Motorsports
Honda HRC Progressive Races at High-Elevation Denver SX
Dean Wilson notches third consecutive top-10 450SX result Jo Shimoda leads 250SX Red Riders with a ninth-place finish Round 16 of the AMA Supercross series brought the action to high elevation in Denver, where riders faced the unique demands of racing at altitude. In the 450SX class, Honda placed three riders inside […]

- Dean Wilson notches third consecutive top-10 450SX result
- Jo Shimoda leads 250SX Red Riders with a ninth-place finish
Round 16 of the AMA Supercross series brought the action to high elevation in Denver, where riders faced the unique demands of racing at altitude. In the 450SX class, Honda placed three riders inside the top eight, while 250SX West racing saw Jo Shimoda represent Honda HRC Progressive with a ninth-place finish.
In the 250SX West main event, Shimoda launched out of the gate in fifth aboard his CRF250RWE, then made it into fourth on the first lap. He held position in the early laps before gradually slipping back, ultimately crossing the line in ninth. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Gavin Towers finished 14th, and SLR Honda’s Parker Ross came through in 16th.
In the 450SX main event, Quad Lock Honda Racing’s Shane McElrath led the Red Rider effort with a sixth-place finish. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis and Quad Lock’s Joey Savatgy followed close behind in seventh and eighth, respectively, making it three Honda riders in a row. Honda HRC Progressive’s Dean Wilson battled throughout the race and secured his third-straight top-10 finish. Valley Motorsports’ Jeremy Hand rounded out the group in 20th.
NOTES
- Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda and Dean Wilson both took part in Friday’s Media Day activities in Denver, participating in scheduled press interviews and riding sessions ahead of Saturday’s event.
- Peak Honda World, a powersports dealership based in Littleton, Colorado, set up a pop-up activation booth in the Honda HRC Progressive pits, where they displayed a CRF450R and a CRF250R, and engaged with fans and customers.
- Former Honda champion and current test rider Trey Canard was inducted into the Legends and Heroes Moto Museum Hall of Fame at Denver.
- With regular mechanic Cameron Camera unavailable due to a family emergency, Christien Ducharme–normally Jett Lawrence’s mechanic–stepped in to support Dean Wilson for the Denver round and will continue in the role at the Salt Lake City finale. Camera was originally slated to cover all five fill-in races for Wilson, while Ducharme typically works alongside Jett, and Camera with Hunter Lawrence.
- In 250SX West qualifying, Shimoda led the Red Riders with the eighth-fastest time. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Gavin Towers posted the 18th-best time, followed by SLR Honda’s Parker Ross in 23rd and Brandon Ray (Raylentless Racing) in 29th.
- In 450SX qualifying, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis paced the Honda contingent with the seventh-best time. Quad Lock Honda Racing teammates Joey Savatgy and Shane McElrath followed in ninth and 10th, respectively, with Wilson clocking the 12th-best lap. Valley Motorsports’ Jeremy Hand was 22nd, followed by Next Level Redline Oil Hammer Nutrition riders Justin Rodbell and Hunter Schlosser in 25th and 32nd. RSR/Fusion Motorsports’ Zack Williams was 37th, while KTR Moto’s Mason Kerr rounded out the group in 38th–all inside the top 40 cutoff.
- In 250SX West heat 1, Shimoda was stuck behind downed riders on the first lap, but he was able to come back to a solid fifth-place finish, with Towers close behind in seventh—both securing direct transfers to the main event. Ross secured the final transfer spot to the main event with a fourth-place finish in the LCQ.
- In 450SX heat 1, McElrath finished fifth, followed by Wilson in sixth and Hand in ninth. In heat 2, Ferrandis turned in a fourth-place finish. Savatgy claimed his transfer spot with an LCQ win.
- Next, AMA Supercross heads to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the season finale—round 17. The event will feature an East/West Showdown in the 250SX class, with both Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas competing for Honda HRC Progressive, alongside 450SX rider Dean Wilson in his final outing with the squad.
Dean Wilson
“My day in Denver was pretty good overall. I struggled a bit in qualifying—just couldn’t quite connect with the track or flow through the corners—but things got better in the night show. In the heat race, I got pushed back when a Tuff Block got kicked out in front of me, but I managed to salvage sixth. In the main, I had to work my way through the pack and was in a good battle the whole race. I didn’t even know what position I was in most of the time, but I ended up 10th. I was close to getting ninth on the last lap but just couldn’t make it happen. That’s three top-10s in a row, so I can’t complain. I just need to put myself in a better position off the start, and I know I can keep improving. Big thanks to the whole team—they were awesome all day—and to Christian for stepping in as my mechanic. It was a good night, and I’m happy with it.”
Jo Shimoda
“Honestly, tonight was probably one of my worst rides. I’m not even sure how to explain it—it just wasn’t there. There’s a lot of work to do before next weekend, and not much more to say about this one. I’m just focused on finishing the season strong in Salt Lake City.”
Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
“Our day in Denver was pretty uneventful, but it was great to have a nice day with fantastic weather, which isn’t a guarantee in Colorado. At this altitude, the bikes make about 20 percent less power, and more tuning is required; I think we did well as a team to compensate for that, and I’d like to send a shoutout to the engine and mapping guys for doing a great job all weekend.”
