CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch was hyped for NASCAR greatness long before he was a teenager by his Hall of Fame nominee brother, who vowed “if you think I’m good, wait until you see my little brother.”

Busch’s debut in a NASCAR national series race was delayed, though, when he turned up at California Speedway in 2001 intent to run the Truck Series race. He dominated practice in a race sponsored by Marlboro but, because he was only 16 at the time, was ruled ineligible to compete over NASCAR’s interpretation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

The MSA prohibited individuals under 18 from participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies. And because NASCAR at the time was sponsored by Winston, the series eventually adopted its own rule six weeks later implementing a minimum age requirement of 18 that began in 2002.

Busch had no choice but to move to the American Speed Association National Tour, and then ARCA after graduating early from his Las Vegas high school.

Fast-forward to Friday when Busch celebrates his 40th birthday as a two-time Cup Series champion headed to Texas Motor Speedway with 232 national series victories. Kurt Busch, his older brother by seven years and a nominee last week to next year’s Hall of Fame class, has one Cup title and 43 career national series victories.

Busch can now laugh at his experience 24 years ago at California Speedway, where he went on to win five Cup races, including the last one in 2023 before the track was shuttered by NASCAR.

“Shut that place down,” he said, noting the irony that he’s now sponsored by zone nicotine pouches, which has an additional relationship with online retailer Nicokick. “Full circle moment.”

Busch celebrated his birthday early — over the Easter weekend, which was NASCAR’s only break of the 38-race schedule — with a vacation with wife, Samantha. They left their two children home and Samantha made a heartfelt social media post honoring her husband.

“Early celebration for Kyle’s big 4-0, love ya babe,” Samantha wrote, sharing a picture of herself and her husband at dinner on a beachfront. In a separate image, Kyle could also be seen with a small chocolate cake in front of him with a candle burning.

Busch said he and Samantha “made the most of it” even though he finds it difficult to unwind.

“Just a nice little quiet time, tried to disconnect, that’s not easy for me to do,” Busch said. “So I’m still kind of doing some work from afar, emails and things like that.”

And as for turning 40? Well, he wasn’t exactly thrilled. Busch is in his 23rd season in the Cup Series, and although he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2023 and won three races, he went winless in Cup last year for the first time in his career and missed the playoffs. His losing streak headed to Texas is an eye-popping 67 races.

“I remember turning 30 and thinking that was going to be it,” Busch said. “It is what it is. Samantha has made the best of that for me where we celebrated my birthday on that trip. I don’t feel much older than I did five, six years ago. So that’s the good part of it. And I’m in pretty decent shape, so thankful for all of that.”

Busch briefly considered retirement at the end of the 2022 season when he parted ways with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he for now is the winningest driver in team history with Denny Hamlin closing in on his mark. Now, he’d like to race at least until his son, Brexton, turns 18 and the two can compete against each other in NASCAR.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press

Xumo, a plug-in streaming platform that also includes live TV, is debuting a Nascar channel. The joint venture between longtime Nascar partner Comcast, along with Charter, enables people to enjoy free ad-supported streaming and it already comes with streaming applications, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, downloaded already.

The new Nascar channel, which is similar to one that debuted earlier this year on Tubi, will be available on Xumo Play.

“Our partnership began as part of Comcast’s broader renewal with Nascar, announced in February of this year,” Fern Feistel, Vice President of Marketing at Xumo, said. “We see our relationship as a win-win for both Xumo and Nascar. For Xumo, it allows us to deliver customers more immersive and meaningful sports viewing experiences with a rich array of Nascar content. For Nascar, we’re helping them extend their digital and streaming reach, bringing the sport to a wider audience and deepening engagement with both loyal and new fans.”

But what makes this partnership unique compared to the Tubi Nascar channel is that there will be an entire interface dedicated to Nascar when someone turns on Xumo. The hub will easily allow viewers to watch Nascar content on different apps, like YouTube, podcasts and much more.

“Creating curated destinations around marquee events, sports, and cultural moments is something we’ve always prioritized, and something that sets us apart from other streaming platforms,” Feistel said. “The Nascar hub is designed to bring together all content from across services into a seamless, easy-to-access destination. It eliminates the need for consumers to search across multiple streaming apps and services for their favorite races, shows, and more. Plus, with our voice remote functionality, users can simply say ‘Nascar’ to jump right into the action, making it easier than ever for Nascar fans to access and enjoy content from their favorite sport.

