Motorsports
Jeff Gordon On Hendrick Motorsports’ Success This Season And New Partnership With Phorm Energy
Jeff Gordon gives his thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports’ start to the season along with why they’re … More partnering with Phorm Energy. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images) Getty Images Jeff Gordon is obviously revered as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, but he’s making an impact these days as the vice chairman […]

Jeff Gordon gives his thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports’ start to the season along with why they’re … More
Getty Images
Jeff Gordon is obviously revered as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, but he’s making an impact these days as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.
The 53-year-old raced full-time for 23 years for Hendrick Motorsports and now he’s part of the team that’s consistently leading the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Hendrick Motorsports features William Byron – who won the Daytona 500 this season for the second time – Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman.
Entering this weekend’s NASCAR race at Mexico City, Larson is at the top of the standings with 535 points and three wins, while Byron ranks fourth, Elliott ranks 10th and Bowman ranks 15th.
That same four-driver team has been together since 2021 and they’re the most well-rounded team in NASCAR today, with their drivers consistently ranking at the top of the standings.
“It’s been a solid start,” says Gordon in a one-on-one interview. “We’ve been going to victory lane with two of our cars winning the Daytona 500 but we’ve been top 10 all year long, with all four. It’s been good, but we’re never content with that. We’ve got to always ramp up and push the envelope to get better.”
We’re only a little more than halfway through the season, with 11 more races left in the regular season and the playoff schedule starting at the end of August in Darlington.
Gordon stresses the importance of performing well in entering the stretch run of the season, which will culminate in the final race of the playoffs at Phoenix Raceway in November.
“With our new playoff system, where it comes down to 10 races in that final race in Phoenix this year, that’s the goal,” says Gordon. “You’ve got to constantly be improving in getting yourself in position. When those playoffs start, you’re peaking, you’re at your best when those last 10 races come. I feel like we have more work to do, but we’re in a really good position.”
Hendrick Motorsports Partners With Phorm Energy For Primary Sponsorship Of William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports is obviously seen as the cream of the crop when it comes to teams in NASCAR, as its the winningest team in the sports history.
There are no shortage of sponsors for the team, with Hendrick Motorsports partnering with Cincinnati Incorporated, Liberty University, Axalta, Valvoline and Raptor High Heat this season for Byron’s car this season. You can add another one to the list as Hendrick Motorsports is partnering with 1st Phorm’s “Phorm Energy,” which will include primary sponsorship starting in the 2026 season.
Phorm Energy is a new energy drink released this year as a result of Anheuser-Busch and 1st Phorm teaming up together. 1st Phorm is a nutrition and supplement company also based in Missouri, close to Anheuscer-Busch’s headquarters. UFC CEO and president Dana White is also invested in the brand.
The partnership will see primary sponsorship from Phorm Energy of Byron for six races during the 2026 season, which means branding on fire suits, helmets and fueler gear. It also means branding in Hendrick Motorsports’ new 35,000 square-foot athletic center when it opens next season.
“What’s cool about this, it’s the beginning of not just a partnership, but launching this brand, and we want to be a big part of that and contribute to its success,” says Gordon of partnering with Phorm Energy. “We think that it has endless opportunities. We look at this as a long-term partnership at Hendrick Motorsports.”
Phorm Energy’s “Screamin’ Freedom” energy drink.
1st Phorm
Gordon details what led to the partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and 1st Phorm’s Phorm Energy.
“We have incredible athletes, not just behind the wheels of the cars, drivers, but our pit crews, and we’ve been really looking for the right partner at Hendrick Motorsports that really fits well with our brand,” says Gordon. “Ford came on for our friendship with Brendan Whitworth (Anheuser-Bush CEO) and we’ve been trying to figure out what’s a good way where we can get to do a good partnership.
“He calls me one day, and says, ‘I think I got the one here,’ and as soon as you start hearing about it it’s like, ‘This is the perfect fit for us,’” Gordon continues to say. “It’s about how our athletes train with purpose, and that’s exactly what 1st Phorm is all about. It’s obviously exciting partnering with a company like Anheuser-Busch and 1st Phorm that’s going to really take this brand to another level, and we’re excited to be part of that.”
