Josh Berry All-Star Media Availability – Speedway Digest
Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing, secured his spot in the All-Star Race earlier this year with his first career victory, taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry spoke about being part of the main event earlier today at North Wilkesboro Speedway. […]
Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing, secured his spot in the All-Star Race earlier this year with his first career victory, taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry spoke about being part of the main event earlier today at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
JOSH BERRY, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DOES NORTH WILKESBORO STILL FEEL AS IMPORTANT TODAY AS 2023 AND WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE WITH THIS TRACK? “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a lot of fun the last couple of years coming back here. They’ve done an amazing job with the facility. It’s probably one of the, if not the nicest short track in this area now, at least that you can take late model cars and race at, so a super good job. It’s been fun. I think all I’m looking for is as the track ages some and hopefully continues to widen out and creates more grooves and just races better.”
YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME. DOES THE GOOD RUN LAST NIGHT HELP AS FAR AS MOMENTUM FOR THE REST OF THE WEEKEND? “I don’t think I take a lot of momentum necessarily from last night, but I think we have a lot of momentum from how we’ve been running. Obviously, a couple missed opportunities here or there, but we’ve been really fast and that’s what it takes to win these races. We’ve just got to work on the execution things a little bit better. That starts today and if we can do that, I feel like there’s no reason why we can’t contend for this thing.”
WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THIS TIRE WILL HAVE ON THE RACING, AND HOW SIMILAR DOES THE MARTINSVILLE TIRE FEEL FROM A STANDARD SHORT TRACK TIRE YOU’RE USED TO? “It’s hard to say. I think hopefully the Martinsville tire has more fall off. That’s really what we’re after. It’s gonna be hard to say if that’s the case. We’re racing at night time with cooler track temps and that will help tire wear, but I really don’t know what to expect. I don’t think it really compares much to last night. I mean, racing those cars at a place like this they tend to bring harder tires than what you would run at the average short track, just because of the speed, so it’s not really a direct comparison, but hopefully the Martinsville tire adds a little bit of fall off to it and creates some more strategy.”
DOES THIS TRACK STILL HAVE A LOT OF GRIP OR IS IT STARTING TO AGE A BIT? “It’s still got a lot of grip. I think it came in quicker. You tend to see with repaves with no rubber down they can be really kind of sketchy the first couple of laps until rubber gets put down, but it seemed like that was a little better, so I think it will be pretty normal. I don’t think the surface has changed a whole lot.”
WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THE COCA-COLA 600 SUCH A COMPETITIVE RACE? “It’s the longest race in our sport and that opens up a lot of opportunities for comers and goers. You obviously have to have a good balance to start the race, but then it cools off and you’ve got to stay up with the track. It’s just a grind. For us, I’m really excited to get there with the speed we’ve had on the intermediates. I finished 10th there last year. Obviously, I would have liked to run the full 600 miles to get the full experience, but I think it’s a fun one. It’s a crown jewel. The prerace is a lot of fun and really special. We’re excited to get there.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE SPORT TO BE AROUND CHARLOTTE? “It’s home for nearly all of us, so to get to race at home and bring your friends and family, there’s always a good crowd. The pits are always packed, so that just makes it a little extra special.”
IT’S BEEN NEARLY A YEAR SINCE SHR ANNOUNCED ITS PLANS TO GO AWAY. WHAT GOES THROUGH OUR MIND AS YOU REFLECT ON YOUR JOURNEY THIS PAST YEAR SINCE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT? “It’s been a lot. A lot happened in 12 months from that point. The biggest thing is I’m just really thankful for this opportunity that I’ve been in with the 21 team. It’s been such a great fit for all of us and whenever you go through that transition you wonder how it’s gonna work and how it’s gonna be. Last year was hard. We went through this stretch through the summer and had some good runs, showed some potential. There were races we were in contention and then towards the end it got super hard just to be competitive and then you leave your season wondering how good you are at this stuff. To come into the 21 team and put in the work we did in the offseason just getting to know each other and to come out with the speed like we’ve had, it’s been a big deal. I’m just super proud of that and thankful for the opportunity to go drive for them. It’s been a lot of fun this season. It’s just crazy how quickly things can change, I guess.”
