Photo credit: Porsche

Porsche customer team Manthey will run a special third entry at this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans to promote Brad Pitt’s upcoming film ‘F1 The Movie’. The No. 90 Porsche 911 GT3 R will carry the blue and white colours of Chip Hart Racing, the fictional outfit led by Pitt’s character in the Apple Original Films release due in cinemas on 25 June.

Manthey’s usual entries—the No. 85 Iron Dames car and the No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm entry—will compete as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The livery swap for the No. 90 car brings the Hollywood storyline to France’s legendary endurance race. In the film, legendary driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) returns to motorsport for one final shot at glory in a Porsche fielded by Chip Hart Racing. The production also captured real-race footage last year at Daytona with Wright Motorsports.

Photo credit: Porsche

Behind the wheel of the special livery car at Le Mans will be Antares Au from Hong Kong, Austria’s Klaus Bachler and Dutchman Loek Hartog. This trio earned their seat by claiming the Asian Le Mans Series title earlier this year. Their participation bridges cinema and sport, offering a taste of Hollywood drama on the 13.626-kilometre Circuit des 24 Heures.

With global audiences eager for both top-level racing and the film’s debut, Porsche and Apple Original Films have combined efforts to showcase the Chip Hart Racing brand at one of motorsport’s biggest stages. Fans will see the No. 90 car on the starting grid when the green flag drops for the 93rd running of the endurance classic.

NASCAR fans have grown accustomed to seeing speed, throttle and braking on broadcasts for years. There has been one measurement, though, that has eluded networks and viewers for years.

Until now.

Viewers of the Prime Video races have been able to see fuel usage with the introduction of the Burn Bar. Race teams have measured burn rates and fuel levels down to the last ounce for years, but the methodology has been kept secret for competitive reasons.

Prime Video, though, developed an AI tool using car data available to broadcasters and teams that can measure miles per gallon. The Burn Bar made a brief appearance during Prime’s first broadcast, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It has been used more frequently the past two weeks and will be deployed again on Sunday during the race in Mexico City.

NASCAR on Prime analyst Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., contributed to the development of the Burn Bar and sees it as the first step in taking race analysis to a new level.

“It’s the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team,” he said. “There’s not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It’s a mathematical calculation of other cars performances.”

The AI model analyzes thousands of performance data per second, including a range of in-car telemetry signals, RPMs, throttle and optical tracking of each car’s position. The model then evaluates each driver’s fuel consumption and efficiency throughout the race.

Letarte worked with Prime Video “Thursday Night Football Prime Vision” analyst Sam Schwartzstein and Amazon Web Services during the process. They came up with four methodologies that were tested during the first part of the season, which was broadcast by Fox. Schwartzstein and Letarte would then get the data from teams after races to see how close they were until they picked one that worked the best.

The Burn Bar received its toughest test during last week’s race at Michigan as the final 48 laps were run without a caution flag. Most teams made their final pit stops with 50 laps to go, meaning teams were going to be down to the end of their fuel runs at the checkered flag.

“We projected William Byron to run out, which he did, and then we were on the razor’s edge for Denny Hamlin. And then watching the truck push him back into victory lane at the end, knowing he was as close as we thought he was. What a cool way to see this feature come to life and elevate NASCAR broadcasts,” Schwartzstein said.

Alex Strand, Prime Video’s senior coordinating producer for live sports, also sees the Burn Bar as the first tool of many that Amazon and Prime Video can develop for its coverage. Prime Video is in the first year of a seven-year agreement to carry five races per season.

“It’s really cool to live in a world where it shows us that anything is possible. We’re starting with something that we’re really excited about, but it’s setting us down a path that will open up new doors for us,” he said. “I think that’s what we’re really excited about is to say, ‘OK, we’ve had success in Year 1 on a feature that’s resonated with fans right out of the gate.’ It raises the table for our offseason.”

After Sunday’s race in Mexico City, Prime Video’s coverage for this season wraps up with the race at Pocono on June 22.

___

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

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

A pair of Cadillacs will start tomorrow on the front row of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, you say?

Great! But don’t get too carried away with the idea that an American brand could take the overall win, which has only happened four times in nearly a century, all with Ford, the last coming in 1969.

That caveat comes from, of all people, JOTA Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais, who held a rather gloomy press conference at Le Mans this week, where Bourdais essentially said that he’s hoping not so much for an overall win, but perhaps a top-five finish. Understandably, Cadillac public relations chose to overlook that press conference as it seeks to position dominance in qualifying with potential dominance in the real race.