A big part of the partnership is not just putting the drivers at the forefront, it’s also about showcasing the pit crews and their efforts behind the scenes.
“Our athletes, you’re going to see more and more about that storyline coming out with behind the scenes, of the discipline that they have, the commitment that they have, the work ethic if they have what it takes to train and be at the elite level,” says Gordon. “From a pit crew standpoint, these guys have college football backgrounds, professional football backgrounds, and they’re a critical part of our success on the racetrack.
“Finding the right partner that is going to work with them and help them be even better and be a part of the branding behind that is super exciting,” Gordon continues to say. “I love our athletes, I love their personalities, and they’re super pumped about having Phorm Energy on board.”
Jeff Gordon On William Byron: ‘We Are Heavily Invested In His Future’
The 27-year-old Byron has finished in third in the final NASCAR Cup Series standings in back-to-back years. Gordon says he and Hendrick Motorsports is “heavily invested” in his future and calls him an “incredible” race car driver.
“Incredible race car driver, champion from the XFINITY series, and ever since he came to Hendrick, the talent is shown here,” says Gordon. “He’s got a great team surrounding him as well, two-time Daytona 500 champion. He’s been gaining the points this year. This guy has a long career, we just signed him to a new contract for four more years after this. Obviously we are heavily invested in his future, and I think he’s a future champion. If not this year, in the coming years.”
Motorsports
Corey LaJoie’s Amazon Prime gig may have put him on new NASCAR path
Dale Earnhardt Jr. debuts as NASCAR crew chief, turns to TNT on TV The guys break down Chase Briscoe’s win and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief debut at Pocono. They also review the five-week Amazon Prime Video stint. Corey LaJoie, a NASCAR Cup Series driver, recently finished a stint as a broadcaster for Amazon Prime’s […]


Dale Earnhardt Jr. debuts as NASCAR crew chief, turns to TNT on TV
The guys break down Chase Briscoe’s win and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief debut at Pocono. They also review the five-week Amazon Prime Video stint.
- Corey LaJoie, a NASCAR Cup Series driver, recently finished a stint as a broadcaster for Amazon Prime’s NASCAR coverage.
- He reflects on a near-win at Atlanta in 2022 and a missed opportunity driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
- LaJoie is content with his broadcasting role and selectively pursuing racing opportunities in the Truck Series.
Corey LaJoie is a race-car driver again.
For a while there, he traded in the firesuit for TV duds and joined the maiden NASCAR voyage of Amazon Prime Video, which ended its five-week midseason run last weekend at Pocono.
He’s a good talker and the camera likes him, so maybe his NASCAR destiny will include a microphone instead of a steering wheel. After some 25 years of sawing on that wheel and climbing the ladder, only to reach the upper rungs and stall, he seems fine with the possibility.
LaJoie started racing karts at age 5 and progressed through the normal types of cars and tracks, winning often enough along the way to keep the dream alive.
Unlike some young racers, LaJoie was always comfortable and familiar with the landscape atop the stock-car world. His dad, Randy, was a two-time champion (1996-97) in the Busch Series (now Xfinity) and a 15-time winner on that circuit.
Ironically, the second-generation LaJoie spent almost no time in the Xfinity Series, instead landing a job at the Cup level in 2017. He spent four seasons with three different teams that were going nowhere fast, before moving to upstart Spire Motorsports in 2021 and seeing some glimmers of hope with that upstart team, particularly at Daytona and Talladega.
The closest he came to a breakthrough was the 2022 summer race at Atlanta, where he lost the lead to Chase Elliott on the next-to-last lap, then got into the wall while attempting to retake the lead on the final lap.
The Spire relationship ended late last season when the team basically “traded” LaJoie to Rick Ware Racing for Justin Haley. LaJoie played out the season and, along the way, started meeting with officials from Amazon Prime’s new NASCAR broadcast team.
He was part of the pre-race and post-race shows alongside Carl Edwards and Danielle Trotta. But he hasn’t sold the helmet and has cobbled together a limited racing schedule this year, including several late-season Truck Series races.
LaJoie and wife Kelly live outside Charlotte, in Davidson, N.C. They have three sons, ages 1 to 5.
