and how we’ll consume most of our sports content in the near future. NASCAR was smart to add Amazon to the mix with its new media rights deal. Trading fewer younger viewers for more older viewers is the right play, especially as Formula 1 is the trendy motorsport among those not eligible for Medicare.

Ideally, Amazon will continue to build off how good its first two race broadcasts were and Fox, NBC and TNT — back in the NASCAR game this year — will aspire to meet Amazon’s standard.

But we won’t blame you if you’re pessimistic about that ideal world ever happening. We’re all worn down by the past decade of Fox’s NASCAR broadcasts.

The call for more horsepower in NASCAR is growing louder across fan forums and pit boxes, but a top Hendrick Motorsports insider is dousing the flames. 

As NASCAR explores adding power to improve short-track racing, Hendrick Motorsport’s powertrain director Scott Maxim says it’s not as simple as flipping a switch. Momentum for more horsepower has picked up in 2025 with drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson advocating for it.

NASCAR’s managing director of communications Mike Forde recently said on the Hauler Talk podcast that they are working on bringing back 750 horsepower to select tracks.

The current Gen 7 cars run around 670 horsepower on most tracks. A jump to 750 horsepower would require changes to the tapered spacer. That’s the piece NASCAR uses to regulate airflow and control horsepower. But anything above 750 would get much more technical and expensive.

But Maxim recently told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio it’s not that easy. “750 would be an 80 horsepower increase over where we are currently at,” he said. “you know, there’s a lot of folks involved. We have four engine suppliers, we have three manufacturers and we have NASCAR. So it will take a lot of collective effort.”

“If it’s a moderate power increase, we have a pretty good understanding of the changes required,” Maxim added. “If we were to have a higher horsepower target than that, then that would require some more extensive changes. But we’d have to be given clarity on the direction.”

And clarity seems to be in short supply. While Maxim’s comments leave room for small changes, the bigger picture is less rosy. Doug Yates of Roush Yates Engines said earlier this year that going back to 900 hp would shorten engine life and increase costs. “That would be a big project,” he said. “You’d need a new engine every race.”

Also, NASCAR officials are skeptical. VP Elton Sawyer recently said increased horsepower could scare off new manufacturers by increasing costs and NASCAR’s John Probst noted there’s no evidence more power equals better racing.

In the end, the dream of high-horsepower stock cars may be just that, a dream. While the technology exists, getting everyone on the same page with execution, safety and cost is a tall order. For now, Scott Maxim’s comments suggest the future is about small tweaks not a full-on return to the past.

And for Hendrick Motorsports whose drivers like Larson and Byron are already winning with the current package, the need for raw horsepower may not be as great as it is for others.

NASCAR race weekend was the biggest event last year at the Newton Municipal Airport, and staff are eager for its return this coming August. The Iowa Corn 350 was the first NASCAR Cup Series to be held at Iowa Speedway, and it drew in a considerable amount of traffic to the local racetrack, as well as the nearby airport.

Ethan Nasalroad, president of Johnson Aviation, spoke of the experience at the airport this past summer during a recent presentation with the city council.

“This was huge for Newton. This was huge for Iowa. As a fixed-base operator, to be able to handle a Cup race, that was really a big deal for us as well. We look forward to seeing them again next year,” Nasalroad said before correcting himself. “Well, in a couple months I should say.”

NASCAR races saw 47 aircraft at the airport over a period of three days, and the IndyCar Race Weekend drew 54 aircraft.

Johnson Aviation hopes to see as much traffic this year as it saw in 2024. The races at Iowa Speedway continue to drive traffic to the city-owned airport. Data shared by Nasalroad shows that in addition to the race traffic, the airport sees a steady amount of aerial applicators using the facility.

Upcoming improvement projects at the airport not only show the facility is growing, it’s getting a lot of use. Bids for the apron expansion came in more than $400,000 less than the engineer anticipated, meaning the city’s share — which is already considerably low — is even lower than anticipated.

