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CHEVROLET NCS AT KANSAS 1: Carson Hocevar Media Availability Quotes – Speedway Digest

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas Speedway. Media Availability Quotes: So I heard you mention a couple weeks ago that you prefer […]

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Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

So I heard you mention a couple weeks ago that you prefer the old school way of learning versus using the SMT data points and other things. I was just wondering from your standpoint, how does being in the broadcast booth for some races help with that and help you learn, and how much does it help you on Sunday’s?

“I don’t think it hurts because I’m watching the race, right? You’re seeing in-car footage. You’re seeing a bunch of footage, right? You’re seeing the different camera angles. You get to be in the booth and look out and watch TV, right? Normally when I watch races, I’m in the grandstands and I don’t get to see all the really close things and everything. So I don’t know if it 100% helps, but it doesn’t hurt of being here at the track and watching it in person, but also seeing the TV and getting both. Yeah, I don’t think it hurts.”

Just curious if you had a conversation with Ryan Preece at all over the last week, and if so, how did it go?

“Yeah, we did. I thought it was very productive. I thought he heard my point of view and I heard his, right? I think we have a really good understanding to go forward. I just kind of explained my positioning of it — I just passed the 17 and I really didn’t expect the 60 to be a factor in the equation. I started unwinding the wheel to get out of the 34’s wake and try to be on offense. I found myself on defense, in the wake; crossing, tied and now he’s on my door. It just shocked me.

I just explained that, of I wasn’t trying to put him in a bad spot and be aggressive. I tried to unwind the wheel and track out to the wall, and I didn’t expect a car to be there. That’s on me for not predicting it and not expecting it — expectations being different and the grip level being a different thing. I think he was very understanding of it.

Obviously, we both wrecked and it wasn’t good for either of us. We’re both around the same point situation. He’s having a good year. I feel like we’re faster than expected. I think we just both have the understanding that we don’t want to ruin the momentum we each have moving forward.”

You had the pole last weekend at Texas. Michael (McDowell) had the pole in Vegas, as well. Spire has had speed on the intermediate tracks and has been strong to start the season. Do you expect that to continue this weekend at Kansas? How do you guys capitalize on that, if so, with results?

“Yeah, I do… or, I mean, at least I hope we do, right? Yeah, I think our cars are fast. I think our car, or my car specifically, has been really fast in the race, too. Last year was if we qualified good, we were for some reason not very good in the race. If we didn’t qualify good, for some reason, we were good in the race. Being able to translate that, I think, is really important.

It obviously helps with our friends over at Hendrick Motorsports on the engine side and everything. It’s helped leading into it. It’s not a secret of that. But our cars are getting better, and our people are getting better. We’re getting smarter at being able to translate that now. Starting up front is a lot better with pit selection and so many different things, obviously, besides clean air. But just pit selection, momentum and feeling good about the day. You can just ride that wave. Even if you’re kind of off a little bit, you can kind of maintain and play defense a little bit and still be ahead.

Ultimately, I think that was super important for us this year, to qualify better and get stage points. I think we have 50 stage points. That’s really saving our year so far, honestly.”

Obviously, you guys have had that speed, but from the organizational standpoint, does it get a little bit frustrating not getting consistent results knowing that you guys have been there every week? What do you also feel maybe you guys are missing to get that consistent result?

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not good. I mean, if you were to pick your poison, I’d much rather be fast and have bad luck or misfortune or something happen than be slow and have to bank on other people’s misfortune, right? It’s more sustainable to be fast and have that happen because it normally fixes a lot of problems. Right now, it is fixing a lot of our problems, and we’re 17th in points. I think my average finish is like 29th at this rate.

Yeah, I mean, just a multitude of different things have happened. We’ve had fuel pumps, motors, pit issues and everything. I think that’s more just we’re doing different parts than we’re not used to using. So there’s some gremlins we were finding out at the start of the year, right? Last year, we had the same parts all year, and it went fine. This year, it’s like — oh, this burns this up or this does this or this does that. Yeah, you can’t get through a whole race, and you unfortunately learn that by trial by fire.

