Motorsports
Get the scoop on the 2025 F1 Sim Racing season that kicks off January 14
Courtesy of F1 F1 Sim racing – What you need to know Advertisement March 25-27Each event lasts three days and includes four rounds of racing, with one round on the first and third days and two rounds on the second day. Each round consists of a qualifying session and then the race. Each race is […]
Courtesy of F1
F1 Sim racing – What you need to know
March 25-27Each event lasts three days and includes four rounds of racing, with one round on the first and third days and two rounds on the second day. Each round consists of a qualifying session and then the race. Each race is 50% of the length of the real-world F1 race at each circuit.
1
2025 F1 Sim Racing schedule
| Courtesy of F1 | Event |
| It’s easy to watch the F1 Sim Racing World Championship events. All 12 rounds of the three events will be broadcast on the F1 Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels. You can also watch them on the F1 Esports social media channels. If you’d like to know what the races look like, you can check the YouTube channel to see races from past seasons. | Each of the ten F1 Sim racing teams enters three drivers in three racing events. The racers are physically at the EFG studio in Stockholm, Sweden, with individual F1 simulators linked by Wi-Fi. |
| Advertisement | The post Get the scoop on the 2025 F1 Sim Racing season that kicks off January 14 appeared first on The Manual. |
| January 14 to 16 | 3 |
How to watch F1 Sim racing
The virtual races portray circuits included in the conventional F1 season, such as Albert Park Circuit in Australia, Silverstone, the Circuit of The Americas, Interlagos in Brazil, and Shanghai International Circuit.
The first Grand Prix of the 2025 FIA F1 World Championship season is March 14, but F1 fans don’t have to wait to see their favorite team in Sim racing. All ten real-world F1 teams have Sim racing teams competing for 0,000 in the 2025 F1 Sim Racing World Championship season, which begins January 14.
Motorsports
Who Is NASCAR Driver Daniel Suárez’s Wife? All About Julia Piquet
NEED TO KNOW Daniel Suárez and Julia Piquet star on season 2 of Netflix’s Full Speed. Suárez and Piquet met through Piquet’s brother, Nelson Piquet Jr. They married in July 2024 after four years of dating. Love took the checkered flag for Daniel Suárez and Julia Piquet. The NASCAR driver and his wife — who […]
NEED TO KNOW
- Daniel Suárez and Julia Piquet star on season 2 of Netflix’s Full Speed.
- Suárez and Piquet met through Piquet’s brother, Nelson Piquet Jr.
- They married in July 2024 after four years of dating.
Love took the checkered flag for Daniel Suárez and Julia Piquet.
The NASCAR driver and his wife — who star on season 2 of Netflix’s Full Speed docuseries — met in 2012, while Suárez was visiting Piquet’s brother, fellow driver Nelson Piquet Jr., in Charlotte, N.C. But their relationship didn’t rev up until years later.
During an interview with NASCAR in 2025, Suárez recalled, “When Julia and I met, I didn’t speak English and she didn’t speak Spanish, so we couldn’t communicate.”
They eventually reconnected when Suárez was driving at the Race of Champions in Mexico City. The pair officially started dating in 2019, and went on to wed in the bride’s hometown of Brasilia, Brazil, in 2024. Following their wedding, Piquet told PEOPLE, “We’ll stay strong as a couple, grow together and move forward in life.”
Online, Suárez has described his wife as his “best friend” and the love of his life. Similarly, Piquet has praised her husband in sweet posts. Days after their nuptials, she wrote on Instagram, “I’m so proud of you as a person, as a driver, and as an incredible ambassador for this sport that we both love so much!”
So who is Daniel Suárez’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Julia Piquet and her relationship with the NASCAR star.
Piquet is the daughter of a former Formula 1 driver
Julia Piquet/Instagram
Piquet’s parents are F1 world champion Nelson Piquet and Sylvia Tamsma. Her father, a former F1 Grand Prix racing driver from Brazil, won three World Championships in 1981, 1983 and 1987, and was inducted into the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Hall of Fame in 2017, per the organization.
“I’ve always had a strong character, which I think comes from my Dad,” she told Fast and Fearless in 2018. “It’s allowed me to never back down from what I believe in and never be afraid to give my opinion.”
The day before Piquet’s birth, her father crashed his 1992 Lola-Buick during practice for the Indy500, per UPI. In 2023, Piquet shared photos and footage from her dad’s accident on Instagram, saying that she’s “deeply grateful dad survived this one, or I never would have had the chance to meet my hero.”
