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Good news, bad news for NASCAR teams ahead of Texas Cup weekend

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its only visit to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. The next three points races are at 1.5-mile tracks — Texas, Kansas and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading to Texas. Joey Logano told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio […]

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The NASCAR Cup Series makes its only visit to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.

The next three points races are at 1.5-mile tracks — Texas, Kansas and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading to Texas.

MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-24-AM-8270.jpg

Joey Logano told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he and Austin Cindric have talked about what happened at the end of stage two at Talladega.

23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace ranks second in the series in stage points with 94 this season. … Wallace’s pit crew has gained him a net 37 spots on four-tire stops this season, most of all teams. … Tyler Reddick’s average finish in Cup at Texas is 9.3. … Reddick has scored at least one stage point in every race this season. Bad news: Riley Herbst has five finishes of 28th or worse in the last seven races.

Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Noah Gragson finished a season-best fourth at Talladega. … Zane Smith won the pole at Talladega last weekend, his first career Cup pole. … Todd Gilliland has finished 16th or better in three of the last four races. Bad news: Gilliland has not finished better than 28th in three Cup starts at Texas.

Haas Factory Team — Good news: Cole Custer finished a season-best 13th last weekend at Talladega. Bad News: Custer’s average finish this season is 26.3.

Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Kyle Larson has scored a series-high 100 points in the last two races on 1.5-mile tracks. He won at Homestead and finished ninth at Las Vegas, winning a stage there. … Larson’s six top-five finishes and seven top 10s are the most in his career through 10 races. … Alex Bowman has seven consecutive top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks, the longest active streak in the series. … Chase Elliott is the only driver to finish in the top 20 in each of the season’s first 10 races. … William Byron has a series-best average finish of 8.5 this year, the best average by a Hendrick driver since Jimmie Johnson had an average finish of 7.0 in the first 10 races of 2013. … Byron has finished third or better in three of the last four Texas races. … The organization has won three of the last four Texas points races with three different drivers: Elliott in April 2024, Byron in September 2023 and Larson in October 2021. … Hendrick is the only team to have at least one car finish in the top five in all 10 races this year. Bad news: Elliott is winless in his last 37 starts in points races (he did win the Clash in early February).

Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has six top-20 finishes this season. Bad news: Stenhouse has only two top 10s in his last 20 starts on a 1.5-mile track. … Stenhouse is 18th in the playoff standings although he ranks 32nd in passing, 31st in speed and 35th in pit crew, according to Racing Insights.

Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Denny Hamlin has finished in the top two in three of the last four races. … Hamlin has finished on the lead lap in 21 consecutive races, the longest active streak. … Chase Briscoe’s average finish of 9.0 at Texas is the best all time by any driver. … Briscoe has three top 10s in the last five races. … Christopher Bell has finished in the top three in half of the 10 races this season, including three wins. … Ty Gibbs has four consecutive top-20 finishes after placing in the top 20 only once in the first six races of the season. Bad news: Briscoe has scored stage points in only three of 10 races this year.

Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger has top 10s in the last four races on 1.5-mile tracks. Bad news: Ty Dillon has had fuel issues in each of the past two races. He was forced to pit with less than 10 laps left at Bristol for fuel and ran out of fuel last weekend at Talladega while in position to score his first top 10 of the season.

Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones makes his 300th career Cup start this weekend. Bad news: John Hunter Nemechek has finished 30th in two of the last three races.

AUTO: NOV 03 NASCAR Cup Series XFINITY 500

Brad Keselowski explains his comment and why a recent trip with Richard Petty was so meaningful.

Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Austin Dillon has scored back-to-back 10th-place finishes, his only two top 10s of the season. … Kyle Busch has six top 10s in his last eight starts at Texas. Bad news: Busch has not finished in the top 10 in the last six races at 1.5-mile tracks. … Busch has had a pit road speeding penalty in each of the last two races. … This is the second year in a row RCR has had only one top-five finish in the first 10 races of the season.

Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware scored his first stage points of the season last weekend at Talladega. Bad news: Ware’s best finish at Texas was 33rd in 2022, his most recent Cup start at the track.

RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has six consecutive top 10s at Texas. … Ryan Preece has finished in the top 10 in both races at 1.5-mile tracks this season. He placed ninth at Homestead and third at Las Vegas. Bad news: Preece’s second-place finish at Talladega was taken away when his car was disqualified for failing post-race inspection (had three shims instead of required two with spoiler). He lost 39 points, which dropped him from 12th to 18th in the points. … Chris Buescher finished 34th at Talladega after he was collected in a crash with Christopher Bell on a restart while they were at the front of the field. … Keselowski finished 36th at Talladega due to a crash as cars slowed to come to pit road in the opening stage.

