The NASCAR Cup Series is back following a rather tame race in Talladega last weekend. Sure, there was a modest wreck around lap 40-45 last week with some drivers trying to make it to pit road as others stayed on the track. But other than that, it was a quiet Talladega race that saw Austin Cindric secure his third career win.

Now NASCAR goes to Texas Motor Speedway. This is largely regarded as one of the worst tracks on the NASCAR schedule. They’re stripped it of a playoff race and the All-Star weekend as well. It’s a shame because this track actually draws a great crowd and sells tickets. The quality of racing is often the biggest issue and drivers have made it well known they’d prefer to go elsewhere. But we can use previous track…

No one will rag on you more than your friends. That has never been more clear than the relationship between Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. The Diesel pulled another infamous move on his good friend Chuck and posted a video on his Instagram, throwing shade at his NBA on TNT co-host for essentially falling asleep while on set filming a commercial.

“This is Detective O’Neal. I have a question,” stated Shaq in his video, where he’s filming a TV that has Barkley on the screen. He then asked his 35.1 million followers, “Was Charles Barkley asleep in this commercial?” The Hall of Famer then zoomed in to show Barkley with his eyes closed, sitting peacefully. “He’s asleep. He’s definitely sleep,” added fellow commercial detective Kenny Smith, who was watching and also laughing at the screen.

The trolling by Shaq didn’t stop Barkley from getting some revenge, and what sweet revenge it was. Chuck took to the comments section of the video and jokingly plugged his partnership with Ro, the telehealth company he’s being endorsed by.

“Don’t sleep on Ro.Co,” he wrote, and added a laughing emoji that either was an admission that he did sleep or a reaction to how proud he was of his own response.

As funny as the back-and-forth was, it does show that Chuck does put a value on health. Barkley is going on a weight loss journey thanks to Ro’s services, and he’s taking every opportunity to plug the brand, even when it’s a silly exchange with his buddies.

Funnily enough, this wasn’t the first time that Barkley and the NBA on TNT crew butted heads over weight. Six months earlier, Barkley revealed to the crew that he was taking the weight loss drug Mounjaro, which many use for diabetes. The only thing was that Chuck didn’t have diabetes. He was just using Mounjaro to shed some excess pounds.

I think we can all agree that Barkley does look great. However, he’s not beating the falling asleep allegations, especially since it has happened before.

Chuck famously fell asleep during an NBA on TNT broadcast

Nine years ago, Barkley was a younger man, but his habit of shutting his eyes when he was getting a little sleepy had already started to take shape. Chuck famously fell asleep during an NBA on TNT broadcast. Good thing Shaq told the producers to put a camera on him so they could forever capture the moment.

The boys obviously gave Barkley an earful. “It ain’t even that late,” shouted Kenny. “I’m the only one of you that works out,” responded Chuck as he sipped his coffee, unaffected.

“I got a new word for you, narcolepsy,” joked O’Neal. It didn’t really seem to matter what Chuck said after that. He’s probably had over 1,000 other viral moments on the famed basketball broadcast since, but some people never forget. Shaq is one of those people.

Rajah Caruth, a rising star in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, is making waves both on and off the track in 2025. Driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports, Caruth secured a commendable third-place finish at the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 2. The race, extended to 174 laps due to two overtimes, saw Caruth navigate through intense competition to clinch his second top-five finish of the season

Beyond his racing achievements, Caruth’s journey is deeply rooted in his academic and cultural background. In December 2024, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Management from Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), an HBCU in North Carolina. WSSU is notable for being the only HBCU in the nation to offer such a program. Caruth’s commitment to education while pursuing a demanding racing career exemplifies his dedication and resilience.

Caruth’s ascent in NASCAR is also significant in the context of diversity in motorsports. He is among the few Black drivers to have won a national series race, joining the ranks of Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace. His participation in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program has been instrumental in his development, providing opportunities to hone his skills and compete at higher levels

As the 2025 season progresses, Rajah Caruth continues to demonstrate his prowess on the track and his commitment to representing HBCUs in the racing world. His journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring drivers from diverse backgrounds, highlighting the importance of perseverance, education, and representation in sports.

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With a time of 28.174 seconds, Carson Hocevar bests the field in Saturday’s qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway, the first of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

After setting the fastest time in practice earlier in the morning from his 36 laps, Hocevar will lead the field to the green flag in tomorrow’s Würth 400.

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Hocevar holds a unique perspective in utilizing sound and visual cues, watching in car cameras and observing other races to learn what he can do in the car and in the moment. He doesn’t downplay the technology side of things with SMT (Sports MEDIA Technology) or ghost cars, but sticks to his strengths to fuel his performance.

“I guess it just comes from me racing quarter midgets.”

Daytona 500 winner and current championship leader William Byron was second quickest by a hundredth and a half of a second (28.188 seconds) to share the front row with Hocevar.

Last weekend’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, Austin Cindric, will start third, with Kyle Larson and Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell round out the top five starting positions.

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“We are in a great spot for tomorrow and should have a good pit stall, so I feel good about where we are at for tomorrow,” Cindric shared. “We will try to go get another one.”

Ty Gibbs was the highest qualifying Toyota in sixth. Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and AJ Allmendinger complete the top 10 spots.

Last year’s winner Chase Elliott qualified 29th.

Kyle Larson’s tryst with Victory Lane needs to be studied scientifically. And yet, there might not be a lot of results for it can only be explained as sorcery. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was found basking in glory once again at the Texas Motor Speedway at the end of the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday. Fortunately for those curious, he explained how he ended up victorious.

The trophy that is awarded to the winner of this particular fixture is an appealing one. Andy’s Frozen Custard became the Official Frozen Treat of the Texas Motor Speedway in 2021, and drivers have ever since been getting a gold-silver trophy that is shaped like the iconic product for their Victory Lane exploits. And as it appears, Larson has had his eyes on this trophy for some time now.

He said in his post-race interview, “They’ve had this trophy now for I feel like a handful of years, and you know I don’t get to run Xfinity, so I’m like, ‘Dang, man! That’d be cool to win that trophy.’ But, yeah.

“I found out, I think, yesterday that it was this trophy again. I was extra pumped and really wanted to win. So, it definitely added some motivation for sure to get the win today.”

Larson wasn’t originally scheduled to race on Saturday. But he had to substitute for Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 JR Motorsports entry as the youngster recovers from a lower back injury he sustained in a final-lap crash at the Talladega Superspeedway last week. The former Cup Series champion took advantage of the chance and secured a convincing victory over the Xfinity Series field again.

Larson takes the edge over Dale Earnhardt Jr. for now

Larson had previously won the Xfinity Series race at Bristol. He dominated his competitors completely that day and expressed that he was superior to them on the track. This idea did not sit well with Dale Earnhardt Jr., the co-owner of JR Motorsports, and he challenged Larson to participate in more Xfinity Series races.

Well, another day came to pass, and Larson won again. Perhaps the win wasn’t as convincing as his victory in Bristol. But the books seldom care about that. He led twice over 32 of 208 laps (including overtime) and held off Justin Allgaier for a time, until the reigning Xfinity Series champion crashed out of the race.

Interestingly, Allgaier is Dale Jr.’s best driver and was a teammate to Larson on Saturday. It sure is going to be fireworks to hear what Dale Jr. has to say about Kyle Larson‘s latest on-track challenge.