Piquet’s brother, Nelson Piquet Jr., is former F1 driver and current stock car racing driver.
Piquet was a racing correspondent
Sean Gardner/Getty
Piquet previously served as a correspondent for Motorsport Network. In her role, she interviewed her father, her brother, Juan Pablo Montoya, Pipo Derani and more.
Months before she and Suárez started dating, Piquet spoke to her future husband at the 2019 Race of Champions in Mexico.
Sharing an image from that interview years later, Piquet wrote, “I love you and our story 
.”
Piquet and Suárez started dating in 2019
Julia Piquet/Instagram
After first meeting in 2012, Piquet and Suárez officially began dating in March 2019. Suárez celebrated five years with Piquet in 2024 by posting a photo of the couple.
“Today is my 5th anniversary with this pinche bombón!! So fortunate to have you on this journey with me. Te amo. 
,” Suárez captioned the snap.
Piquet marked their fifth anniversary by sharing their first photo together — a picture of the duo at a restaurant.
Alongside the throwback, she wrote, “Happy 5 year anniversary to the man who still opens the door for me every single time, my soon to be hubby 
Here is the first pic we ever took together 
.”
They got engaged in 2022
Julia Piquet/Instagram
The NASCAR driver proposed to Piquet in Monaco in November 2022.
In a video of the engagement, Suárez and Piquet can be seen standing next to a rocky outcropping. When Suárez pulled out the engagement ring, Piquet burst into tears.
“Let’s stay young forever together 
,” Piquet captioned the clip.
Piquet and Suárez married in 2024
Celso Junior
The couple’s wedding took place in Brazil on July 30, 2024, PEOPLE exclusively confirmed. The two took advantage of NASCAR’s two-week summer break thanks to the 2024 Olympics, getting married on a Tuesday.
“Being able to get married in my hometown of Brasilia, where I lived for four years during high school, is very special,” the bride told PEOPLE, adding that the Brazilian capital is where her father and much of her family lives. “It’s a place that I love. So, it really was a no brainer.”
Piquet and Suárez’s ceremony featured green and white decorations with hints of light pink, which were designed to match the scenic gardens and foliage surrounding the venue at Recanto das Aguas.
They “didn’t really have a very specific vision or plan for the wedding” apart from bringing their families together, Piquet said.
“That was at the top of our list for both me and Daniel,” she said. “It’s a really unique opportunity to have everyone together in one place at one time. So, we’re really cherishing this moment that we have all our family together.”
She is an integrative nutrition health coach
Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Piquet is a certified integrative nutrition health coach, having earned her certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in February 2023.
“All it takes is one thought, one idea, and one step at a time 
#certifiedhealthcoach,” she wrote on her coaching Instagram after obtaining her certificate.
Piquet was inspired to start her health journey in 2020 after sharing her struggle with binge eating disorder.
She enjoys celebrating Suárez’s different accomplishments
Chris Graythen/Getty
Over the years, Piquet has posted photos of herself with Suárez at various races, including his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Sonoma Raceway in 2022.
“My heart!!!! 
I have seen you in the lowest of lows and am privileged to see you in the highest of highs!” she wrote on Instagram. “You are the most deserving winner out there! Hard work pays off and you are the hardest working person I know 
NASCAR CUP WINNER 
First Mexican winner in the cup series!!!!!”
Piquet was also with Suárez the day he became a United States citizen in 2024. She congratulated the Mexican-born driver on taking his Oath of Allegiance with a post on Instagram.
“Proud is an understatement,” she wrote. “You are so deserving 
Let’s still eat tacos tho k?”
Motorsports
NASCAR championship weekend goes to Homestead in 2026, starting a rotating formula
By Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press MIAMI — NASCAR asked its fans where they would prefer seeing championship weekend held, and the majority of those who responded picked Homestead-Miami Speedway. And NASCAR listened. The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida, with stock car racing’s championship weekend returning to Homestead-Miami next year. It’ll be […]
By Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
MIAMI — NASCAR asked its fans where they would prefer seeing championship weekend held, and the majority of those who responded picked Homestead-Miami Speedway.
And NASCAR listened.
The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida, with stock car racing’s championship weekend returning to Homestead-Miami next year. It’ll be the first time since 2019 that the title-winners will be crowned there and will start a rotation where NASCAR will move its final weekend around various tracks.
How that’ll work in 2027 and beyond remains unclear. But in 2026, Homestead is the spot.