NASCAR Xfinity: Ag-Pro 300

NASCAR discovers issues with both cars in inspection after Sunday’s race.

Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar’s 40 stage points this season are more than five drivers who are in a playoff spot after 10 races. … Michael McDowell scored the bonus point for the fastest lap in the race at Talladega. That is the third time he has done that this season. Bad news: Justin Haley has one top-10 finish in his last 15 starts on 1.5-mile tracks. … Hocevar has four finishes of 30th or worse in the last seven races.

Team Penske — Good news: Austin Cindric comes into Texas off his Talladega win. Bad news: Ryan Blaney has failed to finish four of the last seven races this season, including last weekend’s race at Talladega. Those four DNFs are the most in the series this year. … Joey Logano lost 40 points with his car being disqualified at Talladega for failing post-race inspection (missing a spoiler bolt). He went from finishing fifth to placing last in the 39-car field. He fell from eight to 11th in points.

NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500

A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway: Austin Cindric — He snapped a 30-race winless streak with his victory Sunday at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has gained 21 positions on restarts at 1.5-mile tracks this season, the most in the series. … Chastain has finished in the top 10 in four of the last six races. … Daniel Suarez has three top-10 finishes in the last four races at Texas. Bad news: Shane van Gisbergen has five pit road speeding penalties in the last three races.

Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Josh Berry won earlier this season at Las Vegas, a 1.5-mile track. … Berry has started in the top 10 in five of the last nine races. Bad news: Berry finished 36th last April in his only Cup start at Texas after an accident eliminated him.





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Larson set to defend Kansas NASCAR title in busy May

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson isn’t quite ready to start thinking about his return to the Indianapolis 500. That will change by tonight. And he would like nothing better than to have those thoughts of “the Double” — running every lap of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day Memorial Day […]

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson isn’t quite ready to start thinking about his return to the Indianapolis 500.

That will change by tonight.

And he would like nothing better than to have those thoughts of “the Double” — running every lap of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day Memorial Day weekend — enter his consciousness than in victory lane at Kansas Speedway, where Larson will be defending his win from a year ago in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.

“I haven’t really thought about it much at all. Just kind of been excited about these upcoming races and tracks we can run well at,” Larson said before qualifying on the pole for today’s race. “I think once the checkered flag flies here at Kansas, I’ll be excited about Indy, because I’ll be headed to Indy.”

He has qualifying on deck at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend.

Larson certainly had a memorable month of May last year, when he roared around the outside of Chris Buescher and beat him to the finish line by 0.001 seconds to win the race at Kansas Speedway. He headed from there to Indianapolis, where weather made for a stressful race weekend and ultimately scuttled his shot at completing all 1,100 laps.

Larson was among the leading cars in the rain-delayed Indy 500 until a late penalty for speeding on pit lane left him 18th. He then hopped a plane to Charlotte, where rain there kept him from making a single lap in the Cup Series race.

“It’s been a bit busy for me here, just with a lot of racing I’ve done,” said Larson, who was involved in a hard crash in his sprint car at nearby Lakeside Speedway in the High Limit Racing series Friday night.

“With Indy, I haven’t done a whole lot, but there’s not much you can do studying wise. You can watch film, which I will and all that, but for Indy you have a lot of time really. So I think once you get in the car and understand the balance of the car, you can pick apart studying and you know, where your strengths and where your weaknesses are.”

There don’t seem to be many weaknesses when it comes to Larson in his No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports. He already has won at Homestead and Bristol this season, and he has finished in the top five in each of the past three races.

Ryan Blaney doesn’t think there are many weaknesses when it come to Larson in any car. And he will be among the many Cup Series drivers keeping an eye on how Larson fares in both the Indy 500 and his dash to the Coca-Cola 600 this year.

But as part of Team Penske, Blaney said, he hopes Larson finishes no better than fourth  May 25 in the Indy 500 — right behind two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden and Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power.

“I thought it was really cool last year. He did a really good job there until he sped on pit road,” Blaney said. “I’m sure he will be in contention, but yeah, Penske loyalty. I want him to run fourth. But you do root for him because he’s representing us.”

Larson turned a lap of 183.730 mph to earn the pole, and in quite a coincidence, Buescher will be starting alongside him after a lap of 183.374. Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick will be right behind them in the second row.

