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What drivers said at Charlotte after the Coke 600 won by Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain — First: “”That’s the dedication it takes from Trackhouse. There were people that had Saturdays off, and they came in for this Chevy. To drive on that final run and pass two cars that had been way better all night … Holy cow, we just won the World 600!” William Byron — Second: […]

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Ross Chastain — First: “”That’s the dedication it takes from Trackhouse. There were people that had Saturdays off, and they came in for this Chevy. To drive on that final run and pass two cars that had been way better all night … Holy cow, we just won the World 600!”

William Byron — Second: “He was catching me, I was trying to just defend and was getting a little bit tight. Disappointning. Just to lead that many laps and such a great effort by our whole team, and I could have anticipated that last run better. Just sucks. We’ll just keep going and keep trying to put races together like that. It will be good in the long-term I guess, but I really wanted this one. Yeah, just a bummer, right? Try to learn from it. Yeah, it was tough there at the end. He was catching me, and I was trying to. Just not quite enough.”

Chase Briscoe — Fourth: “Yeah, on paper, started first and finished third, but there is a lot more to the story. We made it a lot harder 600 miles than we probably needed too. We just had that penalty early and it kind of put us behind. When you start from the front, you kind of set your car up for clean air, we didn’t anticipate 37th. It just took us forever to just slowly creep up on it. We were kind of out of adjustments. So overall, we were probably a third-place car, realistically – just wish we could have got some stage points. Overall, a good finish, I wouldn’t say it was a great night. Honestly, that is just been how our season has gone – we’ve gotten really good finishes, but we’ve not just had very good day. So, hopefully, we can put one of those all the way together here soon.”

AJ Allmendinger — Fourth: “The No. 16 Chevrolet was good all night. We ran inside the top-five, top-six through most of the race. We needed a little bit more to get to the next level, but I’m super proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. We had a tough three weeks there, but it’s great to come back and show up with a lot of speed. I told Sgt. Nicole Gee that’s on the side of our race car, I told her family I was going to do everything I could to try to get them in victory lane. It was close! It meant a lot to be able to meet her family. We know what this day is truly about, so I’m proud I could give her a great ride. Almost got all of us to victory lane.”

Brad Keselowski — Fifth: “We had a really good car. We got mixed up in some of the different stuff in the midpoint of the race and just clawed our way out. I feel like if we could have got to the lead, we could have won the race. I wish it was a 700-mile race. You feel like you earned it. Some of these races you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I earned it.’ Today, we earned it. Just getting to the lead dictated so many things and we weren’t able to get there, but I think we had the effort to do it. By the end of the night, I thought we were one of the best cars, if not the best. I just wish it was a 700-mile race. We’ve been really competitive the last few weeks and I feel like it just hasn’t all come together and it still hasn’t all come together, but this car has got the speed to win the race and I need to go get it. This car was good enough to win. We just weren’t able to put all the dots together and some of that falls on me for sure.”

Chase Elliott — Sixth: ““We had a really good No. 9 Chevrolet. Pit road was amazing. We gained spots on pit road all day, but I would give them right back on the next restart. I just needed to be better. We were making really good pace right there in the end. I just gave up too much on the restarts.”

Michael McDowell — Seventh: “It was a great night for the No. 71 Chevrolet team. I was bummed out about my mistake there early on with missing the pit box. We had a lot of speed in our Chevrolet, so really thankful for everyone at Spire Motorsports. I hate it for Carson (Hocevar). He was up there racing for the win. Not sure what happened there, but it was unfortunate for them. I was thankful to get back up to the front after a long night. It was just a big mistake on my part. I’m thankful to get a top-10 and miss some of the wrecks there. I’m really proud of the speed we had. We’ll try to build some momentum here and head to Nashville (Superspeedway).”

