The career qualifying resurgence continued for Michael McDowell Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway as the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet captured his second pole position of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his eighth pole over the last two seasons.
In March, McDowell scored the first-ever pole position for Spire Motorsports in an event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Prior to the 2024 season, McDowell had never notched a single pole-winning run in NASCAR Cup Series competition. He’s certainly made up for it.
After capturing the pole, McDowell downplayed his role in the pole as superspeedways are typically all about the car in qualifying.
“You know Talladega is, for qualifying, there’s not a whole lot the driver does but try not to make any mistakes,” McDowell explained. “More than anything, I talked about it before I went out there, Daytona got rained out for qualifying and we were looking forward to seeing where our car was at and if we had made any gains from the first two superspeedway races. And so, we didn’t really know where we were at today, because we didn’t have that baseline from Daytona, but really proud of the effort of everybody at Spire Motorsports.”
McDowell captured his latest pole position with a 52.481-second (182.466 mph) lap time in the final round of the qualifying session for Sunday’s YellaWood 500. McDowell bested Chase Briscoe, who has been the strongest qualifier in the NASCAR Cup Series garage this season, by a thin margin of 0.019 seconds.
“The pole is awesome, but more importantly just knowing you have a fast car going into the race tomorrow,” McDowell said.
While Briscoe narrowly missed out on his eighth pole of the season, the driver did record the best qualifying effort of any of the eight Playoff contenders in the 40-car field. Only three Playoff contenders qualified inside the top-10 for Sunday’s race.
Kyle Busch, who scored an eighth-place finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and is looking to snap a 90-race winless skid, the longest of his career, will start from the third position on Sunday.
Joining Busch in Row 2 will be Austin Cindric, who captured a victory in the spring event at Talladega earlier this year.
Ryan Preece, who was disqualified from a second-place finish at Talladega in the spring, will roll from the starting grid in the fifth position in the YellaWood 500 as he’ll attempt to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series win.
Josh Berry, Christopher Bell (Playoff contender), Ryan Blaney (Playoff contender), Riley Herbst, and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for Sunday’s race at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in Alabama.
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders will be scattered throughout the field at the start of Sunday’s race, which will serve as the second race of the Playoffs Round of 8.
As far as the Playoff drivers, who will start outside the top-10, William Byron will start 13th, Joey Logano 16th, Denny Hamlin (already locked into Championship 4 with Las Vegas win) in 17th, Kyle Larson in 19th, and Chase Elliott in 25th.
Official Starting Lineup for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (Race 34 of 36):
Pos
Car
Driver
Lap time
Speed
1
71
Michael McDowell
52.481
182.466
2
19
Chase Briscoe (P)
52.500
182.400
3
8
Kyle Busch
52.558
182.199
4
2
Austin Cindric
52.563
182.181
5
60
Ryan Preece
52.582
182.116
6
21
Josh Berry
52.614
182.005
7
20
Christopher Bell (P)
52.660
181.846
8
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
52.679
181.780
9
35*
Riley Herbst #
52.692
181.735
10
23*
Bubba Wallace
52.694
181.728
11
48
Alex Bowman
52.769
181.470
12
41
Cole Custer
52.773
181.456
13
24
William Byron (P)
52.774
181.453
14
17
Chris Buescher
52.802
181.357
15
45*
Tyler Reddick
52.810
181.329
16
22
Joey Logano (P)
52.819
181.298
17
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
52.821
181.292
18
54
Ty Gibbs
52.854
181.178
19
5
Kyle Larson (P)
52.871
181.120
20
6
Brad Keselowski
52.889
181.058
21
3
Austin Dillon
52.918
180.959
22
7
Justin Haley
52.937
180.894
23
38*
Zane Smith
52.945
180.867
24
1
Ross Chastain
52.955
180.833
25
9
Chase Elliott (P)
52.959
180.819
26
99
Daniel Suarez
52.981
180.744
27
34*
Todd Gilliland
52.996
180.693
28
42
John Hunter Nemechek
53.000
180.679
29
10
Ty Dillon
53.009
180.649
30
43
Erik Jones
43.022
180.604
31
88
Shane van Gisbergen #
53.098
180.346
32
77
Carson Hocevar
53.113
180.295
33
33*
Austin Hill (i)
53.115
180.288
34
16
AJ Allmendinger
53.122
180.264
35
51
Cody Ware
53.245
179.848
36
4*
Noah Gragson
53.327
179.571
37
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
53.430
179.225
38
62*
Anthony Alfredo (i)
53.483
179.048
39
78*
BJ McLeod (i)
53.632
178.550
40
66*
Casey Mears
53.930
177.564
(P) indicates NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver * indicates “Open” entry # indicates Rookie of the Year contender (i) indicates a driver ineligble to score points
Calicut (Kerala) [India], December 21 : The Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL) Season 2 concluded in spectacular fashion with a historic Grand Finale at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Calicut. Megastar and ISRL Brand Ambassador Salman Khan was present on ground, adding star power to an electrifying night of high-octane racing and live entertainment, as per a release.