Bell had won the last three poles at Kansas. The last to win four at any track was Larson at Sonoma Raceway from 2017-22.

Truck Series star Corey Heim will make his fourth career Cup Series start when he drives a fourth entry for 23XI Racing. His first two last year came with Legacy Motor Club, including a 22nd-place finish in the spring race at Kansas.

Meanwhile, Xfinity Series regular Jesse Love will make his third career Cup Series start for Richard Childress Racing. He made his debut for RCR last year at Bristol and was 31st last week in a car from Beard Motorsports.

Carson Hocevar tried to smooth things over with Ryan Preece this week after causing them to wreck late in last week’s race at Texas. Preece called him out, saying Hocevar has “no respect for his equipment and any other driver out there.”

“He heard my point of view and I heard his, right? And we have a really good understanding going forward,” Hocevar said.

Notes: Larson at plus-375 is the betting favorite to win today, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Blaney (plus-700) and Tyler Reddick (plus-750). … Joey Logano is the only driver to take Ford to victory lane in the last 12 races at Kansas. He is coming off a win last week at Texas. … The last six Cup Series races at Kansas have been won by six different drivers.



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‘Kids on Track’ program merging students’ interest in STEM with motorsports

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — There was action on the track and inspiration in the stands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. A free program called “Kids on Track” is connecting the dots between racing and students interested in STEM. Several “Kids on Track” students were at IMS for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday. “The only […]

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SPEEDWAY, Ind. — There was action on the track and inspiration in the stands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.

A free program called “Kids on Track” is connecting the dots between racing and students interested in STEM. Several “Kids on Track” students were at IMS for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday.

“The only experience that I’ve had with racing really is my dad watching it on TV,” said Addison Roehling, a student at Perry Meridian High School. “He’s been twice. This is my first time ever being at the speedway, so it’s completely a change from watching it on TV every year.”

“Kids on Track” students at IMS on Saturday got an up-close look at the role science, technology, engineering and math play in IndyCar.

“Being part of ‘Kids on Track’ is like really, really been like an insane experience,” Roehling said. “Like meeting all these drivers and employees of all these companies. It’s been a great experience.”

Litzy Martinez is a senior at Shortridge High School. She’s going to Indiana University next year to learn how to develop video games. She’s never been to the track, let alone thought about a career in racing. That is until she learned it’s her brain power and skill that racers need to build simulators for practice.

“Thanks to this program, I am interested in the data analysis that they do in racing,” Martinez said. “It seems really interesting like how they analyze everything just to get a better result next race.”

“Kids on Track” is a collaboration between Nextech and CoForce. It gives students like Darreon Jennings, a future software engineer and current junior at Ben Davis High School, a chance to see their interests in a new way.

“One of the racers showed us the computer they actually use to graph the data and stuff,” Jennings said. “That interests me and taking a career behind the scenes in motorsports and racing, I would do it. I would do it, honestly.”

The program is free and is already looking for students to sign up for next year. The students at the Sonsio Grand Prix met drivers, received free tickets, shirts, hats, goodie bags and an experience that they call life-changing.

“To be honest, I give it a 10 out of 10,” Jennings said. “I like everything around here.”



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NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas odds, predictions: Kyle Larson favored at our experts’ favorite track

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas City for one of the — if not the — best current tracks for the Next Gen car and a really entertaining day of racing. Kyle Larson leads the odds, but Team Penske is looking speedy right now and 23XI Racing used to be the team to beat at this […]

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The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas City for one of the — if not the — best current tracks for the Next Gen car and a really entertaining day of racing. Kyle Larson leads the odds, but Team Penske is looking speedy right now and 23XI Racing used to be the team to beat at this track.

So, what should we expect on Sunday? Our NASCAR experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, are here to break down what last week’s Texas race hints for Kansas, why Ross Chastain isn’t being talked about enough and who they’re picking as favorites and long shots at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Take it away, guys!


How to watch the AdventHealth 400

  • Track: Kansas Speedway — Kansas City, Kan.
  • Time: Sunday, May 11, 3 p.m. ET
  • TV: FS1
  • Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Q&A, predictions

We missed last week, thanks to this editor *ahem* being at the Kentucky Derby. But we’re back! What was your top takeaway from the Texas race as it relates to how the field is doing heading into Kansas and then the All-Star race?

