Spire Motorsports will field an ARCA Menards Series West entry for Corey Day who will drive the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS in Friday afternoon’s General Tire 200 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The race will mark the team’s first appearance in a stand-alone ARCA Menards Series West race.
The General Tire 200 will be streamed live on FloRacing Friday, July 11 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Radio coverage for the sixth of 12 events on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series West calendar will also be streamed live on ARCARacing.com.

Corey Day – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet SS

Corey Day will be at the controls of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS in Friday’s General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway.
The Clovis, Calif., native will pull double duty this weekend and also compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Pit Boss/Foodmaxx 250 in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports.
The 64-lap event will mark Day’s sixth start in the key developmental series. He competed in three ARCA Menards Series events in 2024 for Pinnacle Racing Group and the opening two rounds of the 2025 campaign for Spire Motorsports. He will round out his four-race slate later this season at Kansas Speedway (Sept. 26). In his five prior starts, Day has tallied one top five and three top 10s, including a career-best fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway.
In Day’s most recent ARCA Menards Series start, the open-wheel standout was forced to start 29th after inclement weather washed out qualifying but raced his way to a 10th-place finish to earn his third top 10 in ARCA competition.
Day has gained valuable road-racing experience in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series. He’s raced a Scott Lagasse-prepared HendrickCars.com M1 Chevrolet in four of seven events thus far in 2025. In the division’s most recent stop at Road America, Day collected his first TA2 top-five finish with a third-place result joining Spire Motorsports development driver and current points leader Tristan McKee on the podium.
In his lone Sonoma start when the TA2 Series made its yearly visit to the famed 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, Day qualified fourth but sustained damage to the nose of his machine early in the event and was forced to settle for a 26th-place result.
HendrickCars.com is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
Day has competed in 10 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events, six of which have come at the controls of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Silverado with veteran crew chief Brian Pattie calling the race. He secured a career-best fifth-place finish in his last appearance with the team at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. He will return to the series later this month at Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 25) and round out his eight-race slate at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (Aug. 30).
The Hendrick Motorsports development driver has started three races behind the wheel of the team’s No. 17 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and finished 11th in his most recent start at Nashville Superspeedway.
Day has collected victories at some of the west coast’s most prestigious races, including the 2024 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Speedway, 2024 Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit (Wash.) Speedway, 2023 Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., 2022 David Tarter Memorial at Silver Dollar Speedway and 2022 Cotton Classic at Keller (Calif.) Auto Speedway.

Corey Day Quote
What are your thoughts heading into a doubleheader weekend at Sonoma?
“I am super excited to get back in the ARCA and Xfinity car this weekend. I’ve had a little bit of time off to do some Sprint Car and Trans Am racing. I’m a lot more confident in my road course ability after those Trans Am races, so I’m super excited to get back in those cars. I know both teams will bring me a great piece, and I’m super excited to get a home race in. I made a Trans Am start at Sonoma earlier this year, but this is NASCAR weekend, so a lot more of my friends and family and people that have watched me race Sprint Cars in California for the past four years will be there. It’ll be super cool to race on such a big stage in front of them.”

Spire Motorsports PR

By The Associated Press

All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Challenge Round 3 – Toyota / Save Mart 350

Site: Sonoma, California.

Track: Sonoma Raceway.

Race distance: 110 laps, 218.9 miles.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1:30 p.m., qualifying, 2:35 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3:30 p.m. (TNT and MAX).

Last year: Kyle Larson took his second win at Sonoma and third of the season while taking the lead after a three-car battle with eight laps to go.

Last race: Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen earned his second victory of the weekend and marked a first series sweep from the pole since Kyle Busch’s performance in 2016.

Next race: July 20, Dover, Delaware.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

Site: Sonoma, California.

Track: Sonoma Raceway.

Race distance: 79 laps, 156.95 miles.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 4 p.m., qualifying, 5:10 p.m.; Saturday, race, 4:30 p.m. (CW).

Last year: Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen secured the win, leading a race-high 32 laps while taking the lead late after contact with Austin Hill.

Last race: Van Gisbergen held off teammate Connor Zilisch after a late-race restart, giving him his first Xfinity victory with JR Motorsports.

Next race: July 19, Dover, Delaware.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

Last race: Pole sitter Corey Heim locked in his fifth win of the season while dominating 99 out of 100 laps at Lime Rock Park.

Next race: July 25, Indianapolis.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Last race: Lando Norris scored his first victory at his home race after capitalizing on teammate Piastri’s 10-second penalty amidst a safety-car restart.

Next race: July 26, Stavelot, Belgium.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

SYNK 275

Site: Newton, Iowa.

