Motorsports

Elliott to celebrate NAPA’s 100th anniversary with gold car. Credits company for his NASCAR career

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Elliott, son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport’s most popular driver, has… CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Elliott, son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport’s most popular driver, has 19 career Cup Series wins and championship titles in both the Cup and Xfinity Series. […]

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1 month ago

April 29, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Elliott, son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport’s most popular driver, has…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Elliott, son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport’s most popular driver, has 19 career Cup Series wins and championship titles in both the Cup and Xfinity Series.

But if not for one critical partnership, Elliott is convinced he may not have ever made it as a professional racer.

That pairing is with sponsor NAPA Auto Parts, which this Sunday will celebrate its 100th year as a company with gold cars at Texas Motor Speedway to commemorate its anniversary. NAPA joined Elliott in 2014 when he raced in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports and has been his primary sponsor ever since.

NAPA was his primary sponsor in the races where he clinched his Xfinity and Cup championships, and for all but six of his Cup Series wins. If not for the company taking a chance on the then-18-year-old son of Bill Elliott, he’s not sure what path his career might have taken.

“NAPA has defined my entire career, I’ve said it a lot,” Elliott told The Associated Press. “I’ve tried to express my appreciation for them, but if they don’t come on board, I don’t think 2014 happens. You’re essentially looking at the Xfinity championship never happening. We were going to run a handful of races had NAPA not signed on. We were talking about a part-time season and going full-time wasn’t going to be possible without that money, without that deal coming. So, yeah, it was more than a little career defining.”

Although NAPA is a 100-year old company, its involvement in race car sponsorships didn’t begin until 2001 when it joined Dale Earnhardt Inc. with Michael Waltrip. Waltrip won his debut race with the brand — the Daytona 500 in which Earnhardt was killed on the final lap.

NAPA stayed with Waltrip through his time at DEI and then moved with him when he started his own team. The brand then shifted to Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., but cut its ties after MWR was involved in a 2013 late-season cheating scandal.

That made the company available for a new NASCAR driver and settled on unproven Elliott, who is from Georgia, where NAPA is headquartered.

Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, wasn’t involved in Rick Hendrick’s courtship of turning NAPA into the largest supplier of Hendrick Automotive and also a NASCAR sponsor. But he was a keynote speaker at NAPA’s convention in Las Vegas a little over a week ago and understands how much the company means to the Hendrick brand and Elliott’s career.

“When Chase says that NAPA defined his career, he means that,” Gordon told the AP. “He doesn’t say anything he doesn’t 100% mean. We all have these moments in our career where things could have gone either way. For me it was DuPont (sponsorship) and for Chase it was NAPA. I can’t even imagine Chase on track without NAPA some part of his car.”

NAPA’s racing portfolio has expanded over the years. NAPA signed on as an associate partner with Ron Capps and Don Schumacher Racing in 2007 and the next year NAPA became Capps’ primary sponsor. NAPA became the official auto parts store of the NHRA this year.

Capps ran the gold commemorative car in last weekend’s NHRA event.

NAPA also partnered with Andretti Autosport in IndyCar in May 2016 with Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi. That sponsorship has ended. In NASCAR, NAPA initially sponsored Waltrip and then Truex Jr., then moved to be primary sponsor of Elliott the next season.

As part of the centennial celebration this weekend, the gold cars will also be run by Daniel Hemric in the Truck Series and sprint car racer Brad Sweet, who is racing at Texas’ dirt track this weekend. NAPA plans to bring all the gold cars together for a photo opportunity.

Based on his age — Elliott is now 29 — he doesn’t associate the NAPA traditional blue and gold paint scheme with any driver but himself. After all, NAPA has backed his entire NASCAR national series career.

“I’ve spent so much time with them at this point that it feels like home,” Elliott said. “It feels like a true partnership and they definitely feel like part of my family.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Motorsports

Ryan Truex on standby for Denny Hamlin, who is on ‘baby watch’

Denny Hamlin, who already has two Cup wins this year, is set to make his 700th career Cup start on Sunday. However, the expected arrival of a baby boy may keep him from the track. Hamlin and long-time partner Jordan Fish already have two girls, but the due date for their first-born son is June […]

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25 minutes ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Denny Hamlin, who already has two Cup wins this year, is set to make his 700th career Cup start on Sunday. However, the expected arrival of a baby boy may keep him from the track.

Hamlin and long-time partner Jordan Fish already have two girls, but the due date for their first-born son is June 1st — the same day as the Cup race at Nashville.

Ryan Truex, younger brother of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., is the reserve driver and will be called upon to pilot the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota should Hamlin have to leave the track.

Truex has 26 Cup Series starts, but none since the 2014 season — almost 11 years ago. Most recently, Truex has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JGR, winning three races since 2023.

Hamlin is scheduled to start from the outside of the front row for Sunday’s 400-mile race with teammate Chase Briscoe earning pole position. If Hamlin starts the event and Truex has to replace him mid-race, then Hamlin will get credit for the final finishing position. However, if Hamlin misses the start, the car will go to the rear of the field and Truex will get credit for the start.

