Front Row Motorsports’ Speed May Make Noah Gragson a Decent DFS Option

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June 15, 2025

Noah Gragson qualified 35th for Sunday’s Mexico City race. This marks his worst starting position in over a year, and he only outqualified Ryan Truex and Katherine Legge, two drivers with next to no experience with the Next Gen chassis. Having said that, Front Row Motorsports clearly has some speed, as Gragson’s teammate Todd Gilliland impressively qualified seventh and posted the fastest lap in practice. Gragson did earn his first top-10 finish on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series this year at Austin, the other Formula One track on the NASCAR schedule, so he seems like a decent long-shot option for this race, especially since he only costs $6,200 in DFS. However, when so many perennial road-course contenders like Christopher Bell, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher also qualified poorly, Gragson is probably only worth starting to save money elsewhere.—Sean Wrona – RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

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.

Mexico City — Alex Bowman wasn’t sure he was going to make the trip to Mexico City because of lower back pain suffered in “the hardest hit of my career” at Michigan last week.

Second longest active NASCAR team owner has passed

On Saturday, NASCAR team owner Charlie Henderson has passed.

Henderson Motorsports is a NASCAR team based out of Abingdon, Virginia. They currently field the No. 75 in the NASCAR Truck Series.

The team has run on a part-time basis in the 2025 season. Parker Kligerman and Patrick Emerling have shared the seat.

Parker Kligerman stated, “Very sad day for this sport and the Henderson family. Charlie, his whole family & this race team have meant so much to me over the last decade.”

The team last ran in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1984 with Morgan Shepherd.

Henderson Motorsports comments

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our team owner, Charlie Henderson,” the team opened in a statement.

“Charlie was not only the driving force behind Henderson Motorsports, but also a beloved member of the NASCAR community and a dear friend to us all.”

“Charlie was the second longest active team owner in NASCAR, behind on the Wood Brothers. He began his racing career at Kingsport Speedway in 1975 and had been a part of NASCAR since 1982.”

“His passion for racing, commitment to his team and love for the sport left a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of working alongside him.”

“He built this team on hard work, family values and a love for competition that will continue to inspire us moving forward.”

“We are grateful for the many years of leadership, friendship and memories that Charlie gave to Henderson Motorsports and the entire NASCAR community. We ask that you keep the Henderson family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

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The 2025 season began at Kevin Harvick’s Kern County Raceway, where Trevor Huddleston held off a late-race push from Kyle Keller in a photo finish at the line to secure his first victory of the season. Fast forward nearly five months later as the ARCA Menards Series West rolls back to the 0.5-mile oval for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.

It’s anybody’s fight for the championship lead heading into the fifth race of the season, as Huddleston only leads Tucson winner Tanner Reif by two points. The rest of the top 5 in points are all just separated by 11 points.

Fifteen cars will enter the bullring, challenging drivers with the 14-degree banking in the corners, which allows for close quarters and fender-rubbing racing.

Among the entry list, a new driver enters the ARCA West competition in the name of Andrew Chapman, who will make his ARCA West debut, teaming up with points leader Huddleston in the No. 55 High Point Racing Ford Mustang.

Four drivers are making their season debuts on Saturday evening. Joey Kennealy, the younger brother of ARCA West rookie contender Robbie Kennealy, will be one of them, driving the No. 9 Ford Mustang for Jan’s Racing. This is the first time in team history that the team will field three cars in a championship points paying race. The last brother duo taking the track in an ARCA West event came when Ethan and Eric Nascimento raced against each other in 2024 at Kern County.

He will be followed by Jaron Giannini, who will pilot the No. 23 Toyota Camry for Sigma Performance Services. Buddy Shepherd is set to take the wheel of the No. 6 Toyota Camry for Jerry Pitts Racing. Finally, P.J. Pedroncelli will drive the No. 68 Chevrolet SS for Rodd Racing.

All seven full-time drivers contesting for the championship are competing in Saturday’s showdown, which includes Huddleston, Reif, Eric Johnson Jr., Keller, Kennealy, Blake Lothian, and David Smith.

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Kevin Harvick’s Kern County Raceway will air live on Saturday, June 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Radio coverage of the race will be on ARCARacing.com.

Daniel Suarez did something incredible on Saturday, earning a dramatic victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ long-awaited return to Mexico City. He did it all in a backup car, starting 39th before steadily marching through the field.

“This is very special,” said Suarez. “This is very, very special to be here in front of my people. All these people have supported me for many, many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico days. And now we’re fighting with the big boys, so it feels good.”

The final stage went green with 19 laps to go and that’s when the pivotal moment came. Suarez, who restarted fourth, sent it on the outside in a three-wide move for the lead into Turn 1. He took the top spot by force as chaos ensued behind him. The two fastest cars all day were heavily damaged as both Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs crashed. Several other drivers were collected in the melee through Turns 1 and 2 while Suarez escaped unscathed.

Watch: Zilisch, Gibbs, others involved in multiple wrecks to begin final stage

The following restart was much cleaner as Suarez held onto the top spot. Despite the damage, Zilisch drove his wounded car back through the field, setting the fastest lap of all drivers. Suarez was cruising, but of course, a caution with seven laps to go for an incident involving Jesse Love set-up a mad dash to the finish.

Suarez had to hold on in another hectic restart with Gray drawing even with him, slamming doors through Turns 1 and 2. Suarez ran off into the grass due to the contact, but held onto the race lead. Gray never let him get too far away, shadowing him throughout the closing laps. On the final lap, Gray went for a mega lunge into the final corner, but kept it clean as Suarez escaped with the victory in hand.

Gray finished second, Austin Hill third, Christian Eckes fourth, and Zilisch fifth. William Sawalich finished sixth, Austin Green seventh, Jeb Burton eighth, Harrison Burton ninth, and Sammy Smith tenth.

Stages 1 and 2

Daniel Suarez, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

The race got underway with Zilisch starting from pole position. Suarez did not wait to begin his march, quickly moving from 39th to 25th by the time the first caution flew on Lap 3. That was for Sam Mayer, who spun into the barriers.

Zilisch lost the lead after getting bumped out of the way, but he quickly rebounded as a tense fight for the lead played out between himself and Gibbs. They, along with several other frontrunners chose to short-pit, choosing track position over stage points. Carson Kvapil was among those who stayed out, winning Stage 1 win.

Several drivers suffered mechanical issues in the opening stage, including Justin Allgaier Jeremy Clements, and 2020 NASCAR Mexico champion Ruben Rovelo.

At the beginning of Stage 2, Suarez quickly moved from seventh to third with a bold lunge into Turn 1, but it was Zilisch was the driver in control of the race.

There were various single-car spins, but no cautions for cause during the second stage. Of note, Hill suffered a cut tire that put him to the tail-end of the lead lap. As drivers again chose to short-pit, Christopher Bell’s engine blew while running third. He limped into the pits and pulled to the side, allowing the stage to end under green flag conditions.

Sammy Smith claimed the Stage 2 win as Zilisch and Gibbs had a dramatic race off pit road, running side-by-side through the pit exit. Zilisch prevailed, but at the start of the final stage, both he and Gibbs would see their shot at a win slip away through the previously mentioned chaos.

After Suarez’s three-wide move to take the lead with 19 laps to go, he never relinquished the top spot again. This is his first Xfinity winning the 2016 finale at Homestead, where he also won the championship. He now has four career victories in the Xfinity Series.