THREE OF THE FOUR OF YOU GUYS ARE IN A PLAYOFF SPOT RIGHT NOW. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WITH THE JOURNEY ALL OF YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH? “It’s hard to say. Obviously, we’re faster and I don’t know why. There was tons of amazing people there. I don’t really know why it’s been so different, but we’re just more competitive. I think last year a lot of people looked at us as underperforming and now we’re overperforming. It changes just like that. The perception has changed completely. Like I said, I think we’ve all fallen into really good positions with great teams and I’m thankful for that. Thankfully, we all did enough last year to find those opportunities and come out on the other side of it.”
HOW MUCH PRIDE TO YOU TAKE IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE LATE MODEL STOCK CAR SERIES AS THE ALL-TIME WINNER, AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO CUP SERIES FANS AS TO WHY THEY SHOULD WATCH TONIGHT ON FS1? “It’s obviously really cool to get them on FS1. The biggest thing, to me, is just the racing is good. Hopefully, tonight puts on a good show, but they go to tons of different tracks around here that put on really good racing, so the biggest thing is I just hope it draws a good audience and gets people excited about it to where they can do it more often. I’ll be honest. I watch ARCA races and they’re horrible. CARS Tour puts a way better product on to be on TV and they deserve a spot like that. I think hopefully tonight they do that. Hopefully, they don’t get too crazy – everybody getting wild on television. Hopefully, we can get the races started and stay on time, but I’m excited to see how it does. I think it’s a great product. The series is obviously really competitive. It’s more competitive then ever and way more competitive than even when I was a part of it, so it’s a lot of positives for that deal. Hopefully, they knock it out of the ball park.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE IDENTITY FOR THIS ALL-STAR RACE SHOULD BE MOVING FORWARD? “I think most of us would have liked to have seen something to change it up a little bit. I think the run what you brung deal was way far out of expectation. I think it was too far out, but I’m sure teams would have been interested in doing some sort of change to just see what happens. I feel like they’ve done that in year’s past to get a data point for how to improve the racing, so I don’t know. Obviously, it was on their radar if they were considering to do that kind of race. It was on their radar to do something different, but maybe the timetable just didn’t work out to get it all figured out. I think this race should be an opportunity for us to maybe try things under a race setting, whatever that is – whether it’s tires or aero or horsepower or anything along those lines, just to see if we can help the product. We’re all still gonna be just as competitive and race just as hard and all the teams are gonna work just as hard. There’s a million dollars on the line. It’s not like it’s gonna change anything. We’ll just see if something sticks, I guess.”
WHAT’S THE FRUSTRATION LEVEL NOW AND HOW DIFFERENT IS IT HAVING TOUGH FINISHES WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING WELL? “The frustration is considerably less compared to last year. Being competitive is the biggest thing. That’s the hardest thing to figure out is how to be fast and lead these races and get yourself in contention, and we’ve done that a lot. It’s frustrating to make mistakes and those mistakes fall on me, but all we can do is just continue to put me in that position and keep working on those things and getting better and the finishes will come. We’re fortunate to have that win in the bank and, like I said, I’m not very frustrating with how it’s been going. To be leading the race at Texas. We see when you hit that bump I wrecked, but it was a learning thing to learn what we need to do better the next time. Last week stings more because I think we had a chance at that one if I didn’t speed on pit road, so that one stung a little bit more, but, all in all, our whole team is doing a great job. Our cars are fast and we’ve just got to do the little things a little bit better and we’ll be up there.”
IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE IN THE TOP 16 IN POINTS WHEN THE PLAYOFFS START EVEN THOUGH YOU ALREADY HAVE A SPOT CLINCHED? “Yeah. It’s a different point system from what we’ve had in year’s past, but it’s still a way to rank your season. We want to be up there as high as we can and be more consistent being there. That’s the way you take the next step into being a championship contender or championship favorite. It’s the speed and the consistency, so if we’re able to keep clawing up the standings, I think that’s another sign that we’re continuing to progress and we’re gonna try to do the best that we can each and every week and score as many points as we can.”
“Chase Elliott Has Got to Step Up”: Kyle Petty Raises Serious Questions Around Hendrick Motorsports Star
Chase Elliott finished Sunday’s Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway in fifth place. Following his third-place finish in Mexico City, this result marked his first consecutive top-five finishes in the 2025 season. This might seem like a reason for optimism, but former driver Kyle Petty believes that the No. 9 driver still needs to […]
Chase Elliott finished Sunday’s Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway in fifth place. Following his third-place finish in Mexico City, this result marked his first consecutive top-five finishes in the 2025 season. This might seem like a reason for optimism, but former driver Kyle Petty believes that the No. 9 driver still needs to step up his game massively.
At Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe have regularly reached Victory Lane and consistently perform at a high level. At Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson and William Byron have also won, racing at the highest level.
Petty’s issue is that Elliott hasn’t followed their lead by delivering better results, as the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates have. Moreover, he believes that Elliott is only a shell of the driver he used to be. Petty said, “If we say internal competition, Larson has won three. Byron has won one, dominated Darlington, and was strong at Nashville. Is Chase stepping up?”
“Since 2023, Chase Elliott has won only one race. One race, people. I know you’ve got all the t-shirts, I know you’ve got all the hats, I know he’s Mr. Most Popular. But how can our most popular driver not win races and not even be the best driver in the team he drives for?”
Petty acknowledged the idea that more road course races are coming up and that these tracks are where Elliott has been at his best historically. But then, he also pointed out how he hasn’t won a road course race since 2021. This raises the question of whether the sport’s most popular driver is a has-been. Is Elliott’s best behind him?
To silence those doubts, Elliott needs to step it up. He needs to win races and go back to being the hero who could tame any challenge thrown at him all season. Petty continued, “Is that good enough? Is that good enough for what the fans’ expectations are? Is that good enough for the Hendrick organization? Is that good enough for the sponsors?”
“If it is, more power to you. But in a sport where we reward wins and we reward championships, we need somebody to step up. Chase has got to step up. And if we are complacent and we are satisfied with as good as it gets, so be it. I am not.”
Elliott‘s next race will be at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and a win would go a long way in meeting the expectations of critics like Petty.
Taylor to make Truck Series debut with Spire at Lime Rock
Jordan Taylor will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Lime Rock Park this weekend with Spire Motorsports. The organization announced Monday that Taylor will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet, sponsored by Gainbridge at Lime Rock (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET) in the inaugural event for the Truck Series at the Connecticut road circuit. “I’m […]
Jordan Taylor will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Lime Rock Park this weekend with Spire Motorsports.
The organization announced Monday that Taylor will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet, sponsored by Gainbridge at Lime Rock (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET) in the inaugural event for the Truck Series at the Connecticut road circuit.
“I’m eager to join Spire Motorsports for the LiUNA 150,” said Taylor. “I have spoken with a few members of the team for a few years now, so it’s great (that) things have finally come together. I know it’s going to be tough jumping into the series mid-season, but I know I am joining one of the top teams in the Craftsman Truck Series.
“Our Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado will for sure be competitive, I just hope I can adapt to the truck quickly on the short weekend. Lime Rock Park is a track I know really well, but obviously all my experience around there is in much different types of cars, so I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”
Taylor is a four-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner. He is a decorated road course racer and currently competes full-time for Wayne Taylor Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series.
“Jordan Taylor’s body of work speaks for itself,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “His accomplishments at the global level are more than impressive so we’re obviously thrilled to have Jordan drive our No. 7 Gainbridge Chevy Silverado this weekend at Lime Rock Park. This is also a great opportunity to connect with our friends at Wayne Taylor Racing and shine a bit of a spotlight on the TWG Motorsports family.
“There is no doubt Wayne and Jordan set a very high standard when it comes to road racing and can only help us be better. Expectations are high and, collectively, we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Lime Rock will be Taylor’s fourth NASCAR national series start. Taylor made two Xfinity Series starts in 2023 (Portland and Charlotte Roval) in addition to a Cup Series start (Circuit of The Americas).
RACE RESULTS: The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI’s Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, here’s where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend’s race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes 1. Denny Hamlin […]
RACE RESULTS: The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono
Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI’s Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, here’s where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend’s race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).
Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
1. Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin didn’t miss a beat, although he didn’t compete at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, finishing second to his teammate Chase Briscoe at one of his best racetracks. In his last three races, Hamlin has started and finished inside the top-three. (Previously: 4th)
2. Chase Elliott
Back-to-back top five finishes for the first time this season for Chase Elliott. Now, this is what we’ve expected to see from the ultra-consistent driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. One more week of this, and who knows… he could take the top spot in the rankings. (Previously: 3rd)
3. Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher is like a shark circling a puddle of blood in the ocean right now. The blood that Buescher has been sniffing in recent weeks is his first win of the season, and it feels like a certainty that one is coming sooner rather than later. (Previously: 6th)
4. Christopher Bell
Another so-so afternoon for Christopher Bell, but at the same time another afternoon where crash damage hasn’t stopped the No. 20 from recording a solid top-20 result. Bell is hoping for success in the series’ return to Atlanta, where he won in the Spring. (Previously: 1st)
5. William Byron
It was a truly valiant effort for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team as they rebounded from damage sustained in qualifying to work their way into the conversation for the win at Pocono. However, things didn’t pan out, and Byron was mired deep in the field late and finished 27th. (Previously: 2nd)
6. Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney persevered to a third-place finish despite his cool suit failing just 15 laps into the race. That made for a long, hot day, but not enough to keep Blaney off the podium. (Previously: 7th)
7. Chase Briscoe
The weight has been lifted from Chase Briscoe’s shoulders, after saving a massive amount of fuel to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway. The victory locks the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE and Briscoe into the post-season. (Previously: 9th)
8. Kyle Larson
At times, it wasn’t pretty. But Kyle Larson got a much needed seventh-place finish a week after he was wiped out early in the event at Mexico City. (Previously: 8th)
9. Ryan Preece
Another week, another impressive Ryan Preece performance. The driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford came home in eighth, and he continues to showcase the speed and ability capable of making it into the Playoff field. (Previously: 12th)
10. Ross Chastain
There’s not much to say about Ross Chastain’s afternoon at Pocono other than it was a pretty quiet one. Obviously, the finish isn’t what the team wanted, but staying out of the headlines isn’t always a bad thing. (Previously: 5th)
11. Erik Jones
Erik Jones has been on one lately. His 13th-place finish on Sunday at Pocono continues a recent string of consistent finishes. Over his last seven starts, Jones has five finishes inside of the top-15, and just one finish outside of the top-20. He’s sliced his way from 30th in the championship standings to 18th over that span. (Previously: 14th)
12. Joey Logano
Logano finished 16th to snap a trend of finishes outside the top-20, but didn’t exactly get back on track. He did pick up some stage points and led five laps during the first half of the race to salvage some points on the day. (Previously: 13th)
13. Tyler Reddick
After brake issues for both of his teammates, Tyler Reddick spent time in the garage addressing that to prevent any further issues on that front. Reddick ultimately finished 32nd after crossing the line third at the end of Stage One. (Previously: 10th)
14. Josh Berry
Josh Berry finished second in Stage Two and brought home the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in the 12th spot. Oddly enough, that is his third 12th-place finish in the last five races. (Previously: 19th)
15. Bubba Wallace
About a dozen laps after teammate Riley Herbst hit the wall with a flat tire, Bubba Wallace’s day also ended after a right-front issue put him in the fence in turn two. Wallace had put together three straight solid finishes, so the DNF at Pocono was certainly disappointing. (Previously: 11th)
16. Alex Bowman
A drama-free 10th-place run is just what the doctor ordered for Alex Bowman, who estimated going into Sunday’s race that he is operating at about 85-90% health following his hard hit at Michigan. (Previously: 20th)
17. Austin Cindric
On a day where the storylines were streategy decisions and mistakes made on and off the track, Cindric kept his head down and fought to a 10th place finish. It’s Cindric’s first top-10 since his win at Talladega. (Previously: 18th)
18. John Hunter Nemechek
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt was a man that everyone knew the name of. If John Hunter Nemechek keeps putting up performances like his sixth-place result on Sunday, he may rival ole John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt as the most recognizable John there is. (Previously: 24th)
19. AJ Allmendinger
AJ Allmendinger finished 21st, a solid recovery from a weekend that started with issues during his qualifying lap. While they’ll have some chagrin with the result, the June stretch has been a big turnaround for the team after some disappointing results in May. (Previously: 17th)
20. Brad Keselowski