So yeah, I mean, ultimately, it’s just we need to do everything in our power not to take ourselves out or put ourselves in a bad spot because the universe right now is already doing that for us. We just have to not compound those or get too aggressive and make a mistake when we get put back there or something happens. Yeah, I think we’re all fighting through that and being able to handle that adversity even better.”

How fun has it been for you having the opportunity to get back in the Truck Series knowing that you didn’t get to do any racing down last year in your rookie campaign?

“Yeah, it’s definitely fun, and it was good for me. I thought I tricked the universe into getting the bad luck out on Friday and not on a Sunday. But yeah, it was fun to go run up front and go have fun. And doing it with no practice or qualifying was kind of fun of starting 19th and driving through the field. And yeah, it’s just fun to go back there and do it with Tyler Green, obviously, and do it with (Brian) Pattie.

And it’s rewarding for me to run good, too, because Jeff Dickerson and Spire have expressed how they felt like they should have put me in some truck races last year, but rookie year, they wanted me full focus on that. So it’s rewarding for me for them start to let me do some more because it feels to me like I’m doing everything right, knowing the goal is Sunday, and when things are going good, they’ll pull back their reins a little bit and let me go have fun.”

I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but it feels like you have pretty thick skin, or you take criticism with a grain of salt a lot of times. But then when incidents happen, like with Ryan Preece, it’s like he’s going to have his day, he doesn’t respect his equipment, you lump it into these other veteran guys, like (Ryan) Blaney and Kyle Busch. How do you process all this coming your way? Do you think — okay, well, I’m fast, I have speed, I’m young, so this is the nature of it? Or do you think — oh, they have a point, is it a mix of both? How do you absorb all that?

“Yeah, I mean, there’s a multitude of things, right? I mean, there’s certain things that are said in the heat of the moment, and then when you go talk to them, it’s a different conversation, right? And I think that’s a lot of times what happens is you get the radio transmission, or you see the talks after the race, or interviews and everything, and then when I have that conversation, it’s just different. It’s heat of the moment. I mean, there’s so many times where I feel like drivers will say something on the radio and they don’t even remember they said it, right? I mean, you saw it with teammates before, right? So there’s so many different things, and it’s just balancing that and knowing, for me, the intent of it, right? I was full on offense, and I didn’t know I had to be on defense, and I was. I wasn’t looking in my mirror when I felt like I should have been. Knowing if you were to rewind the clock, if I knew the result, I would do something different. But at the time, I felt like I knew the situation, and I would probably do the same thing again. But knowing the result, I get in that spot again, you’re going to be more cognizant and aware of that.

I feel like I drive a lot off instinct, and so if I’m not focused on something, you can just be tunnel vision and miss it. I think for me, it’s just being able to balance that. And then also to explain that and make sure they know there was an intent of the move, and the intent wasn’t to put them in a bad spot, put me in a bad spot, or jump that line where it’s dirty, aggressive or over-aggressive.”

What kind of influence has Luke Lambert had on you because he feels like you’re right on the verge of just being a weekly contender, and I wonder how has he kind of helped mold you to get there? Because obviously, the raw talent’s there, it’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together.

“Yeah, I think Luke’s (Lambert) just super, super good, and I was the one that, the second we were racing with Legacy, we almost wished we could keep going. Just the working relationship, right? Maybe not in that building, but just keep going. I was like — man, I wish the year wasn’t over, and for me, that was really special because I knew these guys just spent 36 weeks away from their families, and normally everybody’s just happy to be done for the year. And for them, it felt like we’re just getting going, and now we’re going to break up, right? Now we’re going to go away. So the second I knew he was available, I was really hoping we could get him, and obviously that worked out really well.

He’s just a really, really good team leader. Not even just for me, but just really good at being a team leader for the guys; the crew guys, people in the shop, running the direction of our car and helping the direction of our company, basically.