Media contact:
Tati Ziemer // Jonnum Media // tati@jonnummedia.com // +1 (707) 888-9418
450SX Results
- Chase Sexton (KTM)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Hon)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (Bet)
- Dean Wilson (Hon)
—
20. Jeremy Hand (Hon)
450SX Championship Points (after 16 of 17 rounds)
- Cooper Webb (347)
- Chase Sexton (338)
- Ken Roczen (271)
- Justin Cooper (261)
- Malcolm Stewart (255)
- Aaron Plessinger (239)
- Justin Barcia (185)
- Dylan Ferrandis (182)
- Justin Hill (180)
- Shane McElrath (179)
—
12. Joey Savatgy (136)
17. Jett Lawrence (71)
19. Hunter Lawrence (62)
22. Dean Wilson (42)
31. Vince Friese (14)
33. Jeremy Hand (12)
37. Ryan Breece (3)
250SX West Results
- Haiden Deegan (Yam)
- Julien Beaumer (KTM)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Jordon Smith (Tri)
- Cole Davies (Yam)
- Coty Schock (Yam)
- Michael Mosiman (Yam)
- Drew Adams (Kaw)
- Jo Shimoda (Hon)
- Enzo Lopes (Yam)
—
14. Gavin Towers (Hon)
16. Parker Ross
250SX West Region Championship Points (after 9 of 10 rounds)
- Haiden Deegan (196)
- Cole Davies (171)
- Julien Beaumer (167)
- Jo Shimoda (149)
- Coty Schock (131)
- Garrett Marchbanks (130)
- Jordon Smith (126)
- Michael Mosiman (114)
- Hunter Yoder (73)
- Lux Turner (65)
—
12. Parker Ross (57)
15. Gavin Towers (43)
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Motorsports
Michael’s Reno Powersports Returns as Title Sponsor of Legendary Hangtown Motocross Classic
The Hangtown Classic is the oldest event in American motocross and predates the Pro Motocross Championship, with a legacy that began in 1969 and the town of Placerville, from which the event gleaned its name. Since 1974 the race has been held within the confines of a California State Park and has served as one […]

The Hangtown Classic is the oldest event in American motocross and predates the Pro Motocross Championship, with a legacy that began in 1969 and the town of Placerville, from which the event gleaned its name. Since 1974 the race has been held within the confines of a California State Park and has served as one of the foundational pillars of the 54-year championship, with a track that has a lot of retro characteristics relying on dynamic natural terrain and less “big air” jumps than what fans may be accustomed to. Those traits result in a demanding and often brutal racetrack that, when combined with the heat of the summer, will provide one of the toughest tests on the calendar.
“The Hangtown Motocross Classic became synonymous with the Pro Motocross Championship because it epitomizes why this is one of the toughest racing series in all motorsports. It takes a lot of grit, determination, and peak physical conditioning to stand atop the podium here,” said Bob Messer of the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club. “We’re proud to continue this rich tradition that now spans well over 50 years and look forward to another memorable weekend. We are grateful for the support and partnership with Michael’s Reno Powersports and wish them luck as they embark on their own racing journey this season.”
Michael’s Reno Powersports joined as title partner of Hangtown last season and serves as the largest marine and powersports dealership in Northern Nevada, offering vehicles from seven manufacturers, including Pro Motocross competitors GASGAS, Husqvarna, KTM, and Yamaha. It also boasts Northern Nevada’s largest OEM parts department, with a wide-reaching service area that crosses state lines to include the greater Sacramento area. With its growing presence in Northern California, the Hangtown Motocross Classic provides an ideal platform to bring national exposure to one of the region’s foremost dealerships. Enhancing this year’s support from Michael’s Reno is a new race team operated in partnership with Stan Benson Racing, known as MRPSBR Husqvarna Racing. Its eight-rider lineup of 450 Class and 250 Class racers is anchored by Estonian racer Harri Kullas, who finished 20th in the Pro Motocross 450 Class standings last season and 13th in the SMX Playoffs.
“Our passion for motorcycles and racing is the driving force for elevating Michael’s Reno Powersports into the premier dealership in the region,” said Maya Keller, General Manager of Michael’s Reno Powersports. “Our partnership with the Hangtown Motocross Classic has been a tremendous asset to our continued growth and ultimately helped inspire our racing endeavor. We’re proud to deepen our roots within the powersports community by not only supporting one of the sport’s most iconic events, but by also providing a platform for racers to pursue their dreams on the racetrack.”
Motorsports
DVIDS – News – North Carolina National Guardsmen Driving NASCAR
Raleigh, NC- Very few people can follow their passion while also pursuing what they feel is their purpose. This is what many have found in becoming Soldiers and Airmen in the National Guard. The North Carolina National Guard comprises a diverse group of individuals, including farmers, teachers, construction workers, homemakers, lawyers, doctors, active-duty Soldiers […]

Raleigh, NC- Very few people can follow their passion while also pursuing what they feel is their purpose. This is what many have found in becoming Soldiers and Airmen in the National Guard. The North Carolina National Guard comprises a diverse group of individuals, including farmers, teachers, construction workers, homemakers, lawyers, doctors, active-duty Soldiers and Airmen, and even NASCAR drivers.
U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jayson Alexander, a recent graduate of Queen’s College in Charlotte, was commissioned as a new transportation officer assigned to the NCNG’s 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. He met with U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Wes Morrison, the NCNG Assistant Adjutant General-Maneuver, one week after racing his No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series race held in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Alexander is another example of how diverse and dynamic the NCNG is and how the approximate 10,000 Soldiers and Airmen are uniquely integrated in almost every community across the state. Alexander’s niche is rather exceptional, even for the guard.
“I didn’t start racing until I was 19 years old, much older than most kids did,” Alexander said. “My parents wouldn’t pay for me to race so I started by selling sponsorships for other drivers. I just knew that I always wanted to race, and I followed that.”
Morrison acknowledged how rare this opportunity must have been for Alexander and even reflected on his history with NASCAR, exemplifying how closely knit NASCAR’s history is with North Carolina and the NCNG’s culture.