Here, LaJoie covers a lot of ground, particularly on the topic of reaching one goal (the Cup Series) but not another (doing well at that level), and how bittersweet it can be. Also, he tells us about the one phone call every driver wants to receive sometime in their career — the call that led to his very short-lived career on the other side of the tracks.
Corey LaJoie on his new NASCAR job with Amazon Prime Video
News-Journal: When and how did the deal come about with Amazon Prime Video?
Corey LaJoie: “I think it was around last October. My career was going through some transitions, and I wasn’t really happy with how things were shaping up. I was just kinda burned out on chasing the ghost and trying to be a race-car driver. They offered me a really enticing deal, and I think anything the Prime group touches … they do it at a high level. Getting in on the front side of that was important to me.
“Talking to my wife, she was the one forcing me into that open door when I was probably a little too stubborn to walk through it myself. But it’s ultimately become one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.”
Corey LaJoie on what he remembers from his dad’s racing career
N-J: How much do you remember of your dad’s racing career?
LaJoie: “Some of my favorite memories were probably on the back side of my dad’s career — I was 9, 10, 11 — it was when dad’s good driving opportunities started to dry up. My favorite memories were going on motorhome trips, seeing the country. We’d just load up in the motorhome and be gone for two months.”
N-J: Were you old enough to remember your dad’s Buckshot Jones feud in the late-’90s?
LaJoie: “Oh yeah. I think it was around ’97 or ’98, I was about 6. They got into it at Bristol. I remember us being escorted out in a police golf cart, and fans were throwing beers at us. I was thinking, ‘Man, this is wild. Why are they throwing (stuff) at my dad.’
“People would send some Buckshot stuff to him every now and then, and my dad would throw it right in the trash. My dad isn’t one to hold a grudge, but there’s one person on Earth he does not like, nor does he ever care to put any work into a working relationship, and that’s Buckshot Jones.”
Corey LaJoie on his own NASCAR Cup Series career
N-J: During your Cup career, how difficult was it to keep showing up every week knowing your car was outclassed by the cars from Hendrick, Gibbs, Penske, etc.?
LaJoie: “Ah man, that’s a good question. I spent legitimately six years … I couldn’t make the amount of money that I made doing anything else. But you trade money for stress. When you dedicate your life to something … I had grown up and been successful and won races in every series I did, then you get to Sundays and you’re handicapped by what you’re driving. It eats away at your soul, because you’re apparently a competitive guy who wants to go run good. But on the contrary, you’re in a situation where you can’t, within reason.
“But I also feel the Lord shuts doors that are meant to be shut, and vice versa. There were two distinct opportunities I turned down to stay loyal to Spire and continue to build. And there’s this weird situation as a race-car driver, when you commit to build something, you commit to knowing you’re going to be a guinea pig. The cars aren’t gonna be any good, people are gonna be in and out leapfrogging for jobs. So the performance isn’t going to be there.
“So you work … you’re starting to build this car to ultimately where you want it, then you run good enough to where it’s appealing for someone else to come buy your job.”
N-J: You ever consider how much that changed everything in your life?
LaJoie: “I haven’t lost a wink of sleep about it, because if that deal doesn’t dissolve, then this opportunity with Prime doesn’t come, you know, and doesn’t really open up what the next chapter of life might look like … More time at home with my kids, or just a little bit more peace and commitment, not banging your head against the wall, trying to chase whatever goal you have as a race-car driver that you’re never gonna be able to accomplish.”
N-J: You ever wonder how your career might’ve changed if you had won that Atlanta race in 2022?
LaJoie: “Yeah, who knows? I probably spend more time thinking about that opportunity with the 9 car, when I got to fill in for Chase (Elliott). We went to a place where I wasn’t very confident, at Gateway. We’d blown up there the year before and didn’t get to run many laps. Hendrick (Motorsports) was off all weekend, and it was just a bad weekend, and we ran 20th or 21st.
“You legitimately work your entire life as a race-car driver to get a call from Rick Hendrick, and I got it. I actually missed the call, but he left a voicemail, and I still get to listen to that every now and then, which is cool. If we go to Dover or Bristol or somewhere where I have a lot of confidence, I have no doubt we could’ve contended for the win.
