NASCAR held two practice sessions on Friday as Cup drivers and teams learned their way around Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.

In the first session, drivers quickly found the limits with several locking up and utilizing the run-off area around the road course. Unfortunately for Noah Gragson, he found the outside wall, damaging his No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford. The team will be going to a backup car.

Cody Ware and Carson Hocevar also spun out, but both drivers avoided significant damage.

Michael McDowell led the way with a 1:34.024s lap in the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Larson. 

Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

After a bit of an intermission, a shorter second session got underway. All drivers with the exception of Gragson took part. Gibbs, who ran the most laps in the first session (22), went for a wild spin after bottoming out over the curbs.

Other than that, there were no other notable incidents. Gilliand set the fastest lap of the day in a mock qualifying run with a 1:33.496s lap. Ross Chastain was second on the time sheets, Gibbs third, Ryan Blaney fourth, and Chris Buescher fifth. All of them ran faster than McDowell’s fast time from the first session. 

In this session, a lot more drivers decided to run ten consecutive laps and leading that category in ten-lap averages was Christopher Bell, followed by Chastain and Buescher.

“Hopefully, I can just keep it within the walls of the race track and keep it on blacktop,” Gilliland told NASCAR on Prime after going fastest of all drivers. “That’s always my goal when coming to a road course. But yeah, we’ve had some good speed when it comes to road courses, so it feels really good to be in the ball game with our Ford Mustang. It’s tough with a teammate [Gragson] going to a backup car — our whole team is going to have to pull together. Overall, really happy with our execution of both practices. We made our car a lot better between practices. 

“Made a mock run and I’m not sure how many people made mock runs, to be fair. Still happy with it … Hopefully, we’ll make some more good changes overnight and it’s exciting. Gives me a good feeling going into the next couple of days.”

Daniel Suarez, who is the only Mexican-born driver in the Cup Series field, timed in 12th during the first practice and ninth in the second practice session. 

Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Practice #1 results

Practice #2 results

MEXICO CITY — Ahead of arguably the biggest race of Daniel Suarez’s Cup career, he will have only five crew members working on his car during today’s two practice sessions because of travel issues involving some of the planes NASCAR chartered.

Crew chief Matt Swiderski told NBC Sports that the No. 99 team has only him, the team’s car chief, interior specialist, engine tuner and tire specialist for today’s sessions. There are 20 people on the crew roster for Suarez’s team.

This weekend marks the inaugural Cup points race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Suarez has talked about how much it means to have a Cup points race in his native country. He will be the only Mexican driver in the Cup race.

Suarez is without team members today because two of the flights NASCAR chartered to take Cup and Xfinity teams Thursday to Mexico City were grounded. One had an engine issue at takeoff. Swiderski said he was on that flight.

Swiderski said when a replacement plane arrived, the crew could not continue because they would exceed their hours.

Two planes, carrying NASCAR Cup and Xfinity driver and team members were grounded Friday in Charlotte.

Swiderski said the team went back to the shop and began to prioritize who they needed at the track. Trackhouse Racing got 14 crew members on a private plane. Among those left behind were the engineers. They will not arrive until Saturday so they can be at the shop when Cup practice takes place today. Swiderski said they will borrow spotters from Xfinity teams to help with the practice session.

It’s the debut of NASCAR’s premier circuit on the Autodromos Hermanos Rodriguez.

Swiderski said he got about 90 minutes of sleep before returning to the airport for a flight that left Charlotte, North Carolina, at 5 a.m. ET.

Swiderski noted that with only five people, it will be difficult to make changes throughout the practice as quickly as they would normally do so.

“The speed that you can make changes is a performance gain … making one more run we’ll be a little it slower just being down a couple of guys,” he said.

After practice, Daniel Suarez missing crew members was challenging.

“Definitely today, we’re limping a little bit,” he said. “But I love adversity. I love it. You put me against a wall and I’m going to come out swinging. My team is the same way. I’m good with it.

“This is going to be a better story. We win on Sunday and then we’re going to be laughing, hey, hey, we almost didn’t make practice. I’m OK with it. It’s a shame that it happened. We don’t blame anyone. We just find solutions and we continue to move forward.”

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champ and current Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon was recently asked on a Barstool Sports podcast about changes the sanctioning body is considering for the cars and he was ready with a well-considered answer.

He doesn’t think the answer is as simple as increasing horsepower and bolting on softer tires, however.

“Adding horsepower I think, at certain tracks like the mile tracks and half-mile tracks, I like – I think we’re too glued to the race track right now,’’ said Gordon, whose team drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson are ranked first and second in the championship standings. “So, adding power, I like. Adding as much power as I think maybe it takes would do two things: number one, cost, I hate bringing up cost but we’re talking about components that won’t last. Not just in the engine. So that’s one.

“And then the other is,’’ he continued. “it might make the cars harder to drive and the drivers like it more but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a better race. Then on the Goodyear side of things they’re trying really, really hard. I’ve learned a softer tire doesn’t necessarily mean more fall-off and that’s what we want.