I began covering Bourdais in 2004 when he raced for the famed Newman-Haas team in the new Champ Car World Series, born that year from what was left of CART. With McDonald’s as his sponsor, Bourdais won half the races that year, and he was essentially unchallenged for the championship through 2007 (but we shouldn’t forget that current NASCAR Cup driver AJ Allmendinger managed three straight wins in 2006). Bourdais has always been serious, even dour, when talking about his team’s chances, regardless of the series. He is also very often correct.

A native of Le Mans, France, there’s nothing Bourdais would like more than an overall win at the 24 Hours. He first entered his hometown race in 1999, which was my first year at Le Mans. He came close to an overall win driving for the factory Peugeot team with three second-place finishes, and in 2016, co-drove the then-new Ford GT to a GTE Pro class win in the much-publicized Ford vs. Ferrari rematch from 50 years before.

For Saturday’s start, team JOTA Cadillacs will be on the front row, with Bourdais’ teammate, Earl Bamber, qualifying second. The typically dominant Ferraris and Toyotas are back in the field, with the fastest Ferrari in seventh, Toyota in 10th. Bourdais himself was fastest in the first post-qualifying practice session.

But, Bourdais said in that aforementioned press conference, he’s convinced Ferrari and Toyota are sandbagging—not showing their hand. “I think they’re making fun of us,” Bourdais said. “Honestly, a top-five would be really nice. If we ended up on the podium, it would be a bit incredible. But winning would be really unexpected.” Adding to his concern about Ferrari and Toyota is Porsche, which qualified third and fifth, and BMW, which qualified fourth and sixth. The other two Cadillacs, by the way, qualified eighth and 14th.

“It’s easy to forget Porsche, with three cars that have been very, very fast on the straights since the start of the week,” Bourdais said. “We can see that they’re not far off in terms of performance, so they’ll do really, really well in the race too. BMW hasn’t been on fire the way they were last year in quali, but they’ll be very fast in the race, too.”

(Very) long shots for an overall win are Alpine, Peugeot, and the plucky new Aston Martin effort.

Bolstering Bourdais’ pessimism is that a Ferrari and a Toyota were fastest in the second practice session, so we’ll see. There are 21 entries in the top Hypercar class, a very strong field. The Ferraris have been so dominant the last two years—and the Toyotas for five straight years before—any winner besides those two brands would be a surprise.

In the LMP2 class, the TDS Racing entry from France will start up front, but our attention will be focused on the third-quickest car of the 17 that qualified: The AO by TF car of Louis Deltraz, Dane Cameron, and amateur racer and team principal P.J. Hyett, a 41-year-old software developer. If that team name doesn’t ring a bell, this might: It’s the Spike the Purple Dragon car that runs here in the IMSA series. “It was a special lap I’ll remember for a long time,” Hyett said, who qualified the car. Spike, U.S. fans likely know, is a teammate of Roxy, the pink dinosaur Porsche, which races in the GT class. The cartoon livery of the two cars has made them major fan favorites, with those fans buying a massive number of souvenirs.

In the LM GT3 class, the top qualifier is the number 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, which finished third at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In all, 62 cars will be competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with 186 drivers. And while there are many uniquely American storylines to follow—among them, Porsche team owner Roger Penske, 88, looking for his first overall Le Mans win, the only trophy he’s never been able to win—if you are looking for American drivers, you’ll have to look hard. Penske’s Porsches have none.

Of the 63 drivers in the Hypercar class, only two are American: Brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor, driving for their father, Wayne, in the family Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. There are five other teams represented as American—both Aston Martin Heart of Racing cars, both Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars, and the Whelan Action Express Cadillac—but none of them have an American driver.

A couple of weeks ago, via a Zoom interview, I asked the three Taylors why there are so few American drivers.

“I’m actually surprised, just as you are, that we don’t have more,” Ricky said.

Wayne, a native of South Africa who drove to a win at Le Mans in 1998, said that manufacturers and teams want drivers with Le Mans experience, which many top American drivers simply don’t have. “If you’re going to pick someone to go to Le Mans and you’re going to want to win and represent a big brand, you can’t take a risk putting somebody in the car that’s not been there before because there’s so many things that happen.

“Number one, the track is so big and so long that I know that when I won it in the Ferrari in the Prototype class, at one point in the race it was raining on one side of the track and completely dry on the other side of the track. These are the kinds of experiences that drivers have to have.” Le Mans is 8.467 miles, while the longest IMSA track is Road America in Wisconsin, is less than half that length.