“I’m actually an old school NASCAR fan,” said Morrison. “I used to would drive back from drill and listen to the races on the radio. It would keep me awake after a hard drill weekend.”
Alexander, a part-time driver, has been in the NCNG since college. As a student, he was in Army ROTC, where he earned his commission and played on the college’s NCAA Division I lacrosse team. This work-life complexity is common for many guardsmen across the U.S., they just can’t claim that their part-time jobs allow them to drive faster than 175 miles per hour, legally.
“I couldn’t compete at a full-time level,” Alexander said. “My coaches were really cool about my split decision and what my commanding officer expected of me. Both (coaches) were really understanding.”
Morrison, who often speaks about how technology modernization is shaping the current operational and tactical landscape for the NCNG and all the military, asked Alexander about how technology is influencing NASCAR. Alexander smiled and explained.
“That’s exactly how my pathway ended up,” Alexander said. “I went straight from the computer, and playing (racing) video games my whole life, to driving. I didn’t ride go-karts when I was growing up or anything like that.”
Alexander explained that just as NASCAR was always his dream, so was being in the military. This spark grew even more when he visited a local base and saw pilots and fighter jets for the first time.
“In middle school, my uncle took me to a military air show for the first time at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.” Alexander said. “I got to meet a pilot, I got to see fighter jets and helicopters, and I was like, o.k., I got to figure out how to make this (being a pilot) a reality.”
Alexander enlisted in the NCNG to pursue the dream of flying but realized that the time and effort it would take to become a pilot might stall his flourishing NASCAR career. He explained that although the dream of being a pilot is on pause for now, his passion to serve remains strong.
“The North Carolina National Guard allows me to continue to pursue my civilian career while serving,” Alexander said. “While I originally envisioned going in the military full time, maybe as a fighter pilot or helicopter pilot, I’m really happy about where I ended up landing and the opportunities that have been afforded me by being in the NCNG.”
Date Taken: | 05.23.2025 |
Date Posted: | 05.30.2025 11:20 |
Story ID: | 499260 |
Location: | RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Hometown: | CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Hometown: | NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Hometown: | RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Web Views: | 47 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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Motorsports
From Winner to Champion, Part 3: Championship Metal
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a seven-part series celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jeff Gordon’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship and the first for Hendrick Motorsports in 1995. Join us each Thursday as we relive all the moments and talk to many of the players involved in one of the organization’s and the sport’s most unforgettable […]

Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a seven-part series celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jeff Gordon’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship and the first for Hendrick Motorsports in 1995. Join us each Thursday as we relive all the moments and talk to many of the players involved in one of the organization’s and the sport’s most unforgettable and important seasons.
For Jon.
CONCORD, N.C. – Throughout the fall and winter of 1994 and into the early parts of 1995, Chad Knaus spent much of his time in Detroit … living like a vampire.
And he was far from alone.
It was all part of an intensive, collaborative effort that brought Chevrolet teams in NASCAR as well as engineers and professionals from General Motors together for a common cause. Knaus, then a fabricator and tire changer on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team, was very hands on in the development of what would turn out to be one of the most successful race cars in the sport’s history: the Generation 4 Chevy Monte Carlo, which would replace the Lumina after the 1994 season.
“I can remember testing, going to the wind tunnel so many times that offseason that I didn’t think the sun ever came up in Detroit,” Knaus said. “Every time I went to Detroit it was cold and snowy and gray and then we would go in and have a 12-hour shift in the wind tunnel, we would arrive when it was dark and leave when it was dark. It was something else. A tremendous amount of work was put into that program that year.”
In the mid-1990s, wind tunnels were fewer and far between than present day. And though GM housed one, research and development for its passenger cars took priority over the racing side, relegating work on racing to any and all time slots that were left over.
Affectionately coined, ‘the zero shift,’ often those hours were from midnight until 8 a.m. Sometimes, there were 16-hour shifts. If there was a waking moment to be had, the group took it.
“One of the most important things to ask in the wind tunnel was, ‘What does everyone like on their pizza?'” recalled Dwight Woodbridge, aerodynamics manager at GM at the time.

Don Taylor, group manager for Chevrolet Racing at the time, also recalled the logistical challenges facing teams that made the journey to Michigan.
“The production car people would commandeer it for the daytime, and we would get the nightshift. Those guys would pile in the truck and come up and get here at nine or 10 at night, so, it was already dark in Detroit and there’d be snow on the ground and they had light jackets if anything,” Taylor said. “I remember they had these little, thin-sole leather shoes, which didn’t do too well in six inches of snow. They thought it would be warmer in the wind tunnel. It wasn’t.”
Cold and tired, yes. But determined, to be sure. And what’s a little adversity in the face of discovery?
The 1995 Chevy Monte Carlo was so many things all at once. Perhaps the pinnacle of manufacture and race team cooperation, the car also signaled the beginning of an end of an era in car building as well. In the years and generations that would follow, cars would become more and more uniform with NASCAR regulations growing ever stricter.
Perhaps part of the reason for those reductions in gray area from stock car racing’s governing body in the years that followed was the success the Gen 4 Monte Carlo would accumulate almost right away.
Undoubtedly, Gordon and the No. 24 team with Ray Evernham atop the pit box was at the forefront of the coming Chevy onslaught.
“That was one of the finest stock cars ever built,” Evernham summarized. “It was the last stock car to ever fit the templates properly and the Hendrick group go out ahead of it. We felt like we were ready to go head-to-head with the best.”
FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION, PART 1: ‘One Hot Night’
Meetings of the minds
In part two of this series, drivers, crew chiefs and others long involved in NASCAR commented on the hesitance of individual race teams to conform to the constructs of team racing.