The finale witnessed a record-breaking turnout of over 32,000 fans, marking the highest-ever attendance for a motorsporting event in India and reinforcing Kerala’s strong connection with motorsport and large-scale live sporting experiences, the release said.
Amid roaring crowds and intense on-track action, Team Bigrock Motorsports were crowned ISRL Season 2 Champions, capping off a fiercely competitive championship that unfolded across Pune, Hyderabad and Calicut. The season showcased a compelling blend of international excellence and emerging Indian talent.
The Calicut round delivered thrilling racing across all categories. Matt Moss from team BigRock Motorsports (Australia) claimed victory in the 450cc International class aboard the Kawasaki KX 450, while Calvin Fonvieille from team Apollo Indewheelers (France) dominated the 250cc International category on the Yamaha YZ 250. The 250cc India-Asia Mix class was won by Delvinator Alfarizi (Thailand) riding the KTM 250 SX – F, drawing thunderous applause from the packed stadium.
Megastar Salman Khan, Brand Ambassador, ISRL, said, “Watching the Grand Finale in Calicut was truly special. The passion of the fans and the intensity of competition show how far Indian motorsport has come. ISRL is creating a platform where Indian riders can compete confidently alongside the world’s best,” as quoted from a release.
Reflecting on the season, Veer Patel, Managing Director, ISRL, said, “Season 2 reflects the growing belief in Supercross across India. From Pune to Hyderabad and now Calicut, the record-breaking fan response shows the sport has truly found a home here, while we continue building strong pathways for Indian riders alongside world-class racing.”
Over the course of Season 2, 36 international riders from 21 countries, including Australia, France, the USA, Germany, Thailand and South Africa, competed alongside India’s top riders such as Rugved Barguje, Ikshan Shanbhag, Prajwal Vishwanath and Shlok Ghorpade, highlighting ISRL’s growing global stature, as per the release.
Beyond the races, the Reise Moto ISRL Fan Park transformed EMS Corporation Stadium into a complete motorsport festival, featuring live music, racing simulators, interactive brand zones, food experiences, merchandise and rider interactions, creating an immersive fan experience for families and enthusiasts alike.
With Season 2 concluding on a historic high, the Indian Supercross Racing League now looks ahead to expanding its footprint, strengthening grassroots development and further positioning India on the global Supercross map.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
The Hakone Ekiden is a race with a tradition spanning more than 100 years, dating back to its founding in 1920. Toyota began providing certain operational vehicles in 2003 to help nurture the next generation of young athletes and has supported the event as a sponsor since 2011. Throughout its involvement, Toyota has continually considered how to reduce vehicle emissions to make the race more athlete- and planet-friendly.
Toyota is advancing its multi-pathway approach, offering electrified vehicle options tailored to diverse energy circumstances in each country and region and to varied customer needs. Accordingly, the company felt that its diverse lineup of vehicles, including BEVs and FCEVs, could contribute to the Hakone Ekiden.
In total, 40 electrified vehicles will be provided for the race. The joint camera truck filming leading runners and the Century serving as a race headquarters vehicle will be provided as original FCEV models. These vehicles are equipped with fuel cells instead of engines and powered by motors that generate electricity through the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. They are extremely quiet and emit only water.
