• NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
• Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 7, to serve as second of three races in the opening Round of 16.

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 25, 2025) – The 16-driver field has been set for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following Saturday night’s dramatic regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

With two of the 16 Playoff berths up for grabs, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney spoiled the opportunity of the four drivers that finished behind him to gain entry with a victory. Blaney, already in as a result of an earlier win this season at Nashville, finished .031 of a second ahead of Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing. Justin Haley of Spire Motorsports, Cole Custer of the Haas Factory Team and Erik Jones of Legacy Motor Club, respectively, rounded out the top five.

Blaney’s victory was of great solace to the winless duo of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who both earned Playoff berths via points. It was a huge relief to Bowman, who finished 36^th after an early-race crash with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and would have been the odd man out with a win by any of those four.

Hendrick Motorsports paces the way with a series-high four drivers advancing to the Playoffs while Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have three each. Here is the 16-driver field:

• William Byron, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports
• Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing
• Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric of Team Penske
• Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing
• Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing
• Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing
• Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday with the Round of 16 race at Darlington Raceway (5 p.m. CT, TV: USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM) and will be followed by the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 7 (2 p.m. CT, USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM). This will mark the fourth Cup Series race held at WWT Raceway, but first in the Cup Series Playoffs.

The Cup Series Playoffs consists of four rounds – the Round of 16, Round of 12, Round of 8 and then the Championship 4 Round. The first three rounds are made up of three races each while the Championship 4 is the one-race playoff finale Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway where the highest race finisher among the four remaining drivers is crowned the series champion. Click here for an overview of the format.

Here’s a quick look at the Cup Series Playoffs and its upcoming visit to World Wide Technology Raceway:

• Planting the Seeds: Hendrick Motorsports secured the top two seeds with Larson earning the No. 1 spot and Byron, the regular-season champion, seeded No. 2. They both enter the Playoffs reset at 2,032 points, but Larson secured the top seed by virtue of more wins during the season. Behind the Hendrick duo are Hamlin (No. 3, 2,029), Blaney (No. 4, 2,026), Bell (No. 5, 2,023), van Gisbergen (No. 6, 2,022), Elliott (No. 7, 2,013), Briscoe (No. 8, 2,010), Wallace (No. 9, 2,008), Cindric (No. 10, 2,008), Chastain (No. 11, 2,007), Logano (No. 12, 2,007), Berry (No. 13, 2,006), Reddick (No. 14, 2,006), Dillon (No. 15, 2,005) and Bowman (No. 16, 2,002).
• New Kids on the Block: The opening Round of 16 has two of the three new venues in the Cup Series Playoffs this season. Darlington Raceway, the regular-season finale last year, will kick off the Playoffs as the opener. World Wide Technology Raceway, after three years as a regular-season June race, now moves to the second of three races in the Round of 16 on Sunday, Sept. 7. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a June regular-season race a year ago, will open the Round of 12 on Sunday, Sept. 21.
• Gateway to the Round of 12: A victory by a Playoff driver will automatically advance them to the next round, with one in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway moving them to the Round of 12. Playoff drivers who have won at WWT Raceway previously are both Team Penske drivers. Cindric is the defending race winner while Logano was victorious in the inaugural 2022 race.
• Championship Pedigree: Four of the 16 Playoff drivers are previous Cup Series champions under this format. The group is led by Logano, the defending series champion and only two-time winner (2022, ’24) among the field. The others are Blaney (2023), Larson (2021) and Elliott (2020).
• Welcome to the Post-Season Party: Two drivers – van Gisbergen and Berry – are making their first appearances in the Cup Series Playoffs. Van Gisbergen heads to the post-season during a stellar rookie campaign in which he was the co-series leader for victories (4) with Hamlin. All of his wins have come on road courses or temporary street circuits – Mexico City in June, the Chicago Street Race and Sonoma Raceway in July, and Watkins Glen in August. Berry, in his second full season and first with the Wood Brothers, made the field by securing his first career Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
• Spoiler Role: The most prominent name to miss the Playoffs is Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion. Busch, the 2023 winner at WWT Raceway, has missed the Playoffs the last two seasons after previously qualifying for the post-season 11 consecutive years (2012-23). Busch, a 63-time Cup Series race winner, has won at nine of the 10 Playoff tracks, with the lone exception being the Charlotte ROVAL.

Limited tickets remain for the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 16 race and are available by visiting www.wwtraceway.com.

About World Wide Technology Raceway

World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the home of NASCAR, INDYCAR and NHRA racing in St. Louis’ Metro East region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering 700 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1.25-mile superspeedway; 1/4-mile drag strip; 2.0-mile road course; the Gateway Kartplex state-of-the-art karting facility; and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and Owner & CEO Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2023 St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame induction; 2023 Innovation in Philanthropy Award by the St. Louis Business Journal; 2022 Explore St. Louis Hospitality Hero Recognition; 2022 Best in Show and Best Event & Festival from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism; 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association. Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.

