The Trackhouse Racing teammates will compete head-to-head in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course in July. Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch will both be driving for JR Motorsports that weekend, running the same sponsors but with inverse paint schemes.

SVG and Zilisch are both Red Bull athletes, but this will be the first time Red Bull has appeared on a JRM car. Zilisch competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series while Van Gisbergen is contesting his rookie season as a NASCAR Cup driver, recently winning the inaugural Cup race in Mexico City.

Chicago will be the New Zealander’s first Xfinity start of the year, but he is the defending winner of the Chicago NXS race, winning from pole with Kaulig Racing in 2024. He is scheduled to drive the No. 88 JRM Chevrolet at Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen.

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Zilisch, who has a run a handful of Cup races this year with Red Bull sponsorship in every start, just won his first oval race as a Xfinity driver at Pocono. JRM team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was atop the pit box as the interim crew chief.

SVG have only competed against each other four times before in the Xfinity Series during the 2024 season. Zilisch won on debut at Watkins Glen while Van Gisbergen finished fifth. They also raced each other at Kansas, Homestead, and Phoenix, but aside from the Cup Series where they both compete for Trackhouse, this will be their first time in NXS as true teammates.

Read Also:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflects on ‘fun’ experience as a race-winning crew chief

How Shane van Gisbergen’s Mexico win completely changes the playoff picture

How Zilisch’s Cup debut compares with the greats of NASCAR

Why Shane van Gisbergen sought Max Verstappen’s advice just before dominant NASCAR win

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prime Video averaged 2.16 million for its five NASCAR Cup Series races.

This was the first season the streaming service carried NASCAR events under a seven-year rights deal.

The average was down 17.6% from last year’s average of 2.62 million for the five races, which were numbers 13 through 17 on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Two of last year’s races in the comparable period were on Fox.

The decrease in average audience is comparable to other sports that have switched their packages from broadcast to streaming.

The average age of the viewers for the Prime Video races was 56.1, nearly seven years younger than audiences that had watched the first 12 races (62.8).

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AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing

5 KYLE LARSON
 

Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
 

Hometown: Elk Grove, California
 

Last Week: 7th (Pocono)
 

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
 

Standings: 2nd
 
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No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
 

 

 

2025

 

Cup Career

 

Atlanta

Races

17

 

383

 

15

Wins

3

 

32

 

0

Poles

1

 

22

 

0

Top 5

9

 

128

 

3

Top 10

12

 

194

 

5

Laps Led

851

 

10,107

 

452

Stage Wins

8

 

70

 

4

Average Finish

12.4

 

14.0

 

19.0

 

Kyle Larson will go head-to-head with Tyler Reddick in the first round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Larson is seeded 10th and Reddick 23rd in the field of 32.
In the Next Gen era (since 2022) Larson and Reddick have competed against each other 124 times. In those races, Larson has bettered Reddick 71 times. That includes 12 of 17 events this year.
In 2025, Larson has 12 top-10 finishes, the most of any driver in the field.
In 21 races together at drafting tracks, Larson has the edge over Reddick with 11 better results compared to Reddick’s 10.
With 452 laps led, Atlanta ranks first among tracks in which Larson has led the most laps without a victory.
Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team secured a third-place finish earlier this season at Atlanta.
With 23 playoff points under his belt, Larson is currently the projected top seed in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

 

 
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 

Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
 

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
 

Last week: 5th (Pocono)
 

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
 

Standings: 5th
 
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No. 9 NAPA/CHOA Chevrolet
 

 

 

2025

 

Cup Career

 

Atlanta

Races

17

 

339

 

13

Wins

0

 

19

 

1

Poles

0

 

12

 

0

Top 5

5

 

109

 

2

Top 10

9

 

180

 

8

Laps Led

95

 

5,621

 

164

Stage Wins

0

 

38

 

2

Average Finish

10.8

 

12.8

 

12.2

 

