Driver Connor Zilisch’s head-first tumble from the roof of his car in Victory Lane last weekend resulted in a broken collarbone but no changes in the customary celebrations, NASCAR said.

There will be more attention on the window net, which apparently tangled with Zilisch’s left foot as he climbed out of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after winning the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race on Saturday night.

Zilisch, 19, had one foot on the hood and one on the ledge of the window and was posing for photographs when he lost his balance and fell hard to the ground. The rookie was taken off the track on a backboard and to the hospital via ambulance.

“I think that was part of the problem, that the window net was flapping on the outside,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast released on Wednesday.

“I think Connor even said that may have been a problem, and one of our safety guys actually mentioned the same thing. So, we may do just sort of a check to make sure that if that’s inside the car, it’s one less thing you can slip on.”

Zilisch did not race on Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen International Speedway.

“First of all, I’m doing OK,” Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the race. “Very grateful to be able to walk away from that. I guess I didn’t walk away, but I’m very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.”

Zilisch said he knew he was in trouble just before the fall.

“Yeah, I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped,” Zilisch said. “The last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”

Forde said on the podcast that NASCAR has not “put in any policies or best practices or anything like that,” with regard to drivers climbing onto the doorsill while celebrating.

Zilisch said he had surgery on his collarbone on Tuesday. The Xfinity Series points leader has not announced his status for the Aug. 22 race at Daytona International Speedway. He already used a playoff waiver for sitting out the May 2 event at Texas Motor Speedway because of a back injury.

Forde said Zilisch must request another waiver to remain eligible for the series championship if he misses Daytona or other races.

“He has to miss a race first, so we’re probably a good two weeks away from even receiving a waiver request from Connor,” Forde said. “We’ll get with the doctors and find out where he is.”

Forde said that if Zilisch was medically cleared to race but chose to miss races while healing before the playoffs, NASCAR would consider it.

Driver Alex Bowman, for example, missed a race in 2022 at Martinsville Speedway after being cleared during recovery from a concussion.

“It’s a case-by-case basis,” Forde said.

–Field Level Media

Nu Way Concrete Forms has been named the title sponsor for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race on September 6, 2025, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Coinciding with Nu Way’s 70th anniversary, the event will be known as the “Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog,” with the latter as a presenting sponsor. This race marks the Xfinity Series’ return to St. Louis after a 15-year absence and will kick off a weekend filled with racing and entertainment, including performances by country artists Ella Langley and Jon Pardi.

By the Numbers

• 200-mile race featuring 160 laps.
• First Xfinity Series race at WWTR in 15 years.

State of Play

• Both Nu Way and Blues Hog are local stalwarts in their respective industries.
• The race weekend includes the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on September 7.

What’s Next

Fans can expect a heightened atmosphere as the event approaches, with local businesses emphasizing community support and engagement. Ticket sales will likely see a boost due to the dual sponsorship and returning interest in live events.

Bottom Line

The Nu Way 200 represents a significant local partnership that bolsters both community pride and NASCAR’s appeal in the St. Louis area, making it a pivotal event in the racing calendar.

Blocking out the noise

In the competitive industry, she has learned to filter out the noise, literally and figuratively.

She says: “I don’t see myself differently because I’m a woman or because I’m young or because I’m Asian. To me, I try to perceive myself in the same way as everyone else.

“You know, the fact that I’m a woman, I’ve often been one of the only women in paddocks, within a team, or, you know, in like a technical role within a paddock and I try to just put that aside.

“I remember at the beginning being slightly daunted by it. But I try to focus on the factors that I can control.

“I can control my performance. I can control my attitude. I can control, okay, my actions. I can control things like choosing to help other people when they need it.

“So I focus on that. And I try to block the rest of it as noise.”

Her place in the paddock wasn’t handed to her – she built it, piece by piece, with data traces, late nights, and unwavering belief in herself.

Q. Laura Müller recently became F1’s first full-time female race engineer. When you see milestones like that, do they feel like personal victories too?

Nida Anis: “It’s great to see more representation on the grid, like across the paddock. For me, I guess I’m very focused on my own career path, my own journey.