“I like that we move it around,” said reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano, who won the crown last fall at Phoenix — this year’s title-deciding spot as well — and the first of his three titles at Homestead-Miami in 2018. “That was one of the things that I always thought would be a great idea if we were able to pull it off, right? The Super Bowl doesn’t stay in the same place every year. Why should our Super Bowl, our championship race, stay in the same place every year?”
NASCAR made the announcement Tuesday, and it was not exactly a stunner. (“I’m sure everyone was surprised to see this coming,” Logano said, smiling.) Its three series — the truck series, the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series — will see their seasons come to a close at Homestead from Nov. 6-8, 2026.
It isn’t a permanent return, though: NASCAR said that championship weekends are going to be on a rotation “to ensure that the season’s exciting conclusion is shared amongst NASCAR’s marquee venues and key markets.” Phoenix will be part of that rotation, somehow, but NASCAR isn’t ready to say which other tracks may be involved and when all that will be announced.
“We have a lot of confidence, when we go to Homestead-Miami Speedway, it’s going to deliver from a racing product perspective,” NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy said. “It’s also going to create a good amount of unpredictability for many of our fans that come to that race or tune in on TV just going to a different championship venue and having it on the line. We’re excited to see all that.”
Part of NASCAR’s commitment to Homestead-Miami, Kennedy said, includes a capital investment to “make sure it is a championship-caliber facility when we show up next year.”
NASCAR routinely makes tweaks to schedules and now will tinker again with where seasons end, but one non-negotiable appears to be the start of the season: Daytona will remain the first points race for the foreseeable future, Kennedy said.
“We ran a survey a couple years ago, and it was over 95% of our fan base wants to see their first points race be the Daytona 500,” Kennedy said. “That was a statistic that was strong enough for us to say we’re not even going to explore that for now.”
Homestead-Miami was the championship weekend site from 2002 through 2019. There are three active drivers who were crowned NASCAR champions at Homestead — Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2019, Brad Keselowski in 2012 and Logano in 2018. Logano has also won the title at Phoenix in two of the last three seasons, including last year.
And all seven of Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR titles came at Homestead, which has renamed a tunnel in his honor to commemorate those championships.
“If you’re asking drivers, it’s about the track, right? The environment obviously is really cool. It’s different being in Miami. That’s a neat thing,” Logano said. “But the drivers, what we care about is the racing, right? Can we move around the racetrack, can we do different things, are the tires falling off, is that fun. To us, yeah, that’s fun.”
NASCAR decided after the 2001 season to move its truck and Cup series races to one track, in order to create a season-ending championship celebration. Homestead-Miami was the original site after that decision, and then things moved to Phoenix starting in 2020.
Kennedy said racing in early November isn’t exactly possible at all of the tracks on the NASCAR schedule, meaning that the series would prefer a warm-weather climate for its finish — something that Phoenix and Homestead-Miami provide. And Homestead-Miami’s history isn’t lost on NASCAR, either.
“Homestead has put on some of the most phenomenal finishes, especially when we had the championship there,” Kennedy said. “But even since then, and we’ve crowned so many legends and Hall of Famers over the past 15 years when we did have the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. So, competition is a part of it, variability, and I think diversity in where you’re crowning the champion was another consideration.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Motorsports
Former NJ dealership manager accused of embezzlement scheme
A former general manager of a West Long Branch, New Jersey, motorcycle dealership is facing criminal charges after allegedly orchestrating a months-long scheme to siphon more than $27,000 from her employer, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The former general manager could face up to five years in prison under New Jersey law if […]
A former general manager of a West Long Branch, New Jersey, motorcycle dealership is facing criminal charges after allegedly orchestrating a months-long scheme to siphon more than $27,000 from her employer, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Chelsea A. Marra-Kaufmann, 36, of Toms River, New Jersey, has been charged with third-degree theft following a joint investigation by the West Long Branch Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit.
Authorities say the alleged theft began in late 2022, when Marra-Kaufmann received three unauthorized paychecks totaling nearly $6,000. According to investigators, in an Asbury Park Press report, the payments, which were not approved by dealership leadership, were never reported by Marra-Kaufmann.
But the financial irregularities didn’t stop there.
Prosecutors allege that Marra-Kaufmann attempted to purchase a motorcycle with a personal check for $3,300 — a check that later bounced due to insufficient funds. Rather than report the failed transaction, she allegedly disguised the loss as a series of bank fees.