“I would say that the World Endurance Championship and IMSA drivers are probably all the top drivers in the world in terms of sports car racing,” Wayne said. “And if you’re going to go into your first Le Mans with a new manufacturer, you want to go with drivers who have the experience and understand exactly what it takes not only in the car, but the amount of stuff that they have to do during the course of the week with practice and PR events and stuff like that. I can remember this as a driver: By the time I’d get to the start of the race, I felt like I’d done a 24-hour even before I started.”

Jordan Taylor has a class win at Le Mans, coming in 2015 in a Chevrolet Corvette (there are no American drivers in the three Corvettes entered this year). “From an American driver’s perspective, there’s no better way to go than competing with Cadillac. So, for us, it’s super special to be there representing our country and the brand. When they raise the flag and play the anthem at the end of the race there, it’s very special. It’s something every driver dreams of.”

For the record, of the 123 drivers in the other two classes, there are eight Americans in LMP2, and four in GT3. So 14 out of 186.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans starts Saturday at 4 p.m. local time. TV coverage begins at 9 a.m. on Max and MotorTrend TV.

NASCAR fans have grown accustomed to seeing speed, throttle and braking on broadcasts for years. There has been one measurement, though, that has eluded networks and viewers for years.

Until now.

Viewers of the Prime Video races have been able to see fuel usage with the introduction of the Burn Bar. Race teams have measured burn rates and fuel levels down to the last ounce for years, but the methodology has been kept secret for competitive reasons.

Prime Video, though, developed an AI tool using car data available to broadcasters and teams that can measure miles per gallon. The Burn Bar made a brief appearance during Prime’s first broadcast, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It has been used more frequently the past two weeks and will be deployed again on Sunday during the race in Mexico City.

NASCAR on Prime analyst Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., contributed to the development of the Burn Bar and sees it as the first step in taking race analysis to a new level.

“It’s the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team,” he said. “There’s not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It’s a mathematical calculation of other cars performances.”

The AI model analyzes thousands of performance data per second, including a range of in-car telemetry signals, RPMs, throttle and optical tracking of each car’s position. The model then evaluates each driver’s fuel consumption and efficiency throughout the race.

Letarte worked with Prime Video “Thursday Night Football Prime Vision” analyst Sam Schwartzstein and Amazon Web Services during the process. They came up with four methodologies that were tested during the first part of the season, which was broadcast by Fox. Schwartzstein and Letarte would then get the data from teams after races to see how close they were until they picked one that worked the best.

The Burn Bar received its toughest test during last week’s race at Michigan as the final 48 laps were run without a caution flag. Most teams made their final pit stops with 50 laps to go, meaning teams were going to be down to the end of their fuel runs at the checkered flag.

“We projected William Byron to run out, which he did, and then we were on the razor’s edge for Denny Hamlin. And then watching the truck push him back into victory lane at the end, knowing he was as close as we thought he was. What a cool way to see this feature come to life and elevate NASCAR broadcasts,” Schwartzstein said.

Alex Strand, Prime Video’s senior coordinating producer for live sports, also sees the Burn Bar as the first tool of many that Amazon and Prime Video can develop for its coverage. Prime Video is in the first year of a seven-year agreement to carry five races per season.

“It’s really cool to live in a world where it shows us that anything is possible. We’re starting with something that we’re really excited about, but it’s setting us down a path that will open up new doors for us,” he said. “I think that’s what we’re really excited about is to say, ‘OK, we’ve had success in Year 1 on a feature that’s resonated with fans right out of the gate.’ It raises the table for our offseason.”

After Sunday’s race in Mexico City, Prime Video’s coverage for this season wraps up with the race at Pocono on June 22.

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

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

There is quite the challenge — and opportunity — ahead for Ryan Truex. Denny Hamlin is choosing to stay with his family this weekend and miss the Cup race in Mexico City following the birth of his son. Hamlin’s absence means Truex will get to pilot the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

That car has three wins this year with Hamlin behind the wheel, including the most recent race at Michigan. However, the odds aren’t exactly in Truex’ favor. Truex has never raced the current generation of car and is making his first Cup start in over a decade on Sunday. And of course, he’s doing it at a road course that he (and most of the field) have never experienced before.

The good news is that he has about 90 minutes of practice to get acclimated, which is far more than what is provided on most weekends.

A rare opportunity for Truex 

“It’s been a crazy few weeks – especially since Charlotte, I’ve been on standby,” said Truex. “I’m glad it is at a track where I can practice and have time and know what to do to. I found out on Wednesday night, so it has been kind of chaotic getting here and putting all of that together, but I’m just grateful for the experience and grateful to be here. Really just want to enjoy it. I don’t really have any set goals or expectations – I just want to enjoy the weekend. I’m driving a Cup car for Joe Gibbs at an international race – this is not something I ever dreamed of doing, just want to take it all in and have a good time.”