Ryan Preece — Ninth: “Honestly, it felt like we were really good. We were really good compared to the competition the first 200, but I’ve got to figure out how to qualify better because we had a terrible pit selection with just the situation we were in. We kept going to 12th and then would drop to 28th and then drive forward again. Once we got there and the night cooled things off, I just got too loose for how good I was early and that was the difference. Ultimately, I’m happy with a ninth and we’re going to continue on. Ford is really lucky to have a guy like Brad on his team, and I’m really lucky to have him as an owner, as a driver, as somebody that I can lean on. He’s really been helpful, so it’s been a lot of fun and certainly we want that position. We want to be in position to win these races, but today was one of those days where we grinded it out and got a ninth.”

Noah Gragson — 10th: “I felt like we had a really good Ford Mustang Dark Horse, but at the end of Stage 3, I was too short in the pit box and screwed us as a team. We really ran up in the top eight pretty much all night. I felt like our car was pretty strong and got set back to start that fourth stage. We were the last car on the lead lap, so to drive back up through the field and finish in the top 10 feels really good.”

Erik Jones — 13th: “Honestly, we just dealt with the same issues pretty much all race long. Just consistently way too tight and couldn’t seem to get it better with any of the adjustments we made. It was still a solid day thought to finish 13th after some issues throughout the race. This is the longest race of the season, and a big success is just surviving it. We did just that and walked away with some things we can work on for next week at Nashville.”

Shane van Gisbergen — 14th: “We’ve just been chipping away the last few weeks; getting better and better. I feel like we’ve just been growing in confidence. We’ve been a bit under the radar, but we had some good pace there. Unfortunately when Daniel (Suarez) and Ryan (Blaney) wrecked, I had to go across the infield, and it damaged something underneath and we were really tight. There were about five of them jumping on the front splitter to get it back down, but it wasn’t quite the same. A lot of the cars we finished behind, we were better than them, but it was promising.”

Kyle Busch — 15th: “I feel like a broken record saying another difficult night for our No. 8 Chevrolet team. The weekend started out with a steering issue. We got the pump changed and were able to make a qualifying lap but had to change the rack and go to the rear for the start of the race on Sunday. We were tight in dirty air. Crew chief Randall Burnett made some changes and got it running better when I heard a loud pop. Something broke, and we’re still not sure what it was. From that point on, we were just out of it. We tried a strategy call late in the race, but we had an issue on pit road so we weren’t really able to capitalize on that. I want to thank the family of Fireman Jeffrey M Svoboda for allowing us to honor him this weekend.”

Denny Hamlin — 16th: “You can’t change the results, so you’re going to have to live with it. They’re the pros. I’m not a pit guy. I tried to do everything I could. We had a great car, fun battling up front. Heck of a battle there. Would have liked to have seen it through and unfortunately didn’t get enough gas in it and had to come back in.”

Joey Logano — 17th: “: “It was a grind it out day for our 22 team, for sure. I’m proud of the way we continued to make our Ford competitive as the night went on and just kept making progress on it.”

Ty Dillon — 19th: “I honestly think that was probably the worst result we could have got for the car that we had. We had it really fast Chevrolet, so that’s the positive, but everything that could go wrong on pit road went wrong. It’s frustrating, we’ve got to get it cleaned up. We can all work better, including myself, to clean it up. We just didn’t catch a break at the end either with the lucky dog and no caution, but still happy with our speed.”

Austin Dillon — 20th: “We had a really solid Chevrolet tonight at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I’m proud of this RCR team for all the work they did after practice and qualifying on Saturday to give us something competitive for tonight. Crew chief Richard Boswell made great calls to keep up with the adjustments on our Chevy, and we had a car capable of running in the top five. Unfortunately, it came down to fuel mileage at the end and we ran out with two laps to go while running 10th. Disappointed, but overall, we had a solid car and our handling tonight was an improvement over where we’ve been the last few races. I want to thank Bass Pro Shops and Winchester for everything they do for our military and allowing us to honor our heroes this weekend with a patriotic paint scheme. It meant a lot to be able to race with United States Army Staff Sergeant Sean Gregory Landrus on our windshield header and John A. Morris above the door.”

