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Hendrick Motorsports makes notable accomplishment at Talladega

Hendrick Motorsports is one of the most decorated organizations in all of NASCAR. After all, its 315 wins and 14 Cup Series championships are the most all-time in NASCAR’s premier series. Hall of Fame drivers like Mark Martin, Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have all won […]

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Hendrick Motorsports is one of the most decorated organizations in all of NASCAR. After all, its 315 wins and 14 Cup Series championships are the most all-time in NASCAR’s premier series.

Hall of Fame drivers like Mark Martin, Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have all won multiple races with the organization and experienced tremendous success.

While the organization has visited victory lane at numerous tracks on the schedule and won 14 times at Talladega — the most in Cup Series history by an organization at the track — its collective body of work has not been great there.

HMS may not have won Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500, but each of its drivers were in position. Kyle Larson (second), William Byron (third), Chase Elliott (fifth) and Alex Bowman (seventh) each came away with top-10 efforts.

According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, that is the first time all four HMS drivers finished in the top 10 at Talladega since 2011, which was the only other time it has happened in the team’s storied history.





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Pagenaud easing back into motorsports after serious injury in 2023. Finding a new career outside car | National Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later. He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an […]

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”


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

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



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Pagenaud easing back into motorsports after serious injury in 2023. Finding a new career outside car | National

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later. He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an […]

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”


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

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



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How to Watch the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

The NASCAR Cup Series contests its Memorial Day crown jewel on Sunday, May 25 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Here is how to watch this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images The Coca-Cola 600 will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2025 season broadcast on Prime Video. […]

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The NASCAR Cup Series contests its Memorial Day crown jewel on Sunday, May 25 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Here is how to watch this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte.

Ross Chastain (1) takes the lead away from driver Ty Gibbs (54) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Coca-Cola 600 will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2025 season broadcast on Prime Video. The subscription video service has broadcast practice and qualifying sessions throughout the first 12 races of the season, and will now present its first flag-to-flag race broadcast with the Coca-Cola 600.

This will be the first of five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series events broadcast on Prime Video. NASCAR Cup Series Practice and Qualifying will also air on Prime Video on Saturday, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Click here to join Prime and watch Prime Video coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. 

Jesse Love (2), driver Chase Elliot (17) and driver Anthony Alfredo (5) during the BETMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Coca-Cola 600 completes a packed docket of racing this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series will also be part of the Memorial Day Weekend festivities.

The BetMGM 300 takes the green flag at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 24, with coverage on The CW Network.

If you are having difficulty finding The CW Network, click here for a station guide from The CW, which will show you the tune-in info for The CW in your region. All you have to do is enter your zip code into the station guide.

Meanwhile, both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday, May 23, with coverage on FS1. The ARCA General Tire 150 takes the green flag at 6 p.m. ET, with the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.

Friday, May 23

Time

Session

TV

3:35 p.m. ET

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice

FS2

4:40 p.m. ET

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying

FS2

6 p.m. ET

ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150

FS1

8:30 p.m. ET

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200

FS1

Saturday, May 24

Time

Session

TV

11:05 a.m. ET

NASCAR Xfinity Series Practie

The CW App

12:10 p.m. ET

NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying

The CW App

1:30 p.m. ET

NASCAR Cup Series Practice

Prime Video

2:40 p.m. ET

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying

Prime Video

4:30 p.m. ET

NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300

The CW Network

Sunday, May 25

Time

Session

TV

6 p.m. ET

NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600

Prime Video



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Pagenaud easing back into motorsports after serious injury in 2023. Finding a new career outside car

INDIANAPOLIS — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later. He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar […]

Published

on


INDIANAPOLIS — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

Former Team Penske driver and Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud...

Former Team Penske driver and Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud works on the timing stand as a driver coach for Scott McLaughlin during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”



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Pagenaud easing back into motorsports after serious injury in 2023. Finding a new career outside car

INDIANAPOLIS – Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later. He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar […]

Published

on


INDIANAPOLIS – Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”

___

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

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



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Dale Earnhardt Jr. implores NASCAR to make major change to race rules

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn’t mind if NASCAR made one big change to its races in the foreseeable future. Earlier this month, Earnhardt talked about changing NASCAR’s caution rule on Dale Jr. Download. “Get rid of stage cautions entirely,” Earnhardt Jr. said when talking about what Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch discussed on the Actions Detrimental […]

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn’t mind if NASCAR made one big change to its races in the foreseeable future. Earlier this month, Earnhardt talked about changing NASCAR’s caution rule on Dale Jr. Download.

“Get rid of stage cautions entirely,” Earnhardt Jr. said when talking about what Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch discussed on the Actions Detrimental podcast. “No stage break caution, that goes away. You still pay points out at certain moments in the race, as we do today. I’m fine with that. I like people accumulating points during the race.

“It does create a conversation that I think we need to have around somebody who finished 14th getting fifth-place points or the fifth-best points, or the guy even winning the race not having the most points as the guy in second or third because of what happened throughout the race. I don’t know if I love all that, but hey, that’s another conversation.”

Dale Earnhardt revealed the one challenge with the potential NASCAR rule change

Earnhardt then said, “There’s a lap clock, a lap counter. You run a certain amount of laps green, and if no caution has come out, you throw the yellow. If there’s a natural yellow at some point in that mix it resets the clock. I like that. That way, I think it changes fuel strategy, all types of things to be able to get the teams to have to… They have to race a little bit.”

Later in the conversation, Earnhardt implied that the change might be difficult because of TV. “The networks want yellows so they can go to break,” he said. “I’m sure the plan stuff makes it easier. That’s a part of it. The networks have a lot of leverage in terms of when we’re going to start races and how races is going to look and all that stuff.”

As mentioned by USA Today, NASCAR has been racing with stage cautions in the Cup Series since 2017. NASCAR removed stage cautions from road courses in 2023 but brought them back last year.

For the next Cup Series race, which is the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR will have three stage cautions for the four-stage race. The cautions will be thrown every 100 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway.



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