Heading to his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott is fifth in the regular season NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 80 markers behind leader and teammate William Byron. Looking at the projected playoff standings with nine races left before the postseason, Elliott ranks 12th, 160 points above the line to advance.
Elliott has one win (July 2022) and three top-10 finishes in six starts at Atlanta on its current configuration. His 125 laps led on the drafting-style track ranks fourth and his average finish of 10.5 ranks second.
The 2020 Cup Series champion has three career wins on drafting tracks, with two victories at Talladega Superspeedway (2019 and 2022) joining his triumph at Atlanta. Two of those wins are in the Next Gen era.
Elliott’s average finish of 10.8 in 2025 is the best of all drivers and is his second best all-time in a season after 17 races behind 9.1 last year.
The Dawsonville, Georgia, native is the only driver to finish in the top 20 in all 17 races this year. This is the second straight year he has completed all but one lap this far into the season.
This weekend kicks off NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament. In the first of five rounds, Elliott will go up against Austin Dillon. In Elliott’s six starts on Atlanta’s new configuration, he’s placed higher than Dillon in all but one race and led 125 laps in that span compared to Dillon’s zero.
The Atlanta race weekend marks the return of the Chase Elliott Foundation’s Desi9n to Drive program. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet and race uniform will don special designs created by a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta patient.
Elliott’s autographed uniform will be up for grabs as part of a sweepstakes fundraiser that runs through July 9.

 

 
24 WILLIAM BYRON
 

Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
 

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
 

Last Week: 27th (Pocono)
 

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
 

Standings: 1st
 
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No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
 

 

 

2025

 

Cup Career

 

Atlanta

Races

17

 

269

 

12

Wins

1

 

14

 

0

Poles

2

 

15

 

2

Top 5

7

 

61

 

3

Top 10

10

 

114

 

4

Laps Led

769

 

3,747

 

181

Stage Wins

7

 

30

 

1

Average Finish

11.4

 

14.9

 

17.8

 

William Byron is having a career season in 2025, leading the driver points standings for 14 out of 17 weeks, including presently by 54 markers. He has also collected the most stage points (181).
Through the same stretch of 17 races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has paced the field in 13 events (769 laps), the most races with a lap led by any driver.
In addition, Byron has completed 99.91% of the laps, good enough for second most. With only four laps not completed, it’s his fewest in any 17-race stretch.
So far in 2025, the driver of the No. 24 has an average starting position of 10.6 (second best) and an average finish of 11.35 (third best).
In the Next Gen era, Byron has four wins on drafting tracks, double the next most. He has also collected the most points on drafting tracks (332) since the start of 2024.
Since Atlanta Motor Speedway was re-configured, Byron has the fourth-best average running position of 11.34 and has led the third most laps at 179. He also has two wins at the track, one in March of 2022 and again in July of 2023. His two wins ranks third all-time by a Hendrick Motorsports driver at Atlanta.
This weekend marks the first of the 2025 NASCAR In-Season Challenge, which will see one driver winning $1 million. For the first match up, Byron will be up against Ryan Preece with the better finisher at Atlanta moving on. He has two wins, two top-five finishes and four top 10s with 181 laps led compared to Preece’s track best-finish of 16th with three laps led.

 

 
48 ALEX BOWMAN
 

Age: 32 (April 25, 1993)
 

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
 

Last Week: 11th (Pocono)
 

Crew Chief: Blake Harris
 

Standings: 13th
 
Twitter Instagram Facebook
 
 
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
 

 

 

2025

 

Cup Career

 

Atlanta

Races

17

 

342

 

14

Wins

0

 

8

 

0

Poles

2

 

7

 

0

Top 5

3

 

43

 

3

Top 10

8

 

104

 

4

Laps Led

125

 

1,493

 

11

Stage Wins

0

 

7

 

0

Average Finish

18.8

 

19.3

 

18.0

 

Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Racing team head to Atlanta Motor Speedway holding the final transfer spot, 20 points above the cutline in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings.
Bowman has earned two top-10 finishes at the reconfigured Atlanta layout. His best result at the 1.54-mile quad-oval came in September 2024, when he drove to a fifth-place finish. In total, Bowman has three top fives and four top-10 finishes at Atlanta in his Cup Series career.
The Tucson, Arizona, native has earned six top-10 finishes in the last 11 races on drafting tracks. He ranks third among all drivers in points earned on drafting tracks since the start of the 2024 season and leads all active drivers in laps led on drafting tracks without a win (132).
Through 17 races, Bowman has led 125 laps and earned 92 stage points, ranking inside the top 10 in both categories. He’s led at least one lap in nine events.
Atlanta marks the first race of the five-race NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Bowman enters the opening round matched up against Joey Logano.
For this weekend’s Atlanta race, the Best Friends Animal shelter partner is Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society, in Thomasville, Georgia.
Ally and HendrickCars.com are teaming up again to give fans the chance to win prizes with this year’s “Open Road Sweepstakes.” Fans can win VIP experiences at various races throughout the season and one lucky winner will hit the open road in a Chevy Silverado LT Trail Boss with an Airstream camper. Fans can stop by the Ally Fan Zone to enter the sweepstakes in-person and check out the camper. Fans can also enter at ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar.

 

 
HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /
Hendrick Motorsports
 

 

2025

 

All-Time

 

Atlanta

Races

17

 

1,398

 

73

Wins

4

 

316*

 

17*

Poles

5

 

258*

 

9

Top 5

24*

 

1,303*

 

67*

Top 10

39*

 

2,226*

 

106*

Laps Led

1,840*

 

84,152*

 

3,690*

Stage Wins

15*

 

130

 

6

 
*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

With Chase Elliott finishing fifth at Pocono Raceway last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports established a new organizational mark for consecutive races with a car in the top five at 25 events dating back to last season. It remains the only team to have a top-five finisher in each of this season’s races.
The Hendrick engine shop has won 15 combined poles (seven in the NASCAR Cup Series and eight in the Xfinity Series) and 15 combined races (four in the Cup Series, 10 in the Xfinity Series and the preseason Clash) this year.
Hendrick Motorsports has led 41% of all laps raced through 17 events this season. Its 1,840 circuits paced are the fourth most through a season’s first 17 races in company history. A Hendrick Motorsports driver has led a lap in 32 straight races, the longest active streak and the company’s third-longest ever.
The organization’s 15 combined stage wins are the most ever through 17 races in a season.
Hendrick Motorsports enters this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway as the all-time leader in wins (17), top-five finishes (67), top 10s (106) and laps led (3,690).
With six, Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at drafting tracks in the Next Gen era. That includes this year’s DAYTONA 500, won by William Byron.

 

 
QUOTABLE /
 

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the NASCAR In-Season Challenge: “I like the concept of the in-season bracket challenge, I feel like it’s a race within the race. This is something you pay attention to and with money and a trophy on the line, we all want to win. I feel like the last few weeks were challenging but the No. 5 team has stayed on top of it and we’ve got some good finishes but I would like for us to have a solid weekend – which I know we’re well capable of – it’s just been a little bit of a rough stretch of tracks for us but our team is great and our execution has been better and that is something I am proud of.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on the Chase Elliott Foundation’s Desi9n to Drive initiative: “It’s been our foundation’s initiative over the last nine years. It’s just all in support of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. We have typically done something around the Atlanta race every year and it’s been a lot of fun to be a part of it and watch it grow. It started as a shoe initiative where we were designing shoes, and we were auctioning those off. Then NAPA got involved and, really when NAPA got involved, it kind of took it to the next step, because they have given up one of their races to let this happen. A young girl named Rhealynn has designed my car, my helmet and all the things for Atlanta. I am super excited to meet her and have her family out at the track and hopefully spread some joy with her and her family and also to help a good cause.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway: “We had a rough weekend in Pocono but I’m proud of how the team came together to have our car ready for Sunday, the strategy just didn’t work out. We’ve put that behind us though, and we’ll be ready for this weekend in Atlanta. We’ve had success there in the past but there is still an unknown element after the reconfiguration. The goal remains the same though, go for the win and if that’s not the case maximize our points day. We just have to be there at the end.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Atlanta’s a wild card every time we go. It races like a superspeedway, but with way less room to work, so you’ve got to be aggressive but smart. We’ve had speed there and just need to put a full race together. With the playoff picture as tight as it is, every stage point matters, especially in a race like this where anything can happen.”