Vehicles transporting people and equipment for the race will also be electrified. e-Palettes will serve as emergency response vehicles for all situations, while FCEV Coasters will transport related personnel.
Each university team operations vehicle will be an HEV used in combination with low-carbon E10 gasoline, which contains 10% biofuel. ENEOS Corporation will provide E10 fuel made from ethanol derived from non-edible sorghum plants produced through the Research Association of Biomass Innovation for Next Generation Automobile Fuels*. These initiatives will reduce exhaust gases and carbon dioxide emissions from these vehicles.
Sports give people courage and touch their hearts. Toyota, which has supported athletes through various activities since its founding, will continue to help make the Hakone Ekiden a sustainable race that is both athlete- and planet-friendly through these initiatives.
FOX Sports paid a touching tribute to the NASCAR icon Greg Biffle during the Carolina Panthers’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Sunday, the Panthers took a significant step toward winning the NFC South by securing a 23-20 victory over the Buccaneers, improving to 8-7. Bryce Young completed 21 of 32 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in a crucial win.
But coverage of the showdown was interrupted as FOX decided to pay tribute to Biffle. The NASCAR favorite tragically died on Thursday in a plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport. FOX paid tribute during its live NFL coverage, after Terry Bradshaw was forced to duck for cover in a chaotic moment during Saturday’s special show.
Biffle, along with his wife, Cristina, and two children, perished in the horrific crash. During the Panthers game, broadcaster Chris Myers honored Biffle by highlighting his fine work off the track as well as his fine career.
“Greg Biffle, a NASCAR legend who had career success at all three levels of the sport, did great humanitarian work, died this past Thursday in a plane crash with his family,” Myers said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him, the NASCAR family, and all friends.”
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Biffle raced for 16 seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. He earned 19 wins competing in an era with the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson.
The 55-year-old was supposed to fly with his family to the Bahamas, although a stop was scheduled in Sarasota, FL. The plane instead was attempting to re-land at the Statesville airport in North Carolina, around 40 miles away from Charlotte. The crash occurred around 10:20 AM ET.
The mother of Biffle’s wife, Cathy Grossu, told PEOPLE magazine what her last texts with her daughter, Cristina, were. Cathy revealed: “She texted me from the plane, and she said, ‘We’re in trouble.’ And that was it. So we’re devastated. We’re brokenhearted.
DON’T MISS
“To think that they would be killed on a birthday trip, that was just such a fun time for the family. And to see the horrific way that it ended, it’s just, it is so hard to bear. I cannot believe they’re gone.
“I don’t remember what the last words that I said to my daughter or to Greg or to my precious Ryder (her granddaughter). I don’t remember. I know we hugged, but I don’t remember those last words, and that’s going to haunt me. But they were happy.”
Not many NASCAR drivers can say they retired on a win — but the Late, Great Greg Biffle can. Biffle made his NASCAR debut in the Busch Series in 1996, driving part-time before moving to the Truck Series in 1998.
He later progressed to full-time Cup Series competition, building a highly successful career across all three national series. Biffle won titles in the Truck and Xfinity series and nearly completed the Grand Slam in 2005, finishing second in the Cup. The North Carolinian won a total of 56 races across NASCAR’s three national series during his career: 19 in the Cup Series, 20 in the Xfinity (Busch) Series, and 17 in the Craftsman Truck Series.
He retired from full-time competition after the 2019 season, but won his last-ever NASCAR race, the Truck event in Texas at the SpeedyCash.com 400. It was Biffle’s first Truck win in 15 years. On Thursday, Biffle, his wife Cristina, and two of his children, Emma, 14, and Ryder, 5, were four of seven killed in a tragic plane crash in Statesville, NC.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days from the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation. Three of the people on board, including former stock car racer Biffle, had their pilot’s license.
Collection and documentation of the crash will take place, and investigators will begin to piece together what went wrong. A central focus of the investigation will be locating and analyzing the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which captures all sounds inside the cockpit. Once recovered, the device will be sent to a laboratory in Washington, D.C. for examination.
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Greg Biffle raced in his last-ever NASCAR race in 2019, driving the No. 51 in the Truck Series for the June 7 SpeedyCash.com 400.
