Motorsports

For some NASCAR drivers, dogs are more than pets, they’re family

AVONDALE, Ariz. — When Shane van Gisbergen was offered the chance to move from Australian Supercars to NASCAR two years ago, he had one question: Can I bring my dog? And when we say dog, we really mean horse because Ronald is much closer to a small pony than he is to a large dog. “He’s a […]

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4 weeks ago

May 12, 2025

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — When Shane van Gisbergen was offered the chance to move from Australian Supercars to NASCAR two years ago, he had one question: Can I bring my dog?

And when we say dog, we really mean horse because Ronald is much closer to a small pony than he is to a large dog.

“He’s a pretty cool dog,” van Gisbergen said of the Rhodesian Ridgeback who weighs 130 pounds, which makes him five pounds heavier than Tyler Reddick, the reigning regular-season NASCAR Cup Series champion. Van Gisbergen wasn’t going to leave Australia without him.

“You can’t get rid of a dog,” he said. “He is part of our family.”

NASCAR driver Shane van Gisbergen walks his dog, Ronald, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

He couldn’t put Ronald on a plane because there weren’t any dog carriers big enough. So van Gisbergen and his girlfriend, Jessica Dane, had a special crate custom built for the 21-hour flight from Australia to the U.S., where Ronald lives with 18 horses, five cats and a rescue dog named Steve.

That menagerie is a bit extreme for a race car driver, but van Gisbergen isn’t the only animal lover on the NASCAR circuit. About a dozen drivers travel with their dogs so regularly, at least two tracks have built dog parks for the race teams.

“It kind of brings a feeling of home on the road,” said Alex Bowman, who has three dogs, an 8-year-old charcoal Labrador named Finn, a year-old Golden Retriever mix rescue named Huck and a goldendoodle named Merle that belongs to girlfriend Chloe Henderson, a self-proclaimed “dog mom.”

“My dogs are my best friends. So it’s always cool to have them at the race track,” said Bowman, who finished fifth in Sunday’s 400-mile race in Kansas City, Kan., the 12th event on the Cup Series schedule .

Bowman found he could no longer travel without his dogs after Roscoe, a rescued beagle mix he once took to Victory Lane at Daytona, passed away two years ago while he was testing in Indianapolis.

“I couldn’t be there. So that was pretty tough,” he said.

Alex Bowman drives the Ally Best Friends Chevrolet during practice for the Shriners Children's 500 NASCAR Cup race.

So tough, in fact, Bowman said Roscoe’s death inspired his team at Hendricks Motorsports to change their rules and allow the driver to bring his dogs on the team plane. And the driver isn’t the only member of the race team who benefits from that change.

“It’s cool to have dogs around,” said Sara Beam, Bowman’s media representative. “It’s like a therapy dog kind of. They make everybody happy.”

While everyone knows dogs like to chase cars, Bowman said there’s no chance you’ll see any of them trying to run one down during a NASCAR race.

“They’re not really near the track. They’re never in the pit area or in the garage,” said Bowman, 10th in the Cup standings after Sunday. “Things would have to go pretty wrong for that to happen.”

Bowman has long been an outspoken advocate for animal rescue, donating more than $750,000 over the past four years to animal welfare efforts through partnerships with Ally Racing and Best Friends Animal Society, a charity that promotes pet adoption and no-kill rescue. The paint scheme of the No. 48 Chevrolet, that Bowman drove to a seventh-place finish in Phoenix last month, included more than a dozen rescue dogs.

Trackhouse Racing has also allowed van Gisbergen, who has one top 10 finish this season, to bring Ronald on the team’s corporate plane, giving him his own seat.

“I’ve grown up with dogs and animals. It always puts a smile on your face,” said van Gisbergen, who will take Ronald on his morning runs at some tracks. “He’s always excited to see you you. He’s a pretty happy dude.”

Shane van Gisbergen's girlfriend, Jessica Dane, watches their dog, Ronald, on a flight.

Yet even with a reserved aisle seat on the plane it’s difficult for animals to make NASCAR’s western swings since race teams and drivers often stay in hotels, many of which don’t allow pets. However some dogs are easier to travel with than others.

Mexican driver Daniel Suárez, who also races for Trackhouse, says he takes Emma, a four-pound black-and-white Pomeranian, and Pepper, an 11-pound Manx cat, to about half his races each season. Before the Phoenix race, Suárez posted photos on Instagram of both pets wishing him luck.