NASCAR has introduced a stricter playoff waiver policy for 2025 and has promised to strip drivers of all playoff points if they need a waiver for non-medical reasons. However, missing a race for the birth of a child is covered under valid medical reasons, so there is no issue for Hamlin should he need to miss the race entirely.

Photos from Nashville – Practice & Qualifying

Motorsports

NASCAR Qualifying Results: Nashville – Denny Hamlin beaten to pole as Kyle Larson suffers nightmare

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin has been denied pole position after an exciting qualifying session at Nashville, whilst 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson suffered a nightmare session. Hamlin was beaten to pole position for Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, with the No. 19 car edging the No. 11 by […]

Published

49 minutes ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin has been denied pole position after an exciting qualifying session at Nashville, whilst 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson suffered a nightmare session.

Hamlin was beaten to pole position for Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, with the No. 19 car edging the No. 11 by just 0.049 seconds around Nashville Superspeedway.

It is Briscoe’s second consecutive pole position after also topping Coca-Cola 600 qualifying at Charlotte last weekend, although the 30-year-old will be hoping he can convert it into a win this time around.

Hamlin, meanwhile, will have to make do with second, if he takes part in the race, that is. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is on standby as he awaits the birth of his baby son and has said he will skip the race to be there for his family.

Elsewhere in Nashville, it was a poor session for Hendrick Motorsports star Larson, failing to bounce back in the way we are used to after the disappointment of two wrecks last Sunday as he attempted ‘the double’.

The No. 5 car was only 28th quickest in qualifying this evening, with plenty of work for Larson and his team to do on race day if they want to secure a strong result.

With that said, let’s take a look at the full results from Saturday’s qualifying.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin NASCAR replacement on standby at Nashville as JGR star could miss race

NASCAR Cup Series: Who is on pole at Nashville?

After qualifying on Saturday afternoon, here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, with times included.

Position	Driver	Car No.	Team	Lap Time/Gap
1	Chase Briscoe	19	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	29.125 sec
2	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.049
3	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.182
4	Tyler Reddick	45	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.183
5	Ross Chastain	1	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.185
6	Brad Keselowski	6	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford	+0.252
7	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.262
8	Michael McDowell	71	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.272
9	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske Ford	+0.309
10	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford	+0.318
11	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.352
12	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.401
13	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.463
14	Erik Jones	43	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	+0.464
15	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske Ford	+0.476
16	Austin Cindric	2	Team Penske Ford	+0.481
17	AJ Allmendinger	16	Kaulig Racing Chevrolet	+0.494
18	Justin Haley	7	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.498
19	Ryan Preece	60	RFK Racing Ford	+0.510
20	Josh Berry	21	Wood Brothers Racing Ford	+0.526
21	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet	+0.532
22	Ty Gibbs	54	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	+0.533
23	Shane van Gisbergen	88	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.534
24	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.545
25	Kyle Busch	8	Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet	+0.607
26	Carson Hocevar	77	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.629
27	Zane Smith	38	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.641
28	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	+0.653
29	Cole Custer	41	Haas Factory Team Ford	+0.682
30	Noah Gragson	4	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.695
31	Ty Dillon	10	Kaulig Racing Chevrolet	+0.699
32	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	+0.759
33	Corey Heim	67	23XI Racing Toyota	+0.771
34	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing Ford	+0.826
35	Todd Gilliland	34	Front Row Motorsports Ford	+0.871
36	John Hunter Nemechek	42	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	+0.898
37	Riley Herbst	35	23XI Racing Toyota	+1.035
38	JJ Yeley	44	NY Racing Team Chevrolet	+1.318
39	Chad Finchum	66	Garage 66 Ford	+2.604

NASCAR HEADLINES: Denny Hamlin speaks out on future as Cup Series driver suffers disqualification blow

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Motorsports

Kyle Larson says another Indy 500 not likely until NASCAR career ends

“Someday, maybe when I’m done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it,” Larson said. LEBANON, Tenn. — Kyle Larson hasn’t spent much time thinking about his latest failed attempt at becoming only the second driver to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

“Someday, maybe when I’m done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it,” Larson said.

LEBANON, Tenn. — Kyle Larson hasn’t spent much time thinking about his latest failed attempt at becoming only the second driver to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway again may just have to wait until Larson’s NASCAR career ends.

“That’s not me shutting down the 500 again,” Larson said. “Someday, maybe when I’m done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it. It’s such an awesome event, like it is the greatest event in the world. So I don’t want to miss out on that too much.”

Larson said Saturday the attempt just doesn’t make sense logistically with any small delay, weather or crash throwing off the entire schedule.

He’s been dealing with a bit of a “Double” hangover since last weekend’s attempt. He also made a quick trip to Mexico to check out the altitude and area for NASCAR’s race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15. He slept much of Friday after getting sick.

Larson made his first try at one of the toughest challenges in motorsports in 2024 when four hours of rain delays at the Indianapolis 500 wrecked his plans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then made him late to Charlotte with the NASCAR race called before he ever took a lap.

