Subaru Motorsports USA came out swinging at the tough Oregon Trail Rally, putting both of its factory teams on the podium after a wild weekend of racing.

The crews battled through everything from slick tarmac stages at Portland International Raceway to punishing high-speed gravel, showing off what their WRX rally cars can do in the American Rally Association (ARA) championship.ARA championship leader Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams flat-out dominated in their Subaru WRX, taking first overall and the Open Four-Wheel Drive (O4WD) class win.Semenuk was pumped about the car’s handling all weekend. After tackling the rally’s famous punishing gravel on Saturday, he said the stages were “Tricky, fast stages but really fun,” adding that “Ending the day up Maryhill Road was so much fun.

That’s the best the car’s ever felt up there.” After sealing the deal on Sunday’s fast stages, Semenuk exclaimed, “Great weekend! Really happy with the car. Clean sweep on all the stages and a Power Stage win. Amazing.”Meanwhile, teammates Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino had a stellar run in their new WRX ARA25L. In only their second event with this new car, they impressively snagged third overall and won the Limited Four-Wheel Drive (L4WD) class.Pastrana had commented early in the event about the team “working our hardest to do the best we can and have a lot of fun with this vehicle.” That effort clearly paid off.

A thrilled Pastrana later reported, “Third overall, first in class … This vehicle right here … absolutely awesome! So stoked to be able to drive it.”

Co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino shared his enthusiasm, noting they both loved the event and were already looking forward to the next round in Ohio.The strong performances in Oregon significantly boost both teams. Semenuk and Williams extended their lead in their quest for a potential fourth straight ARA championship, while Pastrana and Gelsomino quickly proved they were finding serious speed in their new L4WD entry.This big Oregon Trail Rally win gives both Subaru Motorsports USA crews a serious shot of confidence as the ARA championship heads east.

Next up is the Southern Ohio Forest Rally on June 12-14, and you can bet Subaru will be looking to keep their hot streak going.

Hendrick Motorsports have announced a huge new driver deal ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series action at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In an official statement released on Friday, the team confirmed that William Byron has signed a new four-year contract extension that will see him remain as the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet through the 2029 Cup Series season.

Byron has driven the No. 24 since 2018 and has tasted plenty of success during that time, including 14 Cup victories.

Two of these have come at the prestigious Daytona 500, with Byron having won the ‘Great American Race’ in 2024 and 2025, making him its youngest multi-winner.

Currently, Byron sits second in the Cup Series standings in 2025, with only team-mate Kyle Larson ahead of him.

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver suspension after intentional wreck at North Wilkesboro

Hendrick Motorsports confirm William Byron contract extension

Speaking as a part of the official statement that confirmed the news, Byron explained: “We’ve built something special with the No. 24 team,”

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to continue working with amazing people at Hendrick Motorsports who believe in me, especially Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick.

“We’ve accomplished some great things that we’re really proud of, but we have even bigger goals ahead.

“I’m excited to go after them with this team and this organization.”

Elsewhere, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, added: “William is the real deal.”

“What makes him so special is that he combines natural ability with an unrivaled work ethic. You see it in the great ones – the drivers who could get by on talent alone but choose to outwork everyone anyway. That’s William.

“On top of it all, he’s a person of high character and embraces his role as a leader.

“We’re proud to have him in our lineup and look forward to many more wins together.”

READ MORE: Team Penske statement leaves NASCAR fans speculating over driver’s future

Related

What’s Happening?

On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. proposed a schedule change for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He cited the series’ “embarrassing” racing at Martinsville Speedway as a reason to add North Wilkesboro Speedway to the schedule.

“For the Birds”

Since the track’s revival in the early 2020s, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been outspoken in his support of North Wilkesboro Speedway. Not only does his late model series, the CARS Tour, host two race weekends at the track a year, but he has also gone out of his way to vouch for the track getting an Xfinity Series date.

In his pursuit of this, Earnhardt, who, for the first time since 2018, has no one-off NASCAR races on his schedule, has gone as far as to claim that if the track got an Xfinity Series date, he would participate. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has also suggested schedule swaps, such as dropping the series race date at Circuit of the Americas to add a race at Wilkesboro.

Now, Earnhardt is suggesting that NASCAR cut at least one of the two dates held by the iconic Martinsville Speedway so that Wilkesboro can get its Xfinity Series date.