In a separate incident in 2023, she reportedly failed to pay an $18,000 deposit on a motorcycle sale and then manipulated the dealership’s accounting system to conceal the missing funds.
Officials said the total losses attributed to Marra-Kaufmann’s actions amount to just over $27,000.
She has been issued a summons to appear in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, with her first court date scheduled for June 10. Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, head of the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit, is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Marra-Kaufmann could face up to five years in prison under New Jersey law. The dealership where she worked was not mentioned in the reports.
Motorsports
NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Kansas Speedway – Speedway Digest
NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: AdventHealth 400 The Place: Kansas Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval The Date: Sunday, May 11 The Time: 3 p.m. ET The Purse: $11,055,250 TV: FS1 & FOX Deportes, 1:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90) Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), […]
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: AdventHealth 400
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, May 11
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: FS1 & FOX Deportes, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: BetMGM 300
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, May 24
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,651,939
TV: CW, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Heart of Health Care 200
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, May 10
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $782,900
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:
Friday, May 9
ARCA Race: Tide 150 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 10
NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 2 p.m. ET)
NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM at 4:30 p.m. ET)
NCTS Race: Heart of Health Care 200 (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, May 11
NCS Race: AdventHealth 400 (FS1 & FOX Deportes, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)
NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks the 39th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, and the 25th since the repave following the 2012 season.
· The last six NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway were won by six different drivers; Kyle Larson with two victories is the only repeat winner in the last nine races. The record for different Cup Series winners at Kansas is seven, and it has happened twice: 2002-2008 and 2020-2023.
· A total of 20 different drivers have won a Cup Series race at Kansas, and nine of the 20 are active this weekend: Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020, 2023), Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020), Kyle Busch (2016, 2021), Brad Keselowski (2011, 2019), Ross Chastain (2024), Tyler Reddick (2023), Bubba Wallace (2022), Kyle Larson (2021), Chase Elliott (2018).
· Christopher Bell won the pole for the last three races at Kansas, the last driver to win the pole for four straight races at a track was Kyle Larson at Sonoma between 2017 and 2022.
· Kevin Harvick was the last driver to win three straight poles at Kansas (2013-2014), a driver has never won four straight poles at Kansas. Christopher Bell’s four Kansas poles rank second all-time to Harvick with five.
· A total of 19 different drivers have won a Cup Series pole at Kansas, and seven of the 19 are active this weekend: Christopher Bell (2022, 2023, 2024 sweep), Joey Logano (2015, 2018), William Byron (2023), Tyler Reddick (2022), Ryan Blaney (2017), Brad Keselowski (2015), AJ Allmendinger (2012).
· The pass for the win came in the final two laps in three of the last four Kansas Speedway races including two last lap passes.
· The closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history came at Kansas Speedway last May, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 second.
· There were 37 lead changes at Kansas in May 2023, the most in a 400 mile race on a 1.5 mile track in series history.
· The driver leading the most laps failed to win the last five Kansas races, the longest streak ever at Kansas.
· Three of 23XI Racing’s eight Cup Series wins came at Kansas Speedway, all three were in the last six races.
· Denny Hamlin has finished inside the top-10 in the last seven Kansas Cup races, the longest active streak.
· Alex Bowman’s 10 top 10s at Kansas are his most at a track.
· Chase Elliott’s 12 top-10 finishes at Kansas are his second most at a track behind 13 at Martinsville.
· William Byron’s eight top-10 finishes at Kansas are tied for his second most at a track behind nine at Phoenix.
· Tyler Reddick led in the last seven Kansas Cup races, tied for the longest streak by a driver at Kansas. Christopher Bell led in the last six Kansas races, the second longest active streak at the track behind Reddick with seven.
· Kyle Larson’s nine wins on 1.5 mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers, all nine came in his 32 starts on them with Hendrick Motorsports (29% win percentage on them with Hendrick)
· Kyle Larson is the only driver to finish inside the top-10 in all three 1.5 mile races this season.
· Kyle Larson’s average finish of 4.67 on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025 is five positions better than second place William Byron with 9.67.
· Joey Logano, with two, is the only repeat winner in the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks.
· A Ford driver won only one of the last 11 races at Kansas, Joey Logano in October 2020.
· Spire Motorsports won the pole for two of the three 1.5 mile races this season.
· Kyle Busch finished outside the top-10 in the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks, he is on a 11-race streak without a top-five finish on 1.5 mile tracks.
· The final lead change came within the last laps two laps in five of the 11 races this season.