“We don’t need a softer tire, we need a tire that has grip and then falls off where the driver and team have to manage the tire wear.’’

Denny Hamlin announced Thursday that he will not compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City, as he will focus on tending to his fiancee Jordan after the birth of their son on Tuesday. Hamlin will take a week off from driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing after earning three wins this season, the most recent of which came just one week ago at Michigan.

Ryan Truex, the younger brother of 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. and the reserve driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, will drive Hamlin’s No. 11 in his place this weekend at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, while Hamlin’s team applied for and was granted a waiver from NASCAR to maintain their playoff eligibility. Per NASCAR rules, full-time drivers who miss a race are permitted to apply for a waiver to maintain their playoff eligibility in the event of an injury, or for accepted personal reasons such as the birth of a child.

“We are happy to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is doing well,” Hamlin said in a statement. “My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family for the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five.”

Hamlin, who had been on baby watch over the past two weeks, said earlier this week on his podcast Actions Detrimental that it would be very difficult for him to travel to Mexico if his son was not born by a certain point, citing the logistics and complications that come with international travel that would make it more difficult for him to go back and forth between home and the racetrack.

“It’s one thing when you’re in Michigan, you’re an hour-and-a-half flight away, there’s no customs, I fly right into the airport. It’s not that in Mexico,” Hamlin said. “So I certainly can’t leave until we have a baby.”

NASCAR at Michigan results: Denny Hamlin prevails in fuel mileage duel for his third win of the season

Steven Taranto

Mexico City will mark the first Cup race that Hamlin has missed since March 2014, when a sinus infection that compromised Hamlin’s vision sidelined him for a race at Fontana. Hamlin had made 406 consecutive starts after that point, a streak which will end on Sunday just after Hamlin made his 700th career Cup start at Nashville two weeks ago.

As for Truex, Sunday’s race in Mexico City will mark his first Cup start since 2014, when he ran most of the season driving for BK Racing with a best finish of 20th at Pocono. Truex, who has three career wins in the Xfinity Series, last attempted a Cup race when he failed to qualify for the 2019 Daytona 500 driving for car owner Tommy Baldwin.

Hamlin currently sits third in the Cup Series regular season standings, having wins at Martinsville, Darlington and Michigan to go with seven top fives and eight top 10s in 15 races. This season has seen Hamlin move to 11th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, with his 57th career win at Michigan putting him just three victories away from tying Kevin Harvick for the 10th-most Cup wins all-time as he continues to pursue his first Cup championship.

EVARTS, Ky. (WYMT) – Backroads of Appalachia was awarded an ARC ARISE (Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies) grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The organization’s goal is to use motorsports tourism to drive sustainable economic revitalization across Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia.

The $3,809,250 grant will support the expansion of Backroads of Appalachia’s adventure tourism corridor, connecting rural towns across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This funding will be used to develop infrastructure, launch regional workforce training programs, and further promote Appalachia as a motorsports and outdoor recreation destination, with a headquarters located on Sturgeon Creek in Owsley County, Kentucky.

“This is more than a grant—it’s a vote of confidence in the people and potential of Appalachia,” said Erik Hubbard, Founder and Executive Director of Backroads of Appalachia. “We are proud to showcase what happens when grit meets opportunity. With ARC’s support, we’ll build stronger roads—not just asphalt, but pathways to prosperity.”

Among the Backroads of Appalachia initiatives are:

· The build-out of a 199-acre site as a training facility for overland, off-road motocross, and rally car testing and design.

· Over 2,000 square feet of renovated space for training facilities and administrative uses.

· Additional square footage for maintenance workshops and storage.

· Support for RV parking and overnight stays.

· Water and wastewater infrastructure, along with 2,500 linear feet of access roads for emergency services.

For more information, visit www.backroadsofappalachia.org

Copyright 2025 WYMT. All rights reserved.

Rookie Brady Golan secured the Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon. After a rained-out practice session, Golan (No. 80 Attire / Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) set the fastest lap in qualifying, a 1m22.227s, to lead the field down the grid for race one on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET. 

Representing Toney Driver Development, Golan led a pair of Kiwi Motorsport teammates, as Jett Bowling (No. 22 Bullhorn / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) qualified second with a 1m22.410s lap, and Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 Velox USA / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) followed in third.

Coming off a weekend sweep at Road America, Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Rayne Nutrition / Ronald McDonald House Charities / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) qualified fourth for his Crosslink Motorsports team. Kiwi Motorsport driver Bruno Ribeiro (No. 01 Alfa Cem / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) rounded out the top five. 

Just before the race, fans are invited to join the stars of FR Americas on pit lane for an exclusive fan walk, giving them an opportunity to meet the drivers, collect autographs, see the cars and even walk across the Yard of Bricks. Fans can enter pit lane near the Pagoda or at Gasoline Alley beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

Race one from the Indy SpeedTour will stream on SpeedTour.TV, and be broadcast live on SPEED SPORT 1. Live timing and scoring is available on Race Monitor, and additional news and updates from the weekend will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

RESULTS