Truex’s Cup experience is extremely limited and it was a struggle. He ran just 26 races between 2013 and 2014, never finishing higher than 20th. Since then, he appeared as a part-time driver in the Xfinity Series, winning three races with Joe Gibbs Racing. He told the media in Mexico City that he doesn’t have any set expectations for the event, just focusing on enjoying the experience.

“My last time in Cup was not a fun experience,” admitted Truex. “It didn’t go well for me. I didn’t enjoy it. That was probably not the right move for me, career-wise, and I’ve kind of been fighting back since then. I enjoy everything I do at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). I’ve been able to race part time the last couple of years, and do all of this stuff away from the track. It has been nice. It has been fun to race part-time and have some Saturdays at home, but it is also fun to be at the track, so I feel like I’ve had a good balance the last few years and the Cup cars then are so different than what they are now.”

Ryan Truex, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

His only experience with the Gen-7 car is via the simulator or in testing, but never on a race weekend. But the Truex family has a pretty good track record at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 Cup Series champion and older brother to Ryan, actually won the first Xfinity race ever run there back in 2005.

“I texted him [Martin] this week when I found out and he said Truex’s are one-for-one in Mexico, so no pressure. I’m glad he could throw that at me (laughter), but he’s been good for advice,” said Truex.

Part of the preparation involves adjusting the car to fit Truex, instead of Hamlin. “I mean it is close. It is a little bit of a mismatch because the cars came straight from Michigan and we weren’t sure if this was going to happen. When the car got here, it was set up for Denny (Hamlin), so they are making adjustments after tech. Honestly, I fit pretty well – the pedals are a little far away, so they are going to have to move those.

“If it was an oval, I could have made deal with how the pedals were, but for a road course, you are going to be braking a lot and throttle modulation, so we need to move those, but for the most part, for all of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) guys, I feel like I fit close. Obviously, if it is a 600-mile race, you want to be perfect, because any little pinch point or tight point is going to drive you crazy, but for the most part we should be able to get it close.”  

Photos from Mexico City – Practice

NASCAR fans have grown accustomed to seeing speed, throttle and braking on broadcasts for years. There has been one measurement, though, that has eluded networks and viewers for years.

Until now.

Viewers of the Prime Video races have been able to see fuel usage with the introduction of the Burn Bar. Race teams have measured burn rates and fuel levels down to the last ounce for years, but the methodology has been kept secret for competitive reasons.

Prime Video, though, developed an AI tool using car data available to broadcasters and teams that can measure miles per gallon. The Burn Bar made a brief appearance during Prime’s first broadcast, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It has been used more frequently the past two weeks and will be deployed again on Sunday during the race in Mexico City.

NASCAR on Prime analyst Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., contributed to the development of the Burn Bar and sees it as the first step in taking race analysis to a new level.

“It’s the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team,” he said. “There’s not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It’s a mathematical calculation of other cars performances.”

The AI model analyzes thousands of performance data per second, including a range of in-car telemetry signals, RPMs, throttle and optical tracking of each car’s position. The model then evaluates each driver’s fuel consumption and efficiency throughout the race.

Letarte worked with Prime Video “Thursday Night Football Prime Vision” analyst Sam Schwartzstein and Amazon Web Services during the process. They came up with four methodologies that were tested during the first part of the season, which was broadcast by Fox. Schwartzstein and Letarte would then get the data from teams after races to see how close they were until they picked one that worked the best.

The Burn Bar received its toughest test during last week’s race at Michigan as the final 48 laps were run without a caution flag. Most teams made their final pit stops with 50 laps to go, meaning teams were going to be down to the end of their fuel runs at the checkered flag.

“We projected William Byron to run out, which he did, and then we were on the razor’s edge for Denny Hamlin. And then watching the truck push him back into victory lane at the end, knowing he was as close as we thought he was. What a cool way to see this feature come to life and elevate NASCAR broadcasts,” Schwartzstein said.

Alex Strand, Prime Video’s senior coordinating producer for live sports, also sees the Burn Bar as the first tool of many that Amazon and Prime Video can develop for its coverage. Prime Video is in the first year of a seven-year agreement to carry five races per season.

“It’s really cool to live in a world where it shows us that anything is possible. We’re starting with something that we’re really excited about, but it’s setting us down a path that will open up new doors for us,” he said. “I think that’s what we’re really excited about is to say, ‘OK, we’ve had success in Year 1 on a feature that’s resonated with fans right out of the gate.’ It raises the table for our offseason.”

After Sunday’s race in Mexico City, Prime Video’s coverage for this season wraps up with the race at Pocono on June 22.

___

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

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press