Jeff: In 2023, Tyler Reddick won at Kansas and continued 23XI Racing’s string of successful runs to the extent it became practically a given that the team would be one to beat at the 1.5-mile track. But last year, something weird happened: Neither Reddick nor teammate Bubba Wallace finished in the top 15 of either Kansas race, and Reddick even finished 25th in the playoff race there before eventually making the Championship 4.

So when I asked Reddick what to expect from him at Kansas before the Texas race, he said he’d put a lot of stock into how 23XI performed at the Fort Worth intermediate track.

“They’re not very similar, but a car that is going to run good here, have performance and have speed here, will have speed at Kansas,” Reddick said.

Reddick was then arguably the fastest car at Texas despite never getting control of the race (and ultimately spinning himself across Daniel Suarez’s nose while running in the top five). But what I took from Texas was that we might see 23XI about to emerge with some speed.

Jordan: The drivers we expected to be strong at Texas essentially were Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and William Byron, who each stood out at various points. And with Texas and Kansas having some similar characteristics, it’s not a reach at all to think that everyone within this group will be in contention for the win this weekend. The noticeable difference between these two tracks, however, is that Texas is a much more treacherous oval with a penchant for producing a multitude of accidents, often because a driver loses control off Turn 2 or hits a nasty bump in Turn 4. Kansas is challenging, but not to this degree.

You asked before last week’s race if Texas Motor Speedway is turning a corner. Is it?

Jeff: I don’t know if it’s racing much differently, but people seem to be coming around to the fact that it’s a place that requires drivers to “race the racetrack” more than each other. In other words, it’s not like a Kansas or Homestead where they have the ability to run all over the place and just race it out. The drivers don’t seem to know what’s going on, either. As Reddick said, it looks like it’s aging when they walk the track, but then it doesn’t race any differently. Here’s William Byron: “I’ve had the opinion for a while now that the asphalt they’ve used here is just different than what we’ve had in the past. It’s really dusty. It just seems like the rubber kind of sits on top of the racetrack, and there’s just all this little dust and crumbs on top that I feel like are hard to work out of the track. It looks way grayer — looks like it should be 15 years old — but it still has a ton of grip. It’s just odd.”

Jordan: Recent Texas races are certainly more entertaining than before, though admittedly that’s a low bar. Still, Texas deserves praise for the improvements it’s made — including attendance increasing by double digits and growth in other key metrics. And while races at Texas may often be chaotic in nature, its reputation as being one of NASCAR’s most demanding tracks is not necessarily a bad thing. The place has an improved identity now than before, and this is a positive thing.

Ross Chastain has some killer restart stats, as shared by Auto Racing Analytics after Texas. Is that partially because he’s coming from further back, or does he just have a unique skill set? NOOB question: What can drivers do to improve their restarts? Who would you have said is the best vs. what these stats show?

Jeff: As Auto Racing Analytics pointed out, it’s not even just the total positions gained for Chastain on restarts — it’s his retention rate (how often he’s able to do a restart without losing positions). The account has tracked Chastain with a 91.1 percent retention rate this year, and he has lost spots on only four restarts all season. By comparison, the next-best restarters are in the low 80 percent range. When I asked Chastain about this after the race at Texas, he said: “Yes, I see those stats and I wonder. Some of it is circumstance. Part of it is taking the very low percentage holes on restarts and trying to make it work off of Turn 2.” It’s likely more of the latter, according to Auto Racing Analytics, which noted Chastain has been in the top three for restart statistics in three of the four Next Gen seasons so far.

Jordan: The restart stats speak to how well Chastain is performing this year, where he routinely is taking a car lacking speed and still finding a way to score solid finishes. Nearly every week, he is maximizing everything he can out of his car, pushing it higher up the running order than he should be otherwise. It’s a very remarkable effort by Chastain that isn’t getting talked about enough, but it demonstrates how gifted a driver he is.

NASCAR at Texas beat F1 Miami in viewership! At the risk of angering our NASCAR fans, that surprised me! What changed, if anything? Did NASCAR do anything to ensure better promotion? Did F1 lose traction in the U.S.?

