What’s Happening?

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ legal team has requested that a federal appeals panel revisit a Jun. 5 ruling that will strip the two teams’ six NASCAR Cup Series cars of charter status.

• On Jun. 5, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on a May 9 appeal hearing to overturn a Dec. 18 judgment that awarded 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the two teams suing NASCAR, charter status for the duration of their ongoing lawsuit.
• This ruling meant that the teams would lose the three charters (six between the two teams) that they each own; as a result, the two would lose out on automatic qualification for NASCAR Cup Series points races and valuable revenue sharing for each chartered entry, among other grim implications. Following this ruling, the teams had 14 days to petition for a rehearing, something that they have now done.
• In a statement, the two teams’ lawyer, Jeffery Kessler, said, “If upheld, the ruling would set a dangerous precedent, allowing monopolists to shield themselves from legal challenges simply by requiring release language as a condition of doing business with the monopoly.”
• There is now a stay of mandate on the Jun. 5 ruling, meaning that the teams will maintain charter status for now and should the court decide not to rehear the appeal, seven days after that decision. If the court goes forward with the rehearing, the hearing will be in front of a full panel rather than the three-judge panel from May 9.
• We have covered all angles of this lawsuit extensively via the timeline linked below.

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Hyak Motorsports has parted ways with spotter Tab Boyd, who worked with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 Chevrolet. Weekend rosters show that Clayton Hughes will be atop the spotter’s stand for Pocono, replacing Boyd.

Stenhouse confirmed the news on Friday morning in a SiriusXM NASCAR interview, saying: “That’s an unfortunate deal. The team let Tab Boyd go this week, and we got Clayton Hughes to come fill in. I’ve never worked with Clayton.”

No reason was given for the firing of Boyd and while Motorsport.com reached out to the team for clarification, we have not yet heard back from team representatives. 

Mexico controversy

However, Boyd has been in the news this week for sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he expressed his displeasure with Mexico during NASCAR’s recent visit – the first points-paying Cup race outside of the United States since 1958.

Boyd has since deleted his account after pushback online, but the original post read as follows: “I’m ready to go home, screw this place, people can talk it up all they want. Can’t even walk out the front door of the hotel without getting hustled and money snatched in less than five minutes. Good area my ass.”

Boyd was apparently the victim of scammers and while he will not be working the Cup race this weekend, he is still listed as the spotter for Ryan Ellis and the No. 71 DGM Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as for Luke Baldwin and the No. 66 ThorSport Ford in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Boyd is a veteran spotter with years of experience, previously working with Hendrick Motorsports and William Byron on the No. 24 Chevrolet. He joined Stenhouse and the No. 47 team three years ago in 2022 and together, the duo won the 2023 Daytona 500.

This situation follows Spire Motorsports’ decision to fine their own driver, Carson Hocevar. On Tuesday, the team announced that Hocevar was fined $50,000 following an internal investigation into comments he made on a Twitch live-stream, calling Mexico a “s***hole.” The money will go to various Mexican charities and Hocevar will have to undergo mandatory cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.

DOWNTOWN — As NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race approaches, a new hospitality group has taken over food operations and rolling street closures have begun Downtown.

Levy, a Chicago-based hospitality company, has been named the official food and beverage partner for July’s NASCAR Street Race, the racing organization announced this week. The race is July 5-6 in Grant Park.

Levy, which operates at venues such as Soldier Field and Wrigley Field, replaces Lettuce Entertain You, which handled operations the past two years.

Levy will bring two of its restaurants — Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap and River Roast — to race weekend concessions, along with locally owned restaurants including Mr. Beef, Bronzeville Winery, Lexington Betty Smokehouse, Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs and Josephine’s Southern Cooking. More restaurants will be announced closer to the race, according to a news release.

“As a Chicago-lifer, I’m definitely biased, but I truly believe there is no city with more energy than Chicago during the summer,” Levy CEO Andy Lansing said in a statement. “The NASCAR Chicago Street Race highlights our city and the sport in a totally unique way, and it’s been incredible to see fans rally behind it. We’re so excited to help elevate an already wonderful event with a new level of food, beverage and hometown hospitality.”

Some street closures around Grant Park started earlier this week, including Balbo Drive from Columbus Drive to DuSable Lake Shore Drive. “No parking” restrictions are now in place along northbound and southbound Columbus Drive between Jackson and Balbo drives.

NASCAR has a three-year contract with the city that is set to expire after this year. The agreement allows for a two-year extension, though NASCAR and city officials have not said whether it will be renewed.

The race slashed ticket prices for its third year, with single-day general admission passes starting at $99 — down from $150 last year — and free general admission tickets for kids 12 and younger Saturday and Sunday with a ticket-holding adult.

The cost for a two-day general admission ticket is $150. Reserved seating starts at $200, with Frontstretch Premium Reserved seats priced at $350.