And if teammates under a shared organizational umbrella had trouble cooperating, cars connected only by a manufacturer’s emblem on the grill were near mortal enemies.
Yet, like it or not, the development of the Chevy Monte Carlo was one catalyst that began to turn the tide of teamwork as team representatives were thrust together inside boardrooms for long periods of time. It was a process, however, that wasn’t without its own growing pains.
“The teams were all operating independently and so, we would pull them together in one room and they’d look at each other like, ‘This is not my friend here,’” Taylor recalled.
“It was another jumping off point for a lot of teams because none of the teams really shared much with each other,” echoed Andy Petree, crew chief for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt. “Even though they were a Chevy team, they were the enemy. But we had to start doing some developing together. We’d go to the wind tunnel and invite other teams and we’d all take some knowledge from that wind tunnel session.”
Petree and all involved realized there was a bigger picture to keep focused on, one worth setting competitive squabbles and on-track incidents aside. At least for a while.
FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION, PART 2: Championship Material

The objective was clear: build the fastest, best race car possible through a collaborative effort among all the Chevrolet race teams and the best and brightest engineers at GM.
Seems simple enough.
Luckily, the teams were given quite a head start as the production Monte Carlo was a much closer resemblance to a race car than its predecessor, the Lumina.
“The Lumina was never intended to be a race car, it was all we had,” said Herb Fishel, executive director of GM racing at the time. “If you just sit and look at the Lumina vs. the Monte Carlo, the Monte Carlo is a pretty sporty looking car. The idea of racing a car and having something in the show room that resembled it, that idea had germinated with our design staff years before it ever became a car in 1995.”
Yet, there were plenty of challenges facing the group as it looked to take an albeit, “sporty” production Monte Carlo and create a Cup Series winning race car from it, specifically harnessing the latest advances in aerodynamics. The biggest of which being the idea of just how married to the showroom vehicle stock cars still had to be.
The landscape was changing and the team sensed it.
“It was probably the end of an era,” Fishel said. “Everything that came after that was highly modified. By then, the legitimacy of the term, ‘stock car’ had been diminishing for years and I think the story really ended as far as that terminology goes with the ’95 Monte Carlo. It was the last variation of a believable stock car from what you bought in the show room versus what you saw on the race track.
“We were just a good team. We had a lot of smart guys. Racing at that time was becoming a collaborative thing and we were good at that.”
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‘Renegades and bottom feeders’
By the time 1994 rolled around, Terry Laise had been with GM for over two decades and played an integral part in bringing several iterations of Chevrolet race cars to life including the Monte Carlo SS in the early 1980s.
Responsible for aerodynamics on the ’95 Monte Carlo, Laise had a pretty simple view of what teams were looking for out of a new race car.
“We wanted the best lift/drag ratio you could come up with, meaning that it would be fast and still go around the corners,” Laise explained. “We wanted to have the ability to maximize the downforce at the expense of drag, in some instances.”
With the production car set and clear goals in mind for the race car, the real work began.
“On a race car, time is a lot shorter than on production cars. You’ve got a year maybe at most but back in Detroit, it’s a little longer because you know what you’re coming out with whether it’s a new Monte Carlo, new Lumina, whatever,” Woodbridge explained. “We would get clay molds going before teams had seen anything. We had a couple of guys that were magicians in terms of working with clay and getting shapes right. Once you’ve got that process figured out, you take it to the teams and say, ‘OK, we need to start doing this.'”
According to Petree, that’s where RCR came in.
1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo specs | |
---|---|
Wheelbase: | 110 inches |
Length: | 205 inches |
Width: | 64 inches |
Height: | 51 inches |
Track: | 60 inches |
Ground clearance: | 3.5 inches |
Weight: | 3,400 lbs |
Distribution: | 52% front, 48% rear |
Braces and cage: | Round tube |
Front suspension: | Independent A-arm |
Rear suspension: | Full floating axle and hub |
Steering: | Power heavy-duty worm and pinion |
Brakes: | Four-wheel disc |
Wheels: | 9.5×15 inches |
Tires: | 12×15 inches |
Engine type: | Chevrolet V-8 |
Displacement: | 358 cubic inches |
Compression: | 14:1 |
Carburetion: | 750 cfm 4-barrel Holley |
Horsepower: | 700 @ 8,000 rpm |
Torque: | 520 lbs @ 6,200 rpm |
Transmission type: | 4-speed GM manual |
Fuel capacity: | 22 gallons |
Oil system: | 16 quarts |
Cooling system: | 14 quarts |
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“At RCR we were tapped by GM to build the first one,” Petree recalled. “The way that process went, the streetcar version of a Monte Carlo, we were able to get full-size print of the profiles of the car and cut accurate templates off of them. We got all the body panels and started putting it together.
“Basically, on the bumpers, we fabricated a valance on it. They’d make the fenders and the deck lid stock, but the rear bumper had to be shaped with taillights. We got the whole thing finished and rolled it out there and took it from there to be scanned in Detroit. Then a scale, wind tunnel model was made from that scan. That wind tunnel model is still in my shop.”
Long before the ensuing hours, days, weeks and months spent in Detroit, the group had a clear vision on certain features of the car in order optimize it aerodynamically. And in conjunction with the cooperation fostered throughout the process, even the production side made concessions along the way, according to Taylor.
“We got together with the styling group early in the development of this car and we said, ‘One of the features we’d like was this squared-off, rear edge of the bumper – a vertical square edge,’ and they actually put it into production,” Taylor said. “And there were some changes on the roof, so they contributed directly to the success of the car.”
“The production car we started with was good aerodynamically. So, it was easy to do the thing you had to do that we knew from previous cars,” Laise expanded. “We learned a lot of the things we needed to know from the earlier Monte Carlo and the Lumina. They understood what was needed from the very beginning.”