“So, you know, I’ll see news about Laura Müller being a race engineer, and that’s really cool. That is really cool. And it’s another role model that I look up to.

“But at the end of the day as well, I have to remind myself that these people can do it, so I need to focus on how I can get up to that level.

“I recently had the pleasure of talking to Hannah Schmitz about race strategy at a Red Bull Racing International Women in Engineering Day event.

“And she was, you know, very articulate, very smart, you know, knows what she’s doing, where she’s coming from, how she’s going to talk about a particular situation or approach to a certain race.

“And it’s great to be able to see more role models for women and, I guess, for underrepresented groups in the motorsport industry.

“At the end of the day, though, I always evaluate my own career and I think, okay, what could I do better? What am I able to do better?

“And I try to focus on that as much as possible because I know that, I guess, there’s also an element of trying not to compare yourself too much to other people, because when you compare yourself too much to other people, you can lose track of what you’ve actually achieved.

“I always used to judge myself, actually, because I’m quite tomboyish. I don’t usually wear makeup, you know, well, I wear very, very little makeup. I don’t usually do my nails. I used to have very short hair for a long time.

“And I used to always compare myself to, you know, other women. I studied in two all-girls schools and I found it really difficult, because I was studying alongside people who more closely matched the normal image or the traditional stereotypical image of what a girl should look like.

“And I was like, I’m not that, you know, I’m tomboyish and rebellious. I’m quite outspoken. And I kept sort of judging myself for it and comparing myself to other women.

“And then I realised it’s sort of like focusing on your own race in a race meeting or focusing on your own journey. I realised, you know, just because other people do it doesn’t mean you have to match them exactly.

“You know, I have my hair dyed blue for this reason, actually. I’ve got like blue highlights in my black hair. And it’s because I like it and because, you know, it’s one of the things that I’ve done because, yeah, it’s not very conventional, but I do it because it’s a sign of my individuality.

“But yeah, I think it’s great to see increasing representation in motorsport. At the same time, I’ve just got to be focused on not comparing myself to others and reminding myself that, okay, you can do it too, but you don’t have to be a hundred percent like a carbon copy of them.

“And just recognising that is enough, I think. Just recognising that, yeah, that’s enough.”

She’s paying that forward, proving to young women everywhere that you don’t need to ‘fit to the narrative’ to break the narrative entirely.

READ MORE: What actually happens during the F1 summer break?

By Russell Gagnon | Blade Staff Writer

Former Concordian Peyton Reynolds has a very unique career. In the male-dominated sport of NASCAR, she is the manager, media relations, for Trackhouse Racing – one of the premier race organizations on the NASCAR circuit.

Reynolds is responsible for managing the day-to-day schedule for Shane van Gisbergen, who drives the #88 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I am the liaison between my driver and everything else: NASCAR, the media, personnel… anything and everything,” Reynolds said.

Van Gisbergen is a rookie on the NASCAR Cup circuit, but he has already won three Cup Series races in 2025: the inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Chicago Street Course, and Sonoma Raceway.

Van Gisbergen is also the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2008 to win three Cup Series races from the pole in a single season.

For a young woman like Reynolds to rise so far in a short period of time is a testament to her media relations and management skills.

“It is a 24/7 job, no doubt about that. But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Reynolds said. “This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime type of job.”

Reynolds was born and raised in Concordia, and graduated from Concordia High School in 2018. She then graduated from The University of Kansas (KU) in 2021 with a dual major in Journalism News and Broadcast, and Sports Management.

“I interned at KU in the athletic department for women’s and men’s basketball, men’s football and women’s soccer,” Reynolds said. “Back then I thought the dream job would be to work for the NBA or the NFL. In my last semester at college I interned for a sports marketing agency in Nashville and most of the marketing work was in motorsports. I travelled to some NASCAR events at Talladega, Alaban, and Watkins Glen, New York. I met a few people in the industry, grew those relationships over a couple of months and one of them reached out to me about a job.”

Reynolds took a sales job with NASCAR and moved to Daytona, Florida, in October, 2022.