Suárez, who has three top 10 finishes this year, credits his love for animals to his parents, who would routinely collect abandoned dogs on the streets around Monterrey, Mexico, and try to find them a forever home. They currently have 10 dogs at home, Suárez said, “and every one if them is picked up from the street.”

“The beautiful part about animals is that it doesn’t matter how much money you have. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the day you just had. They’re always there to give you a lot,” said Suárez, who supports animal-rescue groups such a PETA and the Humane Society of Charlotte, N.C., where he lives. “We’re really lucky to have animals in our lives.”

Drivers who, unlike Suárez, can’t hide their pets in their pocket, limit their dog’s travel to races within easy reach of the motor homes most Charlotte-based teams drive to the track. Erik Jones has been taking his 8-year-old German Shepherd Oscar to races since shortly after moving to the Cup Series full time in 2017.

“The dog’s always happy to see you,” he said. “No matter how your day goes, good or bad, if you can just go back and see him [it] gives me a chance to not think about racing for a second.

“We think about racing plenty through the week. So anytime you can your mind off it is nice.”

Although his wife, Holly, once brought her pet rabbit to the Easter race in Richmond, Va., Jones said he’s strictly a dog person.

“Taking him on the road, it never felt like a hassle to me,” said Jones, who has one top 10 finish this season. “It was just always fun to have him there. Always gave me something to kind of look forward to and keep myself entertained. It got me out more, taking him on walks and doing different stuff.”

Especially at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway, Oscar’s favorite track, which built a 7,000-foot dog park in the infield for use by fans and drivers.

When NASCAR Cup driver Shane van Gisbergen isn't racing, he's often spending time with his dogs.

“It’s just an evolution of logic and doing the right thing,” said Ben May, the raceway’s longtime president. “Dogs are family. And if you can do something special for someone’s dog, to some folks that’s the same as doing it for their kid, right? It’s a big deal.”

The Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, has two dog parks, one outside the track for fans and another in the infield for race teams and drivers.

Yet despite the drivers’ professed devotion for their dogs, much of the care, feeding and cleaning up after the dogs falls to members of the race crew or a driver’s wife or girlfriend.

“Madyson takes care of our dogs 85% of the time,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who shares Ruby and River, two goldendoodles, with his wife.

Stenhouse, who is 15th in the Cup series standings after Sunday’s race, said traveling with his dogs can add some extra tension to what already is a stressful job. In the end, however, it’s worth it.

“It can be a little bit of a pain sometimes trying to travel with them. Making sure you’ve got all the things packed and we’ve got food on the bus,” he said. “But it’s pretty comforting having them.

“Ours sleep in our bed with us. We’re on the road a lot and when you can have your dogs with you, it just makes you feel more relaxed and more like at home.”

Van Gisbergen agrees. So would he really have stayed in Australia with Ronald had he not found a way to bring the dog to the U.S.?

“You can’t really leave them behind,” he said with a shrug. “In Australia and New Zealand you can’t take your dog anywhere. We’re in America. You can take your dog anywhere.”

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Supersub Lewis stars en route to IMSA VP Challenge win at Mid-Ohio

IMSA veteran Corey Lewis played a fill-in role to perfection in Saturday’s first of two 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Lewis, substituting for the injured Matthew Dicken in the No. 36 RAFA Racing Ligier JS P320 won his first race in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) […]

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12 minutes ago

June 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

IMSA veteran Corey Lewis played a fill-in role to perfection in Saturday’s first of two 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Lewis, substituting for the injured Matthew Dicken in the No. 36 RAFA Racing Ligier JS P320 won his first race in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class. Dicken stood down with a shoulder injury and Lewis, Dicken’s longtime co-driver, filled in to capture the win.

He finished second on the road to Oscar Tunjo in the No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08, but took the top spot at the checkered flag as Tunjo was assessed a 10s post-race time penalty for a false start at the initial green flag, changing columns.

“It was a case of making our way through the day over the long run,” Lewis said. “We knew (Oscar) had the 10s penalty post-race. Just grateful to be in the No. 36; obviously this one goes out to Matt Dicken. Wish he was in the car racing and he would have done a great job.”

The race in P3 appeared to belong to the polesitting Valentino Catalano in the No. 30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 who led the opening 19 laps, but intermittent mechanical woes after the second race restart slowed his progress.

