Following his vicious wreck into the outside wall at Michigan, Alex Bowman is cleared to race this weekend in the NASCAR race at Mexico City. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is set to race, but Anthony Alfredo is on standby if needed as a backup driver for Bowman.

Alex Bowman has been through a couple of injuries since the 2022 season. He suffered concussion symptoms that kept him out of a handful of races in 2022. Then, in 2023, he suffered a compression fracture in his back after a sprint car wreck that sidelined him for several weeks.

During the Cup Series race at Michigan, Bowman had what he described as one of, if not the hardest, hits he has taken. Those hits, at times, come with injury. Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that Bowman is ready to go for Mexico City. However, a backup driver is on hand in case of emergency.

Anthony Alfredo is the current simulator driver for Hendrick and is slated as the backup driver for Bowman in case he needs one. If all goes according to plan, Alfredo’s presence on Sunday will be just as a precaution. Hendrick confirmed the news to reporters at the track in Mexico City.

After a strong start to the season in the points, Alex Bowman has struggled. Three DNFs have led him to fall down to 13th in points. This No. 48 team expects to win at least one race this season. However, as the weeks go by and they continue to have problems instead of success on track, that reality becomes more uncertain.

Alex Bowman has fallen off in points, performance

In the first six races of 2025, Bowman was great. He had five top-10 finishes. He started on the pole at Homestead and finished P2. Since then, things have fallen apart. Bowman has suffered all three DNFs in the last nine races. During that time, he has only two top-10 finishes.

His average finish in the first six races, 9.5. Since then, in the last nine races, his average finish has fallen to 27.44, a sharp decline. Alex Bowman is considered the “fourth driver” at Hendrick Motorsports, and performances like he has had lately don’t help that reputation.

This weekend at Mexico City could be a good change of pace for Bowman. He won the Chicago Street Course a year ago. He has great performances on road courses in the Next Gen era. But the team has to put together a complete weekend.

Good news, Alex Bowman is going racing. Bad news, his skid could continue and force him out of playoff contention if it keeps up. Can Bowman get the sails turned the right way before the ship capsizes?

Car Week Passport Access and Elite passes. Includes entry to 4 premier Monterey events.

Will Elkadi, “Mr. Car Week” and creator of the Car Week Passport

Participating events in the Car Week Passport program include Automobilia Collectors Expo, The Paddock, Concorso Italiano, and Monterey Motorsports Festival.

Monterey Car Week Passport offers seamless digital access to four premier events, with General Admission and VIP options available.

MONTEREY, CA, UNITED STATES, June 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — As Monterey Car Week continues to grow in global prestige, a new curated experience has officially launched for 2025: the Car Week Passport, a digital-first ticket bundle offering streamlined access to four of the week’s most celebrated automotive events.

Created by Will Elkadi — also known as Mr. Car Week and founder of WhatsUpMonterey and the Monterey Car Week Guide, the region’s top online resource since 2011 — the Passport simplifies the planning and purchasing process for attendees while unlocking unique perks at select events.

Participating events include:
• Automobilia Collectors Expo & Auction (August 11–13 at Embassy Suites Monterey Bay) — featuring three days of world-class vendors and a headlining auction on Tuesday night
• The Paddock (August 15 at Bayonet Black Horse)
• Concorso Italiano (August 16 at Bayonet Black Horse)
• Monterey Motorsports Festival (August 16 at Monterey County Fairgrounds)

Guests can choose from general access or VIP-level experiences that include premium lounge areas, collectible memorabilia, wine tastings, and enhanced hospitality. All tickets are fulfilled digitally. Each participating event will email your ticket directly closer to event week.

“Car Week is magical, but for many, it’s overwhelming,” said Will Elkadi, Founder of Car Week Passport and WhatsUpMonterey. “The Passport was designed to make it easier, more exciting, and more personal. It’s a new way to experience Monterey Car Week — curated and seamless.”

The program also represents a rare and collaborative effort across the Peninsula’s major event organizers.