Last week, Larson crashed on Lap 91 of the Indianapolis 500, flew to Charlotte and then had his NASCAR race end on Lap 246 when caught up in a wreck ending his bid to join Tony Stewart who finished sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before flying to Charlotte where he finished third in the Cup Series race.

John Andretti was the first driver to try the double in 1994, and Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot.

Asked what changes could help make competing in both races and finishing the Double possible, Larson said moving the start time up for the Indy 500 wouldn’t work. That race already starts at 9:45 a.m. on the West Coast with people there unlikely to wake up earlier.

Larson said the Coca-Cola 600 can’t start much later. Even with not many cautions, that race still ends after 11 p.m. Eastern.

“I don’t know how those guys did in the past, like that must have been perfect, weather and cautions and all that,” Larson said.

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Motorsports

Tennessee Lottery 250 Predictions & Xfinity Series Nashville Picks

Betting News is your trusted source for betting picks and up to date news and stats on the NFL, MLB, NHL and many other sports. We analyze every game to help you find the best bets and best odds to wager on today’s games. We also review online gambling websites to help you find the […]

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2 hours ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Betting News is your trusted source for betting picks and up to date news and stats on the NFL, MLB, NHL and many other sports.

We analyze every game to help you find the best bets and best odds to wager on today’s games.

We also review online gambling websites to help you find the best sportsbooks and casino sites to play at.

We are Here to Help You Make Informed Betting Decisions and help players have more fun and more wins when gambling online.

Content reserved for readers of 18+ years of age or legal majority in their jurisdiction. Responsible Gaming.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling, and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (USA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN only), 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ only), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA only) or 1-800-522-4700 (CO only).

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Motorsports

William Sawalich Storms to Xfinity Pole at Nashville

It’s been an unfortunate start to William Sawalich’s maiden campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sitting 24th in series point standings at the halfway point of the regular season. However, by scoring a pole position ahead of Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-native is […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

However, by scoring a pole position ahead of Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-native is looking to make a significant turnaround for the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra team.

Sawalich, driving the Starkey-sponsored No. 18, turned a lap time of 30.860 seconds (155.152mph) to secure the pole for Saturday’s 250-mile contest, beating NASCAR Xfinity Series veteran Austin Hill for the top spot.

It’s the second career pole position for Sawalich in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the first of which came in last season’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Austin Hill will start on the outside of the front row, driving for Richard Childress Racing. The driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet posted a lap of 30.944 seconds.

STARTING LINEUP: Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville

Sam Mayer will start the race from third place, with Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed completing the race’s top-five starters. Carson Kvapil, Nick Sanchez, Aric Almirola, Ross Chastain, and Connor Zilisch rounded out the top-10.

Other notables starting outside the top-10 include Ryan Sieg (11th), Christian Eckes (12th), Brandon Jones (13th), Sammy Smith (14th), Jesse Love (15th), Corey Day (21st), Taylor Gray (24th).

Kyle Sieg, who paced NASCAR Xfinity Series practice on Saturday afternoon, will start the event from 28th-place.

With 40 drivers on the entry list for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250, two drivers were sent home prior to the green flag, those being Katherine Legge (Jordan Anderson Racing) and Glen Reen (Joey Gase Motorsports).

The green flag for the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway will drop at 7:00 PM ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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Motorsports

Keselowski compares NASCAR rulebook to IRS tax code

LEBANON, Tenn. LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Brad Keselowski said RFK Racing has made some small changes and talked about the “complexities” and team burdens under the NASCAR rulebook after an appeal reduced a penalty given to driver Chris Buescher and his team at Kansas Speedway. Keselowski compared the NASCAR rulebook a bit to the IRS […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 1, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LEBANON, Tenn.

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Brad Keselowski said RFK Racing has made some small changes and talked about the “complexities” and team burdens under the NASCAR rulebook after an appeal reduced a penalty given to driver Chris Buescher and his team at Kansas Speedway.

Keselowski compared the NASCAR rulebook a bit to the IRS tax code during practice and qualifying Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday night’s Cracker Barrel 400.

“You read this paper and then you got to reference this paper to reference this paper to reference this paper, and when your head’s down and digging and you’re running 38 weeks a year, oversights are going to happen,” Keselowski said.

The co-owner of RFK Racing said that’s not an excuse. Keselowski said the team changed some roles and responsibilities this week to help the team be “better prepared and more mindful of what it takes to to be in compliance.”

NASCAR penalized Buescher and his team May 15 for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas. The team was docked 60 driver points, 60 owner points, five driver playoff points and five owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.

Those penalties came three days after Buescher finished eighth at Kansas and dropped him from 12th to 24th in the Cup Series point standings.

RFK Racing appealed and had a partial win Wednesday with the appeals panel ruling the team violated the rule on the front bumper cover but not the exhaust cover panel.

Buescher got back 30 points, moving him to 16th in the Cup Series points standing. That’s a slot below the playoff cutline and six points behind RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

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