“I’m a pretty religious guy. Sometimes the answer of ‘no’ is for your own protection. Who knows what direction life would’ve gone after that.”
N-J: You’re keeping your foot in the gas with the few Cup races and several Truck races. What’s that future look like to you?
Lajoie: “I’m trying to take it slow. I think it’s important to take good opportunities and be selective with who you work with, this season more than ever, so that’s what I’m doing. I can work my fingers to the bone trying to figure out what’s next … I don’t think that’s where I’m supposed to be at the moment.”
N-J: Why did you do just a one-year deal with Prime?
LaJoie: I wanted to see if I liked it, and I think they wanted to see if they like me. I think we checked both those boxes. I honestly enjoy it much more than I anticipated. I would love it if we could run it back next year.”
Motorsports
Chase Briscoe vs. Noah Gragson: A matchup between close friends – Speedway Digest
Before last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway, Chase Briscoe was part of a small minority of drivers keeping a close eye on potential seeding for the In-Season Challenge, which starts Saturday night with the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The standings […]

Before last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway, Chase Briscoe was part of a small minority of drivers keeping a close eye on potential seeding for the In-Season Challenge, which starts Saturday night with the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The standings before the Pocono race would have paired Briscoe against fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick, a matchup the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota said he would prefer to avoid.
“Right now, I’d go against Tyler if it started this weekend,” Briscoe said at the time. “I’m hoping that changes, because Tyler… I think he’s seeded like 22nd right now, and he’s one of the top five guys in the sport.
“So, it would be a tough Round 1, but honestly, the seeding is tough because at Atlanta anybody could be hard to beat. I feel like at Atlanta you don’t want to go against somebody in your manufacturer (group), because you’re all normally on the same strategy.”
Briscoe, of course, claimed his first victory of the season later that afternoon and dramatically altered his position in the In-Season Challenge bracket. With the win, he earned the second seed behind Michigan winner Denny Hamlin and will face Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson in the first round of the inaugural tournament.
Interestingly, Gragson is the favorite driver of Briscoe’s 3-year-old son Brooks.
He’s also one of Briscoe’s closest friends and may prove as formidable an opponent as Reddick would have been.
“Honestly, I feel like here at a superspeedway, we’ve seen how good the Fords are, and going against a Ford here is certainly a hard challenge,” Briscoe said. “This is one of those race tracks that, no matter what team you are with, you kind of have a shot to go and win.
“It’s no secret, right? Noah is not at one of the powerhouse teams, but when he comes here, he can be right here in the mix. Front Row (Motorsports) cars qualified on the front row here last year, so it will be a challenge.”
Motorsports
NASCAR Xfinity Focused Health 250 at Atlanta
Nick Sanchez took his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in a wild Focused Health 250 at Atlanta on Friday night, rather Saturday morning, after coming out on top of a late-race duel with fellow Rookie of the Year contender Carson Kvapil. Sanchez’s win is the second-ever win for the No. 48 Big Machine Racing […]

Nick Sanchez took his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in a wild Focused Health 250 at Atlanta on Friday night, rather Saturday morning, after coming out on top of a late-race duel with fellow Rookie of the Year contender Carson Kvapil.
Sanchez’s win is the second-ever win for the No. 48 Big Machine Racing team.
Here are the complete race results for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Race 17 of 33.