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From there, the grind commenced, sleepless nights in the wind tunnel with every sheet metal curvature, hard corner and indentation under the magnifying glass.
Adjustments would be made, tested in the wind tunnel, tweaked again, tested again and eventually, taken to the GM Proving Grounds facility in Mesa, Arizona to be put to the test in real conditions.
“The policy at that time was that none of that was supposed to be happening,” Fishel said. “GM operated under secrecy and those sessions were clandestine because of policy. Overall, at the company, the priority was production work and production cars. The racing group, we were kind of renegades and bottom feeders in a sense. Whenever the time window came up, it didn’t matter whether it was in Mesa or the GM wind tunnel, we took the spot. If it was two in the morning, that’s when the team would show up with the car and that’s when we used it.”
Hours and days ran together, but the labor was bearing fruit. Knaus recalled a test session at Texas World Speedway, a now-defunct 2-mile oval in College Station, Texas, that served as a key catalyst toward the build of future-race-winning Monte Carlos in the No. 24 stable.
“We tested there and it was really fast,” Knaus said. “We went to that test and that car had skull and crossbones on the hood, which was really cool. And yeah, we ended up building some really good cars.”
One of those is the famed Hendrick Motorsports chassis No. 2411, affectionately known as, “Blacker”. The car would become the most successful Chevy to ever run under the Hendrick Motorsports banner with Gordon driving it to victory lane 12 times from 1995-1999. It’s now on display in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“That car was an aerodynamic step change for us,” Knaus said. “We needed something new from the Lumina and we were pushing further forward and were able to get it.”
Yet, the process wasn’t without its hiccups.
“I can’t remember which team, but we had the full-length template for the car and we fired up the wind tunnel and the template went flying down the tunnel and it just made a mess,” Woodbridge laughed. “It’s kind of one of those things you always remember. It was, ‘Oh my god, we just broke the wind tunnel.’ It was a $20,000 mistake.”
At times, the process was slow and laborious. Crew chiefs and teams would provide feedback from test sessions and GM engineers would go back to the drawing board, making minor modifications and then call a meeting of the minds in Detroit to consider feedback and offer updates.
And near the forefront of it all was Evernham, a crew chief who would reach rarified air over the back half of the decade, largely with outside-the-box thinking and methodology as well a relentless pursuit of perfection.
Obviously, the days weren’t always fun. Some were long, others seemed never ending. But the aura of teamwork guided the group through, and small gestures went a long way to ensure that spirit remained.
“I will say, Ray is a very particular guy, but the thing that’s so cool about Ray, is sometime later you’d get a piece of mail, and it was a, ‘Thank You’ card from him for doing some test and that always meant a ton,” Woodbridge said. “When I got one, when anybody else got them, the guys would always remember that.”
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Rick Hendrick makes his pitch
Between General Motors and the personnel involved from Chevrolet NASCAR teams, there was no shortage of engineering knowledge and technical acumen when it came to building the 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
But all of that research and building would have been for naught if NASCAR had not signed off on it. One of the things those interviewed for this story romanticized about the most was the relative freedom, or wiggle room, there was within the rules at that time. There was some creativity allowed.
“That was an era when divisions were allowed to develop cars, so, NASCAR was not so involved in stipulating everything, designing everything, engineering everything and there was freedom for Ford, Chevy, Dodge and others,” Fishel said. “It was up to the engineers and ingenuity to build the best car and bring it to the track.”
Yet, Bill France Jr., NASCAR chief executive officer at the time, as well as Gary Nelson, director of the then-Winston-Cup Series and newly hired chief operating officer, Mike Helton, were still determined to keep as level of a playing field as possible in the interest of competition. Anything the GM group came up with had to stay within the rules, passing the sniff test of NASCAR’s brass.
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“You had to look at the rules and put together a car that met the rules and you had to work in between the rules,” Laise said. “Back in those days, there was a lot more working in between the rules than there is today.
“My recollection is, we selected Hendrick Motorsports as the team to build our submission car. We built a car and we would submit it to NASCAR and say, ‘This is what we want,’ and they’d make the judgment on whether or not they were willing to accept it.”
“There were a lot of discussions with NASCAR,” Woodbridge added. “You’d say, ‘OK, this is what we want to do. What are the procedures to get this thing through the wind tunnel without upsetting them too much?’ There is no question that would happen. You would just try to pick your battles.”
All remembered a particular battle, one that involved the Monte Carlo’s rear fascia.
“The rear bumper, the fascia, that was improved on the car, and it was something we knew from the wind tunnel that the wider and squarer it was, even departing from production, the better off we would be,” Taylor said.
There was no doubt to the team that the rear fascia, one that performed supremely in terms of aerodynamics, was a sticking point. It was nonnegotiable.
But when it came time to convince NASCAR, well, that’s when one of the world’s best businessmen stepped up with an idea that quickly came to the minds of all that were there. Even if a few of the details may vary.
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“And so, we had NASCAR come here to one of the Hendrick garages, I believe,” Taylor said. “So, Bill France Jr. came in there and Mike Helton and Gary Nelson, they came in there and we had the car, and we had two different rear ends molded up to fit on the car. We had a less aggressive one and a really aggressive one and it was the less aggressive one that we really wanted.
“So, Rick Hendrick said, ‘Put the real aggressive one on there. Show that to NASCAR.’ Of course, NASCAR sees it and says, ‘Woah, that’s too much.’ And he said, ‘Well, I guess we could do with this other one over here,’ which is obviously the one we really wanted. And they agreed as a ‘compromise.’ Rick being the salesman he is, sold them on the rear bumper fascia that we wanted all along.”