Catalano checked up heading into Turn 2, the Keyhole, on lap 20 where both Tunjo and Lewis made it past. Catalano eventually fell down the order to eighth overall, fourth in P3 at the checkered flag behind Bronze Cup winner Brian Thienes in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320.

The Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) race was a straightforward affair as Turner Motorsport captured a pair of wins with its two BMW M4 GT3s.

Jake Walker led flag-to-flag from pole for his third straight GTDX win in the No. 6 Turner BMW, with a key pass on Thienes earlier in the race helping to gap several of his GTDX competitors.

Michael Levitt/IMSA

“I tried to make the most out of creating a gap by putting a car in between me and just one more car than the other competitors would have to pass,” Walker explained. “But you know, it’s awesome racing against these guys. There’s some really fantastic drivers. I can’t thank BMW and Turner much more enough for just a fantastic car again.”

Walker won by 3.661s over points leader AJ Muss, who scored his fifth straight GTDX podium in the No. 66 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Adam Adelson in the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was third, ahead of Bronze Cup winner Vin Barletta in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

In Grand Sport X (GSX), Steven Clemons finally broke through for his first win of the season in the No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 over Kiko Porto.

Porto qualified fastest but was sent to the rear for an infraction found in post-qualifying technical inspection. Undeterred, the driver of the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota embarked on a mission through the 11-car GSX class field.

Clemons inherited the pole and started ahead of Porto’s teammate Ian Porter in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota. Chris Walsh started third in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

Porto climbed seven spots to fourth by the first full-course caution of the race on lap five following debris on course from an incident between two other GSX class cars. That positioned him right behind the leading trio for the restart, and two quick moves in the next green flag stanza got him to second behind Clemons ahead of the second restart with just under 20 minutes remaining. But Porto was unable to save enough of his tires and mount a pass on Clemons, ending 1.124s behind at the checkered flag. Porter was third, banking another podium and scoring the GSX Bronze Cup win.

“I was glad to run it home, flag-to-flag,” Clemons said. “I think we finally were able to pull through what we weren’t able to in Daytona. The team was able to set up a really good car. I think we were able to just put it all together.

“Figured towards the end of the race, both of our tires were gonna be equally shot at the end. I was not completely worried, but it was in the back of my mind, but just looking through the windshield.”

Porto recapped his comeback drive: “It was definitely a blast coming from the back. I destroyed the tires. But this is part of the situation that it had to be. I tried to put some moves together, but I definitely left it all on the table. (Clemons) definitely saved a little bit more of the tire.”

Sunday’s second race of the weekend, race six of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season, goes green at 9:00 a.m. ET. Coverage begins at 8:55 a.m. ET on Peacock in the U.S. and globally via IMSA’s Official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV.

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Stewart tops Top Fuel field at Thunder Valley Nationals | Motor Sports

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June 8, 2025

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Stewart Friesen Wins Thrilling Triple-Overtime NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at Michigan

Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon’s triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway – a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn’t want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps. The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had […]

Published

57 minutes ago

June 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race’s frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger’s Chevy by a slight .111-second – both drivers benefitting from a rash of late-race caution flags.

With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race.

“I don’t know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmar and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there’s a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,’’ Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.

While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.

“I don’t know,’’ he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently.

“We weren’t as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. …Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn’t meant to be.’’

ThorSport Racing’s Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start.

The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.

A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day’s strongest competitors – Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.

It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race’s best – NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.

He led a race 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.

Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th – his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener.

Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.

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Michigan FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR 10,15,20 and 25 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet

KEY: “1” besides a driver indicates they are from Group 1 Related Ryan Rantz President, founder and visionary of “ifantasyrace.com, the way you fantasy race”. Follow me on Twitter and LIKE my Facebook page. Truck Series Michigan NASCAR Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup Michigan FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR Practice 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat […]

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58 minutes ago

June 8, 2025

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KEY: “1” besides a driver indicates they are from Group 1

Ryan Rantz

President, founder and visionary of “ifantasyrace.com, the way you fantasy race”. Follow me on Twitter and LIKE my Facebook page.

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Carson Hocevar vs Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Does the Spire Motorsports Driver Expect Payback from the Daytona 500 Winner?

Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. emerged as the most talked-about names following the Nashville race, overshadowing even race winner Ryan Blaney. But as tempers cool, the drama appears to be losing steam. After a post-race conversation between the two, tensions seem to have eased, though Hocevar isn’t ruling out the possibility of payback. During […]

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1 hour ago

June 8, 2025

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During media availability ahead of the Michigan race, Hocevar was asked about his exchange with Stenhouse Jr., who had confirmed that the No. 77 driver reached out. “Yeah, I mean it was productive,” Hocevar replied. He acknowledged that both he and Stenhouse Jr. carry reputations for aggressive driving.

That shared edge, he said, was at the heart of their discussion. Despite their hard-nosed styles, Hocevar pointed out that they’ve typically raced each other clean, and there had been no previous bad blood. “I thought it was productive and, based off his comments, I felt like it was received productive,” Hocevar said, suggesting mutual respect remains intact.

When pressed on whether he expects retaliation — be it a scuffle off-track or a bump on it — the 22-year-old dismissed the notion of a physical altercation. He said, “Number one, no! And number two, I mean, they both hurt in some aspect… one physically and one financially. So, I mean, ultimately, it’s fun for fans.”

Does Denny Hamlin think there would be a retaliation move from Ricky Stenhouse Jr.?

Although Hocevar doesn’t see a physical confrontation with Stenhouse Jr. on the horizon, the latter’s past dust-up with Kyle Busch suggests that another flare-up isn’t entirely off the table. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin seems convinced that if Stenhouse Jr. gets the chance, Hocevar’s car will feel the brunt of it.

Speaking on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin didn’t mince words: “You can take this to the book. Ricky Stenhouse will absolutely wreck Carson Hocevar sometime in the near future. That’s just a fact. I put this week’s salary on it. I am not kidding. He ain’t going to punch him in the face. But he will absolutely wreck him.”

Hamlin characterized Stenhouse Jr. as a driver who listens to the noise and isn’t afraid to lean into it. In his view, Hocevar would be wise to brace for impact because, sooner or later, payback may come on four wheels.

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Chase Briscoe earns third consecutive NASCAR Cup pole, beating Kyle Busch

In NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Michigan, top speeds were reaching 200 mph with drivers running mostly wide open all around the two-mile speedway. But the best to do it was once again the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Briscoe. He has now earned pole position for three straight race weekends […]

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1 hour ago

June 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Michigan, top speeds were reaching 200 mph with drivers running mostly wide open all around the two-mile speedway.

But the best to do it was once again the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Briscoe. He has now earned pole position for three straight race weekends and four total this season, posting a fast lap of 195.514mph.

“Tried to run low,” Briscoe told NASCAR on Prime. “I felt like with all of us running wide open fairly easily, if you could just cut a lot of distance, it would be better. I ran low, but then I ended up way high on exit, and I felt like the guys that kind of opened up their entry would maybe beat me back to the line.”

Briscoe was surprised the lap was good enough for pole, but he’ll happily take it. Briscoe hasn’t won a race since joining JGR, and he hopes a strong Saturday can finally translate into a winning weekend.

“We’ve been able to do that three weeks in a row and we haven’t really been able to execute with it so hopefully you know, third time’s the charm and hopefully we can finally get one on Sunday.”

Busch joins Briscoe on the front row

Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Ronda Churchill Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Joining Briscoe on the front row will be the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Kyle Busch. This is his second front row start of the year after qualifying second at Talladega. He is in the middle of the longest winless streak of his career with over 70 races since his last trip to Victory Lane.

‘It did (surprise me),” said Busch when asked about the lap, as he appeared to struggle in practice. “We were a little bit down on the board there in practice and just didn’t have a good feel for the race car early on the tires. It got a little bit better with laps, but still, I didn’t go faster. I just ran the same speed the whole time. We made a lot of adjustments on it, though. I wasn’t really feeling the right front tire.

“It felt a little sketch coming to the checkered off of Turn 4, using up a little more race track than I wanted to in our Chevrolet. But posted a good lap. So, happy with that. Start up front, we can see the front, get a good pit stall selection and track position is everything these days so let’s go hold that.”

Denny Hamlin qualified third, William Byron fourth, and Kyle Larson, who went for a wild ride in a World of Outlaws sprint car race last night, was fifth.

Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Zane Smith filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Tyler Reddick, who is the defending winner of this race, qualified 12th. Nashville winner Ryan Blaney qualified 13th as he tries to go back-to-back. Both of these drivers suffered cut tires in practice, but avoided damaging their cars.