Fin |
Car |
Driver |
Laps |
Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
48 |
Nick Sanchez # |
163 |
— |
2 |
1 |
Carson Kvapil # |
163 |
0.104 |
3 |
41 |
Sam Mayer |
163 |
0.243 |
4 |
88 |
Connor Zilisch # |
163 |
0.361 |
5 |
54 |
Taylor Gray # (S1) |
163 |
0.642 |
6 |
2 |
Jesse Love |
163 |
0.851 |
7 |
19 |
Aric Almirola |
163 |
0.894 |
8 |
10 |
Daniel Dye # |
163 |
1.066 |
9 |
28 |
Kyle Sieg |
163 |
1.199 |
10 |
51 |
Jeremy Clements |
163 |
1.209 |
11 |
26 |
Dean Thompson # |
163 |
2.020 |
12 |
70 |
Leland Honeyman |
163 |
2.172 |
13 |
25 |
Harrison Burton |
163 |
2.382 |
14 |
20 |
Brandon Jones (S2) |
163 |
2.538 |
15 |
99 |
Matt DiBenedetto |
163 |
5.658 |
16 |
27 |
Jeb Burton |
163 |
5.668 |
17 |
44 |
Brennan Poole |
163 |
5.742 |
18 |
35 |
Joey Gase |
163 |
5.817 |
19 |
16 |
Christian Eckes # |
163 |
6.028 |
20 |
45 |
Mason Massey |
163 |
6.118 |
21 |
71 |
Ryan Ellis |
163 |
6.300 |
22 |
31 |
Blaine Perkins |
163 |
6.869 |
23 |
14 |
Garrett Smithley |
163 |
7.219 |
24 |
07 |
Nick Leitz |
163 |
9.403 |
25 |
5 |
Kris Wright |
163 |
9.815 |
26 |
21 |
Austin Hill (X) |
158 |
5 laps |
27 |
53 |
Mason Maggio |
153 |
10 laps |
28 |
91 |
CJ McLaughlin |
138 |
Out |
29 |
42 |
Anthony Alfredo |
53 |
Out |
30 |
39 |
Ryan Sieg |
46 |
Out |
31 |
7 |
Justin Allgaier |
42 |
Out |
32 |
00 |
Sheldon Creed |
41 |
Out |
33 |
8 |
Sammy Smith |
40 |
Out |
34 |
32 |
Katherine Legge (i) |
40 |
Out |
35 |
24 |
Patrick Staropoli |
40 |
Out |
36 |
18 |
William Sawalich # |
4 |
Out |
37 |
4 |
Parker Retzlaff |
3 |
Out |
38 |
11 |
Josh Williams |
3 |
Out |
# indicates Rookie of the Year contender
(i) indicates a driver ineligible to score points
(S1) indicates Stage 1 winner
(S2) indicates Stage 2 winner
(X) indicates Xfinity Fastest Lap
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Motorsports
Entry List: CARS Tour at Caraway
The zMAX CARS Tour heads to Caraway Speedway for round nine of the 2025 season, a mid-week showdown with both the Late Model Stock Cars and Pro Late Models in action. Twenty-three cars make up the LMSC entry list, so all cars will qualify. In 2024, Caraway put on arguably the race of the year, […]

The zMAX CARS Tour heads to Caraway Speedway for round nine of the 2025 season, a mid-week showdown with both the Late Model Stock Cars and Pro Late Models in action. Twenty-three cars make up the LMSC entry list, so all cars will qualify.
In 2024, Caraway put on arguably the race of the year, featuring a four-car battle to the finish that saw Brent Crews pick up the win over William Byron and Connor Hall.
After taking a race off at Dominion, Andrew Grady is back with the CARS Tour driving for TG Motorsports in the No. 1.
Dylan Ward will make his first CARS Tour start of the season, driving his own Dylan Ward Racing No. 7.
Modified racer Brandon Ward will make his first CARS Tour appearance of 2025, driving for KP Speed Motorsports in the No. 12.
Orange County winner Jared Fryar is back with the CARS Tour, driving the Jimmy Mooring owned No. 14.
Grant Davidson makes his first CARS start of the year, driving the No. 15 for Team 151 Inc.

Short Track Weekly: Why This Year’s SoBo 200 Is More Important Than Ever
2025 Firecracker 265 Entry List
Late Model Stock
No. 00: Chase Burrow (Chase Burrow Motorsports)
No. 03: Lanie Buice (Lee Pulliam Performance)
No. 04: Ronnie Bassett Jr. (Bassett Racing)
No. 1: Andrew Grady (TG Motorsports)
No. 2P: Brandon Pierce (Carroll Speedshop)
No. 2: Ryan Wilson (Ryan Wilson Motorsports)
No. 4B: Kade Brown (R&S Race Cars)
No. 4: Donovan Strauss (Hettinger Racing)
No. 7: Tristan McKee (Matt Piercy Racing)
No. 7W: Dylan Ward (Dylan Ward Racing)
No. 12: Brandon Ward (KP Speed Motorsports)
No. 14: Jared Fryar (JM Racing)
No. 15: Grant Davidson (Team 151 Inc.)