“I’d rather have an Xfinity race there [North Wilkesboro] than Martinsville. That s*** we’re doing at Martinsville is for the birds. I don’t love taking my cars over there and watching them get destroyed and watching our drivers destroy each other. So I’d love them to not go to Martinsville.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The Pitch to Switch

Some NASCAR fans have shared a similar consensus about the Xfinity Series races at Martinsville. Most feel that this issue is not the track’s fault. Instead, the small confines of the facility, combined with the Xfinity Series drivers’ inexperience, often lead to an overload of aggression. In its short time on the schedule since 2000, all 11 races in the 21st century have called ten or more cautions.

When his take on the state of Xfinity Series racing at Martinsville received pushback from his co-hosts, Earnhardt stressed that he has “zero confidence” that the series can put on a good showing at the track.

“I have zero confidence that our Xfinity drivers could have a good entertaining race at Martinsville,” Earnhardt said. “Maybe there was one, and I’ve just forgotten it because of so much destruction has happened.”

However, he stresses that he loves Martinsville, pointing out that, in his opinion, the short stages at the track are hurting the product, leading Xfinity Series drivers to “drive like idiots.”

“I like Martinsville. The stage breaks are killing Martinsville because the runs are so short,” Earnhardt said.
”It makes people drive like idiots and there’s no comers and goers, there’s no tire fall off, there’s no struggle on the drive.”

Chaos in Virginia

For fans who watched the chaotic spring Xfinity Series race at the narrow 0.526-mile paperclip, this take is probably no surprise. Though the track had a long history with the Series in the 1980s and 1990s, from 1994 to 2019, Martinsville hosted one Xfinity Series race date: 2006.

However, after years of waiting, the track rejoined the schedule in 2020 and has hosted two annual Xfinity Series races since 2021.

These races have seen wild moments and late crashes, including this year’s spring race, in which one of Earnhardt’s drivers, Sammy Smith, attempted to wreck Taylor Gray for the win, wrecking both himself and JRM teammate Justin Allgaier in the process.

After this incident, on the Apr. 2 episode of the Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt reflected on this race, stating that Sammy Smith’s actions “gave JR Motorsports a black eye.”

Earnhardt’s pitch to switch the track out for a similar track like Wilkesboro, of course, raised questions, specifically from co-host T.J. Majors, who asked if the same issues would rear their head at the slightly larger 0.625-mile track in North Carolina. Majors pointed out the chaos on the final lap of this year’s Truck Series race as an example of the chaos that could ensue should the Xfinity cars head to Wilkes County.

But, in response, Earnhardt compared that finish, which saw Layne Riggs go after leader Corey Heim, to the Xfinity races at Martinsville, in which he claims, “we’ve got 12 f****ing cars on fire smoking, sitting on the front straightaway after every race, TJ.”

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

CONCORD, N.C. — William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports have reached an agreement to extend his contract for four years.

The team confirmed the extension Friday. Byron will continue racing the No. 24 Chevrolet through 2029, which will be his 12th season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Byron has earned 14 wins, 59 Top-5 finishes, 111 Top-10s and 15 poles in 264 starts, spanning eight seasons so far. He has been one of the best drivers in the NextGen era, with 10 wins, 33 Top-5s, 49 Top-10s and seven poles in the last 84 starts, ranking second, second, second and third respectively in those categories. He also has two Championship 4 appearances in that span and is second in points through 12 races in 2025.

This is the third time Byron has extended his contract with Hendrick. In 2020, he signed an extension that went through 2022 — and then extended again through 2025. The new extension locks him in through 2029, the farthest out of any Hendrick driver so far:

• In 2022, Kyle Larson signed a deal that goes through 2026. Chase Elliott also signed a deal that year that goes through 2027
• In 2023, Alex Bowman signed a deal that goes through “at least 2026.” Sponsor Ally Financial is signed through 2028

CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) – A NASCAR legend will make his return to the track this weekend for a milestone moment at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will get back behind the wheel for the Coca-Cola 600 in what will mark his 700th career start at NASCAR’s highest level.

Johnson — who co-owns Legacy Motor Club with fellow legend Richard Petty — was once dominant at Charlotte. He has eight wins at the historic racetrack, including four victories in the 600-mile crown jewel event.

The Coca-Cola 600 will be just the second race of 2025 for the semi-retired driver. He finished third in the Daytona 500 after he avoided a last-lap crash.

—> Race Guide: Everything to know for the Coca-Cola 600

With exactly 40 cars entered for Sunday’s race, Johnson is guaranteed to qualify for NASCAR’s longest event. Only 20 other drivers have ever made 700 Cup Series starts. That list includes some of the sport’s most iconic names, such as the Busch, Labonte and Waltrip brothers, Bobby Allison, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Richard Petty has made the most starts with 1,184.