While his salesmanship was a key piece to the puzzle, and the overall success of that race car would finally help lead Hendrick Motorsports to a championship breakthrough after 11 years in NASCAR, its development still wasn’t the most important thing to him. The most meaningful thing to Hendrick was the group of people involved.
Those who sacrificed time and dedicated themselves to the creation of a car that would change the sport forever.
“The car was part of it, but it always came down to the people,” Hendrick said. “Our group poured themselves into learning that car. There wasn’t a magic trick. It was just a relentless effort from everyone to get better. That mindset is what made the difference, not just the sheet metal.”
‘Hit the track running’: 1995 and beyond
Thirty years later, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo developed ahead of the 1995 season stands as a testament of human collaboration, ingenuity and drive. Its success was immediate and overwhelming.
The car looked incredible. It drove even better.
“Overall, that was the most excellent car we did,” Laise said. “Just everything came out right.”
Counting the Clash and both Daytona Duels, a Chevrolet went to victory lane in each of the first 10 races of 1995. It would go on to win 21 of 31 races that season and from 1995-1998, the Monte Carlo won 66 of 128 Cup Series events and all four championships, three for Gordon, one for Labonte (1996).
Unsurprisingly, the car was met with rave reviews by Chevy drivers.

“I remember that was one of the best cars that I think we’d ever had or that Chevy ever had,” Labonte said. “I can remember week after week the Ford guys crying about this and crying about that. I know NASCAR had to make some concessions for Ford.”
Indeed, France Jr. still had a sport to run and facilitating competition only improved the product. And obviously, the going wasn’t nearly as easy or as fun on the Ford side of things in the early part of that year.
“Sure, we were out there, campaigning for our camp but it was clearly a great race car,” said Mark Martin, driver of the No. 6 Ford at the time. “It was frustrating for us because we felt like Chevrolet did that car to be a race car. That’s how we felt and that’s what it looked like. Ford was not engaged enough in motorsports to do something like that. To shape the Thunderbird into being a better race car. You had to give props to GM and Chevrolet for doing that but also had to remember that they had pretty incredible teams with Gordon and Ray coming of age and of course with Earnhardt and Childress.”
Laise shared a story of a particular such meeting with France as concessions were gradually made.
“At Atlanta that year, on Saturday evening, I was watching final practice on top of Richard Childress’ trailer,” Laise said. “Gary Nelson came to the bottom of the trailer and said, ‘Mr. France asked me to drive you to the hotel, he wants to talk to you.’ And that was unheard of.
“But he explained to me that the sport couldn’t withstand Ford not being competitive and he was approving changes for the Ford. And it kind of went that way – (Ford) won their share of races the rest of the year and so did (Chevrolet). It was a big change but, whatever. My attitude was always, ‘What is, is,’ and you’ve got to deal with what is.”
To Martin’s point, and what is the overarching theme when it comes to the 1995 season, it was a confluence of factors coming together at the right time to make the year so special and successful for Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and the sport itself.
RELATED: Hendrick Motorsports honors fallen soldiers during Coke 600
Three of the first six races of the season went to Gordon, serving as an early and loud warning shot to the rest of the field that just maybe, the No. 24 team had arrived as a championship threat a little before most thought it was ready. Pairing Gordon’s great and rapidly developing talent and Evernham’s cunning, inventiveness and tenacity with a brand new, aerodynamically groundbreaking hot rod was a combination that would rule the sport with an iron fist until the arrival of the new millennium.
“The timing was great for Jeff and this car was just an amazing car at the time,” Fishel said. “If you look at the debut of that particular car versus all the cars after it, particularly the new generation cars, that car hit the track running and had little difficulty … other than NASCAR’s challenge to slow it down.”
Gordon, of course, wasn’t the only beneficiary and with the car surging during an era in which NASCAR was peaking in terms of popularity, the 1995 Monte Carlo has long been imprinted on the minds of fans who’ve been around the sport since.
“Those were classic cars, visually,” Taylor said. “They looked good, they had that smooth front end and smooth surface headlights and they became iconic because teams back then had the same sponsor. The No. 24 rainbow car, the No. 3 car, the No. 5 car with Kellogg’s on the hood, those are iconic.”
The Gen 4 Monte Carlo ushered in an era of change, and the sport has continued its evolution since, with rules packages and regulations becoming stricter and cars across manufacturer lines becoming more and more similar.

And in fairness, there were reasons for that. Safety, especially in the wake of Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the 2001 DAYTONA 500, became the unquestioned priority in car building. Of course, as the years have gone, manufacturers, teams and NASCAR have also become more financially efficient.
“We spent a ton of money doing wind tunnel work and testing using high-tech equipment – we’re to blame for the fact that the sport got so expensive,” Woodbridge said. “We’re to blame for NASCAR coming down and saying, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ We were always trying something.
“The lesson is, don’t give a bunch of creative guys free reign to do something.”
RELATED: Jon Edwards honored by FOX with “Byrnsie Award”
But the ’95 Monte Carlo will always serve as a testament to what that kind of creativity and free reign can produce. Woodbridge hopes it will forever be a reminder that the science behind the sport far exceeds any kind of unfair reputation from the outside world.
“There are so many cool memories. I would say that on a per-hour income level, I barely made more than a floor sweeper,” Woodbridge concluded. “But from a pride standpoint and just having a rewarding career in that era and realizing in that era that you’re participating in the fastest growing sport on the planet was just amazing.
“It’s interesting. Some people would say, ‘In NASCAR all they do is go around in circles.’ I don’t think they quite grasp the concept that in the garage, there are more PhDs at one time than anywhere else in the world. There’s a bunch of brilliant people working really hard in that garage to make that show go on.”