There’s not a crew chief that can come in anymore, and you’re hiring him for the four shocks he’s got in his briefcase. You’re hiring them for the processes, the people skills and everything. I think for him, that’s why there wasn’t a change. In my entire tenure at Spire on the 77 car, we haven’t let anybody go or brought anybody in. It stayed the same on the pit crew side that’s employed by HMS. They fought to continue to be on our car for Luke’s leadership and how he treats his people. And the same can go for obviously the spotters and everybody that works on the car; the hauler drivers, everybody. He just does a super good job of that. And then to me, just helps me and him keep each other kind of level-headed of this is a journey. We’re not walking into a Hendrick Motorsports where they’ve won championships and have all these trophies on the wall. We’re trying to get there and build that, and we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. So I keep him on the straight and narrow, and he does me probably a little bit more, for sure. But I think we have a really, really good balance of that.”

How much do drivers pay attention to criticism about this car and the type of racing it produces?

“I mean, if you’re Kyle Larson and you led 493 laps, you don’t care… you like it, right? I don’t know. I mean, for drivers, it’s obviously going to be frustrating if you’re faster and you can’t pass and everything. But I feel like it’s irrelevant for us if we’re going to complain and don’t have true solutions that are proven, right? And I think that’s where a lot of us are. We complain, but we only complain to a certain extent because we don’t have a solution. So if you’re really complaining, then if you don’t have a solution, what do you expect to change if you don’t have the solution? So I think all of us are hoping the higher-ups and smarter ones can continue to develop the product because ultimately, we want to have fun racing and racing each other, and not roll around and be difficult to pass and everything. But at the same time, too, I mean, they don’t make any mistakes. The Xfinity race are obviously super good, but I don’t know if you’d 100% see how good the racing is if you put all the Cup guys in there. There’s a lot of times that mistakes create really good racing, and I think that’s why you see Cup guys, especially Kyle (Larson) lately, go to the Xfinity Series and just dominate or run really, really good. He doesn’t make mistakes, or he makes a lot less compared to the guys around him.”

With that said, is coming to Kansas a little bit of a breath of fresh air, considering the racing we have seen here the past three years with this car?

“I mean, maybe.

Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just more fun as a driver, in the sense that you can move around and do different things and run the top. That’s just fun, in general.

But yeah, I mean, I don’t think any of us are 100% walking in and our fun levels peaked or not, whether it’s going to be a good race or not. It’s more if it’s just going to be fun to drive, which, I mean, is kind of the same. But yeah, I mean, but this one could be a snoozer, too, right? So you just never know when a really good race is going to happen or not. But definitely the trend of Kansas has been pretty good lately.”

Through these questions, you’ve mentioned the universe multiple times as if it’s working against you in some form. So I’m curious, does it currently feel like you’re maybe like pushing a boulder up a mountain right now?

“I mean, I feel like we’re getting it out of the way, right? Either misfortune or you can’t predict when someone’s going to spin, let’s say when you come off pit road on a green flag cycle. So there’s that. But also, too, there’s plenty of things that are self-inflicted, when they drop the jack or the motor breaks because of a part failure. The fuel pump breaks because of a part failure. Ultimately, you just kind of have to get those out of the way. So you just have your processes in place. You eliminate potential issues and everything.

Yeah, I mean, do I think we’re getting closer? Yes. Do I think there’s a race where I can be confident saying there’s going to be a race where we’re the dominant car that we’re going to be up front? Probably not yet. I don’t think we’re there. I think it’ll be a shock if we do dominate a race, so far. I think we still need to continue to get better and build a notebook.

But as you saw with Michael (McDowell) up front there at the end, you don’t have to be anywhere near the fastest car and you almost get it handed to you or given an opportunity to go steal one or take one. I probably think that’s probably where we’ll be. But we’re getting faster and we’re running the top five more often. It’s more likely to kind of land in your lap there as long as you’re there and continue. But I think we’re still a little bit far away from, you know, just flat out dominating races.”

Corey Heim was in here earlier talking about how the Trucks and the Cup cars are so much more similar than the Xfinity cars. Is that your experience, too?