· Hendrick Motorsports’ 1,135 laps led in 2025 leads all teams by 419 laps and are the team’s most since 2010.
· 27 top-10 finishes are the most ever by Hendrick Motorsports through 11 races.
· Alex Bowman (two) and William Byron (two) are the only repeat pole winners in 2025.
· Hendrick Motorsports won the pole for four of the last eight races of 2025.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 596 laps led in 2025 in Cup and 440 laps led in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
· William Byron ranks second in 2025 laps led with 386.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with seven top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes in 2025. Larson’s seven top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and 596 laps led in 2025 are his most ever through 11 races in a season.
· Kyle Larson is 148 laps away from 10,000 laps led in Cup, 67% of his laps led came in his five seasons with Hendrick Motorsports.
· Hendrick Motorsports drivers won six of the last eight stages.
· William Byron’s average finish of 8.91 in 2025 leads all drivers and is the best by a Hendrick driver through 11 races since Jimmie Johnson in 2013 with 6.7.
· Hendrick Motorsports had at least one car finish top-five in the last 19 races, the team’s third longest streak all-time and the longest since the team’s longest streak at 24 between 2012 and 2013.
· Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with at least one car finishing in the top-five in all 11 races in 2025, no other team had at least one car finish top-10 in all 11 races this year.
· The top-three drivers in 2025 based on average finish are William Byron (8.9), Kyle Larson (10.6) and Chase Elliott (11.4).
· Three of the top-four in points are Hendrick drivers with Byron 1st, Larson 2nd and Elliott 4th…Alex Bowman is 10th.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with six stage wins in 2025, William Byron ranks second with three.
· Austin Dillon finished top-10 in the last three races, tied for his longest top-10 streak in Cup.
· Team Penske has three top-five finishes in the last two races including two wins, in the first nine races of 2025 the team had only three top-five finishes.
· Joe Gibbs Racing led only 16 laps on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025, the team’s fewest through three 1.5 mile track races since 2017.
· Brad Keselowski is looking for his first top-10 finish of 2025, he had four top fives and five top 10s after 11 races in 2024.
· The 305 lead changes through 11 races in 2025 are the fourth most all-time.
· The race winner led less than 10 laps six times this year, more than any other season through 11 races.
· Four races ended with a last lap pass in 2025, the most ever through 11 races.
· Nine different pole winners through 11 races in 2025 is tied for the most all-time.
· For only the second time since 1983, the Wood Brothers have led at least 150 laps in a season’s first 11 races (169 in 2025, 233 in 2017).
· Zane Smith’s average finish through 11 races in 2025 is 9 positions better than it was through 11 races in 2024
· Legacy Motor Club’s five top-10 finishes in 2025 is one less than their 2024 season total (six). Their three top fives are more than 2023 and 2024 combined (two).
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Looking Ahead – Charlotte Storylines and Insights:
· In a few weeks, Charlotte Motor Speedway will host their 80th NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the second-most Xfinity races held at a track all-time (behind only Bristol with 82 NXS races). Charlotte has hosted a NASCAR Xfinity Series race every season since the series inception in 1982.
· NASCAR Xfinity Series driver point standings leader, Justin Allgaier, is the only former Xfinity Series Charlotte race winner running full-time this season.
· The last 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been won by 12 different drivers (2015-2024). Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is the most recent Xfinity winner.
· Chase Elliott won last year’s Charlotte Xfinity Series race by 0.500-second over Brandon Jones, the 16th closest finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the series.
· Two of the last 20 Charlotte Motor Speedway Xfinity Series races finished with a last-lap pass for the win (May 2016 race and May 2020 race).
· Six of the last 20 Xfinity Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway have resulted in the final pass for the win occurring with 10 laps to go or less (2011-2, 2012-2, 2013-2, 2016-1, 2017-1 2020-1).
· Justin Allgaier leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings following Texas by 50 points over Austin Hill in second and 86 points up on Sam Mayer in third.
· Justin Allgaier leads all active fulltime Xfinity Series drivers at Charlotte in poles (two), top fives (six), top 10s (12), and laps led (200).
· Justin Allgaier leads the Xfinity Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with 6.0 in 22 starts.
· Allgaier (6.0) is one of three fulltime drivers with an average finish inside the top-10 at Charlotte along with Sammy Smith (6.5) and Parker Retzlaff (10.0).
· Three drivers are currently riding top-10 finish streaks of three consecutive top 10s – Austin Hill, Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton.