Motorsports
Kevin Harvick predicts winner of Nashville NASCAR race
This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to “Music City.” It’s the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the 14th points race of the 2025 season. FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick submitted his pick to win during this week’s “Happy Hour” podcast. Harvick is going with Denny Hamlin to end up in Victory Lane. Hamlin […]

This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to “Music City.” It’s the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the 14th points race of the 2025 season.
FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick submitted his pick to win during this week’s “Happy Hour” podcast. Harvick is going with Denny Hamlin to end up in Victory Lane.
Hamlin has shown speed in four starts at Nashville. He qualified on the pole this past season and in 2022 and has two top 10s at the 1.33-mile oval. It would be a good time for Hamlin to win, coming off a string of disappointing results. Despite having two victories this season, he’s gone five consecutive races without a top 10 finish.
Hamlin had a fast car in last Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But during the Lap 348 pit stop, Hamlin’s team failed to get enough fuel into his No. 11 Toyota, meaning he had to come back down pit road on Lap 389, forfeiting his P3 position. That was it for Hamlin. All that speed and nothing to show for it. He finished 16th.
NASCAR heads to Nashville; who will win?
Will his fortune turn around in Nashville? Harvick thinks so, though his co-hosts are thinking different. Kaitlyn Vincie is betting on Chase Elliott. The 2020 Cup champion hasn’t won since last spring at Texas Motor Speedway. Elliott, however, continues to grind his way to top-10 finishes. He’s got seven this season, despite leading only 76 laps. Elliott won at Nashville in 2022.
Mamba Smith‘s selection is a bit bolder. He believes Nashville will be the site of Carson Hocevar‘s first career Cup win.
“I’m going with Carson Hocevar,” Smith said. “I kind of talked myself into it because Spire was good there last year, he’s been on a heater, coming off a blown engine on probably his best race of his career. Things are going right.”
Hocevar has speed in his No. 77 Chevrolet. He ran up front with Hamlin and William Byron at Charlotte before blowing up on Lap 308. If Hocevar continues to be fast, a win will come eventually.
Motorsports
2025 Spanish Grand Prix odds, picks, grid, start time: Formula 1 predictions, best bets from proven model
The 2025 Spanish Grand Prix will be held on Sunday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ,and after eight races it’s looking like it will be a three-way title race in Formula 1 this season. McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are separated by three points atop the F1 standings after Norris won in Monaco. Four-time […]

The 2025 Spanish Grand Prix will be held on Sunday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ,and after eight races it’s looking like it will be a three-way title race in Formula 1 this season. McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are separated by three points atop the F1 standings after Norris won in Monaco. Four-time defending world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing is 25 points behind Piastri on the lead. The latest 2025 Spanish Grand Prix odds from DraftKings list Piastri and Norris as +175 co-favorites ,while Verstappen is at +330. Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls is coming off an improbable sixth-place finish at Monaco, but you can still find him at +1000 to finish top six in the latest F1 prop odds.
The lights for the race go out at 9 a.m. ET, and the race is scheduled for 66 laps around the 14-turn, 2.894-mile circuit. Before analyzing the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix starting grid and making any Formula 1 picks, be sure to check out the latest 2025 Spanish GP predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. It’s had a strong history of betting success in motorsports, correctly predicting 21 NASCAR winners since the 2021 season and its projected leaderboards have forecasted winners across multiple racing formats.
The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021 as well. It nailed 10 victories across the 2021 and 2022 seasons and then forecasted Verstappen’s rise to prominence by calling all 19 of Verstappen’s wins during the 2023 season and each of his first seven wins in 2024.
It went on to predict Norris as a +200 winner in the Netherlands, a +190 winner in Singapore and a +250 winner in Abu Dhabi later in 2024 before projecting Norris for a +185 win at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix and then a -150 win at Monaco. It also called Piastri’s wins in Bahrain (-275) and Saudi Arabia (-105) this season, and has now called 33 of the last 52 winners dating back to 2023. Anyone who followed the model’s lead on those plays at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns. New users also have the opportunity to take advantage of the latest FanDuel promo code, DraftKings promo code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
Now, the model has dialed in on the 2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. You can head to SportsLine now to see the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix projected leaderboard.
Top 2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix predictions
One surprise: The model is backing Carlos Sainz (+225) as the top finisher excluding cars from Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Aston Martin. The model correctly predicted that his Williams teammate Alex Albon would earn this distinction two weeks ago at Imola and now it’s Sainz’s turn after four consecutive points finishes.
Circuit de Catalunya hasn’t yielded a podium yet in his career, but Sainz has earned points in each of his 10 starts in the Spanish Grand Prix. Williams has now put both of their cars in the points in each of its last four races and Albon even has a trio of top-five finishes, so we know that Sainz and Williams will have the speed to be highly competitive in Spain on Sunday. See more 2025 Spanish Grand Prix picks right here.
How to make 2025 Spanish Grand Prix picks
The model has revealed its win prediction and is also targeting a driver going off with double-digit odds to make a surprising surge up the 2025 Spanish GP leaderboard. Anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can find out who he is, and see all of the model’s F1 picks and predictions, at SportsLine.
So who wins the Spanish Grand Prix 2025, and which stunning longshot charges toward the front? Check out the latest 2025 F1 odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2025 Spanish Grand Prix leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed 33 of the 52 winners in Formula 1 since the start of 2023, and find out.
2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix odds, contenders
See F1 Spanish Grand Prix picks at SportsLine.