“Fans can dive in right away with a broad range of Nascar content including full race replays, classic Nascar races, original series and documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and fan-favorite podcasts. We’ll continue to work closely with Nascar to build out our offering, including potential exclusive content that will make the experience even richer. Our goal is to make Xumo the ultimate streaming home for Nascar fans, offering everything from live races to original content.”

This is an important partnership for Nascar on the eve of the sport’s first-ever streaming deal with Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video will broadcast its first Cup Series race on Sunday, May 25, the Coca-Cola 600, marking the first time a Nascar race will only be available on a streaming service.

“As consumer habits continue to shift, our partnership is incredibly complementary to Nascar’s broader digital evolution,” Feistel said. “Our platform makes it easy for fans to find and enjoy Nascar content, whether it’s on traditional cable, streaming apps or on social media, directly through the Nascar hub. Our partnership is all about making access easier, more intuitive and more exciting for the fan base.”

Nascar is also Xumo’s first official league partnership. The Xumo Easy Street Pit Stop at-track activation will debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The unique activation will have charging stations, cool-down areas, snacks and more.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.

Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.

Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.

Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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Prime Video has unveiled the trailer for American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans, a documentary about a historic Nascar entry in the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours. The film, which will be available in more than 240 countries from 12 June, looks back at Nascar President Jim France’s ambitious plan to enter a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the centenary edition of the classic race.

Produced by NASCAR Studios and Hendrick Motorsports, American Thunder traces the 18 months of preparation needed to transform a car designed for the American oval into a machine capable of enduring 24 hours of racing. The documentary follows this unique adventure with three renowned drivers at the wheel: Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

Spoiler Alert! We all remember that the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 won the hearts of the fans. The drivers demonstrated the speed of this car by placing it ahead of those in the LMGTE Am category at the end of qualifying. In the end, the car finished 39th overall. Transmission problems at the end of the race hampered its performance.

While you wait for the documentary to be released, take the Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for an in-car lap and enjoy the roar of its V8 engine in the video below. 

What’s Happening?

The NASCAR Garage 56 project at Le Mans captured the attention of motorsports fans worldwide in 2023, and now, it’s set to reach an even broader audience through a dedicated documentary series. Officially announced on April 22, the series will premiere on Prime Video on June 12.

The newly released trailer briefly highlights the rich history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and NASCAR’s entry into the event. It includes footage from 1976, when NASCAR appeared at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe, offering fans a rare look at the origins of this connection.

The documentary promises an in-depth look behind the scenes of the Garage 56 project, chronicling the preparation, challenges, and significance of NASCAR’s participation in one of the most iconic motorsport events.

You can learn more details about the Garage 56 documentary and its story HERE.

What did you think of the trailer? Join the conversation on our Discord or X, and remember you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to step in after Ross Chastain made a controversial block during the NASCAR Cup Series Talladega race this past weekend. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin called for NASCAR enforcement after Chastain’s block.

“I’m a little frustrated by it because I’ve seen it getting a little bit out of control and I would like to see something said about the unsafe merging that the drivers are doing intentionally to block oncoming cars that are approaching him,” Hamlin said. “They’re not up to speed yet. We got this line of cars going, and so they just said ‘Okay, I’m just going to swerve back and forth until somebody checks up or gets crashed.’”

Denny Hamlin did not have the best day at Talladega

Denny Hamlin also suggested that a black flag should have come out after the Chastain block. “I don’t know why in NASCAR if you can have someone black flagged for forcing you below the yellow line to stop them from passing you, why can’t we stop the guy that is swerving at 150 miles per hour when the pack is coming at 190, who’s trying to cause a wreck?” Denny Hamlin asked. “He’s trying to get you to check up and then cause chaos, get you tagged from behind, just cause chaos.”

Hamlin and the Toyota cars were planning to make a run around the rest of the field before Chastain made his block. It turned out to be a good move as the end of the race set up a Ford vs. Chevrolet finish.

“I didn’t know how far up we were actually going to be able to get, but certainly the 1 [Ross Chastain], you know, making a move there to kinda wreck us is not ideal, but I mean, he’s trying to do everything he can to stop the run,” Hamlin told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports after the race. “The variance of speed there was crazy.”

Hamlin did not have a great performance at Talladega as he earned a P21 finish. It comes after Hamlin finished in the top five in the last four races. Ross Chastain notched a P20 finish at Talladega. He earned top-10 finishes in the previous three races.