“Yeah, for sure. You know, the power to downforce ratio, the on-throttle time, kind of what you do is, yeah, really similar or way more similar than the Xfinity car, obviously. I felt really comfortable the first time I got in a Cup car. And the first time I got in a Xfinity car, it took me kind of all race to get really used to it. So, yeah, I mean, it’s just different. But, you know, I kind of always thought of the truck as you have this really big right-rear quarter panel.

In the Cup car, you just take that quarter panel, you put it underneath. That’s basically the diffuser. So that’s kind of how I pictured it and thought about driving it; how it would feel and how you have to — you go from loading up the right-rear to loading up just the rear, in general, with the diffuser. And that kind of philosophy, you know, kind of somewhat worked when I first got in it.”

Going from Trucks to Cup wasn’t common, but you’ve done it. Zane’s (Smith) done it. If all the cars stay the same in all three series, do you feel that the Truck Series is going to become that developmental series for Cup?

“I mean, no. I don’t think that’s going to be, like, the move. I just think it’s so — like, Xfinity’s so expensive and so tough that, you know, I’m sure there’s kids right now in Xfinity that if they had a spot, the team paying for them or sponsoring them or working would just much rather than having them in the Cup car because it’s not too much different in cost. And you might as well just have them thrown to the wolves and just learn a year in a Cup car.

So, no, I think it’s more likely to happen, but I still think it is going to be rare that you jump from Truck to Cup without any Xfinity experience or anything. It just all depends on the level of the team’s faith in you and everything. But I think it’s definitely — it’s just not going to be as shocking when it happens. I think it’s still possible, but I think you have to, you know, go dominate Trucks or be really, really good. Or do a lot of things behind the scenes that they see value, whether it’s driving a Cup car or, you know, you get a Cup opportunity like I did, where I got to drive a Cup car one time and it was like — okay, well, you drive a Cup car, we’ll just throw you in there and let you learn for a year and see how long it takes you to figure it out. So, yeah, I just think it just opens up a lot more avenues where you can go Cruck to cup or now Xfinity to Cup.”

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Colorado’s Eli Tomac, motocross legend, driven to ‘prove he’s still got it’

While riding a tiny 50cc bike on his family’s ranch in southwest Colorado, a young Eli Tomac started down the track toward motocross immortality. Tomac, the son of iconic mountain biker John Tomac, got that first bike for Christmas when he was 4 years old. In the decades that followed, the father and son trained […]

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June 6, 2025

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While riding a tiny 50cc bike on his family’s ranch in southwest Colorado, a young Eli Tomac started down the track toward motocross immortality.

Tomac, the son of iconic mountain biker John Tomac, got that first bike for Christmas when he was 4 years old. In the decades that followed, the father and son trained relentlessly on what was at first a small-scale track on just a couple of acres.

Now, the same 800-acre ranch where Tomac still trains is a sprawling motocross oasis in the shadow of the Battle Rock sandstone formation in McElmo Canyon. There’s a full-size motocross track, multiple supercross tracks and some smaller practice tracks, too, encompassing about 80 acres.

“We started to build the track when we first started riding together, and it kept evolving as his bikes got bigger, as his skill level raised,” John Tomac said. “We just kept advancing the track with him. We added on, we refined it, we moved it a couple of times.

“There’s a lot of kids who are good racers when they’re younger, and they don’t pan out later. I think it helped that I was a professional athlete, we had the land to practice on, and I kind of knew a good pathway and I could gauge where he was at, and where he might end up. … But even with all that, he definitely exceeded what a normal expectation for a career would be.”

Tomac is the local headliner at the Thunder Valley National on Saturday in Lakewood.

A four-time motocross champion and two-time supercross champion, he’s racing there for the first time in a couple of years after injuries prevented him from competing in 2023 and ’24. Tomac enters the race in third place in the 450 class, 17 points behind leader Jett Lawrence.