Last year, NASCAR generated $128 million in total economic impact for the city, a 17 percent increase from 2023, according to a Temple University study commissioned by the city’s tourism bureau, Choose Chicago.

But total attendance at the 2024 race was down from the inaugural year, when heavy rain forced delays and the cancellation of some races.

Here’s the schedule of rolling street closures through race weekend:

Pre-Race Activity In Grant Park

• Friday: Beginning 12:01 a.m.: Curb lane closure on northbound and southbound Columbus Drive between Jackson Drive and Balbo Drive.
• Monday: Beginning 12:01 a.m.: Full closure on Ida B. Wells Drive from Michigan Avenue to Columbus Drive. Westbound lanes between Congress Plaza Drive and Michigan Avenue will remain open; eastbound lanes will be closed.
• Monday: 10 p.m. Monday-6 a.m. Tuesday: Temporary closure of northbound Michigan Avenue between Congress Plaza Drive and Jackson Drive.
• Wednesday: 10 p.m. Wednesday-5 a.m. Thursday: Temporary closure of northbound Columbus Drive between Balbo Drive and Jackson Drive.

Street Closures

• Thursday: Beginning 10 p.m.: Closure of Jackson Drive between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive.
• June 27: Beginning 12:01 a.m.: Closure of Balbo Drive from Columbus Drive to Michigan Avenue.
• June 28: Beginning 10 p.m.: Closure of Congress Plaza Drive.
• June 30: Beginning 12:01 a.m.: Closure of Columbus Drive from Jackson Drive to Roosevelt Road.
• July 2: Beginning 10 p.m.: Closure of westbound and eastbound Roosevelt Road from Michigan Avenue to DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
• July 3: Beginning 12:01 a.m.: Closure of southbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive between Randolph Street and McFetridge Road.
• July 3: Beginning 10 p.m.: Closure of northbound and southbound Michigan Avenue from Roosevelt Road to Jackson Drive, and northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive between Randolph Street and McFetridge Road.

Race Weekend Street Closures – July 5-6

• Southbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Randolph Street to McFetridge Drive
• Northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive from McFetridge Drive to Randolph Street
• Northbound Michigan Avenue from Roosevelt Road to Monroe Street
• Southbound Michigan Avenue from south of Monroe Street to Eighth Street
• Monroe Street from Michigan Avenue to DuSable Lake Shore Drive
• Columbus Drive from Roosevelt Road to Monroe Street
• Roosevelt Road from DuSable Lake Shore Drive to Michigan Avenue
• Jackson Drive from Michigan Avenue to DuSable Lake Shore Drive
• Balbo Drive from Michigan Avenue to DuSable Lake Shore Drive
• Ida B. Wells Drive from Michigan Avenue to Columbus Drive
• Congress Plaza Drive from Harrison Street to Van Buren Street
• Northbound Indiana Avenue from Roosevelt Road to 13th Street
• Post Place: Entrance and exit of Lower Wacker Drive
• Garvey Court: Entrance and exit of Lower Wacker Drive

Reopening — July 6-14 

Select streets will begin reopening following the conclusion of the event July 6. Priority streets to reopen are DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.

• Northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive will begin reopening 6 a.m. July 7.
• All NASCAR-related demobilization is expected to conclude by the end of the day July 14.

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A great night of weather and talented fields greeted the crowd that entered Thompson Speedway on Wednesday night with a pit area containing nearly 100 competitors for the Nutmeg State 50 program in Thompson, Conn.

Perhaps none of the drivers went home happier than Chelmsford’s Jon McKennedy.

McKennedy drove to victory at the Outlaw Open Modified Series – Nutmeg State 50. He edged runner-up Mike Christopher Jr. of Wolcott, Conn., and third-place driver Ron Silk of Norwalk, Conn.

McKennedy pocketed $5,000 for the win.

Christopher and Silk brought the Outlaw Open Modified field to green, with Christopher quickly taking the launch out front. Although just 50 short laps around the Thompson 5/8-mile oval, the top five in Silk, Jon McKennedy, Ronnie Williams and Harvard’s Matt Swanson seemed content to play follow the leader early on. Swanson fell out with motor issues on lap nine and it took until lap 30 for Silk to start hitting the ‘go’ button.

Pulling up to Christopher, Silk peeked inside with McKennedy growing ever closer in third, waiting for whatever may come. With laps winding down McKennedy made his move under Silk for second and on lap 42 powered his way under Christopher in turn three and never looked back. McKennedy was joined in victory lane by Christopher and Silk.

McKennedy wasn’t the only local winner.

Sixteen strong, the Street Stocks rebounded with the simplified, more open rules package. Ryan Lineham’s battle with Icebreaker winner Brandon Plemons put on a stellar show just before George Baldwin entered the picture with five laps remaining. Baldwin, a Lowell resident, made his move late in the going to steal away the 20-lap win and the Eden Rafferty bonus in the process.