Track: Iowa Speedway.

Race distance: 275 laps, 245.85 miles.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday, practice, noon, race 1, 5 p.m. (FOX); Sunday, race 2, 1 p.m. (FOX).

Last year: Will Power earned his 43rd career win after overtaking leader Alex Palou during the final pit stops.

Last race: Relying on a fuel-saving strategy, Scott Dixon capitalized on a mistake made by Palou with five laps to go giving him his first win of the season.

Next race: July 20, Toronto.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Next race: July 20, Kent, Washington.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Deer Creek Clash

Battle at the Border – Night 1

Memorial Badger 40 – Night 1

Battle at the Border – Night 2

Memorial Badger 40 – Night 2

Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic presented by Dac Vitamins and Minerals

Next events: July 18 – 19, Rossburg, Ohio.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com

_____

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing

NASCAR’s inaugural in-season tournament is down to the elite eight.

And what an eight it is. There are two Legacy Motor Club drivers still in the hunt, and at least one will be in the final four as they are matched up against each other this weekend at Sonoma Raceway (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, TNT). There are two drivers left from the ‘big three’ organizations (Hendrick, Gibbs, or Penske), and that is Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs.

In other words, the tournament has been as unpredictable as expected, especially after eliminating many of the contenders in the first week. On Sunday, in Chicago, others, such as Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher, fell by the wayside.

Ty Dillon, on the other hand, is still alive as the ultimate bracket-buster. Dillon (main image) defeated No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin in the first week and then No. 17 seed Keselowski in Chicago.

Here are the third-round matchups:

(No. 6) Ty Gibbs vs (No. 14) Zane Smith

(No. 8) Alex Bowman vs (No. 32) Ty Dillon

(No. 12) John Hunter Nemechek vs (No. 20) Erik Jones

(No. 15) Ryan Preece vs (No. 23) Tyler Reddick

Sonoma Raceway will cut the field to the final four as the series gets closer to the $1 million payout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sponsorship has become an important element in top-level sports. Today, sponsorship of venues, athletes, teams and events is common as brands try to make the most of the brand visibility that sponsorship rewards them with.

Sponsorship provides sport with immense financial support. Individuals can cover expenses such as travel, team kit, accommodation and more. Clubs can buy equipment and kit and use sponsorship money to maintain their ground. Coaches can invest in training, coach development and talent development. Venues can cover some of the running costs.

Like many others, motorsport is one area of sport that receives a lot of sponsorship. Below, we take a look at the benefits of sponsorship in motorsport and at some of the big sponsorship deals in the sport.

The Benefits of Sponsorship in Motorsport

Sponsorship in motorship has been a win on both sides of the agreement. The vast amounts of money that sponsors have sent teams’ way have provided them with essential resources.

In Formula One, for instance, teams have been able to use the resources to cover the high costs of competition. This could be from technical development and logistics to research into aerodynamic innovations.

Investment thanks to sponsors hasn’t just been made in the vehicles but also in drivers and other talents. Teams have been able to allocate resources to top talent, including drivers, engineers and crucial specialists. As a result, the teams have witnessed better performance on the track.

Moto Organizations

Motorcycle sports organizations have also made use of sponsors. MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 are three examples. Just like F1, sponsorship has driven technological development, allowed teams to cover logistics and other heavy costs, and hire the best talent.

MotoGP has also witnessed sponsors support sustainability initiatives. Like other sports organisations, MotoGP has certain values and wants to attract brands whose values align with its own. The organisation’s ‘Racing for the Future’ initiative is appealing to brands that observe eco-friendly practices and want to showcase their own commitment to sustainability.

Sponsorship has also changed the way that fans engage with the sport. Sponsors are using digital and social platforms to create immersive content that tech-savvy audiences will respond to. The new ways of engaging with the sport are fostering deeper connections between the sport and the fans.

One type of business that might like to get in on sponsorship is a NZ online casino. The business would enjoy lots of exposure in a country that loves motorsport and has produced world-class racing drivers such as Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Scott Dixon.

Successful Sponsorship Deals in Motorsport

Motorsport has witnessed some massive deals. Here are some of the most successful.

LVMH with F1

In October 2025, F1 and LVMH announced a deal that would see the French luxury brand, which comprises Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer and Moët Hennessy, become a global partner of the organisation from the start of 2025. The deal will last 10 years.

As part of the deal, Louis Vuitton is now the title partner of the Australian Grand Prix and TAG Heuer is the official timekeeper. LVMH has long supported F1. In 1969, TAG Heuer became the first company to have its logo on the back of a car. In 1971, the company became the first to sponsor a team.