No. 16: Chad McCumbee (McCumbee Elliott Racing)
No. 17: Kaden Honeycutt (Tom Usry Racing)
No. 22: Carson Loftin (Nelson Motorsports)
No. 29: Landen Lewis (KHI Racing)
No. 44: Conner Jones (Mike Darne Racing)
No. 57: Landon Huffman (Carroll Speedshop)
No. 71: Parker Eatmon (Hettinger Racing)
No. 81: Mini Tyrrell (Timmy Tyrrell Racing)
No. 88: Connor Hall (JR Motorsports)
No. 88B: Doug Barnes Jr. (Lee Pulliam Performance)
Pro Late Model
No. 4: Trey Burke (Hettinger Racing)
No. 6: Ben Maier (Setzer Racing)
No. 6L: Brandon Lopez (Bryson Lopez Racing)
No. 7: Tristan McKee (LowCountry Motorsports)
No. 15: Rodney Dowless (Walker Motorsports)
No. 25: Isaac Kitzmiller (Rackley WAR)
No. 44: Conner Jones (Conner Jones Racing)
No. 47: Tyler Reif (Bryson Lopez Racing)
No. 51: Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing)
No. 54: Seth Christensen (JC Motorsports)
No. 61: Mason Walters (Setzer Racing)
No. 62: Keelan Harvick (Rackley WAR)
No. 77: Darren Krantz Jr. (Chad Bryant Racing)
No. 97: Dylan Garner (Dylan Garner Racing)
No. 97K: Jason Kitzmiller (Rackley WAR)
You can watch the zMAX CARS Tour at Caraway on Wednesday, July 2, live on FloRacing. Racing starts at 7:00 p.m. ET, with LMSC action scheduled for approximately 9:00 p.m. ET.



Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com’s CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase’s other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
Motorsports
Subaru Motorsports Rudely Teases Us With Street-Legal WRX Rally Car Mockup
These days, there is no shortage of talented artists dreaming up cars that don’t exist, but should, and sharing them online. That’s to say nothing of the folks who will punch fake vehicle names into AI image generators for predictably horrible results. But these renders of a Subaru WRX rally car in street clothes hit […]

These days, there is no shortage of talented artists dreaming up cars that don’t exist, but should, and sharing them online. That’s to say nothing of the folks who will punch fake vehicle names into AI image generators for predictably horrible results. But these renders of a Subaru WRX rally car in street clothes hit differently, because they came from Subaru Motorsports itself.
Earlier in the week, Subaru’s U.S. rally team, which is operated by the fine folks at Vermont SportsCar, shared images of its WRX ARA25 rally car in stark white and blue with no liveries and gold rims and the caption “What if the Subaru WRX ARA25 was sold as road car?” The resulting comments were predictable, from some people offering to donate their kidneys for the cause, to others predictably begging for a new STI. But this thought exercise is so much more extreme than just about any Impreza or WRX the company’s ever sold, including the vaunted 22B.
The era of homologation specials—race cars that had to be sold as road cars, to be eligible for competition—has long since passed. Three or four decades ago, we might’ve gotten something like these images. The 22B STI, though it shared many visual similarities to Subaru’s WRC car of the late ’90s, was really a Type R chassis with flared fenders and many mechanical changes. Subaru built it because it chose to, to celebrate its rallying success—not because it had to.
Similarly, anything like this pie-in-the-sky ARA25 road car would have to come about because Subaru wanted to build it. Like everyone else, we wish it did. The VB WRX’s design has warmed up on me since its initial unveiling, but I still don’t love it. There’s just too much cladding, and the rear end design is very narrow and cinched in an unflattering way. But flare those fenders, tuck in the body just behind the front wheels, bolt on a big-ass wing, and swap all that black plastic out for genuine carbon fiber and, suddenly, you’ve systematically dismantled every possible criticism I though I had with the current-gen sport sedan. Race cars just have a knack for doing that.