Hendrick Motorsports PR

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. advises the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves to watch a couple of night races at Bristol Motor Speedway before the Speedway Classic. Once at the racetrack, he recommends a walk up the banked walls to truly appreciate the half-mile bullring.

MLB’s Speedway Classic on Aug. 2 means either the Reds or Braves will win at Bristol before Stenhouse reaches victory lane at his favorite track. He still plans to watch as they play an MLB game on a ballpark built inside the Bristol infield.

“Hopefully, if they get one over the wall, kind of see where that ball ends up landing,” Stenhouse said of the track where going over the wall usually means injuries and ambulances. “But, yeah, just a really cool venue and something that I’ll be looking forward to watching.”

Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, now a Fox racing analyst, said search his 1990 crash where his car disintegrated after hitting a wall to learn how challenging Bristol can be.

He joined Stenhouse, former Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones, 2009 World Series champ Nick Swisher and three-time All-Star Reds first baseman and now MLB Network analyst Sean Casey in promoting the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee.

Waltrip said the banking of the track has to be seen to be believed and is a big part of its intensity.

“The banking is straight up,” Waltrip said. “You can barely climb up it, and it’s condensed down to a half-mile track. So you’re just constantly in the corners and speeds upwards of 150 miles an hour. It’s just crazy how precise and how technical you have to be to be successful there.”

Trying to hit a baseball might be a bit easier than stepping into a racecar at Bristol. At those speeds, Stenhouse said he forgot to breathe for 10 laps his first time there.

Bristol still has tickets available for an event that will feature a pregame concert with Tim McGraw and Pitbull. A fan zone outside the track will feature more music, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots.

“It’s going to be one of those special nights that goes down in history,” said Jerry Caldwell, president of Bristol Motor Speedway. “People are going to want to be there and want to be a part of it or tune in on Fox and take in this event.”

Casey played in a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum that drew 115,300 for the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game. Casey said this crossover gives baseball fans a reason to check out Bristol and NASCAR fans the chance to see something different.

Players like Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will get an experience to remember.

“These guys that are going to be able to have that memory of playing at Bristol, it’s going to be a one of a kind thing,” Casey said.

Stenhouse said he played some wiffle ball during the last stop in Bristol. NASCAR will be in Iowa with a Cup race Aug. 3, but he hopes to sneak over from his North Carolina home for a chance to hit some hard balls over the fence at Bristol — or pitch off the mound.

“I hit a wiffle ball over the fence,” Stenhouse said. “Yeah, it would be cool to get there and take the field in all at the same time.”

___

AP Baseball Writer Ron Blum contributed to this report from New York.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. advises the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves to watch a couple of night races at Bristol Motor Speedway before the Speedway Classic. Once at the racetrack, he recommends a walk up the banked walls to truly appreciate the half-mile bullring.

MLB’s Speedway Classic on Aug. 2 means either the Reds or Braves will win at Bristol before Stenhouse reaches victory lane at his favorite track. He still plans to watch as they play an MLB game on a ballpark built inside the Bristol infield.

“Hopefully, if they get one over the wall, kind of see where that ball ends up landing,” Stenhouse said of the track where going over the wall usually means injuries and ambulances. “But, yeah, just a really cool venue and something that I’ll be looking forward to watching.”

Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, now a Fox racing analyst, said search his 1990 crash where his car disintegrated after hitting a wall to learn how challenging Bristol can be.

He joined Stenhouse, former Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones, 2009 World Series champ Nick Swisher and three-time All-Star Reds first baseman and now MLB Network analyst Sean Casey in promoting the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee.

Waltrip said the banking of the track has to be seen to be believed and is a big part of its intensity.

“The banking is straight up,” Waltrip said. “You can barely climb up it, and it’s condensed down to a half-mile track. So you’re just constantly in the corners and speeds upwards of 150 miles an hour. It’s just crazy how precise and how technical you have to be to be successful there.”

Trying to hit a baseball might be a bit easier than stepping into a racecar at Bristol. At those speeds, Stenhouse said he forgot to breathe for 10 laps his first time there.

Bristol still has tickets available for an event that will feature a pregame concert with Tim McGraw and Pitbull. A fan zone outside the track will feature more music, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots.

“It’s going to be one of those special nights that goes down in history,” said Jerry Caldwell, president of Bristol Motor Speedway. “People are going to want to be there and want to be a part of it or tune in on Fox and take in this event.”

Casey played in a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum that drew 115,300 for the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game. Casey said this crossover gives baseball fans a reason to check out Bristol and NASCAR fans the chance to see something different.

Players like Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will get an experience to remember.

“These guys that are going to be able to have that memory of playing at Bristol, it’s going to be a one of a kind thing,” Casey said.

Stenhouse said he played some wiffle ball during the last stop in Bristol. NASCAR will be in Iowa with a Cup race Aug. 3, but he hopes to sneak over from his North Carolina home for a chance to hit some hard balls over the fence at Bristol — or pitch off the mound.

“I hit a wiffle ball over the fence,” Stenhouse said. “Yeah, it would be cool to get there and take the field in all at the same time.”

___

AP Baseball Writer Ron Blum contributed to this report from New York.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

Larry McClure, a longtime NASCAR Cup Series team owner of the Morgan-McClure Motorsports team, has passed away at the Age of 81. NBC’s WCYB News affiliate had the initial report of McClure’s passing on the morning of Wednesday, June 25.

In the NASCAR world, McClure’s claim to fame was his role as co-owner of the renowned Morgan-McClure Motorsports team, which he owned alongside Tim Morgan and Jerry McClure. The team fielded the No. 4 machine in the NASCAR Cup Series from the 1983 season through the 2007 season.

Connie Saylor made the first start in the NASCAR Cup Series for the organization in the 1983 Winston 500 at Talladega. Saylor would start that race from the 33rd position and would retire after an engine failure on Lap 23 to finish 40th.

The team would rack up 14 victories over 702 races in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks, including three Daytona 500 wins (one with Ernie Irvan in 1991, and two with Sterling Marlin in back-to-back seasons in 1994 and 1995).

Over the years, the team featured a lot of truly talented and legendary drivers behind the wheel of its race cars. including NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, who made six starts with the team in 1983. Martin scored the first top-10 finish for the team in the 1983 Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Other notable drivers that had a turn in the Morgan-McClure ride included A.J. Foyt, Lake Speed, Phil Parsons, Joe Nemechek, Bobby Hamilton, Robby Gordon, Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, Jimmy Spencer, John Andretti, and Ward Burton.

However, no driver had more success driving for Morgan-McClure Motorsports than Sterling Marlin. In a four-year run with the organization from 1994 to 1997, Marlin won six races (tied for the most in team history with Irvan), and he finished a team-best third in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings in 1995 behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.

Morgan-McClure Motorsports also fielded a car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series one time in 1993 with Jimmy Hensley behind the wheel of the car, and the organization also had a part-time ARCA Menards Series operation through the 2000s, which won one race with Keith Segars behind the wheel in the 2002 Food World 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.

McClure was the uncle of former NASCAR racer Eric McClure, who passed away in 2021.