Jeff: It’s not only that NASCAR beat F1, but how it happened. NASCAR was airing on cable (FS1) while the F1 race was on network TV (ABC). Still, last year’s Miami race was an outlier when it comes to F1 ratings. It had a lead-in from an NBA Playoffs Game 7, and NASCAR was also in a three-hour rain delay at Kansas, so curious NASCAR fans flipped over to Miami. F1 then wasn’t able to replicate that rating for the rest of the season in the U.S., and NASCAR has continued to win the head-to-head battle domestically. Some caveats, though: F1 is obviously massively popular worldwide, and there’s no comparison to NASCAR internationally; it’s not even a conversation. And there was also an alarming number for NASCAR in the Miami rating: Adam Stern noted F1 won the 18-49 demographic by more than 300,000 viewers, and the viewership shows more than 80 percent of NASCAR’s audience was NOT in that younger demographic. So that continues to be a very old-skewing audience for NASCAR.

Jordan: You can decipher TV ratings in many different ways, especially with so many contributing factors. That said, NASCAR has to be absolutely pleased that it toppled F1 head-to-head and did so having its Texas race on cable rather than on a network. Definitely something to hang your hat on if you’re a NASCAR decision-maker. And from a larger perspective, it may indicate that F1’s once explosive growth in the United States has hit its ceiling.

OK: Kansas time! What should we know from insiders heading into Kansas that may affect the race on Sunday?

Jeff: Ah, my favorite current NASCAR track! Kansas in the Next Gen Era has turned into an incredible place to race, as evidenced by last spring’s all-time banger (that was topped by the closest finish in NASCAR history). That race sits No. 1 in my “Was it a good race?” poll with 95.8 percent of people saying yes, and that’s out of 349 races in the poll since 2016. This track is about as pure as it gets in terms of NASCAR racing these days. It’s all-out, hammer-down racing with multiple options where drivers can make their cars work on the track. We’re about to find out who is bringing the most speed this season and watch them get their way to the front for a terrific battle.

Jordan: Kansas is arguably one of the two or three best tracks currently on the schedule, and has a strong, strong case for being P1 on the list. This is one of those races you circle before the season as “can’t miss.” And the thing is, while expectations are exceedingly high for Sunday’s race, there is a likelihood that said expectations will be surpassed because Kansas is such a terrific track that has become a standard-bearer as the best of what NASCAR is.

Who is your favorite to win at Kansas?

Jeff: As mentioned earlier, this could be Reddick’s breakout race for the season and mark a return to victory lane — but if the 23XI cars are fast, that could also mean a big day for Bubba Wallace. Still, despite that speed, I’m going to go with a Team Penske car and pick Ryan Blaney. I’m really liking the speed I’m seeing across Penske right now, and Blaney has arguably been the fastest car — except he hasn’t won yet. That could get remedied this weekend while he also makes it three wins in a row for Penske (after Austin Cindric won at Talladega and Joey Logano won at Texas).

Jordan: The obvious pick is Kyle Larson, and for good reason. He and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team excel on these types of tracks and routinely factor in the outcome. In Larson’s past seven Kansas races, he has two wins, two seconds and two finishes inside the top eight. That’s why he’s the betting favorite.

Who is a long shot you like?

Jeff: OK, so this isn’t really a long shot, but how about Chris Buescher at +2200? Buescher was literally a couple of inches away from winning last year’s Kansas race and showed speed again at Texas last week. If that fast car translates to Kansas, he might be able to find victory lane this time around. But as long as we’re not going for big reaches on the long shots this week, Josh Berry at +2500 is a bit ridiculous. He just won the Las Vegas race earlier this season on a similar type of track and was leading at Texas last week, so there’s no reason he wouldn’t be able to have that Penske-caliber speed at Kansas as well.

Jordan: Josh Berry has had a lot of speed this season — not just on mile-and-a-half tracks but really most styles of tracks — and this should continue on Sunday. The area of concern, though, is that while Berry has been fast, he hasn’t been able to consistently convert that speed into corresponding finishes. But if you’re looking for a sleeper, Berry is easily the best, especially being listed at +2500, which is stupid high.


Odds for AdventHealth 400

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(Photo of Kyle Larson: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images) 



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Carson Hocevar discussed mistake with Ryan Preece after Texas race – Speedway Digest

Carson Hocevar acknowledged on Saturday that the wreck that cost him dearly in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was the result of a miscalculation on his part. On Lap 237, Hocevar ran Ryan Preece into the outside wall off Turn 2 in a crash that also collected Cody Ware. Preece […]

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Carson Hocevar acknowledged on Saturday that the wreck that cost him dearly in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was the result of a miscalculation on his part.

On Lap 237, Hocevar ran Ryan Preece into the outside wall off Turn 2 in a crash that also collected Cody Ware. Preece fell out of the race in 29th place. Hocevar was able to continue and finished 24th.

The driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet discussed the incident with Preece earlier this week

“I thought it was very productive,” Hocevar said. “I thought he heard my point of view, and I heard his, right? I think we have a really good understanding to go forward. I just kind of explained my positioning of it.

“I (had) just passed the 17 (Chris Buescher) and I really didn’t expect the 60 (Preece) to be a factor in the equation. I started unwinding the wheel to get out of (Todd Gilliland’s) wake and try to be on offense. I found myself on defense, in the wake; crossing… and now (Preece is) on my door. It just shocked me.

“I just explained that I wasn’t trying to put him in a bad spot and be aggressive. I tried to unwind the wheel and track out to the wall, and I didn’t expect a car to be there. That’s on me for not predicting it and not expecting it.”

A day earlier, Hocevar had earned the first Cup Series pole position of his career. He led the first 22 laps and finished sixth in each of the first two stages.

The end result, however, was a learning experience.

“I wasn’t looking in my mirror when I felt like I should have been,” Hocevar said. “Knowing if you were to rewind the clock, if I knew the result, I would do something different. But at the time, I felt like I knew the situation, and I would probably do the same thing again.

“But knowing the result, (if) I get in that spot again, you’re going to be more cognizant and aware of that.”



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Dennis Hauger Returns to Winning Ways in Indianapolis GP Race 2

Dennis Hauger earned his third victory in four INDY NXT by Firestone races this season, passing Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes early and powering to victory in the second race of the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Hauger drove his No. 28 Rental Group car to a 4.7739-second […]

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Dennis Hauger earned his third victory in four INDY NXT by Firestone races this season, passing Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes early and powering to victory in the second race of the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Hauger drove his No. 28 Rental Group car to a 4.7739-second victory over the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine of pole sitter Hughes, who earned his first career victory in the INDYCAR development series Friday evening in Race 1. Myles Rowe finished a career-best third for the second consecutive race in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy entry.

SEE: Race Results

“It’s been a great start to the season,” Hauger said. “Yesterday wasn’t great, but we were able to come back and get a win today. Super-happy about that, and in a place like this, it’s awesome.”

Salvador de Alba climbed one spot from his Friday finish to place fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car as the third Andretti Global entry to finish in the top four today on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit. Caio Collet rounded out the top five in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.

Norwegian driver Hauger became the first driver to win three of the first four INDY NXT by Firestone races of the season since current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Pato O’Ward achieved the feat in 2018.

Hauger’s path to victory was created when he survived the first turn of the 35-lap race without contact, unlike Race 1. He was bumped off track in Turn 1 on the first lap Friday, falling to last in the 21-car field before recovering to finish eighth.

Hughes once again led into Turn 1 today, this time with fellow rookie teammate Hauger in pursuit. Hughes built a gap of 1.7 seconds by Lap 3 when the only caution period of the race was triggered when Jack William Miller in the No. 40 Abel/Miller/Vinatieri Motorsports car and Nolan Allaer in the No. 11 HMD Motorsports machine made side-by-side contact in Turn 1, forcing both cars to a stop in the grass.

On the restart at the end of Lap 5, Hughes and Hauger raced side by side toward Turn 1, with Hauger on the left and Hughes on the right at the start of Lap 6. Hauger edged ahead approaching Turn 2, with his left wheels on the dirt adjacent to the asphalt, and completed the pass for the lead in that corner.

Hauger never trailed thereafter, but Hughes stayed close for a while. Hauger’s lead stayed around one second until about 10 laps to go, when he started to pull away. He padded his gap to 2.6718 seconds by Lap 29 and continued to drive away until the checkered flag.

“Yesterday was tough,” Hauger said. “I think we really didn’t have the balance, either, going through the field. But today we really nailed it. It was a warm day, and you had to judge it nicely with the rear tires.

“We managed well, and we had really good pace today. That’s a good way to bounce back.”

Hauger took a 15-point lead over Hughes in the series standings after four of 14 races this season. The next race is the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, June 1 on the streets of downtown Detroit (10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).





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Denny Hamlin remains confident in antitrust case brought by 23XI and Front Row against NASCAR | National Sports

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Denny Hamlin said Saturday that he remains “pretty confident” in the case brought by his 23XI Racing, co-owned by the veteran driver and retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR alleging antitrust violations. × This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be […]

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Denny Hamlin said Saturday that he remains “pretty confident” in the case brought by his 23XI Racing, co-owned by the veteran driver and retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR alleging antitrust violations.


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