As much as I avoid getting caught up in daydreaming like this, it’s a different story when it’s the OEM itself (or, its racing team) inviting us to do it. The STI may have gone on a hiatus, but it’s clear that there is still an appetite for a true giant-killing WRX to battle the likes of the Civic Type R, GR Corolla, and Golf R. Commercially, Subaru is killing it these days thanks to its SUVs, and the optimist in me is hopeful that increases the chances the automaker simply decides to blow a whole lot of money on a flagship performance car again. That’s the glass-half-full take, anyway; the pessimist in me is wondering why the Subaru rally team chose violence with such a cruel tease.
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Motorsports
Nick Sanchez Scores Big at EchoPark Speedway
Despite Mother Nature and some big wrecks playing a factor, the Xfinity Series race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The Focused Health 250 had plenty of highlight-worthy moments, including a first-time winner. Rookie Nick Sanchez Scores First Xfinity Series Win Nick Sanchez has had plenty of moments in his first season in the NASCAR […]

Despite Mother Nature and some big wrecks playing a factor, the Xfinity Series race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The Focused Health 250 had plenty of highlight-worthy moments, including a first-time winner.
Rookie Nick Sanchez Scores First Xfinity Series Win
Nick Sanchez has had plenty of moments in his first season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, from leading laps to scoring Top 10 finishes. He even scored a career-best finish of third at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. That career best was topped on Friday night. The 24-year-old rose to the challenge in a race that saw plenty of the favorites and best drivers on drafting tracks, including Austin Hill, who was knocked out of contention early. Heck, even Sanchez had a moment early in the race as he spun out, but kept his No. 48 Chevy from hitting anything.

Nick held off challenges from the likes of Connor Zilisch, Carson Kvapil, and Jesse Love to score his first Xfinity Series win, and just the second ever win for his team, Big Machine Racing.
Nick Sanchez gets his first career #XfinitySeries win! pic.twitter.com/0R15dhgUwx
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 28, 2025
Massive Wreck Takes Out Top Xfinity Stars
After an hour-plus-long weather delay, the race was able to resume, with just under 40 laps complete. The moment the racing got going again, things changed for some of the top stars of the series. A massive crash on the backstretch saw plenty of drivers who have already won this season taken out. The melee saw defending series champion Justin Allgaier caught up in the crash. As was Sammy Smith, polesitter Sheldon Creed, and multi-time Atlanta winner Austin Hill.
Despite Hill being caught up in the incident, he ended up back in the race, but multiple laps down. That wreck was certainly one way to clear out Hill, who has been the driver to beat in the draft.
Spin and Rally
Even when you think you’re out of the running at a drafting track in NASCAR, you’re not. That’s exactly what this race played out to be, with so many cars out of the race. Nick Sanchez certainly had to rally from his spin on lap 68. The spin occurred on the frontstretch grass, which could have easily destroyed the front of his car. By chance, it didn’t, and he eventually climbed his way back into the picture. As did Jesse Love, who was involved in the lap 40 pileup. Love, despite a heavily damaged nose on his car, was able to put his No. 2 Chevy in the front. Aric Almirola was also a factor in the closing laps of the race, but Love and Sanchez didn’t care about the former Cup driver.
Love and Sanchez put on a show during the final restart, which came on lap 157. Despite Love having plenty of pushers behind him, he had nothing to say to stop Sanchez’s No. 48 from holding off all challengers. That included a late run from both Zilisch and Kvapil. It was certainly an exciting duel for the race win, especially with so many drivers in the picture that hadn’t won before. So for Sanchez to rally from his spin and win, that was simply some great driving by the rookie.
A Very Notable Pit Road Incident
Following the race, Hill appeared to share words with Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Dye. Hill was multiple laps down and not in contention for the win, but still found himself racing near the front. In Dye’s case, he was in the battle for a very strong finish. The pair appeared to share words about something that happened during the race or the closing laps.
The pair were caught on video by Frontstretch.com discussing something, and it appears Hill threatened Dye about flipping him off.
.@_AustinHill and @danieldye43 had a tense discussion after the race that ended with Hill telling Dye “flip me off again motherfucker”#NASCAR
Presenting Partner: @MyPlaceHotels pic.twitter.com/WiaDRBQnhT— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 28, 2025
Whatever that was about was certainly eye-catching. Sure seems like Hill needs to chill, given he seems to only go after the younger guys, when he’s done some questionable things in racing himself.
Read Next: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview
Main Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images
Recording Date: 6/27/2025
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