“I lived there for four months. There was quite a learning curve, but NASCAR is so phenomenal. It’s addicting. I would have never guessed I would be working in the NASCAR industry. Motorsports wasn’t something I grew up following, but I can’t imagine it any other way now, I love it.”

Just how big is NASCAR? Though not as ratings-dominant as the NFL, the NASCAR Cup Series averages about two million viewers per race on national broadcasts, placing it on par with MLB and NBA games.

The flip side is that NASCAR has a fan base of over 70 million in the United States, making it one of the top sports in the country in terms of total fan base. It generates approximately $1 billion in annual television revenue.

Reynolds relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina – “the home of NASCAR” – and continued in sales for another year.

“I got to know a guy that oversaw a division of the NASCAR communications department. I was approached about an opening on the Track Communications Team and I took the job,” Reynolds said. “I spent the next nine months working five different tracks: Darlington (S.C.), Phoenix (Ariz.), Richmond (Va.), Kansas (Speedway), and the LA Clash (a race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum). I worked with a lot of communications people from different race teams, made connections and the right door opened for me to be offered a communications job at Trackhouse Racing. I started there in December of 2024 and have absolutely loved every minute of it.”

Trackhouse Racing is an American motorsports organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and MotoGP.

“I work with Shane full-time now,” Reynolds said. “We travel 38 weekends of the year. Every weekend is different – a different track, a different approach to things, a different crowd. You get to see just how big NASCAR is. It’s very unique.”

A typical week for Reynolds begins with preparation for the upcoming race.

“Monday-through-Wednesday is preparing for the next race. The team usually works from home on Thursdays. This is when I get all my laundry done, run errands, and pack back up for the upcoming weekend. But I’m on call 24/7. On Fridays we fly a chartered plane to that weekend’s race. Friday and Saturday are very hectic, especially with practice, qualifying and driver appearances, and then there’s the race on Sunday. We usually get home around midnight on Sunday. It’s just non-stop for those six days every week. The constant traveling can get to you, but honestly, I travel more by airplane now than I do by car.”

Reynolds said the most difficult part of her job is the scheduling.

“I am the person everyone comes to first – NASCAR, media, everyone. I schedule every single thing for Shane, every minute of every hour of every day. People would be amazed at the demands of a driver’s time besides just preparing for the race, which of course takes a lot of time. Most days are broken up in fifteen minute increments. He has to be here for one thing and then over here for another. It’s my job to make all the arrangements with each event and then get him there on time. There are an incredible amount of details that need to be handled. You have to be prepared for anything.”

Reynolds said that, in terms of excitement and the rush of adrenaline, there’s not much that can compare to race day at a NASCAR track. During the race, a split-second decision can change everything. Reynolds thrives in the nonstop pace and constant pressure.

“I’m an A-type person, so it’s good,” she said. “You really get to know your driver and crew members. I plan out everything for Shane, even when and where he eats and what he eats; what he wears at any given news conference. Sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants, especially at the tracks. NASCAR might say we’re moving up the practice time by 15 minutes. Well, those 15 minutes can change the entire
day for a driver.”

Winning a race on the NASCAR Cup circuit would be a dream come true for most any motorsports driver. For Van Gisbergen to win three in his rookie season is astonishing. But Reynolds said that the team – especially the driver – doesn’t get to relish the victory for very long.

“Honestly, you have to have a short memory, even if you win, because you have all this intense preparation for the next race. If you had a bad race or wrecked out on Sunday, come Monday you need to forget it and move on to the next race on the schedule,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds loves her job and loves the excitement of NASCAR, but her journey in life is not yet complete.

“I don’t know where I’ll be in five years. I never imagined that this would be my life at this point, and NASCAR has so much to offer. I would love to lead a communications department for any professional sports organization. But I also love college athletics. I could definitely see myself in sports communications for a D1 (Division 1) school someday.”

She continued, “I’m in a really good place right now. Doors have opened for me at the right time, and I hope they keep opening into the future.”