Johnson revealed in a podcast this week that he won’t quite be done when he hits the 700 mark.

“Seven hundred, at Charlotte, it’s really turning out to be something very special for me,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be my last, you know, it would be nice to end on a round number, but I’ll still be behind the wheel at least next year and as long as it really makes sense for me to run cars here at Legacy Motor Club.”

The current driver of the No. 84 made his first start at the same track in 2001, albeit in the famous No. 48 car.

Johnson will once again sport the Carvana colors on his car, but will run a paint scheme that honors America on Memorial Day weekend, while also paying tribute to his milestone 700 starts. His 84 car will hit the track Saturday afternoon for Cup practice and qualifying before the green flag drops around 6 p.m. Sunday.

The Xfinity and Truck series will also race at Charlotte this weekend, with the trucks racing Friday night and the Xfinity cars on Saturday.

—> Previous Coverage: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to serve as Coca-Cola 600 grand marshal

Watch continuous news coverage here:

Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.

Liberty Media chief executive Derek Chang believes Formula 1 has shifted from being a series to becoming a “cultural phenomenon” in the past decade.

Chang was appointed as successor to Greg Maffei at the start of January, eight years on from when Liberty completed its acquisition of F1 and set about taking the series to new audiences, in new markets.

The findings of the 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey, a collaboration between F1 and the Motorsport Network, are set to be published soon but recent trends have shown an uptick in women engaging with the championship, as well as a younger demographic now being active fans.

Chang, speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange: Monaco, feels the changes – which have also seen a groundswell of American interest with races added in Miami and Las Vegas – have elevated F1 to a different level.

“I think when Liberty acquired Formula 1 it was very much of a core motorsports activation,” he said.

“I think what we’ve done over the last 10 years, under the stewardship of Chase Carey and then Stefano [Domenicali] is really make this thing sort of a cultural phenomenon that’s gone well beyond a core sports product.

“It starts with what happens on the track. It’s a compelling product that we have out there, but where we’ve gone to a much more mainstream and a broader entertainment asset. You’ve seen it in Drive to Survive, you know we have the Apple movie coming out this summer, which will, again, I think renew a whole new level of interest in the sport.

Autosport Business Exchange – Monaco

Photo by: Alberto Crippa

“Then I think what you’ve seen in terms of the drivers and how they participate within what this brand is all about now and the interest level that people have following the drivers – not just what happens to them on the track, but what happens to them in their lives. And again, as we continue to open the aperture of what Formula 1 is all about, I think you’ve seen new brands coming to us.”

Chang pointed to recent deals signed by F1 as examples of how its partnerships have branched out from more traditional B2B companies to customer-facing brands, which helps continue the fan engagement away from the track.

“We’ve gone from an endemic, advertising-based, sponsorship-based B2B to then B2C. We just announced a deal with Disney earlier this week, a tremendous deal with Lego that we did last year that of culminated in a great spectacle in Miami a few weeks ago with the life-size cars that we rolled around the track.

“And I think what you’ve seen is the viewership continues to increase for Formula 1…and you’re bringing new people into the audience all the time. Kids, casual fans, all that sort of stuff.”

While brands and fans continue to pour in from most corners of the globe, Chang admits there is still plenty of room for growth in the huge market in China.

The grand prix in Shanghai is now a firm fixture on the calendar but outside of the race, there is relatively low pick-up, including among partners.

A former chief executive of the NBA in China, Chang is keen to expand into the large market the country offers.

“When I was running the NBA there, which probably was a preeminent global sports brand in China at the time – and probably still is – and being able to see the energy that the Chinese audience has for sports, I think Formula 1 can continue to grow in that country.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“We were set back, to be honest with you, with COVID because we didn’t run a race there for four years. So we probably lost some time there over the years, but there is a legacy and a history of F1 in China.

“We’ve been in Shanghai for 20 years at this point. We had a Chinese driver [Zhou Guanyu] who unfortunately is not on the grid this year, but maybe one day will come back. But look, it’s 1.4 billion people in China.

“People love sports there. They love brands there. And I think where F1 can continue to shine is that we are such a high-end brand and the brands that we actually associate with, you’re going to see that take up continue to happen.

“We do need to continue to build there and invest in the sport there. We are across the major social media platforms. We’re on the Tencent and CCTV (China Central Television), but we probably aren’t where we would like to be.

“We’re going to continue to invest and make that happen because it’s such a big market and such a big market for major consumer brands that we really want to continue to develop that.”

Photos from Monaco GP – Practice