The 32-year-old veteran’s won four times in Colorado as a pro. He claimed the first supercross event at Empower Field in 2019 and has also won at Thunder Valley three times: the 250 class in 2013, and the 450 class in 2018 and ’20. Thunder Valley promoter David Clabaugh says Tomac’s return “notches up the excitement around the event.”

Tomac, who broke his leg in February at a supercross race in Tampa, believes he still has the speed to win and vie for the circuit title this season despite being one of the oldest competitors in the field. Tomac placed second in the first race of the season at Fox Raceway, then fourth in the second race last weekend at Hangtown, where he won the first moto but crashed in the second.

“The comeback and the rebound have been really good,” Tomac said. “I’m looking forward to a better showing in Colorado, because the last time I raced in Colorado in 2024, I ended up breaking my thumb in Denver (during supercross). That was a bummer.

“… I’m more motivated when I show up in Colorado. I get this natural lift and motivation, and the home crowd’s always great.”

Colorado pro motocross racer Eli Tomac, ...

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado pro motocross racer Eli Tomac at the finish line jump during the 450 Moto #1 for the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship 2020 Thunder Valley National at Thunder Valley Park on Oct. 3, 2020. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

While Tomac looks to return to the Thunder Valley podium, John is the grand marshal of Saturday’s event. John’s guided Eli throughout his career, from the time Eli won his first race at Loretta Lynn’s at the age of nine, to Eli becoming the only rider ever to win his pro debut in 2010, and through the championships and Eli’s 108 total American Motorcyclist Association wins.

Eli said his father’s coaching and support have been critical to his success and longevity. The father-son duo got their start in the sport together when Eli was little and they’d travel to races with John competing in his own class as an amateur.

“He’s been with me by my side since the beginning of it all, going to every race,” Eli said. “It’s a little out of the ordinary, but we’ve made it work, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve been able to maintain a great father-son working relationship. He’s always had a great eye in terms of technique on the motorcycle, helping me find lines before the race, and the little details of the sport others might overlook.”

Considering both of their resumes, John and Eli are one of the most accomplished father-son duos to ever get on two wheels.

John won the National Off-Road Bicycle Association Championship in cross-country, downhill and slalom in 1988, and went on to accumulate several more titles before retiring in 2005 as the winningest mountain biker ever. He was also an elite road cyclist who competed for the U.S.A. Cycling National Team.

All that earned John induction into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame.

“There’s a reason why they call him ‘The General,’” said motocross racer and family friend Jeremy Martin, who trained with Eli in Cortez for several years. “That dude left no stone unturned, and he held you accountable. Even on the days you were tired, he showed up, put in the work, was consistent, was rock solid. He did what needed to be done when you never wanted to do it.”

Now, “The General” is determined to see his son finish his career on his terms.



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NASCAR Chicago Street Race course puts on a great show, Jeff Gordon says

Could the rain delays that dogged NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race in its first two years have inadvertently become its superpower? “Wet weather road racing is really exciting,” four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon told Chicago’s City Club on Thursday night. “The most exciting type of racing is not only slick (conditions) but drying pavement.” […]

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Could the rain delays that dogged NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race in its first two years have inadvertently become its superpower?

“Wet weather road racing is really exciting,” four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon told Chicago’s City Club on Thursday night. “The most exciting type of racing is not only slick (conditions) but drying pavement.”

Drying pavement is something the Grant Park 165, the premier event of the Chicago Street Race weekend, has seen plenty of. Rainy conditions forced NASCAR to shorten the race in 2023 and 2024, but both events also produced dramatic racing that gave pundits plenty to talk about.

The race weekend, which has drawn mixed reaction from locals because of the road closures, returns to downtown Chicago for a third year on July 5 and 6.

Last year Alex Bowman won the rain-delayed Grant Park 165 after staying on wet-weather tires, even as other race leaders swapped their tires for slicker ones better suited for the drying conditions. The victory snapped an 80-race winless streak for Bowman, who drives the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, of which Gordon serves as vice chairman.