Thompson Speedway is back in action on Wednesday, July 9 with the Twisted Tea Midsummer 50. The Outlaw Open Modifieds are back for their second $5,000-to-win Dash for Cash of the summer season along with the NEMA Lites in a special Wednesday showdown. The Wednesday midweek special will also include the Thompson Speedway track championship divisions for another night at the Thompson track at 6 p.m.

College

River Hawks shine: Fourteen UMass Lowell student-athletes have been named America East Presidential Scholar-Athletes, one of the conference’s highest honors, as announced by the conference office.

This award recognizes all student-athletes who graduated with a 3.75 GPA or higher from their respective institutions after having attended a minimum of two years.

Field hockey’s Cate Kleeman (Gibbsboro, N.J.) and Jillian Loebs (Acton); men’s lacrosse’s Nolan Perkins (Harwood, Md.) and Trevor Tismo (Centerville, Ohio)’ men’s soccer’s Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan); softball’s Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.); Fleur Balogh de Galantha (Grafton), Mia Jones (Blacksburg, Va.), and Sarah Ross (Agawam) of the women’s cross country/track and field program; women’s lacrosse’s Jade Catlin (Middletown, Md.), Daia Hansford (Bowie, Md.), Elsa Skinner (Annapolis, Md.) and Kendall Whalen (Belmont); and women’s soccer’s Laerke Niklasson (Roskilde, Denmark) were this year’s recipients.

Given the criticism Katherine Legge has faced in pretty much every NASCAR series she has competed in so far in 2025, Sunday’s Cup Series race in Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez marked a pleasant change of pace.

After qualifying the No. 78 Chevrolet in 37th (last), she stayed out of trouble and finished in 32nd in her second career Cup Series start. While she was scored in 30th in her Cup debut at Phoenix Raceway back in March, that result was a DNF after she caused two accidents, leading to a lot of the criticism of both her driving and NASCAR’s approval process.

Outside of the Cup Series, Legge has four DNFs and two DNQs and just one actual finish this NASCAR season, that being a 32nd place result in the Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway for Jordan Anderson Racing.

Katherine Legge, Live Fast Motorsports not returning at Pocono

But after what was probably her strongest overall NASCAR performance since 2018, when she recorded three straight finishes of 14th, 28th, and 33rd place for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, she and Live Fast Motorsports will not be returning for this Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway.

The only non-chartered (open) car on the entry list for this 160-lap race around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) “Tricky Triangle” in Long Pond, Pennsylvania is the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by Brennan Poole. Poole has not competed in the Cup Series since 2023.

Legge is set to compete in four more races for Live Fast Motorsports later this season. She is set to get back behind the wheel of the No. 78 Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 6; Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, July 13; Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 10; and Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 16.

Team co-owner B.J. McLeod, who has made three appearances (two starts) in the No. 78 car so far this year, is the only other driver currently set to drive it later in the year. He has three more starts lined up at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 28; Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 23; and Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 19.

Source | Lyten

Lyten (San Jose, Calif., U.S.), a supermaterial applications company and innovator of 3D Graphene, has launched Lyten Motorsports (Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.), a new venture designed to bring Lyten’s material science innovations to motorsports parts.

Launching in partnership with IndyCar Experience, Lyten Motorsports currently manufactures 3D printed parts using Lyten’s filaments and adhesives and is quickly expanding into autoclave manufacturing to meet market demands. Lyten will be further enhancing the performance of carbon fiber parts and identifying metal parts that can be converted into lighter, lower-cost composite parts. Lyten Motorsports plans to develop parts for a broad range of U.S. and international racing series.

“Motorsports sit at the apex of materials innovation, where small improvements make the difference in speed and safety,” says Dan Cook, Lyten co-founder and CEO. “The introduction of carbon fiber revolutionized the sport, and we believe Lyten 3D Graphene can be the next materials revolution in motorsports.”

Lyten’s 3D Graphene is a foundational, carbon-based material that can be tuned to meet the specific needs of high-performance applications, impacting material properties like strength, weight, conductivity and permeability. Lyten is already using it to build lithium-sulfur batteries approaching two times the energy density of lithium-ion while eliminating 85% of the mined minerals, including elimination of nickel, cobalt and graphite. Its other products include composites, concrete and sensors, all built on 3D Graphene supermaterials platform.

Lyten will continue to execute materials R&D at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. It has also opened a design and manufacturing facility in Indianapolis for motorsport parts, co-located with IndyCar Experience headquarters. Lyten has been testing new material designs on the IndyCar Experience two-seat IndyCar for more than 2 years and will continue to use the platform to accelerate part development. The Lyten-sponsored IndyCar Experience two-seater will be active throughout the 2025 racing season, including the Indy 500.