Source: World Wide Technology Raceway

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nobody cheered Ryan Blaney louder to win NASCAR’s regular-season finale than Alex Bowman, who vowed to buy Blaney 7 million beers for the Daytona victory that saved Bowman’s spot in the playoffs.

Bowman had wrecked out at Daytona very early Saturday night and had to watch on television as Blaney won a four-wide race across the finish line to stop a gaggle of long shot drivers from snagging Bowman’s spot in the 16-driver field.

His relief was a contrast to the frustration shown by Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, who limped into the playoffs this year. Like Bowman, he also wrecked early, but his points total was better, so once Bowman was out of the race, Reddick was locked in.

But his 23XI team heads into the playoffs in a slump, a year after making it all the way to NASCAR’s championship-deciding season finale, and Reddick hasn’t had the consistency it will take to race again for the Cup title. Who has?

Well, no single team has emerged as the favorite as NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for Sunday’s playoff opener. Kyle Larson is the top seed, just ahead of regular-season champion William Byron.

Lurking right behind the Hendrick Motorsports teammates is Denny Hamlin, one of only two drivers with a Cup Series-high four wins this season. There are two first-time playoff participants in the field, including rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated street and road courses to match Hamlin with four wins.

The front of the pack

Larson is the top seed but hasn’t won a race since early May, before he ran the Indianapolis 500, when his Kansas victory gave him three wins in seven races.

It’s been up and down since, but Larson starts the playoffs coming off back-to-back six-place finishes.

Byron has two wins, including the Daytona 500, and hasn’t ranked lower than second the entire season. He is trying to make it to the championship race for a fourth consecutive year.

Hamlin does have four wins but is coming off a bad night in Daytona: His car was damaged in an early crash and he finished 25th, dropping from third to sixth in the season standings — which cost him five playoff points, the equivalent of a victory.

Hamlin has never won a Cup title and hasn’t even made it to the championship four since 2021. He’ll try to get there this year at the same time as 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, fights NASCAR in federal court over antitrust claims. The two sides are due in court Thursday, four days before the playoff opener.

Blaney’s victory at Daytona boosted him to fourth in the playoff seedings and gave him the momentum to potentially be considered the favorite. Team Penske gets hot this time of year and has won three consecutive championships with Blaney’s title in 2023 sandwiched between a pair of Joey Logano triumphs.

Logano is seeded a distant 12th, but as NASCAR’s only active three-time champion, he can’t be counted out.

Drivers in the middle

Christopher Bell is the fifth seed and his three wins are tied with Larson, but he won three straight after the season-opening Daytona 500 and hasn’t been to victory lane since March 9 at Phoenix.

Van Gisbergen is seeded sixth for his playoff debut based on four victories, all on street or road courses. If he can make it out of the first round, the New Zealander could be a spoiler — the hybrid road course/oval Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway is in the second round and a win there would vault van Gisbergen into the final eight.

Chase Elliott is the seventh seed, but the 2020 champion needs to start winning. His victory at home track Atlanta is his lone win this season and only one of two victories since 2022 — the last time he made it to the championship four.

One win club

Elliott is the highest-seeded driver among eight who made it into the playoffs with a single victory this season. The group includes Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to make the playoffs for just the second time in his career.

Austin Dillon earned a berth with his victory at Richmond this month, but Richard Childress Racing hasn’t shown to be a consistent contender and he enters the playoffs as the 15th seed.

Austin Cindric won at Talladega Superspeedway to put all three Team Penske cars in the playoffs, but Cindric has only one top-five finish since that victory 16 races ago.

Ross Chastain joins teammate van Gisbergen in the playoffs to put two Trackhouse Racing entries in the field. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in May but has just three top-10 finishes since.

Josh Berry makes his playoff debut with Wood Brothers Racing because of his early season victory at Las Vegas. His performance picked up in the final two weeks of the regular season, and he heads into the playoffs with consecutive top-10 finishes. He’s the 13th seed.

Reddick and Bowman are the only two drivers in the playoff field without a win this season.

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

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

NASCAR appears ready to transfer ownership of one of the charters held by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, who lost their charters following their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.

As part of ongoing litigation requirements, NASCAR’s Sanctioning Body filed a legal notice that it plans to issue a charter to a new entity, the identity of which was redacted, if a district court judge does not rule against the proposed agreement.

A district court judge had previously ruled that NASCAR could not move the charters until a decision has been rendered from a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., and that NASCAR must notify all involved parties should they reach an agreement to transfer either of the disputed charters.

23XI Racing — whose owners include Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin — and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign a take-it-or-leave-it charter agreement NASCAR presented last September, while the other 13 organizations in the Cup Series proceeded to sign.