After recording no top-10 finishes through the opening 12 races of the season, Brad Keselowski has now chiseled in three top-10s over his last five starts. He finished ninth at Pocono, but had it not been for a couple of pit road blunders, he very well could have been in the conversation for a race win. (Previously: 25th)
21. Ty Gibbs
It’s definitely a step in the right direction from the early-season performances for Ty Gibbs, but a 14th-place result, when your teammates finish first and second, isn’t ideal. At this point, Gibbs will have to secure his first career victory in order to make the post-season. (Previously: 22nd)
22. Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell was another driver who suffered a brake issue at Pocono, going behind the wall 75 laps into the race. It’s a tough break for the No. 71 team coming off a top-five finish at Mexico City. (Previously: 15th)
23. Carson Hocevar
Carson Hocevar had plenty of pace throughout the day, but fell to 18th in the final run of the race. If there’s any consolation, he arguably had the save of the year after nearly spinning exiting turn three. (Previously: 23rd)
24. Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch spinning was the catalyst of the biggest incident (in terms of cars involved) in Sunday’s race. Fortunately, Busch was able to rebound to finish a respectable 20th. (Previously: 21st)
25. Shane van Gisbergen
After a victory last weekend in Mexico City, Shane Van Gisbergen returned to the harsh reality of learning how to race on ovals in Pocono. Although things were going solidly at times, running inside the top-20, a late spin put him a lap down and left him to finish outside the top-30. (Previously: 16th)
26. Daniel Suarez
Much like his teammate Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez had a quiet afternoon at Pocono Raceway, but the No. 99 was able to score a top-15 result. This week showed some major improvement for the team, especially when it comes to their speed on Saturday. (Previously: 27th)
27. Cole Custer
An eighth-place finish at Mexico City was looking like it would get backed up pretty early, after Cole Custer qualified inside the top-five, and spent a lot of the first-half of the race running there. However, the No. 41 got shuffled back in the scrambling of multiple strategies, but still scored a respectable P22. (Previously: 30th)
28. Zane Smith
No major issues for Zane Smith on Sunday, finishing 25th. The No. 38 didn’t have the speed that they have become accustomed to as of late, but no doubt, with a superspeedway up next, Smith (the polesitter at Talladega) has to be excited. (Previously: 28th)
29. Justin Haley
Justin Haley recovered from a flat tire to finish 19th at Pocono, his first top 20 finish since a 15th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway. (Previously: 32nd)
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Since being wrecked by Carson Hocevar at Nashville Superspeedway, the season has seemed to fall apart for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports, as the No. 47 recorded a 30th-place result at Pocono and dopped three spots to 24th in points. (Previously: 26th)
31. Austin Dillon
A 24th-place finish for Austin Dillon in Sunday’s race at Pocono isn’t bad. But it isn’t particularly great either. Dillon and the No. 3 team are still trying to get their legs underneath them this year. (Previously: 31st)
32. Noah Gragson
Nothing terribly exciting to write home about for Noah Gragson, finishing a respectable 23rd-place finish. In a season that has involved lots of adversity, the Las Vegas, Nevada-native is likely happy to have an uneventful afternoon. (Previously: 34th)
33. Todd Gilliland
It wasn’t a super exciting day for Front Row Motorsports across the board, with all three drivers finishing from 23rd to 28th. Gilliland was the lowest of the three drivers after sustaining crash damage. (Previously: 29th)
34. Ty Dillon
After the disappointment in Mexico City, Ty Dillon was collected in the multi-car incident just past halfway and finished 33rd on Sunday at Pocono. The No. 10 team will be eager to turn things around at EchoPark Speedway. (Previously: 33rd)
35. Cody Ware
It looked like it was shaping up to be a rough weekend for Cody Ware and the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team after Ware backed his car into the Turn 3 wall in practice. However, Ware kept the car clean on Sunday, ran in the top-25 for a small chunk of the race, and finished top-30 for the eighth time this season. (Previously: 36th)
36. Riley Herbst
Brake issues put Riley Herbst in the wall shortly after the start of the second stage, throwing a wrench into his day at Pocono. Herbst finished 37th in the final rundown. (Previously: 35th)
NASCAR set for summer stretch March Madness style. Will new tournament end summer schedule malaise?
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — It’s time to bust out the brackets, pick an upset or two, and follow winners on the road — a journey over city streets, concrete and bricks — to the final four and beyond. LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — It’s time to bust out the brackets, pick an upset or […]
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — It’s time to bust out the brackets, pick an upset or two, and follow winners on the road — a journey over city streets, concrete and bricks — to the final four and beyond.
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — It’s time to bust out the brackets, pick an upset or two, and follow winners on the road — a journey over city streets, concrete and bricks — to the final four and beyond.
Totally awesome, baby?
Forget all the upset specials in March.