Biffle, who tragically died on Thursday in a horror plane crash in Statesville, NC, had retired from full-time NASCAR racing in 2016 after two decades in the sport.
The NASCAR legend won two NASCAR national series Truck and Xfinity titles — but fell short in the Cup, finishing second in 2005.
Those also killed this week were his wife, Cristina, daughter, Emma, son, Ryder, and three others.
The Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL) Season 2 concluded in spectacular fashion with a historic Grand Finale at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Calicut. Megastar and ISRL Brand Ambassador Salman Khan was present on ground, adding star power to an electrifying night of high-octane racing and live entertainment, as per a release. The finale witnessed a record-breaking turnout of over 32,000 fans, marking the highest-ever attendance for a motorsporting event in India and reinforcing Kerala’s strong connection with motorsport and large-scale live sporting experiences, the release said.
Amid roaring crowds and intense on-track action, Team Bigrock Motorsports were crowned ISRL Season 2 Champions, capping off a fiercely competitive championship that unfolded across Pune, Hyderabad and Calicut. The season showcased a compelling blend of international excellence and emerging Indian talent.
The Calicut round delivered thrilling racing across all categories. Matt Moss from team BigRock Motorsports (Australia) claimed victory in the 450cc International class aboard the Kawasaki KX 450, while Calvin Fonvieille from team Apollo Indewheelers (France) dominated the 250cc International category on the Yamaha YZ 250. The 250cc India-Asia Mix class was won by Delvinator Alfarizi (Thailand) riding the KTM 250 SX – F, drawing thunderous applause from the packed stadium.
Megastar Salman Khan, Brand Ambassador, ISRL, said, “Watching the Grand Finale in Calicut was truly special. The passion of the fans and the intensity of competition show how far Indian motorsport has come. ISRL is creating a platform where Indian riders can compete confidently alongside the world’s best,” as quoted from a release.
Reflecting on the season, Veer Patel, Managing Director, ISRL, said, “Season 2 reflects the growing belief in Supercross across India. From Pune to Hyderabad and now Calicut, the record-breaking fan response shows the sport has truly found a home here, while we continue building strong pathways for Indian riders alongside world-class racing.”
Over the course of Season 2, 36 international riders from 21 countries, including Australia, France, the USA, Germany, Thailand and South Africa, competed alongside India’s top riders such as Rugved Barguje, Ikshan Shanbhag, Prajwal Vishwanath and Shlok Ghorpade, highlighting ISRL’s growing global stature, as per the release.
Beyond the races, the Reise Moto ISRL Fan Park transformed EMS Corporation Stadium into a complete motorsport festival, featuring live music, racing simulators, interactive brand zones, food experiences, merchandise and rider interactions, creating an immersive fan experience for families and enthusiasts alike.
With Season 2 concluding on a historic high, the Indian Supercross Racing League now looks ahead to expanding its footprint, strengthening grassroots development and further positioning India on the global Supercross map.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Drag Racing with CHRISTMAS TREES! Racing Action From Cleetus McFarland’s XMAS Tree Drags 2025 At Bradenton Motorsports Park
Dec 21, 2025Chad Reynolds1320 Event Coverage, 1320 Spotlight, 1320 Videos, BangShift 1320, RACING & ACTION, Videos
Cleetus’ Christmas Tree Race 2025 was a very special race. The race has become kind of a big deal since starting a few years ago, and has some pretty simple rules. You must race with a Christmas Tree on or in your vehicle, it must be a minimum of 6 feet tall, it can’t fall off, and you have to have lights on it. Simple right? Well…
Video Description:
We wrapped up Cleetus McFarland’s XMAS Tree Drags 2025, following the entire event from start to finish. This video covers every round from the OG 32-car field all the way through the Elite 8 — the fastest cars on the property — right down to the finals.
Cleetus lined up in both Mullet and Leroy, alongside a stacked field of big-name cars and a few surprise entries we hadn’t seen before. From first-round shakeups to the final matchups, this one delivered nonstop action.
FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: The 4th Annual Christmas On The Coast Jr. Dragster Races From Gulfport Dragway – Saturday