· 13 different drivers have won a stage this season, led by Austin Hill with six stage wins.
· Nine drivers have won the Xfinity Fastest Lap Award this year, led by Justin Allgaier with three.
· 101 leaders through the first 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series races of the season, is the second-most all-time behind only 2007 (106).
· 181 lead changes through the first 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series races of the season, is third-most all-time behind only 2013 (201) and 2011 (198).
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Kansas Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks the 30th running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway (2001-2025). This is the only Kansas race in 2025, after multiple Kansas races in each of the previous three season and three in 2020.
· Kansas is the second of a six consecutive week stretch of Truck races, the longest stretch of the season, this stretch will go through Michigan the first week of June.
· Kansas Speedway is the fourth of five conventional 1.5-mile tracks on the 2025 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule – Homestead, Las Vegas, Texas, Kansas and Charlotte. All five 1.5 mile track races will be completed before the end of May.
· A total of 24 different CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers have won at Kansas Speedway, and four of the 24 are active this weekend: Matt Crafton (2013, 2015, 2020), Corey Heim (2024 sweep), Grant Enfinger (2023) and William Byron (2016).
· Corey Heim swept both Kansas races in 2024, the 10 races prior to that were won by 10 different drivers.
· Corey Heim (three wins) is the only repeat CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner in 2025.
· Corey Heim won or was passed for the win in five of the last six Kansas races.
· The pass for the win came in the final eight laps in 10 of the last 15 Kansas races.
· Tyler Ankrum ended a 130-race winless streak at Rockingham, the most starts between wins in Truck series history.
· Two drivers finished top-10 in the first three 1.5 mile track races of 2025: Tyler Ankrum, Corey Heim
· Texas Motor Speedway was the only race to go into overtime in the last 22 Truck Series races.
· Tyler Ankrum leads all drivers with six top-five finishes in 2025, tied for his most ever in a season.
· Corey Heim is the only driver to lead in all eight races in 2025.
· Two drivers are on the longest top-10 streak of their careers: Tyler Ankrum 7, Rajah Caruth 4 (tie).
· Corey Heim’s four consecutive top fives and five consecutive top 10s are tied for the second-longest streaks all-time at Kansas.
· Corey Heim needs 64 laps led to pass Kyle Busch for most laps led all-time at Kansas in the Truck Series.
· Corey Heim’s 697 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks is eighth all-time and the seven drivers ahead of him have all led 1000+ laps.
· A total of 19 different drivers have won the pole in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Kansas Speedway, and only two are active this weekend: Matt Crafton (2019) and Ty Majeski (2024).
· Four drivers in the field finished runner-up at Kansas but never won – Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Layne Riggs.
· Morgen Baird, from Grass Lake, Michigan, is making his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut this weekend.
· Five drivers in the field have never made a Truck Series start at Kansas – No. 2 Dennison, No. 17 Ruggiero, No. 22 Baird, No. 66 Baldwin and No. 77 Perez.
· The 120 lead changes in 2025 are the most ever through eight races in a season.
· Corey Heim led 218 of the 442 laps races on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025 (49%).
· Only Kyle Busch (twice) has a better average finish than Corey Heim’s 1.67 average finish in 2025 through three races on 1.5 mile tracks.
· Brandon Jones is in the No. 1 truck this weekend at Kansas, he is a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Kansas Speedway (2019, 2020).
· Nathan Byrd’s best CRAFTSMAN Truck Series finish is 14th, in each of the last two races… he made his Truck Series debut at Kanas last Fall (finished 19th).
· William Byron won his only CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Kansas in May 2016, it was his first Truck win.
· Dawson Sutton finished a Truck Series career-best fifth at Kansas last September, he got his second Truck Series top-10 finish last week at Texas (ninth).
· Ty Majeski’s average start at Kansas in eight races is 5.5, his average finish of 17.8 is 12.3 spots lower.
· Each of the last three Kansas races had green flag pit stops.
· Three of the four Kansas races won from a starting position outside the top-10, came in the last four races; including last Fall when Heim won from 33rd.
· Corey Heim is two wins away from tying Matt Crafton for 10th in all time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins with 15.
· Corey Heim currently leads the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver point standings by 46 points over Chandler Smith in second place.
NASCAR & Kansas, Etc.
Historical & Significant Events at Kansas Speedway:
· In 1996, International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) began exploring options to build a speedway in the Midwest. Lesa France Kennedy spearheaded the search process. In 1997, Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, were selected as the site for the new speedway at the intersection of interstates 70 and 435.