The current space constrains the airport, which is seeing continued growth in large part because of the races scheduled at the Iowa Speedway. Planes are not getting smaller either. Oftentimes, visiting planes have to use tenant ramp space or utilize unconventional parking to fit all of the aircraft.

Hangar space is also depleting.

“We’re as busy and we’re as full as we can be out there,” Nasalroad said.

By October this year, Johnson Aviation will be celebrating 75 years in business.

The #64 Ford Mustang GT3 roared to glory on the streets of Detroit in the hands of Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx. The fourth round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which took place in Ford’s hometown, delivered the second victory of the season so far for the Ford Multimatic Motorsports team.

It was Priaulx who started the race in the #64 Mustang and he made a great start from pole position, holding onto the lead and pushing hard to create a buffer to the pack behind him. He handed the Mustang over after 30 minutes to Rockenfeller who then delivered a masterclass in street racing, taking the chequered flag in first place, securing the first win for the #64 Mustang.

“To win in Detroit is a dream come true,” said Rockenfeller. “It was a perfect weekend, where we started strong and didn’t make any mistakes to the finish. Finally, we got this top spot. It was not an easy race because the competition is high here in IMSA. We had to be perfect in our driving, which makes this win especially rewarding. Thank you to Ford Performance, the Ford family and to Multimatic Motorsports for such a great day.”

A little bit of rubbing is always expected on a street circuit but this race had a brutal amount of contact. One of the victims of that was the #65 Mustang of Daytona winners Chris Mies and Fred Vervisch. Mies took a hit from both sides from the pair of BMWs early on in the race and was forced to pit very early for damage repair. Then, once Vervisch was installed behind the wheel, he took a huge hit from the #48 BMW, when its driver made a move under braking that was never going to stick. The #65 Mustang ultimately had to retire with just two laps to go.

“It was my first time here, and I really liked it,” said Vervisch. “We had two great cars, and we both did a great job starting one and two. Unfortunately, we had some contact from other drivers. But nevertheless, for this team to win in Ford territory is great. It’s a great season so far for Ford.”

This result means that Ford regains the lead in the GTD PRO manufacturer standings, the #64 crew move up to third in the driver’s standings with the #65 drivers in fifth place. Six races remain in the 2025 IMSA season.

Ryan Blaney qualified for the 2025 Cup Series playoffs with a victory at Nashville Superspeedway, leading a race-high 139 of 300 laps on the 1.333-mile concrete oval.

It’s the 14th victory for the No. 12 Ford driver and his first since 14 races ago at Martinsville Speedway last November.

The Team Penske driver became the ninth driver to win and lock into the 10-race championship run in NASCAR’s premier series. With earlier victories by Austin Cindric (Talladega Superspeedway) and Joey Logano (Texas Motor Speedway), Team Penske has its trio of drivers in the playoffs (as well as Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers Racing Ford has a technical alliance with Penske).

Quotes from the longest concrete track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

Blaney captured his first victory at Nashville in his fifth start at the track in Lebanon, Tennessee. Nashville Superspeedway has featured five different winners since joining the Cup schedule in 2021. It’s the 10th track where Blaney has won in Cup.

Carson Hocevar finished second, tying a career-best finish from Atlanta Motor Speedway in February. Denny Hamlin finished third in his 700th career Cup start, followed by Logano and William Byron, who increased his lead in the regular-season championship standings.

Byron leads by 48 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who railled for eighth to maintain his streak of being the only driver with top 10s in all five Cup Series races at Nashville.

Christopher Bell, who rebounded from a Lap 119 spin, is third in the regular-season points standings.

Finishing order at Nashville Superspeedway:

1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
2. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
4. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
5. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
6. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
7. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
8. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
9. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
10. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
11. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
12. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
13. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
14. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
15. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
16. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
17. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
18. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
19. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
20. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
21. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
22. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
23. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
24. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
25. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
26. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
27. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
28. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
29. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
30. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
31. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
32. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
33. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
34. JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet
35. Chad Finchum, No. 66 Ford
36. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
37. Corey Heim, No. 67 Toyota
38. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
39. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet