Joe Gibbs Racing announces the SONIC will be a primary sponsor for Ty Gibbs

SONIC is making a return. They’ll be the primary sponsor for Ty Gibbs this weekend at EchoPark Speedway.

The car will feature both SONIC® and Grillo’s Pickles. The new menu combinations are available at SONIC locations beginning June 30th.

View the SONIC NASCAR paint scheme below.

Ty Gibbs comments

“I’m excited to have our team take part in the launch of the Big Dill Meal this week,” said Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing stated via the team release.

“SONIC and Grillo’s joining forces will not only make a great tasting pickle-themed meal, but it is also going to be a lot of fun to have them on board with us in Atlanta.”

EchoPark Speedway Qualifying Order: June 2025 (NASCAR)

SONIC comments

“At SONIC, we believe in choosing fun and living free – and what captures that better than racing 180 mph in a NASCAR showdown?” said Ryan Dickerson, Chief Marketing Officer at SONIC.

“NASCAR fans love a comeback story, so even if it’s just for one race, we knew bringing a SONIC-branded car back to track for the first time since 2020 had to be bold.”

“Our partnership with Grillo’s Pickles and Joe Gibbs Racing is all about delicious, innovative flavors and making every moment on the road a little more fun – and packed with a lot more pickles.”

The green flag drops at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday, June 28th.

NASCAR Bracket set for In-Season Challenge at EchoPark Speedway

Ty Gibbs
SONIC Paint Scheme

Links

Ty Gibbs | EchoPark Speedway | NASCAR

NASCAR and FloSports today announced that seven live events will be simulcast on the NASCAR Channel and FloRacing.

• June 30 – Cookout Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway (INEX US Legend Cars)
• July 1 – Cookout Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway (INEX US Legend Cars)
• July 11 – ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway
• August 23 – Season Finale at Bowman Gray Stadium
• September 27 – ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway
• October 12 – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
• December 5 – Snowball Derby Qualifying Day at Five Flags Speedway

* Races and dates are subject to change

Earlier this month, FloSports and NASCAR contributed $50,000 to the purse for the Virginia Triple Crown, which is capped off by the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 NASCAR Late Model race at Martinsville Speedway. The simulcasts continue their commitment to bolstering local short track racing.

“We are fully committed to building a great experience for our fans on the NASCAR Channel. While we already provide a lot of original and archival content, it’s really important to bring live events onto the platform,” said Dan Barker, NASCAR Managing Director, Media Strategy. Fortunately, we have a great and innovative partner in FloSports who have worked closely with NASCAR to deliver these events. It’s a win for NASCAR fans and regional racing.”

Michael Rigsby, GM of FloRacing added, “As our partnership with NASCAR continues to grow and develop, this is an excellent opportunity for us to match that growth and meet more fans in different places. We believe strongly that this is some of the best racing in America, so we’re working with NASCAR to expand distribution and bring in new fans, new audiences and have that excitement reach them wherever they are watching.”

The NASCAR Channel provides 24/7 programming and content to fans for free. It airs classic races, delayed broadcasts of this season’s races, select live coverage of races and events, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive, and NASCAR Studios original content and video podcasts. It is available on Tubi, Xumo Play, Samsung TV Plus and Prime Video. No subscription or registration is needed.

Fans can watch all the listed events and more than 1,000 races annually live or on demand with a FloRacing subscription at www.floracing.com or via the FloRacing app.

NASCAR PR

Kenneth Bell, the U.S. District Court Judge overseeing the antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, ruled on Wednesday that NASCAR will get certain discovery material they seek from the teams not involved in the suit.

NASCAR subpoenaed the 13 teams that signed its charter agreement in September for financial information regarding how they operate their organizations. The subpoena was for records and information from the past 11 years, and information that would include the money teams bring in and spend, including payments made to its employees and drivers.

Kaulig Racing submitted the information, but the other 12 teams argued in court Tuesday against being forced to do so, and even went as far as saying it violates the charter agreement. Bell heard those arguments Tuesday before making his Wednesday ruling.