· On December 18, 1997, International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) announced plans to build a 1.5 mile speedway to seat approximately 75,000.
· Architecture firm HNTB designed the facility and Turner Construction provided construction management. Construction began on the 1,200 acre, 1.5 mile speedway in May of 1999.
· Completion was targeted for 2000 but was delayed by weather and lawsuits from nearby landowners. Paving began in September 2000 and the speedway completed in early 2001.
· Estimated project cost was $250 million. The speedway had a significant impact on the area even before construction was finished. New commercial and entertainment developments sprung up near the speedway, including a movie theater complex, an outdoor retail mall, and hotels.
· The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA Menards Series race and an ARCA Menards Series West race on the same day – June 2.
· The first NASCAR Cup Series race was on September 30, 2001. The event was won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet).
· In 2011, the track held the Kanrocksas Music Festival, a rock music festival. The event was first announced on April 26, 2011, and was held in August; the inaugural festival featured acts such as Eminem, The Flaming Lips, Kid Cudi, Primus, and others.
· Following the 2012 STP 400, the track underwent a massive renovation project that included repaving the track surface, reconfiguration of the oval, and addition of a new infield road course. NASCAR’s in-house design and construction group utilized state of the art computer modeling to develop track geometry with up to 20 degrees of variable banking. Construction crews removed the existing oval track asphalt pavement and regraded the underlying soil to create the variable banking. In addition to the turns, the frontstretch, backstretch and pit road were reconstructed.
· The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway overlooking turn 2 opened February 3, 2012 with 2,000 slot machines, 52 gaming tables and 12 poker tables on a 100,000 square-foot gaming floor. It also features 28,000 square-feet of other amenities including restaurants, clubs and nightlife attractions.
· The casino is estimated to bring 440,000 tourists per year and create 1,050 full time jobs elevating the state to a first class, year-round tourist destination.
· The inside of the $411 million Hollywood Casino facility is modeled after the golden age of Hollywood. There are soaring columns with ornate scrollwork, video screens rolling historic clips of Grace Kelly and James Stewart and vintage movie posters of Steve McQueen in “Le Mans” and James Garner in “Grand Prix,” a nod to the motorsports element of the unique partnership.
· Prior to the fall race in 2015 Kansas Speedway added 1,250 linear feet of SAFER barrier to the backstretch and 525 linear feet to the frontstretch; all outside walls are now protected by SAFER barrier. 1,700 linear feet of barrier was also added to the interior walls at the entry and exit of the corners. In total Kansas Speedway added a total of 3,475 feet or 6 tenths of a mile of SAFER barrier in 2015.
· Since 2016, the track has been the host of the American Royal World Series of BBQ competition.
· Kansas Speedway is located in the state of Kansas, 13 miles west of Kansas City, Mo.
· There have been 38 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one event from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011.
NASCAR PR
Motorsports
Ross Chastain was chastised for NASCAR’s most famous pass
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, with the Gibson guitar he hopes to win in the June 1 running of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. TOMMY BRYAN Once upon a time in NASCAR there was an unwritten rule: on the last lap, with the race on the line, […]
Once upon a time in NASCAR there was an unwritten rule: on the last lap, with the race on the line, anything goes.
But in 2022 at Martinsville (VA) Speedway, after Ross Chastain made perhaps the most dramatic pass in the sport’s history – scraping along the wall at full-throttle to pass five cars and punch his playoff ticket – NASCAR banned such further passes.
What does Chastain think about The Pass today?
“I’m proud of it,” he said Wednesday during a Music City tour to promote the June 1 Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
“It wasn’t planned,” Chastain said of his off-the-wall pass that has attracted 100 million views on the internet and social media, surpassing Dale Earnhardt’s famous 1987 “pass in the grass” at Charlotte.
“I made it out of desperation,” Chastain said. “I was running tenth going into the final turn, and knew if I didn’t get around at least five cars, I’d be eliminated from the playoffs. That was my last chance, and I took it.”
Among the five drivers Chastain passed – with a track-record burst of speed of 130 mph – was Denny Hamlin, who got bumped out of the playoffs.
“My season was on the line,” Chastain said. “I did what I had to do.”
He left several rumpled cars and ruffled feathers in his wake, with Hamlin the most vocal of the critics.
“They said I was gonna ruin the sport, and they got NASCAR’s attention,” Chastain said. “I was sitting next to (NASCAR CEO) Jim France at the drivers’ meeting when they announced the ban, and he was kinda smiling.”