Qatar Airways and MotoGP

Although there’s uncertainty about what the future holds for sponsorship in MotoGP, due to the arrival of new owners Liberty Media, a partnership of note in the organisation is its 2024 multiyear agreement with Qatar Airways. As part of the deal, MotoGP will display the airline’s name trackside at several venues in the calendar. The company will also be the title sponsor of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, as well as of the Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix. In return, the airline will provide passenger and cargo services for MotoGP, including commercial tickets, charter flights for championship personnel and freight services.

BMW Safety Cars

BMW is another brand that has been involved in motorsport sponsorship for years now, in the form of safety cars. This is something of a marketing masterstroke because the brand has been providing safety cars in several different types of motorsport, including touring car races, MotoGP races and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. BMWs have also sometimes featured as medical cars in Formula E. In 2025, in Bangkok, the company presented the M5 Touring Safety Car as the leader of the safety car fleet for MotoGP.

Sponsorship is a massive opportunity for professional sport. Motorsport organisations and their teams have made the most of its benefits and announced some highly productive partnerships. Other successful deals include Ducati’s partnership with backup power supply company Riello UPS, in MotoGP, and Nestlé’s KitKat brand becoming the official chocolate bar of F1 for the 2025 season before expanding across the world in 2026.

JGR AT SONOMA: Joe Gibbs Racing has earned six NASCAR Cup Series wins at Sonoma Raceway. In 85 combined starts at the California road course, the organization has recorded 19 top-five finishes, 35 top-10s, four pole awards, and 457 laps led. Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Martin Truex Jr. each claimed a pair of victories at Sonoma while driving for JGR.

ROAD COURSES THIS YEAR: In 12 combined starts on road courses this year, JGR drivers have posted one win (Christopher Bell at Circuit of the Americas), four top-five finishes, five top-10s, and 52 laps led.

DENNY HAMLIN

No. 11 ampm Toyota Camry XSE

HAMLIN AT SONOMA: Denny Hamlin owns four top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 18 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway. From 2016 to 2021, Hamlin posted five consecutive top-10 results at the California road course. In 2023, he won the pole award, led 33 laps and won stage one before a late-race accident left him with a 36th-place finish. Last year, Hamlin finished 38th because of a mechanical issue after completing only two laps.

CHICAGO RECAP: Hamlin finished fourth in last weekend’s street race in Chicago. After an engine failure on Saturday forced the No. 11 team to miss the entire practice and qualifying session, Hamlin started 40th. He worked his way up to 26th by the end of stage one and a pit stop midway through stage two put him in position to stay out for the remainder of the race. Hamlin finished sixth in stage two and remained amongst the lead group throughout the final segment to finish fourth. This was Hamlin’s fourth top-five finish in his last five starts.

SEASON SO FAR: With eight races remaining in the regular season, Hamlin is currently fourth in the overall standings. Since missing the race at Mexico City last month, Hamlin has trimmed his deficit to the leader from 110 points down to 43 points. He is tied for the series lead in wins (three) and top-five finishes (nine).

AMPM: Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE will feature ampm, a top-ranked C-store brand based on the west coast, for this weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway. ampm operates more than 1,000 stores, primarily on the west coast, serving nearly 2,200 different products. The company was founded in Southern California in 1978 and has grown to become a leading C-store across multiple states. ampm prides itself on introducing innovative technology to provide a faster and easier shopping experience for its customers no matter the time of day or meal they are looking for. For more information, visit www.ampm.com.

CHASE BRISCOE

No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE

BRISCOE AT SONOMA: Chase Briscoe has made four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway with a best finish of 13th in 2022.

BRISCOE ON ROAD COURSES: Briscoe owns two NASCAR Xfinity Series victories on road courses – the Charlotte ROVAL in September 2018 and the Indianapolis Road Course in July 2020. Briscoe has seven top-10 finishes on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. This year on road courses, Briscoe finished 14th at Circuit of the Americas, seventh at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, and 23rd last weekend in the Chicago Street Race.

CHICAGO RECAP: Briscoe started fifth last Sunday at the Chicago Street Course and ran inside the top 10 throughout the race. After scoring points with a fourth-place finish in stage one and a second-place finish in stage two, Briscoe led 13 laps during the final segment before being passed by eventual race winner Shane van Gisbergen. On the final restart, Briscoe was battling for fifth when he cut a tire and had to make an unscheduled pit stop. With the misfortune, the No. 19 Toyota Camry finished 23rd in the race.