However, Bell ordered that only “certain information” would be produced.

The details of the discovery order are:

1.     On or before Noon on June 27, 2025, NASCAR and the Teams shall jointly select an independent accounting firm to serve as a neutral party to facilitate the production of anonymized information. In the event the Parties are unable to select an accounting firm, they should each suggest one name to the Court by that deadline.

2.     As soon as reasonably practicable (as the Teams committed to do at oral argument), each of the Non-Party Racing Teams must separately provide to the chosen accountant its annual top-line financial data (total revenue, total costs, and net profits/losses) on an anonymized, average per-car basis for each year dating back to 2014. Sponsorship income must be included by the Teams as part of total revenue.

3.     To avoid the production of irrelevant information, the Teams are required to make a good faith effort to limit the financial information produced to operations associated with fielding full-time cars in the Cup Series (for example, revenue or expenses tied to ancillary business lines or non-Cup Series racing activities should not be produced).

4.     The Accountant should be directed to confidentially produce to NASCAR – but not to the Non-Party Teams – a spreadsheet listing the per-car annual averages for each team without identifying the team associated with each set of numbers. The document must include a Highly Confidential Attorneys Eyes Only designation that also permits use by NASCAR’s and Plaintiffs’ experts.

5.     The cost of the Accountant shall be borne by NASCAR. Otherwise, all parties must bear their own expenses, including attorneys’ fees.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two teams that did not sign the charter agreement. The joint lawsuit was filed in October.

There is mediation set for NASCAR and 23XI Racing and Front Row later this summer. The trial date is set for December 1.

Any long-time NASCAR fans know the name Larry McClure, as he was the co-owner at Morgan-McClure Motorsports alongside Tim Morgan and brother Jerry McClure, which operated a NASCAR team from 1983 through 2012. Larry’s family confirmed that he passed away on Wednesday at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia.

McClure’s race team won 14 Cup races including three Daytona 500s. They earned their first 500 win with Ernie Irvan in 1991, and then two more with Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995. They are one of just ten teams to ever won three or more Daytona 500s. They utilized the No. 4 car, which became iconic with its Kodak paint scheme.

While most of their race wins came at the superspeedway tracks, they also earned wins at Bristol, Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Darlington, and Martinsville. Bobby Hamilton earned their final win in 1998, winning from pole at Martinsville and leading 378 of 500 laps — their most dominant victory.

They also finished as high as third in the championship standings, courtesy of Marlin in 1995. The team’s first driver in 1983 was NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, but it wasn’t until Irvan’s arrival in 1990 when they finally reached Victory Lane. 

Larry’s nephew Eric McClure competed as a driver for many years, running almost 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, and he tragically passed away a few years ago at the age of 42.

Words: Nathan Chadwick | Photography: Petersen Automotive Museum/BMW

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, US is to celebrate 50 years of racing BMW 3-Series models with a special display in the James H Frank Family Vault, in association with BMW.

The Ultimate Racing Machine: 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports exhibition traces the path the 3-Series has taken during the past five decades, racing around the world at the highest level. Visitors can expect to see such legendary machines as the 1978 Group 5 320i, a 1990 Group A/DTM M3, a 2001 M3 GTR and a one-of three M3 GTR Straßenversion.

One of the brand’s most successful cars in motor sport takes pride of place in the Petersen exhibition; the E30 M3 won the World Touring Car Championship, the European Touring Car Championship twice, the DTM twice, the British Touring Car Championship twice and the Italian Superturismo Championship twice. It even proved its worth in Tarmac rallying, winning the Tour de Corse in 1987.

However, The Ultimate Racing Machine: 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports also pays tribute to the M3’s further victories, such as the phenomenally successful E36 M3 GTs that did battle in the IMSA GT Championship in the late 1990s, and then the American Le Mans Series GT category-winning but controversial M3 GTR. The story is brought up to date via the car’s evolution into GT racing across the globe, and its new moniker, the M4.