(odds subject to change)
Oscar Piastri +175
Lando Norris +175
Max Verstappen +330
George Russell +1400
Charles Leclerc +1400
Lewis Hamilton +2500
Andrea Kimi Antonelli +3500
Yuki Tsunoda +15000
Carlos Sainz +15000
Alex Albon +15000
Pierre Gasly +20000
Isack Hadjar +20000
Fernando Alonso +20000
Oliver Bearman +25000
Liam Lawson +25000
Lance Stroll +25000
Franco Colapinto +25000
Esteban Ocon +25000
Nico Hulkenberg +30000
Gabriel Bortoleto +30000
Motorsports
May NASCAR Cup Power Rankings: Kyle Larson holds top spot for another month
Here is a look at the top drivers in May. May Power Rankings 1. Kyle Larson (Last month 1st) While his attempt to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day fizzled after crashes in both races, one shouldn’t overlook the month Larson had in NASCAR. He won […]

Here is a look at the top drivers in May.
May Power Rankings
1. Kyle Larson (Last month 1st)
While his attempt to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day fizzled after crashes in both races, one shouldn’t overlook the month Larson had in NASCAR. He won at Kansas from the pole and finished fourth at Texas. He finished the month with one Cup victory, three stage wins and one bonus point for the fastest lap in a race. He led a series-high 345 laps in the three points races in May and ranked second for the month in stage points at 38. Larson ranked second in points scored in the month at 112.
Kyle Larson earned his third Cup victory of the season.
2. Christopher Bell (NR)
He won the All-Star Race and and finished in the top 10 in each of the three points races in the month, placing ninth at Texas, second at Kansas and eighth in the Coca-Cola 600. That helped Bell score the most points of the month with 118. Bell ranked fifth for the month in stage points scored at 26. The area he was lacking was in leading laps. He led only eight laps in the three points races (he led 28 of 250 laps in the All-Star Race).
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver earned his first All-Star Race victory.
3. William Byron (2nd)
Byron ranked third in points scored in the month at 110. He had one top-10 finish in the three points races, placing second in the Coca-Cola 600. He had three stage wins in the month — all in the 600. Byron finished May tied for second with Kyle Larson in stage points scored at 38. Byron ranked second for the month in laps led at 305.
Two-time Daytona 500 winner is ranked second in the points heading into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
4. Ross Chastain (NR)
The Coca-Cola 600 winner also scored a runner-up finish at Texas. He placed 20th at Kansas in the month’s other points race. Chastain also was third in the All-Star Race. He was one of only four drivers to top 100 points for the month. He had 104 in May.
Team members worked nearly through the night to prepare Ross Chastain’s backup car, which took him to victory in the Coca-Cola 600.
5. Joey Logano (NR)
He won at Texas and finished runner-up in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Logano also was ninth at Kansas. He ranked sixth in points scored in May with 92.
Joey Logano said of how Bell raced him: “When I went back and re-watched it, I was like, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.”
Those outside the top five
Chase Elliott — He finished fifth in the series for points scored in May with 98. Elliott had one top-10 finish in the three points races in May, placing sixth in the Coca-Cola 600. He was 15th at Kansas and 16th at Texas.
Tyler Reddick — He ranked first in stage points scored in May with 42 and was seventh in total points scored in May with 89. His best finish in a points race in May was 17th at Kansas.
Points scored in May 2025
118 — Christopher Bell
112 — Kyle Larson
110 — William Byron
104 — Ross Chastain
98 — Chase Elliott
92 — Joey Logano
89 — Tyler Reddick
87 — Ryan Blaney
79 — Chase Briscoe
79 — John Hunter Nemechek
78 — Ryan Preece
76 — Josh Berry
75 — Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
74 — Chris Buescher
70 — Todd Gilliland
65 — Erik Jones
62 — Austin Dillon
60 — Austin Cindric
59 — Alex Bowman
58 — Noah Gragson
58 — Michael McDowell
56 — Kyle Busch
55 — Shane van Gisbergen
53 — Denny Hamlin
53 — Carson Hocevar
51 — AJ Allmendinger
47 — Brad Keselowski
46 — Cole Custer
45 — Ty Dillon
45 — Zane Smith
42 — Riley Herbst
39 — Ty Gibbs
35 — Justin Haley
31 — Daniel Suarez
26 — Cody Ware
16 — Bubba Wallace
Highlights: NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas
Watch highlights from the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Stage points scored in May 2025
42 — Tyler Reddick
38 — Kyle Larson
38 — William Byron
30 — Denny Hamlin
26 — Christopher Bell
25 — Carson Hocevar
24 — Chase Elliott
18 — Ryan Blaney
17 — Alex Bowman
16 — Austin Cindric
16 — AJ Allmendinger
15 — Josh Berry
13 — John Hunter Nemechek
11 — Chris Buescher
12 — Ryan Preece
10 — Ross Chastain
6 — Bubba Wallace
5 — Noah Gragson
5 — Brad Keselowski
4 — Joey Logano
4 — Erik Jones
3 — Zane Smith
3 — Ty Gibbs
3 — Michael McDowell
2 — Chase Briscoe
1 — Kyle Busch
Highlights: NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas
Relive a chaotic NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Laps led in May 2025
345 — Kyle Larson
305 — William Byron
60 — Austin Cindric
56 — Denny Hamlin
41 — Josh Berry
31 — Chase Elliott
28 — Carson Hocevar
19 — Michael McDowell
8 — Ross Chastain
8 — Christopher Bell
8 — Joey Logano
6 — Ty Gibbs
5 — Brad Keselowski
4 — Ty Dillon
4 — Todd Gilliland
3 — Alex Bowman
2 — Ryan Blaney
2 — Tyler Reddick
1 — Kyle Busch
1 — Chase Briscoe
1 — John Hunter Nemechek
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