Connor Zilisch — 23rd: “It was a really long day. My goal was to come in and run all the laps, and we did that. Finishing 23rd isn’t horrible. Probably better than I was expecting. We got some damage when Jimmie (Johnson) had an issue and spun into us, and that kind of hurt us for the rest of the day. I felt like we were actually pretty good during the first stage and we were making up ground. But nonetheless, really proud of Trackhouse Racing. It’s so cool to see Ross (Chastain) win such a big race, and I’m very thankful to be able to get this opportunity to run in the Cup Series again with Red Bull and Trackhouse Racing.”

Cody Ware — 25th: “I feel like today was a day where we can start building our momentum. It was a hard fought 600 miles but we were there at the end. I’m just thankful for the crew to build me such a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse today and we’ll be able to take this 25th place finish and hopefully get a better qualifying draw for Nashville and start to build some momentum. I’m really happy with it. I’m worn out and exhausted and ready to get some sleep and start prepping for Nashville.”

John Hunter Nemechek — 27th: “We had a fast No. 42 Toyota Camry for Stage 1 and 2, we just got behind, losing track position, and got stuck. We ended up getting loose there at the end and got into the fence. Promising day, solid speed, just not the result that we want.”

Austin Cindric — 31st: “It’s a bit of a shame. I thought we had a solid run going, but I got a little too free and popped the fence. I was trying to be patient all night and still didn’t quite get it. I thought we had enough speed to sneak a top 10 in there tonight, but overall it was a difficult evening and I’m proud of the hustle from the guys to be able to finish the race.”

Kyle Larson — 37th: “I saw smoke and I tried to get left through the infield and I just didn’t get far enough left. I got tagged and it ended our night. Just a bummer of a day all around. I just got super loose into turn three out of nowhere early in the race. I caught the wall and got some toe damage. I thought the No. 5 Chevrolet team did a great job in getting us back to where we were somewhat comfortable there the last 200 laps. We just needed to kind of chip away at it and I thought we could still end up OK. Just not the day that I wanted, but huge thanks to Rick and Linda Hendrick, all of Hendrick Motorsports, Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet, everybody involved in making the day memorable. It’s just unfortunate, but hopefully we can run it back someday.”

Ryan Blaney — 38th: “It was three-wide and tight getting off the corner. I thought I was kind of high enough as I could go, and it seems like, I don’t know if it was just a big squeeze, a couple of us bounced off each other – just tight off (Turn) 4. The first caution set us back and then finally got close to the top 10, but now we’re gonna go home early. It’s one of those things.”

Zane Smith — 39th: “We got a little behind on adjustments and were racing with guys that are just a little sketchier. Unfortunately, I just got tight and tried to slide up in front of (Shane van Gisbergen) and got a little free and then just got finished off by him. It’s unfortunate because we had a really good car until our halfway break. All in all, we’ve been fast this year and we just need to keep it going.”





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NASCAR Cup team dropping a car with no clear return in sight

Will Brown made his second career NASCAR Cup Series start this past weekend on the streets of Chicago, Illinois, and he did it with Kaulig Racing in a car that the team had not previously entered in the 2025 season. Brown drove the No. 13 Chevrolet, one of five non-chartered (open) cars on the entry […]

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Will Brown made his second career NASCAR Cup Series start this past weekend on the streets of Chicago, Illinois, and he did it with Kaulig Racing in a car that the team had not previously entered in the 2025 season.

Brown drove the No. 13 Chevrolet, one of five non-chartered (open) cars on the entry list going for the four open spots in the 40-car field. Brown managed to successfully qualify, along with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, Garage 66’s Josh Bilicki, and Live Motorsports’ Katherine Legge.

In a surprising turn of events, 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim was left on the outside looking in after making contact with the wall on his qualifying run, making him the first driver to fail to qualify for a non-Daytona 500 Cup race since Timmy Hill and MBM Motorsports didn’t get into the November 2018 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Brown qualified for the race quite comfortably and started 19th. However, he was involved in an early multi-car pileup and could not continue.

Kaulig Racing not bringing back third car at Sonoma

Brown, who made his Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway last year and finished in 31st place, does not have any more starts planned for the 2025 season, and Kaulig Racing will not be fielding the No. 13 car at Sonoma for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

As of now, the team have no plans to bring back the No. 13 Chevrolet this season, but that could change. The team fielded the car for the first time in 2023, and it made five appearances (four starts and a Daytona 500 DNQ) between two drivers, Chandler Smith and Jonathan Davenport.

Last year, the car also made five appearances, but its two drivers, A.J. Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen, are now full-time drivers. Allmendinger races for Kaulig Racing and van Gisbergen for Trackhouse Racing.

Kaulig Racing’s other full-time driver is Ty Dillon, who is one of eight drivers still in the running for the in-season championship.

This Sunday afternoon’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set to be broadcast live on TNT Sports from Sonoma Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.



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NASCAR Friday schedule at Sonoma

Sonoma Raceway will open its 2025 NASCAR race weekend with the ARCA West and Xfinity series turning laps on the 1.99-mile road course. ARCA West will begin at 1:40 p.m. ET with an 80-minute practice leading into qualifying for a 64-lap race that will start at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Xfinity Series will begin a […]

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Sonoma Raceway will open its 2025 NASCAR race weekend with the ARCA West and Xfinity series turning laps on the 1.99-mile road course.

ARCA West will begin at 1:40 p.m. ET with an 80-minute practice leading into qualifying for a 64-lap race that will start at 6:30 p.m. ET.

The Xfinity Series will begin a 50-minute practice at 4 p.m ET ahead of qualifying for Saturday’s race. Despite moving up to the Cup Series this year, Shane van Gisbergen will be in the Xfinity field to defend his Sonoma win last year.

Xfinity Series regular Sam Mayer is the defending winner of the ARCA West race but won’t be in the field Friday.

Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium

This will mark the second year in a row that the exhibition event will be held at the historic track.


Sonoma Friday schedule

(All Times Eastern)

Friday, July 11

Garage open

  • 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. — ARCA West Series
  • 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series
  • 5:30 – 10:30 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

  • 1:40 – 3 p.m. — ARCA West practice
  • 3:10 – 3:30 p.m. — ARCA West qualifying
  • 4 – 4:50 p.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App)
  • 5:05 – 6 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App)
  • 6:30 p.m. — ARCA West race (64 laps, 127.36 miles; Flo Racing, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weather

Friday: Mostly sunny with a high of 81 degrees and winds from the south at 5 to 10 mph. It’s expected to be 85 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the start of the ARCA race.





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BangShift.com FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: Virginia Motorsports Park’s Mega Bucks Triple Threat Bracket Series Racing Action – Friday

FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: Virginia Motorsports Park’s Mega Bucks Triple Threat Bracket Series Racing Action – Friday Jul 11, 2025Chad Reynolds1320 Event Coverage, 1320 Spotlight, 1320 Videos, BangShift 1320, DRAG RACES, Event Coverage, RACING & ACTION, Videos If you want to see live big money bracket racing, this Triple Threat Bracket Series event is one […]

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FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: Virginia Motorsports Park’s Mega Bucks Triple Threat Bracket Series Racing Action – Friday


FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: Virginia Motorsports Park’s Mega Bucks Triple Threat Bracket Series Racing Action – Friday

If you want to see live big money bracket racing, this Triple Threat Bracket Series event is one to watch so check it out LIVE right here thanks to our friends at MotorManiaTV. We love this track, love the staff, and love that the racing action is hot and heavy regardless of the series. If you want a great time, make sure you hit Virginia Motorsports Park.

Video Description:

It’s become one of the go to events for the Mid-Atlantic bracket scene. This is the second schedule race of the series, but the first of the season when the first race was rained out.

With a three day payout structure of $10K/$20K/$10K and 64 car shootout Thursday, what’s not to like? Plus, don’t forget, there will be a points champion crowned at the end of the series with over $10,000 in cash and prizes.


FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: NHRA Division 2 Divisional Lucas Oil Sportsman Drag Racing At South Georgia Motorsports Park – Friday

 






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Maker of iconic NASCAR trophy closing down, report says

ZEELAND, Mich. (WBTV) – The company that makes an iconic NASCAR trophy plans to shut down, according to reports. Howard Miller, a furniture and clock-making company based in Michigan, currently makes the grandfather clocks handed out to NASCAR winners at Martinsville Speedway. The family-owned company plans to close next year after nearly 100 years in […]

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ZEELAND, Mich. (WBTV) – The company that makes an iconic NASCAR trophy plans to shut down, according to reports.

Howard Miller, a furniture and clock-making company based in Michigan, currently makes the grandfather clocks handed out to NASCAR winners at Martinsville Speedway.

The family-owned company plans to close next year after nearly 100 years in business, Furniture Today reported. The company employees nearly 200 people and has two facilities in Michigan, plus locations in Lexington and High Point in North Carolina.

Furniture Today said that Howard Miller plans to continue production through the end of 2025 and will stay open in 2026 to sell off its inventory. The Furniture Today report said the company’s CEO cited a struggling housing market, rising inflation and interest rates, and tariffs as reasons for shutting down.

History of grandfather clocks in NASCAR

Following news of Howard Miller’s impending closure, NASCAR broadcaster Mike Joy took to social media to explain the history of the iconic grandfather clocks at Martinsville.

Joy said that major race winners at the historic short track have been given a Ridgeway clock since 1964, the year Hall of Fame driver Fred Lorenzen won both races and led a remarkable 980 out of 1,000 laps between the two events.

In the decades since, Howard Miller acquired Ridgeway and has continued to supply race winners with clocks.

Martinsville Speedway has given out grandfather clocks to race winners since 1964.
Martinsville Speedway has given out grandfather clocks to race winners since 1964.(Chuck Burton | AP)

Joy posted that he got a text from the Martinsville Speedway president that said the track “will find something just as good.” In the same post, Joy himself said the clock situation “will turn out fine, and the uniqueness of their trophy will be preserved.”

Since Martinsville began giving out the clock trophies to race winners, some of NASCAR’s biggest names have won them. Among the list of drivers to do so are Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and both Dale Jr. and Dale Sr.

Dale Jr. was one of the people who publicly commented on the Howard Miller news.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his only grandfather clock in October 2014.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his only grandfather clock in October 2014.(Don Petersen | AP)

“Whomever makes the next version better make them exactly like the previous versions,” Earnhardt wrote on social media. “Don’t get cute and [expletive] this up.”

Fellow driver Landon Cassill had a bit more humorous approach and joked in a comment on Earnhardt’s post that “[The] next versions gonna be digital and Bluetooth controlled with an app.”

Also Read: NASCAR coming back to historic North Carolina racetrack in 2026



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Carson Hocevar admits friends and family raised concerns over NASCAR move – Motorsport – Sports

Carson Hocevar conceded that his move from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the Cup Series drew considerable backlash from those in his inner circle. Since taking his talents to the top racing series of NASCAR, Hocevar has repeatedly ruffled feathers due to his aggressive driving style. Ryan Blaney described him as a “moron” following […]

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Carson Hocevar conceded that his move from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the Cup Series drew considerable backlash from those in his inner circle.

Since taking his talents to the top racing series of NASCAR, Hocevar has repeatedly ruffled feathers due to his aggressive driving style. Ryan Blaney described him as a “moron” following the Ambetter Health 400, AJ Allmendinger issued him a stern warning at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Ryan Preece warned “he’ll have his day” after the Wurth 400 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threatened to ‘beat his a–‘ on the heels of the Viva Mexico 250.

Most recently, Hocevar drew the ire of Austin Dillon, who called him the ‘biggest dumb—‘ in NASCAR upon getting caught up in a wreck during last weekend’s Grant Park 165.

