Bubba Wallace’s wife, Amanda, gave him a NASCAR playoff reality check after his race incident with Alex Bowman on the streets of Chicago, before he went on to win the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis. Wallace of 23XI Racing and Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports were involved in a late collision in the closing laps of the race won by Shane van Gisbergen, with the Cup Series rivals vying for a spot in the In‑Season Challenge.

Bowman spun Wallace, who later retaliated, but the No. 23 car suffered a broken toe link and fell out of contention, finishing 28th. Meanwhile, Bowman secured 8th and advanced in the Challenge. After the race, the pair had a respectful confrontation to discuss the on-track happenings, and tensions eased.

At that point in the NASCAR Cup Series season, Wallace suffered a blow to his pursuit of the $1 million In-Season Challenge prize. He lost out on valuable championship points to rival Bowman in the race for the NASCAR playoffs. Both drivers were winless, resulting in Wallace’s wife letting her feelings be known about the incident, which heaped further stress on her husband. It comes after a NASCAR star’s wife revealed she was hit hard by a disturbing health problem that “makes no sense”. 

Amanda, the mother to Wallace’s son, Becks, branded her husband a “dumb—” in a furious dressing down in the hotel after Chicago. Speaking on the “Stacking Pennies” podcast to Corey LaJoie, Wallace said: “I made myself look like a dumb— at Chicago, myself with Bowman, right? And I knew it. I got back to the hotel room. We were just about to head back to the plane… She was pretty pissed off at me, and you could see it.”

“She was like, ‘It was really f—— dumb.’ And I was like, ‘I needed that,'” the Alabama-born driver added. “After Chicago, she says, ‘You know, you just gave 20 something points, now you’re going to be stressed for the next seven weeks because you’re back in the same spot, you just put yourself in the same spot that you desperately didn’t want to be in.'”

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“You know, she shot it to me straight, so, yeah, she’s there with me through it all – the good and the bad,” Wallace continued.

Amanda’s blunt spurred Wallace to correct the course of his season and book his playoff spot with a win in the Brickyard 400 in Indy a few weeks later.

Wallace survived a rain delay and double overtime to take the chequered flag for his first win in the Cup Series since Kansas in the 2022 season.

DON’T MISS

“You see like the playoff picture and there’s no more +3 or +4 to the No. 23, it’s times 1 with the win sticker and we’re P9 in points and I was like, ‘That’s an awesome sight.’ And she looks at me and just smiles,” Wallace said.

The family of three posed for photos at the track following Wallace’s triumph. 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin, one of Wallace’s on-track rivals at Joe Gibbs Racing, also joined the celebrations.

CLUB MINUTES:

JJ AT THE GLEN: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB co-owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has 18 Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. He earned a best finish of third twice in his career at The Glen – August 2007 and August 2012. In total, Johnson earned four top-fives, eight top-10s, and led 18 laps on the road course in New York. He has an additional four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen where he earned a best finish of second in his final start there in August 2011. Johnson started sixth and finished just .974 of a second behind race winner Kurt Busch.

KENSETH GLEN STATS: LEGACY MC competition advisor Matt Kenseth has a total of 19 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen. In his career, he earned two top-fives, eight top-10s, and led three laps at The Glen. His best finish of second came in August 2017 when he started 15th. He ended up finishing .414 of a second behind race winner Martin Truex Jr. Kenseth has an additional six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at The Glen. He earned two top-fives and three top-10s with a best finish of third in August 2008 after starting 16th.

THE KING AT THE GLEN: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and LEGACY MC ambassador Richard Petty owns eight Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen. He earned a best finish of ninth in August 1991 at the track after starting 31st for the 90-lap race.

NEVER SETTLE: Join ESPN’s Marty Smith and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s co-owner Jimmie Johnson for their weekly podcast, “Never Settle”. The podcast airs live on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 at 2 p.m. ET every Wednesday and can be downloaded wherever fans source their podcasts. This week’s episode was recorded at the Wyndham Championship and includes guests Brandt Snedeker, Jackson Koivun, and Mike Brown.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 MOBIL 1 TOYOTA CAMRY XSE

JHN AT WATKINS GLEN: John Hunter Nemechek had his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen last August where he finished 21st after starting 35th. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he has two career starts at the road course, with his best finish of sixth coming in the August 2023 race. Nemechek also has one start at The Glen in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series where he started sixth and finished second under caution.