“This kind of alignment is exactly what the Car Week community has needed,” said Tanya Kosta, Chairman of Concorso Italiano. “When we put the guest first, everyone benefits.”

“The Passport isn’t just a bundle — it’s a shared vision,” said Paolo Manca, Founder & CEO of Monterey Motorsports Festival. “MMF is proud to be part of this collaborative effort that celebrates community, inclusivity, and the passion that defines Monterey Car Week. Together, we’re raising the bar.”

Early access is now open with limited-time pricing before July 1. Both General Admission and VIP packages are available at CarWeekPassport.com.

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NASCAR is beefing up its sponsorship of next month’s Chicago Street Race with the addition of Arby’s.

The fast-food chain was announced as a “founding partner” Wednesday of the third annual race around the pop-up Grant Park course during the Fourth of July weekend. Arby’s joins Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Xfinity as major sponsors of the event.

“This marks an exciting moment for our brand in the world of motorsports, with one of the most dynamic and groundbreaking events in racing,” Jeff Baker, chief marketing officer at Arby’s, said in a news release. “Nothing goes better with NASCAR than one of our delicious Arby’s sandwiches, and we can’t wait to bring the meats to the streets for race fans and Arby’s fans in Chicago and beyond.”

Arby’s, which is new to NASCAR, is replacing Chicago-based McDonald’s as a major sponsor of the street race.

In addition to race weekend visibility and promotions, Arby’s is offering chances through June 22 to win tickets to the Chicago Street Race at 47 restaurants in the city and suburbs. The unique event on the NASCAR calendar features an Xfinity Series race on July 5, and the nationally televised Grant Park 165 Cup Series race on July 6.

The announcement comes as NASCAR and the city are gearing up for a more streamlined race weekend event with a smaller concert lineup, downsized hospitality buildout, reduced ticket prices and an accelerated setup/breakdown schedule.

Southern rockers the Zac Brown Band, scheduled to perform after the Xfinity Series race, are the only musical headliners on the bill for year three. But NASCAR is planning to add a miniature golf course and other family-friendly activities to the festivities.

The Grant Park 165 on Sunday is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., 2½ hours earlier than last year, in the hopes of finally finishing the race, which was shortened by inclement weather the first two years. The Cup Series broadcast is also moving from NBC to cable channel TNT.

Tickets, which went on sale in January, are less expensive this year. Single-day general admission passes start at $99 — a third less than last year — while premium grandstand reserved seats are priced at a nearly 50% reduction. Children 12 and under are free both days, with an accompanying adult.

The Chicago Street Race will once again feature a 12-turn, 2.2-mile course through Grant Park, down DuSable Lake Shore Drive and up Michigan Avenue, which will be closed off and lined with fences, grandstands and hospitality suites. But a relocated concert stage will replace the Skyline, a mammoth temporary structure along Columbus Drive that last year housed the most expensive suites overlooking the start/finish line at Buckingham Fountain.

Street closings for the buildout have been reduced to 18 days. The first shutdown is set for June 19, with all streets to be reopened by July 14.

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NASCAR is in the third and final year of an inaugural agreement with the city to host the Chicago Street Race, a deal struck during Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration.

Last year, the race generated $128 million in total economic impact and drew 53,036 unique visitors, according to a study commissioned by Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm.

Katherine Legge will make a return to Pikes Peak after her first run last summer.

It’s almost time for the 103rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and Acura announced Thursday what we can expect to see on America’s Mountain on June 22. With Katherine Legge making her second run to the 14,115 summit of Pikes Peak, the automaker is chasing down the front-wheel drive record, in the competitive Time Attack 1 (TA1) division with an Integra Type S DE5 race car. Acura worked on the #93 Integra racer in coordination with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), and it’s also fielding another Integra Type S as a pace car for the hill climb event.