Though Hocevar’s racing tactics haven’t exactly made him many friends on the grid, they have led to respectable results. Over 19 races, he’s amassed four top-10 finishes, two top-5s and one pole — a far cry from the type of production that Spire Motorsports achieved just several years ago.

Back in October 2023, Hocevar inked a multi-year contract with Spire Motorsports to pilot the No. 77 Chevrolet in the Cup Series. The prior season, the team ranked a meagre 33rd in owner points while in the midst of a strenuous rebuild.

Given Hocevar’s prior success in the Truck Series, several people close to him questioned why he was taking such a massive risk by joining a downtrodden organization. “I had people really, really close to me and my family just be like, ‘Congrats, career suicide. Good job,’” Hocevar said while making an appearance on the ‘Dale Jr. Download’ podcast.

“I had people in my inner circle really close to me that aren’t in that inner circle anymore, but they were just like, ‘Are you f—— sure about this? You’re f—— winning truck races and you’re going to do this?’”

Despite receiving pushback from multiple angles, Hocevar remained committed to chasing his dream of racing in the Cup Series. “I’ve always wanted to drive a Cup car,” he explained. “I didn’t get winning stuff in trucks. If I really believe in myself, I can make this stuff winning, or I can make this stuff better… I’ve done it before. Not just be like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna make this winning,’ but I was like let’s just see where it goes. I just got to get in the door, get to Sunday, and see where it goes. If I was wrong, I was wrong at least on Sunday.”

DON’T MISS:

Now that Spire is a legitimate race contender, Hocevar noted that expectations are higher but the internal intensity has remained the same. “This year, it’s just been like, okay, we have to run up front and get stage points. That’s our goal,” he said. “Last year it was like, okay, we’re looking at points and we’re 18th, but it’s 100 to the next guy. It’s because he’s got 100 stage points — we have nothing.

“Our intensity level I feel like has been the same everywhere. It’s just whether our car or me can handle it on the right day. We’re trying to operate on that level now because if you’re expected to win races, I don’t feel like the moment is gonna be too big because our intensity is here. I feel like guys get that winning opportunity and now they have to raise their intensity up. Now they’re uncomfortable and that’s when they bust their a–.”



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Time, TV channel for another road-course race

NASCAR went nearly five decades of modern-era Cup Series racing with just two road courses on the schedule. First it was Riverside and Watkins Glen, then Sonoma replaced Riverside. A third was finally added in 2018 when Charlotte Motor Speedway went road-racing for its second race of each season, and along the way invented the […]

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NASCAR went nearly five decades of modern-era Cup Series racing with just two road courses on the schedule. First it was Riverside and Watkins Glen, then Sonoma replaced Riverside.

A third was finally added in 2018 when Charlotte Motor Speedway went road-racing for its second race of each season, and along the way invented the word roval to define its combination of road course and traditional oval, which is actually a quad-oval, but let’s move along.

Watch NASCAR on Sling TV

These days there are five road courses. Not only that, this weekend the Cup Series runs its second road-course race in seven days. A week after the Chicago Street Race, they disturb the peace in California’s wine country, where Sonoma Raceway is host to a Cup race for the 36th time since 1989.

The best current road-course racer in NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen, attempts the hat trick after winning the past two Cup roadies — in Mexico City last month and Chicago last week.

And if you’re thinking, “I’d like to watch that, I wonder if I can,” you’re in luck. You can watch that, along with other NASCAR racing, and if you thought we were gonna keep the times and channels a secret, you’re sadly mistaken.

Friday: Right-hand turns for Xfinity Series

4 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice (CW app).

5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying (CW app).

Saturday: NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, Xfinity race at Sonoma

1:30 p.m.: Cup Series practice (TruTV).

2:40 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying (TruTV).

4:30: Xfinity Series, Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 (CW).

Sunday: Can SVG win a third straight road race?

3:30 p.m.: Cup Series, Toyota/Save Mart 350 (TNT).



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