T-MACK GLEN STATS: Sunday’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. His first outing came with Daniel Suarez in 2021, and the duo competed there together for three years in a row, earning a highest finish of fifth in August 2022. Last year at The Glen, he earned the pole and a second-place finish with Shane Van Gisbergen. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Mack has two starts at Watkins Glen with Michael Annett, earning a 17th-place finish in 2018 and an eighth-place finish in 2019.

FINGER LAKES DISTILLING: John Hunter Nemechek will take part in a special single barrel cask release at Finger Lakes Distilling Company (FLD) – #3142 – to commemorate his car number – 42 – in advance of this weekend’s Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR race. Visitors to FLD can buy the special bottle, priced at a reduced cost of $42 at the event.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’m looking forward to going back to Watkins Glen. It’s probably one of my favorite road courses that we go to on the NASCAR schedule. It should be a good weekend for us. I feel like we’ve been able to find speed in our road course cars here from LEGACY MOTOR CLUB over the last few months. I’m looking forward to hopefully a really solid weekend and trying to be there at the end for a win.”

TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’ve been putting a lot of work into our road course package, so we’re confident heading into Watkins Glen. Tire wear might be more of a factor with the softer compound and warmer temperatures, but we’ve seen lots of progress in our road course cars this season, so I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE

JONES GLEN STATS: Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen will mark Erik Jones’ eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. In his prior seven starts at the track, Jones earned two top-fives and four top-10s. His best finish came in August 2019 when Jones started 14th and earned a solid fourth-place result. Jones has an additional four starts outside of the Cup Series at The Glen – three in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In his three Xfinity Series starts, Jones earned a best finish of eighth in August 2017 after starting sixth. In his only NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start at the track, Jones started 25th and finished 19th after leading seven laps in the August 2018 race.

BESHORE AT THE GLEN: Crew chief Ben Beshore owns three NASCAR Cup Series starts on top of the box at Watkins Glen. His best result came in his first start there in August 2021 with Kyle Busch who started 20th and finished fourth. In last year’s August race, Beshore was the crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek. The team started 35th before driving their way up to a 21st-place finish. He has an additional two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at The Glen. In August 2019, he started on the pole with Kyle Busch before a suspension issue took them out of contention for the win on Lap 35. Then in August 2023, Beshore returned with Nemechek to earn a sixth-place finish.

EJ GOES LATE MODEL RACING: Prior to heading to New York for this Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen, Jones rolled into Kaukauna, Wisconsin on Tuesday, August 5 for the 2025 ASA Midwest Tour late model race at Wisconsin International Raceway, LLC. He joined fellow Michigan-native and NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar in the lineup for Tuesday night’s main event. Jones has won one of his five previous Midwest Tour starts in 2014 at the Milwaukee Mile.

THE OSCAR PLUSH: Jones announced the launch of his latest project two weekends ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the Oscar Jones collectible plush. Modeled after his eight-year-old German Shepherd, the Oscar plush started to be sold at Indianapolis after a collaboration with Ultimate Canine, LLC. A portion of the sale of the plush will go back to the Erik Jones Foundation to support the funding of grants for its animal welfare pillar of giving. Since its launch in 2021, the Erik Jones Foundation has gifted more than $40,000 in grants to organizations promoting animal welfare and supporting the training of working animals. Fans can still purchase their own Oscar plush at ErikJonesRacing.com or at the NASCAR Classics trackside merchandise hauler at the racetrack.

ERIK JONES QUOTE
“Watkins Glen is always kind of a wild card. I’ve run well there in the Cup Series in the past, but we haven’t quite been able to get those top-10 finishes the past two years. With the speed we’ve had on road courses this summer though, I think you could see us up there competing for a strong finish this weekend. We were fast in Mexico and Chicago, and then dropped off a little at Sonoma. We’ve been working hard on our road course program, so I’m excited to see what the teams can bring to the track this weekend.”

BEN BESHORE QUOTE
“I feel like as a team we’ve been 50/50 on road courses this year. Mexico and Chicago performance-wise went okay. We had some issues during the races, but we had some speed. Then we really struggled at COTA and Sonoma. I think Watkins Glen is a little bit different style of road course from the others though. It’s a more high-speed road course over the very technical ones like Sonoma or Chicago. There’s a little bit more emphasis on aerodynamics rather than straight up forward drive. It’s a little bit different from that standpoint. Strategy-wise – you can do it a couple different ways at Watkins Glen. I think you’ll see most guys try to short pit both stages and then pit sometime early in the fuel window that final stage. You may even have some guys who try to do it on a two-stop strategy where you pit at the end of Stage 1 and then run it out to your fuel window at Lap 55 or so. Tires do fall of a little bit more than they have in the past there due to the softer tire. It’s kind of a coin flip on what’s going to be the best strategy there. It just kind of depends on how the cautions fall. Sometimes I wish we had a crystal ball so we could see how it would play out, but you have to anticipate what to do in every situation. It’ll also be key to see how the tires fall off during practice since it’ll be on the warmer side this weekend. Tires might be a bigger deal than they have been in the past.”