“It was an honor to compete in Pikes Peak for the first time in 2024, as I had always dreamt of being among the famous drivers who have tackled the mountain” said Legge. “At Pikes Peak, you’re always competing against yourself, the mountain and the other drivers. It’s my goal to leave my own legacy, setting the front-wheel drive record in the Integra Type S DE5.”

Beyond taking on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Legge has and continues to compete across a host of other racing series, including IndyCar and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Last year, her rookie run yielded a top-five finish in the TA1 category, with her 10:51.359 time landing a few seconds short of the current front-wheel drive record holder: Nick Robinson in a 500-horsepower Acura TLX, set in 2018.

Acura is bringing the Integra Type S HRC prototype it debuted at Monterey last year, too.

Throughout the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, another HRC-upgraded Integra Type S will serve as the official pace car. We first saw it during Monterey Car Week last year, where the automaker showed off a line of performance parts owners will actually be able to buy for their cars soon.

Olympic speed skater Rusty Smith will be driving the pace car. He made Team USA three times, competing in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 winter games. Acura says he also has a strong passion for their vehicles, owning several enthusiast models including a first-generation NSX-T in Spa Yellow (with a Vivid Yellow interior, no less).

Honda’s Olympic connections aren’t stopping with this year’s Pikes Peak, as the company announced it would be a founding partner of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games in Los Angeles, serving as Team USA’s official automotive partner.

A flight bound for NASCAR’s Mexico City race had to halt its takeoff after a loud noise was heard from the aircraft.

Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will host the Viva Mexico 250, the first time NASCAR will race internationally in 25 years. Should the outing and race in Mexico be deemed a success, NASCAR also has flirted with the idea of expanding further, while also adopting a Formula 1-style podium.

For now, though, drivers have to make it to the city before the festivities begin in earnest. However, some, like NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ryan Ellis, had to experience a less-than-stellar experience while aboard a plane headed to Mexico City.

On X, Ellis posted a series of updates as he shared his flight experience. After posting a photo of himself in the plane with the caption “Mexico-bound,” he quickly followed that up with another post detailing what had happened as the plane prepared to take off.

“Cancel that, plane attempted takeoff, plane made a small boom, we are headed back,” he continued. He ended his series of updates by stating that he and the rest of the passengers were “back in Charlotte” as a result.

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Motorsports journalist Matt Weaver provided more context to the incident, stating that Ellis’ aircraft was not the only one that experienced issues on the way to Mexico City. In all, Weaver explained that NASCAR is aware of the incidents and personnel are “being placed on different planes” to Mexico.

Though the incidents could just be isolated to those two, it is not the start NASCAR could have wanted as it continues to eye expanding the sport’s popularity. Ahead of the Viva Mexico 250, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps commented on how he would like to see the sport’s biggest stars racing in Brazil. 

“I’d like to see it happen,” Phelps said to Motorsport.com. “Obviously, we need all parties to come together and understand how important that would be for NASCAR in general and for the category. But I personally would be very excited about it.

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“We’d like to have a Brazilian [driver] come out of NASCAR Brazil, come and race with us full-time, and, you know, compete for wins and championships. So we’re excited about this prospect, I was very impressed with the number of drivers I saw and how fast they were and their abilities, and we’re excited about this happening in the future.”

As NASCAR continues to expand its reach, the Viva Mexico 250 is a homecoming for sorts for driver Daniel Suarez. Suarez, originally from Mexico, became a United States citizen in 2024 and partnered up with Mexican telecommunications company Telcel for the race.

Speaking on the impact NASCAR could have by racing in Mexico, Suarez made his thoughts clear. “This race will be the highlight of my racing career,” he said. It is a chance to compete in front of my home country fans and those who have supported me all these years.”

He added: “I hope this event creates a lot of NASCAR fans in Mexico.We want to make this event permanent on the NASCAR calendar for many years.

“Mexico has been loving motorsports for a very long time, and I feel like, slowly, that has also changed into NASCAR. NASCAR is a very important sport for Mexico, and it continues to grow with the NASCAR Mexico Series and now the Cup Series going there. It’s going to be a big deal.”