NASCAR had a similar gripe-and-grin response to the iconic 1979 Daytona 500 infield brawl between Bobby and Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough.
“They called us in, chewed us out, and said we had embarrassed the sport on national TV,” Bobby said years later. “Then they used footage of the fight to promote every Daytona 500 afterwards.”
Long-time fans complain that NASCAR goes too far in reigning in daring moves like Chastain’s, taming a sport built on beating and banging. Chastain, however, cuts it some slack.
“NASCAR has done a lot to promote safety,” he said. “It has to walk a fine line.”
Chastain, who drives for Nashville-based Trackhouse Racing, had a whirlwind Music City visit, which included a Pearl Jam concert on Tuesday night and throwing out the first pitch at a Sounds game on Wednesday, sandwiched around a flurry of media stops.
“It was busy but fun,” said Chastain, who returns in three weeks for the Superspeedway’s fifth annual Cup race.
He won it in 2023 and celebrated in Victory Circle by smashing a watermelon – a tradition that earned him the nickname, “Melon Man” and pays homage to growing up on a watermelon farm in Alva, Fla.
And as for Chastain’s dramatic wall-banger pass, it’ll always be special; NASCAR says there’ll never be another one like it.
Motorsports
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets brutally honest on Carson Kvapil, difference with Connor Zilisch
This season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has two highly touted rookies at JR Motorsports: Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. These two could be the future of the sport in the next decade, but there is a big difference between the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers. Connor Zilisch is the most hyped NASCAR prospect in a generation. Joey […]
This season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has two highly touted rookies at JR Motorsports: Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. These two could be the future of the sport in the next decade, but there is a big difference between the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers.
Connor Zilisch is the most hyped NASCAR prospect in a generation. Joey Logano was probably the last driver to get the kind of expectations that Zilisch has garnered. Kvapil is the son of 2003 Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil and two-time CARS Tour champion.
While Kvapil has the NASCAR pedigree over Zilisch, he doesn’t have the institutional support. Zilisch is a Trackhouse Racing development driver. He is on the fast track to the Cup Series with sponsor support from Weather Tech and, most notably, Red Bull.
Kvapil is being supported by JR Motorsports sponsors. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is putting a lot of effort into setting up opportunities for Kvapil because of the potential he sees in him. I’d argue he’s perhaps the best young short-track prospect since Denny Hamlin.
“Carson has to win,” Earnhardt said on his Dale Jr. Download podcast this week. “Carson’s future is not guaranteed. I think we all agree that he’s got potential and there’s something there, and if the right things happen the right way, that he could have a 20-year career. But it easily could go the opposite way, and these races are the opportunities, these are the opportunities we’re just not…grrrr.”
You can see how passionate Dale Earnhardt Jr. is about Carson Kvapil. He wants to see this work out. Racing has become less about talent and more about money at certain levels. Having a grassroots driver like Kvapil succeed in NASCAR is what the sport needs more of.
“We saw last year in the few races that Carson ran, hell, he almost won Dover,” Earnhardt continued. “Run top-five in every damn race. Michigan, he would have run top-three if he didn’t get wrecked.”
Both Zilisch and Kvapil need to make it to the next level. They have all of the talent in the world. Should sponsorship be something that prevents Kvapil from taking that next step or from having enough time to develop in the Xfinty Series, it will be an indictment on the sport.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Zilisch has a ‘machine behind him’
When you look at what Carson Kvapil has done in his early NASCAR career, it’s nothing short of impressive. He almost won in his debut at Martinsville in the Xfinity Series. Then this season, he went out and was door-to-door with Zilisch at COTA until his tires gave out.
Kvapil has done things the right way. So has Zilisch, by the way. This is not a criticism of Zilisch but just a comparison of two of the most talented prospects in stock car racing.
“Connor has that machine behind him,” Earnhardt said. “That excitement, that momentum. Carson on the other hand, needs to get the runs and the finishes to be able to get that same excitement and momentum behind him.”
All drivers have expectations and pressure. But Carson Kvapil has a LOT of pressure. It’s make or break, and he’s only a rookie in the Xfinity Series. Earnhardt summed it up pretty clearly.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him, already. Dude, he is under tons of f***ing pressure. … Big boy s**t. What do you want me to do, lie?”
Dale Jr. ain’t lying. The pressure is there and will only continue to grow. For what it’s worth, Kvapil is sixth in points this season and has led 56 laps.
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