The original BMW 3-Series and now the 3-Series and its ‘fraternal twin’ the 4-Series are the core of the BMW brand

The original BMW 3-Series and now the 3-Series and its ‘fraternal twin’ the 4-Series are the core of the BMW brand

“We are excited to celebrate 50 years of BMW 3-Series in partnership with the Petersen Automotive Museum with this special exhibit,” said Thomas Plucinsky, Head of BMW Group Classic USA. “The original BMW 3-Series and now the 3-Series and its ‘fraternal twin’ the 4-Series are the core of the BMW brand. The Ultimate Racing Machine exhibit brings together seven of the most successful and important race cars – one from each generation combined with a couple of wonderfully preserved street examples, including one of the three remaining V8-powered M3 GTR Straßenversions.”

The list of cars on display in The Ultimate Racing Machine: 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports includes a 1978 BMW 320i Group 5,1983 BMW 320i, 1990 BMW M3 Group A/DTM, 1990 BMW M3 GTM, 1996 BMW M3 GT2, 2001 BMW M3 GTR, 2001 BMW M3 GTR Straßenversion, 2011 BMW M3 GT, 2020 BMW M4 DTM Class 1, 2023 BMW M4 GT4 and 2024 BMW M4 GT4 EVO.

More details on The Ultimate Racing Machine: 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports can be found at the Petersen Automotive Museum here.

Larry McClure, a Southwest Virginia businessman who won three Daytona 500s as the co-owner of a highly successful NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s, died Wednesday morning at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Va. He was 81.

McClure was the co-owner of Morgan-McClure Motorsports alongside business partners Tim Morgan and Jerry McClure, which entered NASCAR in 1983 after purchasing the equipment of longtime independent driver G.C. Spencer. The team would establish themselves over the next few seasons, going through multiple drivers including a young Mark Martin, before truly gaining their identity when they gained sponsorship from the Eastman Kodak Company in 1986.

Morgan-McClure’s No. 4 Kodak Oldsmobile (later Chevrolet) quickly became one of the most recognizable cars on the Winston Cup tour, and the team grew gradually over the next several years before earning its first win at Bristol in 1990 with Ernie Irvan behind the wheel. However, Morgan-McClure’s greatest success would come at NASCAR’s biggest and fastest tracks, especially in the sport’s biggest race.

Between 1991 and 1995, Morgan-McClure won the Daytona 500 three times, first with Ernie Irvan in ’91 and then again with Sterling Marlin, who won The Great American Race back-to-back in 1994 and 1995. Morgan-McClure also won Daytona’s summertime race twice in 1992 and 1996, and won four times at Talladega as well. Morgan-McClure earned a total of 14 Cup wins between 1990 and 1998, with nine of them coming between Daytona and Talladega.

Following their final win with Bobby Hamilton at Martinsville in 1998, the Morgan-McClure team gradually declined, which hastened when Kodak left the team following the 2003 season. The team continued to race full-time until the end of the 2007 season, but with little success. The team sporadically attempted several races between 2008 and 2010, finishing 29th in their final start at Bristol in 2009 with Scott Wimmer behind the wheel.

McClure himself faced legal problems in the team’s final years, as in 2008 he pled guilty to federal income tax fraud for not reporting $269,000 he spent on cars raced in ARCA. McClure served an 18 month prison sentence stemming from those charges.

McClure is preceded in death by his nephew and former NASCAR driver Eric McClure, who made his way into the sport through the Morgan-McClure team and made 288 starts in a long Xfinity Series career. Eric McClure, who struggled with concussions throughout his career including after a terrible crash at Talladega in 2012, died in May 2021.

The passing of McClure also marks more sorrow for the racing community of Southern Virginia, as it comes just a week and a half after longtime NASCAR car owner Charlie Henderson died on June 14 at the age of 88. Henderson was the second-longest tenured team owner in NASCAR as owner of Henderson Motorsports, which continues to field a winning part-time team in the Craftsman Truck Series.