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen won the rain-shortened Grant Park race in 2023, becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. Gordon, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, called the win “probably one of the most shocking things that’s happened in NASCAR in the last 30 years.”

Gordon said that when he first saw the course map for the inaugural street race, he wondered about some of the narrow stretches on the route. Some of the participating race teams were also initially nervous about the course, he said.

But drivers now love the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course, which offers high- and low-speed areas, narrow passes, and roomier stretches. The pop-up course runs through Grant  Park, down DuSable Lake Shore Drive and up Michigan Avenue.

“It’s a very fun and flowy” course, Gordon said. “It puts on a great show, and the drivers really love it.”

“They absolutely can’t wait to get here” next month, added Gordon, who was in Chicago for the 2023 and 2024 races and plans to return this year.

Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, on the grid during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina. (David Jensen/Getty)
Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, on the grid during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025, in Concord, North Carolina. (David Jensen/Getty)

“It’s such a cool event,” he said. “To see our race cars screaming around the streets of Chicago, and all the city has to offer, it’s so special for all of us competitors to be a part of.”

The launch of a street course was made possible in part by the Next Generation car, which NASCAR began using in the 2022 season. The Next Generation car was designed with several improvements, including better brakes, that opened the door to racing on different types of tracks, Gordon said.

Could the success of the Next Generation car in downtown Chicago pave the way for future NASCAR street races in other locations?

“I certainly think so,” Gordon said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “It opens up a whole new window of opportunity. (But) I’d like to see it stay here for a long time because it’s the perfect city for us to be in.”

Gordon said the race puts a spotlight on Chicago. The event also has helped expand NASCAR’s fan base, which has declined partly because iconic drivers such as Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Mark Martin have retired.

“When you have that many key figures in a sport step out, you lose fans,” Gordon said. “We’ve got to make drivers household names and faces again.”

With hotels, restaurants and entertainment footsteps away from the downtown course, he said the Chicago Street Race offers an enhanced experience for fans, partners and sponsors. Next month’s race weekend also will feature a Saturday night concert by the Zac Brown Band.

“It’s just a fun and exciting atmosphere that we see a lot of interest in,” Gordon said.

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Central Montana Motorsports Edition | News

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How to watch 2025 NASCAR Michigan: Schedule, start time, TV channel for Firekeepers Casino 400

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The 2025 Firekeepers Casino 400 is back at Michigan International Speedway for another year of racing. A 400-mile race that requires 200 laps to complete, it will mark the next race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Here’s what you need to know about the race, […]

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The 2025 Firekeepers Casino 400 is back at Michigan International Speedway for another year of racing. A 400-mile race that requires 200 laps to complete, it will mark the next race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Here’s what you need to know about the race, how to watch and more.

When is the Firekeepers Casino 400?

The Firekeepers Casino 400 is scheduled for Sunday, June 8th at 2 p.m. ET.

Where is the race?

The Firekeepers Casino 400 will take place at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

How long is the race?

The Firekeepers Casino 400 is a total of 200 laps and 400 miles.

Where can I watch the Firekeepers Casino 400? What channel will it be on?

The race will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video.

FINAL LAPS: Ryan Blaney wins Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway | NASCAR on FOX

How can I stream or watch the race without cable?

The Firekeepers Casino 400 can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

What is the Michigan International Speedway Schedule?

Friday, June 6th

  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice – 1 p.m. ET
  • ARCA Menards Series Practice – 2 p.m. ET
  • ARCA Menards Series Qualifying – 3:05 p.m. ET
  • ARCA Menards Series Henry Ford Health 200 – 5 p.m. ET (FS2)

Saturday, June 7th

Sunday, June 8th

Who is driving in the race?

There are 36 drivers entered into the Firekeepers Casino 400. Qualifying starts on Saturday, 6/7. 



