There’s no way to sugarcoat it, the 2025 NASCAR season has been a disappointment for former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. 

Elliott hasn’t recorded a win yet for Hendrick Motorsports this season. He had a legitimate chance to claim first place last weekend at Kansas Speedway, but a brutal turn of events left him outside of the top 10 when the dust settled. 

Despite coming up short at Kansas, the No. 9 team received love from Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition Chad Knaus. 

“It’s unfortunate that issue happened today because I think we’d be sitting here with them easily in the top five with the pace that they had. But it only takes one hiccup and it can derail your day,” Knaus said. “So we’ve got to keep working on those things. But as long as they continue to bring good race cars and fast race cars and execute at a high level, they’re going to be where we need them.”

With the NASCAR All-Star Race set for this weekend, Hendrick Motorsports has made a change to Elliott’s team. Whether or not it’ll lead to better results is a bit unclear though. 

Meet the newest brand ambassador for ELEMIS, Aston Martin’s Head of F1 Academy Jessica Hawkins. 

Luxury skincare brand ELEMIS previously inked a deal with Aston Martin earlier in 2025, becoming the first skincare company to sponsor an F1 team. Notably, this partnership represents much more than a logo on the car. With Hawkins officially on board — a seasoned racer and one of motorsport’s most influential female figures — this deal points to a long-term commitment from a less traditional F1 team or driver sponsor. 

“10 years ago this definitely wouldn’t have happened,” Hawkins told Motorsport.com after the Aston Martin deal was announced. “We’ve come so far in recent years … it means so much to have a company like ELEMIS believe in me, and the visibility it’s creating is incredible.”

Being less known in motorsports doesn’t mean ELEMIS isn’t already making its mark on the paddock so far this year, with visible brand activations at key Grand Prix, including a ‘first-of-its-kind spa experience on board the Aston Martin Aramco luxury yacht’ at the upcoming Monaco GP.

“I think we align very well on everything that we stand for,” Hawkins said. “We’re two British brands, and very passionate about similar things. They’re obviously a huge company and I’m so proud to be one of their ambassadors.”

In addition to the team-level sponsorship, ELEMIS will also support Hawkins directly as she competes in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Comtoyou Racing. “The simple answer is I wouldn’t be racing without [sponsorship],” Hawkins said. “It’s very expensive, and I come from a normal family who don’t have the funds to support that.”

In fact, the thought of receiving a funding from a company within the beauty space would have been inconceivable until very recently, when the likes of Charlotte Tilbury became a founding partner of F1 Academy and e.l.f. Cosmetics began blazing a unique trail in American motorsports.

And the deal isn’t just about motorsport. “We want to empower women outside of motorsport as well. Of course the partnership is motorsport-led, but it’s bigger than that,” she said. “When I first started [racing], I could name all of the influential women I knew in motorsport on one hand. Now there are so many, which shows how far we’ve come.”

ELEMIS CEO Sean Harrington emphasized the brand’s commitment to that progress. “Jessica’s fearless pursuit of progress in motorsport mirrors our own commitment to challenging the status quo and driving positive change,” he said. “Her passion, resilience, and advocacy for greater inclusivity make her a natural partner for ELEMIS. Together, we aim to inspire, empower, and elevate the voices of females in sport and beyond.”

CHATTANOOGA, TN – Throughout history, people have always asked the question: “what would it be like if Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali met in both their primes?”  Comparisons of legends against the latest phenomenon have always left us to ponder the what ifs.  Unfortunately, we don’t have a Tyson vs. Ali heavyweight match up but we did have some fun this week putting together a flat out drag race between a low tech for this day and age 1971 Dodge Challenger and a 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack Electric.

On paper the numbers suggest this could be an equal race.  The 71 weights a thousand pounds less and has 150HP more than the new contender, but the future has some advantages.  Electric motors don’t have the same torque curve the old school Hemi has.  Every bit of power and torque is available the second you touch the throttle.  Just for fun we ran them against each other few times and the old school charger ended up with some fuel pressure issues that wouldn’t let us declare an overall winner.

We did bring in two guests to help with our High Tech vs. Low Tech grudge match.  Edward Parker from Mtn. View Dodge and Matt Welch owner of Pandora’s European Motorsports.

The new Charger impressed me, and even the engine sounds I felt like fit. The car sounds like something from Tron.  “It’s got 670 horsepower, 627 pound feet of torque. And as an instantaneous, it’s also got which we just tested, a PowerShot, which gives you an immediate 40 more horsepower at the front as you hit the gas or not. The gas pedal, the electric pedal,” says Parker.

Matt has raced motorcycles professionally, and worked for various teams in Nascar and the Indy car series. We talked about the future of racing and how the next generation will never have the frustration of rebuilding a carburetor and they will end up programming cars on laptops and devices instead.  I had to ask with his experience, do you thin we will ever see an all-electric Daytona 500 or Indy 500?  “I don’t know that we will see a, race of that caliber that’s all electric. Maybe in my kids lifetime, but maybe not ours,” says Matt. “We’re definitely headed that direction. I think in five years, half of my showroom will be electric. I think half of your showroom will be electric. Like it or not, it’s coming.”

Comparing this new tech to the low tech, I can take the engine out and have any performance shop in the world rebuild.  I can make upgrades, changes and ultimately make it a street cruiser or full out race car.  But what happens when the motors or batteries die in the electric?

“You have to bring it back to the dealership. Once you’re done with it. The dealership will send it back to the factory to where it’s basically recycled, and they’ll take the parts that are good and refurbished them and then put them back out, parts. But it’s completely recyclable. You can’t turn around and rebuild it like we can these like the carburetors. There’s nothing you can do with that” says Parker.

My personal concern with electric cars is that it will be similar to your cellphone and will have to be upgraded and replaced every few years.  The technology is obviously still too new to be sure, but like it or not – electric cars are most likely here to stay.

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series standings have taken a surprise twist this week, without a single race being run.

Kyle Larson took the season lead on Sunday at the Kansas Speedway, smashing the track record for Cup Series laps led in a single race, but a late penalty has seen a number of drivers shift in the standings.

Chris Buescher has dropped a dozen places this week (from 12th to 24th) after being punished for a front bumper cover violation, having been docked 60 points (plus five playoff points) for the infraction.

That penalty has dropped him well below the playoff cut line, with Ryan Preece’s 251 points now the 16th driver in after Buescher fell from 284 to 224, now with seven drivers between him and the post-season once race wins are taken into account.

RFK Racing were also hit with a $75,000 fine, with crew chief Scott Graves suspended for the next two races on the Cup Series calendar.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest Cup Series standings in full.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series 2025: All-Star Weekend start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

NASCAR Cup Series standings after Buescher penalty

NASCAR HEADLINES: Cup Series driver hit with major penalty as Kyle Larson replacement revealed

Related