NASCAR will find out soon enough if its attempt to snap out of a mid-summer malaise with its first in-season tournament is a success with drivers and fans as it strives to boost engagement and build buzz in the staid regular season.
The concept has already juiced enthusiasm in NASCAR to levels not seen since the halcyon days when Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough duked it out in the 1979 Daytona 500.
“To be really honest with you,” 2020 NASCAR champion Chase Elliott said, “I have not paid any attention to it.”
Maybe a look at the matchup will get NASCAR’s most popular driver pumped!
Elliott is seeded fifth against No. 28 seed Austin Dillon in the first round of the head-to-head showdown in the race-within-the-race set for this weekend at the track better known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Here’s a refresher for Elliott and any other sports fan who missed out on the specifics of NASCAR joining the in-season tournament party, much like attempts in the NBA, NHL, and, of course, throughout the world in soccer.
NASCAR is set to start the engines on a five-race, bracket-style tournament called the In-Season Challenge in the midst of the summer slate, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner.
The final 32-driver field was set by results of the last three races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. The drivers are paired in head-to-head matchups based on seeding, with the winners advancing to the next round in a bracket format that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.
Buoyed by a win at Michigan and a runner-up finish at Pocono, Denny Hamlin earned the top seed. He’ll square off — race off? — against No. 32 seed Ty Dillon. Pocono winner Chase Briscoe is the No. 2 seed and is pitted against No. 31 seed Noah Gragson.
Chris Buescher is third, Christopher Bell fourth and Elliott fifth, among notable names.
The format is single elimination with the field cut to 16 at the street race in Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four on the lone concrete track in the series at Dover and the final two over the yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Challenge is part of NASCAR’s media rights deal that includes TNT, and the Atlanta-based cable network will broadcast all five races in the tournament, starting with the 400-miler in Atlanta.
Aside from a shrug from Elliott and a few others, drivers are intrigued by the idea of increasing the stakes in each race beyond a playoff berth, trophy and the winner’s purse.
“I love it. I think it’s great,” three-time Cup champion Joey Logano said. “I think it’s placed perfectly where it is in the season. This is kind of that moment where the newness is worn off. We’re into the rhythm, we’re racing every week. It’s starting to start a little bit of, who’s going to be in the playoffs, who’s not, the cutoff line all those types of things. But it’s not really the main story quite yet.”
Stories are what sell, of course, and the sizzle in Pocono over the weekend had little to do with which drivers or teams are the ones to beat for the 2025 championship. Rather, it was whether two pedestrian drivers were going to fight, the end of Amazon Prime’s run of wildly-popular telecasts and Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win in his first race as a crew chief.
“This really spices up the mid-part of the season,” Logano said.
So does placing a few bucks on No. 11 to win.
But as of Monday afternoon, most sports gambling sites did not offer odds on specific matchups headed into Atlanta. NASCAR is offering $1 million to a winning fan with a perfect bracket in its fantasy game.
There are some quirks to the bracket: Shane van Gisbergen won the Cup race in Mexico City and is not in the field while series points leader William Byron is only a No. 9 seed. The tournament boasts matchups in the first-round of past Cup champions (Kyle Busch-Brad Keselowski), former teammates (Briscoe-Gragson), and even best friends (Bubba Wallace-Daniel Suarez).
The idea for the challenge was largely championed by Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion who floated the idea of a mid-season tournament on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast. When NASCAR bought into the idea and announced the creation of the tournament last year, Hamlin called the tournament on social media “such a win for our sport and drivers.” He jokingly added, “I will collect my 1M royalty next season.”
Hamlin’s on deck and clearly a favorite to win it all, with three wins this year for Joe Gibbs Racing and the top seed.
(And let’s not haggle over who gets credit in court.)
“I’m a sports guy, so I’m going to be engaged with it,” Hamlin said. “I’ll know who I will have to beat next week. I’ve told the team, we are going to try and do what we can. We are going to be up against it because we are going to tracks that aren’t very favorable to me. But we are going to try to do our best to beat that one car for the next four to five weeks.”
NASCAR will present the tournament winner at Indianapolis with a ring, jackets, trophy and — oh yeah, a million bucks.
That’s enough cash to get anyone’s attention — even Elliott’s.
“I don’t know what you get. You get anything,” Elliott asked.
“Oh, a million dollars to the winner? Then yeah, we want to win.”