2025 SO FAR: Briscoe earned his spot in the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs with his win at Pocono Raceway – his first victory in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. Briscoe leads the Cup Series with four pole awards this season, including the Daytona 500 and three consecutive poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Michigan International Speedway. His four pole awards this season are twice as many as he had in his first 144 career Cup Series starts. His six top-five finishes this year match his previous best for an entire season (2022).

JAMES SMALL: 2025 marks James Small’s sixth season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. as Small led the No. 19 team to eight wins, 46 top-five finishes, 86 top-10s, and four NASCAR playoff appearances. The Australia native led Truex to a runner-up finish in the 2021 championship and to the 2023 regular season championship. Small earned his ninth career win with Briscoe at Pocono Raceway earlier this year. At Sonoma, Small led Truex to a win in 2023 and a third-place finish in 2021.

BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear”. For more information or to shop online, visit www.basspro.com.

CHRISTOPHER BELL

No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE

MILESTONE: This Sunday at Sonoma Raceway will mark Bell’s 200th career NASCAR Cup Series start. So far in his Cup Series career, Bell has earned 12 victories, 53 top-five finishes, 96 top-10 finishes, 14 pole awards, and two Championship 4 appearances.

BELL AT SONOMA: Christopher Bell has posted back-to-back ninth-place finishes at Sonoma Raceway. His best qualifying effort at the track was fourth in 2023.

BELL ON ROAD COURSES: The Oklahoma native has a stellar resume on road courses. He earned his first career Cup Series win at the Daytona Road Course in February 2021. In 2022, Bell earned a victory in the NASCAR playoff race at the Charlotte ROVAL. Earlier this year, he captured his third road course win at Circuit of the Americas. In June, he finished second at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Prior to his time in the Cup Series, Bell also won a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America.

CW BROADCAST: Bell will join The CW broadcast booth for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW.

CHICAGO RECAP: Last weekend in Chicago, the No. 20 team started 13th and Bell made up ground early on until a pit road speeding penalty cost him valuable track position. While he was mired in traffic, Bell’s Toyota suffered nose damage after contact on a restart, but the team made repairs and he once again maneuvered his way forward. Contact from behind resulted in a spin late in the race and then the No. 20 Toyota suffered a mechanical issue, resulting in a 24th-place finish.

RHEEM AT SONOMA: Rheem will host more than 185 guests this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Executives will be on site from the Rheem Operations team in addition to guests from Friedrich, Rheem Customers of MegaWestern from the Water Heater Division (WHD) West, and customers from key distributor Ferguson.

TY GIBBS

No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota Camry XSE

GIBBS AT SONOMA: Ty Gibbs has two NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway. On both occasions, he qualified inside the top 10. He finished 18th in 2023, but an early accident last year left him with a 37th-place finish. In two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, Gibbs qualified in the top seven both times. He finished fourth in 2023. Last year, he led 26 laps before being collected in a multi-car accident that put him 35th.

GIBBS ON ROAD COURSES: Gibbs has earned five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 17 Cup Series starts on road courses. He has enjoyed remarkable success on road courses in the Xfinity Series with four wins, nine top-five finishes, 11 top-10s, three pole awards, and 330 laps led in 21 starts. His first road course victory came in dramatic fashion as Gibbs won in his Xfinity Series debut at the Daytona Road Course in February 2021. He followed that up with wins at Watkins Glen International (August 2021), Road America (July 2022), and the Indianapolis Road Course (August 2023).

CHICAGO RECAP: Gibbs matched his career-best finish with a second-place result last weekend at the Chicago Street Race.

IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT: Gibbs advanced to the quarterfinal round of the inaugural In-Season Tournament with his runner-up finish at Chicago. This week, Gibbs will face off against Zane Smith with the head-to-head winner of their matchup advancing to the Final Four. Through 19 races this season, Gibbs has finished higher than Smith 11 times, including four of the past five races. Gibbs finished ahead of Smith at Sonoma in 2023, but Smith bested Gibbs in 2024.

TYLER ALLEN: Crew chief Tyler Allen is in his first year leading Gibbs and the No. 54 team. While this is Allen’s first experience as a crew chief at the Cup Series level, he had a standout season in 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allen led JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship.

SAIA: Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) announced in January that Saia LTL Freight has partnered with Joe Gibbs Racing for a multi-year sponsorship of Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE in the NASCAR Cup Series. Saia offers customers a wide range of less-than-truckload (LTL) services including service to Canada and Mexico. In addition, they offer expedited and logistics services through their subsidiary, LinkEx. Currently, they operate 213 terminals across the United States and employ more than 15,000 people. For more information, visit www.saia.com.

JGR PR