The two holdouts filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR the following month and have been going back and forth in court since.

–Field Level Media

Visiting a hospital or doctor’s office can be scary for kids, but the NASCAR Foundation brought a bit of comfort to kids at Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe on Monday.

The NASCAR Foundation and Kansas Speedway donated teddy bears to Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe as part of their Speedy Bear Brigade.

Over the last several months, NASCAR fans across the country have been donating to the NASCAR Foundation. Every $25 brings one speedy bear to a sick child in need, resulting in a bit of comfort during their hospital stay or medical visit.

Pat Warren, president of the Kansas Speedway, helped deliver the bears. Driver Erik Jones also chatted with the kids.

On top of the bears, a $10,000 check was gifted to the health center.

“The ‘Speediatric’ Bears, which we are delivering today as part of a nationwide effort, so we are doing this across the country for various tracks that NASCAR owns, and we are just delighted to do it here,” Warren said.

CEO of Health Partnership Clinic Amy Falk said the bears are a much-appreciated gift for the children in their care.

“We see kids who face a lot of challenges in their lives and may not actually have a teddy bear,” Falk said. “So, this is great for us to give back to the kids that are seeking care here.”

This is the NASCAR Foundation’s ninth Speedy Bear Brigade, and over time, they have delivered more than 15,000 Speedy Bears to hospitals around the country.

Forrest Lucas, the entrepreneur behind Lucas Oil Products and a longtime supporter of drag racing, has passed away on August 23 at the age of 83. Born in 1942 in rural Indiana, Lucas built his early career as a long-haul truck driver before co-founding Lucas Oil Products in 1989 with his wife, Charlotte. What began as a modest startup eventually grew into a globally recognized brand, known for its high-performance oils and additives that serve both professional motorsports and everyday automotive markets.

Lucas’ influence extended well beyond business. He became widely recognized for his support of motorsports, particularly drag racing, where his company forged some of the most enduring sponsorships in the sport’s history. For more than two decades, Lucas Oil sponsored the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, helping to fund grassroots racing and Sportsman-level competition across the United States. The brand also held naming rights for several prominent events and venues, including the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, home of the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

In addition to event sponsorship, Lucas provided direct support to individual drivers and championship teams. His backing ranged from Pro Stock Motorcycle racers Hector Arana Sr. and his son, Hector Jr., to drag racing legends such as John Force, Frank Manzo and Chris Karamesines. Lucas’ involvement often included lifetime sponsorships for drivers later in their careers, reflecting a commitment to sustaining talent across all levels of the sport. In recognition of his contributions, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NHRA in August 2024, honoring his decades-long dedication to motorsports.

Beyond racing, Lucas was known for his philanthropic work and community involvement. The Lucas family supported numerous charitable initiatives and local projects through the Lucas Oil brand and their estate in Missouri. In his later years, Lucas gradually passed day-to-day operations to his son, Morgan Lucas, a former NHRA Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster competitor. Under Morgan’s leadership, Lucas Oil has continued to expand both in motorsports sponsorship and consumer markets while maintaining a focus on grassroots racing.

For more information, visit lucasoil.com.

Image of Forrest Lucas and Charlotte Lucas courtesy of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Oregon State goes NASCAR, sponsors stock car team for Portland race

Published 10:53 am Monday, August 25, 2025

Everyone is ready for Oregon State’s upcoming football season, even NASCAR.

The university and the NASCAR Xfinity Series team Sam Hunt Racing announced a one race partnership Monday. SHR driver Dean Thompson’s No. 26 car is distinctly orange for the upcoming Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway on Saturday. The car features Oregon State’s iconic Beaver logo on its hood and wood grain on it’s doors for the fourth-annual Xfinity Series race in the Pacific Northwest.

Thompson’s trip around Portland International Raceway in the orange ride will be his first ever at the course. The 24-year-old stock car driver is in his second season in the Xfinity Series, the second-highest tier of the NACAR pyramid, and has recorded four top-10s for SHR.

“I’m excited to race at Portland for the first time and to give the hometown crowd someone to root for with the OSU Beavers on the hood of our GR Supra,” said Thompson said.”We’ve really advanced on road courses throughout the year, and I look forward to racing hard for the local fanbase and OSU supporters to bring home a great result. It’ll be a great experience visiting the university on Friday, bringing the NASCAR world to the doorstep of Beaver Nation.”

The partnership marks Oregon State’s on-track debut, joining schools like Liberty, Arkansas and James Madison in the world of motorsport sponsors.

“As Oregon’s statewide university, we’re proud to help welcome NASCAR back to Portland and share our pride with the many Beaver Nation NASCAR fans,” Rob Odom, Oregon State’s Vice President of University Relations & Marketing, said.

The Pacific Office Automation 147 begins at 4:30 p.m. at Portland International Raceway and will be broadcast on The CW.