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
He may only be 16 years old, but a Port Charlotte teen is making big noise on the track. Greyson Greaves is turning heads in the NASCAR Weekly Series, speeding past expectations in his rookie season. “I love speed,” Greyson Greaves said. “I loved it, because there was a lot of competition and just a […]
He may only be 16 years old, but a Port Charlotte teen is making big noise on the track.
Greyson Greaves is turning heads in the NASCAR Weekly Series, speeding past expectations in his rookie season.
“I love speed,” Greyson Greaves said. “I loved it, because there was a lot of competition and just a lot of adrenaline.”
He’s speeding his way to the top of the pro-truck division of the NASCAR Weekly Series at New Smyrna Speedway.
In only his first year racing short-track ovals, he’s earned several top-five finishes.
“With a lot of veteran drivers, coming from being a rookie, there’s a lot of competition now that I have to get used to — and it’s just a really big learning experience,” Greyson Greaves said.
Greyson is no stranger to racing itself. The Port Charlotte High School junior started racing in karting events when he was nine years old.
This year, it was time to level up.
“We had to take another step, because in karting I was winning a lot and there wasn’t as much competition anymore,” Greyson Greaves said. “We got a couple of championships, won a couple of those and we needed somewhere to go and pro truck was it.”
Only a few months into pro-truck racing, Greyson is currently in first place for Rookie of the Year and third in the championship standings.
Greyson’s success on the track wouldn’t be possible without the support of his family — Team Greaves.
“It’s been awesome,” Greyson’s father, Phillip Greaves, said. “I mean, just to see where he’s come from to where he’s at now, it’s just amazing to watch. Definitely a great bonding experience. It’s really brought our whole family together even closer.”
And it’s only the beginning for this rising star.
“I would definitely like to be picked up by a NASCAR team,” Greyson Greaves said. “I would love to get to NASCAR, get to Xfinity. Definitely be a top driver in NASCAR.”
For Greyson Greaves, it’s New Smyrna now and it could be Daytona next.
Greyson’s next race is July 19 at New Smyrna Speedway.
In the fall, he will also suit up for the Port Charlotte High School football team.
Nitro Motorsports Powers to Strong Team Performance at Mid-Ohio in Trans Am TA2 Competition
June 23, 2025 June 23, 2025 – Nitro Motorsports continued its impressive 2025 campaign in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli, placing five drivers inside the top-ten during the Round 6 event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With strong qualifying efforts and consistent pace across the weekend, the team showed depth, determination, and execution at one of […]
June 23, 2025 – Nitro Motorsports continued its impressive 2025 campaign in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli, placing five drivers inside the top-ten during the Round 6 event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With strong qualifying efforts and consistent pace across the weekend, the team showed depth, determination, and execution at one of the most technical tracks on the calendar.
Leading the Nitro charge was Thomas Annunziata, who started fourth and battled within the lead pack throughout the 42-lap race to finish fourth overall. Right behind him, Sam Corry started fifth and finished fifth, showcasing a composed drive in the hot and slick conditions. Ben Maier, in the #80 Ford Mustang, gained four spots from his qualifying position to bring home a sixth-place result, continuing his strong season.
Laguna Seca race winner Gian Buffomante added another top-ten finish for Nitro Motorsports in eighth, while Cale Phillips placed 11th, but that result netted him a third-place finish in the Pro / Am class, adding another podium result for Nitro Motorsports. Also flying the Nitro banner were Mia Lovell (17th), Julian DaCosta (18th), and Boris Said Jr.(21st).
“This was a tough but ok weekend for the team,” explained Nick Tucker, Team Owner of Nitro Motorsports. “We had drivers throughout the top-ten and showed strong pace and while we did not come home with a win, we did add another podium result to our resume at the hands of Cale Phillips. We tried some things this weekend, and it didn’t work like we thought. Next week, we will get back on track at Road America. Our entire operation continues to grow, and I’m proud of the effort everyone put in at Mid-Ohio. We’re building great momentum heading into the second half of the season.”
Tucker added, “We have little time to regroup as we are back on track next weekend for another chance to stand atop the podium.”
The team will now shift focus to the upcoming round of the championship this weekend at Road America. Traveling to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Road America provides a fast and flowing 4.014-mile layout, and the longest track on the calendar for the 2025 season, as the season continues.
For more information on Nitro Motorsports, please visit them online or contact Nick Tucker via email HERE or visit them online at www.RaceNitro.com.