NASCAR announced Thursday that defense products company Anduril will be the presenting sponsor of the inaugural weekend in San Diego as well as the entitlement sponsor of the Cup Series race.

It is a multiyear agreement that also sees Anduril become the Official Defense Partner of NASCAR. The NASCAR Cup Series race will be called the Anduril 250 Race the Base Cup Series street race during NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril.

“NASCAR has long been woven into the fabric of Americana – it’s a sport that connects with fans across generations and reflects the energy and determination that define us,” said Craig Stimmel, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at NASCAR. “Anduril is an American company that’s pushing boundaries in defense technology, and they bring that same drive and forward-thinking mindset. We’re excited to welcome them as the title partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend and as NASCAR’s Official Defense Partner. It’s a great match – two high-performance teams coming together with a shared vision for the future, both on and off the track.”

Anduril builds advanced defense technology products that are used by the U.S. Department of Defense and allied militaries around the world. Those systems include autonomous aircraft, underwater vehicles, AI-powered sensor platforms, and electronic warfare tools.

All three NASCAR national series will compete in San Diego. Naval Base Coronado will welcome NASCAR during the June 19-21 weekend. It will be the second street course race in Cup Series history.

“NASCAR is one of America’s most iconic platforms with a huge fan base among U.S. service members, veterans and their families,” said Jeff Miller, Vice President of Marketing at Anduril. “Partnering with NASCAR for the Race on the Base is a natural fit reflecting our shared values of technical innovation, speed, and support of our military. We’re proud to be part of an event that celebrates the Navy’s 250th anniversary and honors everyone who serves.”

Ex-Formula 1 driver Logan Sargeant is returning to motorsport, as PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has announced that the 24-year-old will join its LMP2 team for the last two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races.

Sargeant will drive the No. 52 ORECA 07-Gibson at both the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He will share the car with Naveen Rao, who will also finish the season as PR1’s designated Bronze driver, and former NTT IndyCar Series driver Benjamin Pedersen, who has appeared in every race for the team this year after making an initial commitment for the five-race Michelin Endurance Cup.

“I’m super excited to be jumping back into a car for the last two LMP2 races in IMSA with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports,” said Sargeant. “It’s a great opportunity to drive at two special tracks, Indianapolis and Road Atlanta, and help push for good results with my teammates Ben and Naveen. I’m eager to contribute to a successful couple of races for the team, and bring my knowledge and experience to everyone involved. See you at the track.”

After a successful karting and junior formula career, Sargeant made 36 Formula 1 Grand Prix starts from 2023-24 with Williams Racing. He scored points in the 2023 U.S. Grand Prix, becoming the first American driver to score world championship points in 30 years.

In December, it was announced that Sargeant would race as a Genesis Magma Racing “trajectory driver,” sharing the No. 18 IDEC Sport ORECA with Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert in this year’s European Le Mans Series. Two months later, Sargeant withdrew from the seat and presumably walked away from racing completely, as IDEC Sport stated he was “stepping away from the sport to pursue other interests.”

Since then, however, Sargeant has joined Oliver Gavin Motorsport Management (OGMM), working with the five-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner to focus on a future in sports car racing.

“Myself and all the crew here at PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports are very excited that Logan is able to join us for the last two endurance events of this season. I am sure Logan’s pace will be top-notch, and everyone will work well together,” PR1 team principal and co-owner Bobby Oergel said today. “We really want to welcome him into our team in a smooth and easy fashion. The opportunity to do some testing ahead of the Indy event should do just that.”

Co-drivers Rao and Pedersen are also looking forward to working with Sargeant in the final two races of the IMSA season.

“While Road America didn’t quite go our way, we had a really great car. The Indianapolis road course demands a lot of precision, and I’m excited to see what our car can do there,” said Rao, who joined PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports at Road America. “I’m also looking forward to working with our new teammate, Logan Sargeant! We should have a great line-up with Logan and Benjamin for a six-hour race.”

“I’m really excited for the last two rounds and to welcome Logan to the team!” added Pedersen. “We’ve found a lot of speed in the car lately, and our full focus for the last two rounds is 100 per cent on getting a win.”