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Phorm Energy joins Hendrick Motorsports in multi-year partnership – Speedway Digest

Newly announced Phorm Energy has joined 14-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports in a multi-year partnership that will help launch a new game-changing energy drink. The agreement, which begins immediately and runs through 2027, will feature dynamic marketing integrations, including primary sponsorship of the No. 24 Chevrolet team, branding with pit crew athletes and […]

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Newly announced Phorm Energy has joined 14-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports in a multi-year partnership that will help launch a new game-changing energy drink. The agreement, which begins immediately and runs through 2027, will feature dynamic marketing integrations, including primary sponsorship of the No. 24 Chevrolet team, branding with pit crew athletes and a presence inside Hendrick Motorsports’ new athletic center.

Phorm Energy is a powerful partner for those committed to unlocking their full potential. Available in four varieties – Screamin’ Freedom, Blue Blitz, Orange Fury and Grape Smash – Phorm Energy boasts natural flavors, natural caffeine from green tea, electrolytes for hydration and a blend of ingredients aimed at supporting mental focus. Built by two American manufacturers with proud St. Louis roots, this energy drink is the first innovation from the partnership of Anheuser-Busch, 1st Phorm and Dana White.

“Launching Phorm Energy is a huge moment for our team and partnering with Hendrick Motorsports is just another way we can continue to grow and deliver something truly special,” said Sal Frisella, CEO, 1st Phorm. “We have built this brand for people that embrace the grit and grind in their everyday lives, and that’s something that Hendrick Motorsports and their drivers inherently know and understand. We know we found the right partner in Hendrick Motorsports and together we have big plans.”

As part of this new partnership, Phorm Energy will become a primary sponsor of the No. 24 Chevrolet for two races during the 2026 Cup Series season and four events in 2027. The team opened 2025 with its second consecutive DAYTONA 500 victory and currently leads the regular season standings.

The Phorm Energy brand will also serve as a full-year associate sponsor of the Nos. 5, 24 and 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The partnership will incorporate the organization’s elite athletes with Phorm Energy logos placed on firesuits and helmets for the Nos. 5, 24 and 48 pit crews. The three race cars will feature Phorm Energy branding around fuel ports and enhanced logo placement on fueler uniforms.

In addition, the collaboration will extend to Hendrick Motorsports’ new 35,000-square-foot athletic center and corporate meeting space, which broke ground in April and is scheduled to open before the 2026 season. Located on the team’s campus in Concord, North Carolina, the state-of-the-art facility will feature Phorm Energy products and branding, while serving as a hub for training, recovery and overall health for Hendrick Motorsports athletes and employees.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to work with a powerhouse like Anheuser-Busch, as they launch Phorm Energy and build something new,” said Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. “As a brand grounded in shared values of dedication and hard work, we’re proud that the No. 24 team and our incredible athletes get to be part of their community. We’re making a major investment in our facilities to support our teammates with the best possible resources, and it’s exciting to have Phorm Energy involved from day one. We look forward to collaborating on a distinctive and authentic program.”

Hendrick Motorsports PR



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Forgotten Speedways: Memphis Motorsports Park

Introduction Every track, past, present, and future, has a story to tell–a storied history with some legendary moments and legendary winners. Since its inception in 1949, 179 unique speedways and tracks have been featured on the NASCAR circuit across its many distinctive series. Today, only 53 of those still remain on the schedule across all […]

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June 6, 2025

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Introduction

Every track, past, present, and future, has a story to tell–a storied history with some legendary moments and legendary winners. Since its inception in 1949, 179 unique speedways and tracks have been featured on the NASCAR circuit across its many distinctive series. Today, only 53 of those still remain on the schedule across all of NASCAR’s divisions, while the others often waste away. Some get sold to real estate developers. They get turned into condos or a Walmart or a parking lot or a shopping mall. Others get left to ruin, a painful reminder of their former glory. And some get torn down in order to build a new short track, but never reach beyond the blueprint and/or good idea phase of planning.

For this new series, titled Forgotten Speedways, I thought that it would be interesting to take a look back at some of the tracks that were once mainstays on the NASCAR schedule at some level but have since, for one reason or another, been left off the schedule entirely to erode to Father Time. And, with NASCAR’s more recent interest in having a presence in the Nashville area, I thought it would be appropriate to kick off this series with the long-forgotten other Tennessee racetrack that was once exclusive to the Xfinity and Truck Series, Memphis Motorsports Park.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

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A Brief History

Memphis Motorsports Park opened in 1986 by founder Ed Gatlin in Millington, Tennessee, a suburb of the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The idea was to, across 400 acres of land, build a racing complex of sorts, consisting of a 0.83-mile dragstrip, a 1.7-mile road course, a dirt track, and a go-kart track. Under this initial leadership, the park hosted the NHRA and the IHRA for their Midsouth Nationals racing events, which were held from 1988 to 2009.

But the property we’re looking specifically at today is the D-shaped oval purpose-built to attract NASCAR and their top 3 nationally touring divisions. Ground for the track broke in 1997, under the new ownership of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. However, in July of 1998, Dover Motorsports acquired the facility and held ownership of the track through the 2010 season. Beginning in ’98, the track hosted its first sanctioned NASCAR races, hosting the then-NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series. The track also hosted ARCA events sporadically throughout its tenure.

After NASCAR held its final race at the track in 2009, ARCA continued to race at the facility until 2020. After NASCAR left, the property was sold to the now-defunct Palm Beach International Raceway. Now, the track is currently owned by IRG Sports and Entertainment Group.

Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images

Track Layout

The former NASCAR oval at Memphis Motorsports Park is a D-shaped short track oval, similar to the design of Richmond Raceway and Iowa Speedway. It measures in at 0.75 miles in length and consists of a worn and abrasive asphalt surface. The banking in the wide-sweeping corners is 11 degrees. Meanwhile, the backstretch is 3 degrees in banking while the frontstretch is barely steeper at 4 degrees. When the track was built, it was built on the land where the now-closed dirt track once sat. A new dirt track was later built on the site of the defunct go-kart track.

Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images

Featured Series

The track was an exclusive to the lower ranks of NASCAR as they never were able to secure a Cup Series date. Still, it made for a fun stand-alone weekend. The NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series raced there typically in the fall, usually in the month of October, typically when the NASCAR Cup Series was racing at Atlanta.

Both ARCA and the Trucks hosted their first races there in the track’s inaugural season, 1998. The Xfinity Series was added to the weekend festivities in 1999. The second and third-tier series raced at MMP until 2010, their last races occurring in 2009. ARCA, meanwhile, returned in 2001 but only for a one-off. In 2017, Memphis Motorsports Park became a regular fixture on the ARCA Menards schedule until 2020.

After the 2020 season, the D-shaped over was shuttered. However, the drag strip continued to host IHRA races until 2023.

Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images

Notable Winners

The list of winners at Memphis Motorsports Park reads like the who’s-who of NASCAR racing. The driver with the most wins there in the Xfinity Series at 2 is Kevin Harvick. Harvick won there in 2000 and then again during his 2006 championship campaign. Other former Busch/Nationwide winners include Carl Edwards, Clint Boyer, Jeff Green, Brad Keselowski, Randy LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr., among others.

In the truck garage, Ron Hornaday won there three times while Jack Sprague and Travis Kvapil both have two wins apiece. Other Truck Series winners were Greg Biffle, Bobby Hamilton, and Ted Musgrave.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Track Today

Sadly, the track today has been left to ruin. Since the closure of the drag strip in 2022, the track was sold to IRG Sports and Entertainment. Currently, it sits abandoned. It has been taken over with overgrowth and brush, especially in the in-field. There is no word as to what plans are for the land. We only know that slowly, it is being demolished.

That does it for this entry of Forgotten Speedways, Daily Downforce readers. Do you remember Memphis Motorsports Park? It was a mainstay on the schedule when I was growing up and first getting into the sport. Would you like to see it make a comeback? And, if so, to what capacity? Is there room for another D-shaped short track oval in a modern NASCAR schedule? Let us know what you think! And, if you enjoyed this series and would like to suggest other tracks we can cover, let us know! Until next time, stay awesome.



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