CLUB APPEARANCES:

Nemechek will be at the NASCAR Classics trackside merchandise rig to sign for fans at 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, Aug. 9.
TUNE IN:

Fans can tune in to watch the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Sunday, August 10 at 2 p.m. ET on USA, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

LMC PR

A NASCAR insider has the latest on Dodge making its return to NASCAR Cup Series. Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic shared details on which teams would sign with the car manufacturer for the Cup Series once the manufacturer makes that jump.

“Dodge has had conversations with several parties representing teams, both existing and prospective, including at least one current Cup organization,” Bianchi wrote. “The consensus within the garage is that Dodge would be best served by aligning with an already operational team that knows the ins and outs of NASCAR, helping to mitigate the typical issues that inevitably arise when a new manufacturer comes in. Expect substantial movement on this soon.”

On June 8, NASCAR announced that Ram (previously part of Dodge) would return to NASCAR for the 2026 Truck Series season. At the time, John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said the process of Ram’s return gained momentum at the end of the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.

More on Dodge’s return to NASCAR

“I know that this is something that we have been talking about for a long time, and it’s something that we don’t get to do very often,” Probst said in a press release. “I think the last time we did this was over 20 years ago when Toyota entered our sport, so this is something that is a big moment for our entire sport and our existing competitors, potential new competitors, our OEMs.”

Ram spun off as a separate brand of Dodge in 2010. The last time Dodge competed in the NASCAR Cup Series was in 2012, when Brad Keselowski won the title for Team Penske in a Dodge Charger. Dodge Ram celebrated three manufacturer titles in the Truck Series (2001, 2003-2004) during its first run, which ended in 2013.

In June, Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on Dodge returning to NASCAR. “It’s really neat to see RAM come back to the Truck Series,” Harvick stated, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “They were always such a big part of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and everything that happens and has happened with it through the years. So they just, I mean — it’s just NASCAR. They’re just a NASCAR brand. I don’t know why they ever left. 13 years ago. I’m happy that they’re back.

Zane Smith and the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Team
Watkins Glen International Competition Notes
Go Bowling at The Glen

Date: Sunday, August 10, 2025
Event: Race 26 of 38
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Watkins Glen International (2.45-miles)
#of Laps: 90
Time/TV/Radio: 2:00 PM ET on USA/MRN/SiriusXM channel 90

Zane Smith Notes

The NASCAR Cup Series is back to road course racing this weekend with Zane Smith and the No. 38 facing Watkins Glen International. Smith has proven to be a strong competitor on road courses throughout his NASCAR career, earning back-to-back Truck Series wins at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in 2022 and 2023. In his Cup Series rookie season in 2024, Smith finished fifth at the New York track.

“These last few races have definitely been frustrating, but there’s no quit in this No. 38 team,” said Smith. “We’ve shown we have the speed to compete — it’s just about putting together a complete race and avoiding trouble. I had a solid run at Watkins Glen last year, and with the speed in our car and my confidence on road courses, I believe we have a real shot to turn things around this weekend.”

Road Crew

Driver: Zane Smith

Hometown: Huntington Beach, California

Crew Chief: Ryan Bergenty

Hometown: Plainville, Connecticut

Car Chief: Will Norris

Hometown: Bells, Tennessee

Engineer: Jacob Clamme

Hometown: Hartford City, Indiana

Engineer: Chris Yerges

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin

Mechanic: Steve Godfrey

Hometown: West Haven, Connecticut

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Tyler Podlaski

Hometown: Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania

Interior Specialist: Matt Fowler

Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Spotter: Ryan Blanchard

Hometown: Bethlehem, Connecticut

Transport Co-Driver: Ernest Mullins

Hometown: Fayetteville, North Carolina

Transport Co-Driver: Rick Grissom

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Flores

Hometown: Manasquan, New Jersey

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Drew Baum

Hometown: Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Jackman: Ryan Selig

Hometown: Lindenhurst, Illinois

Fueler: Chris Webb

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

ABOUT LONG JOHN SILVER’S

Long John Silver’s was founded in 1969 and is on a mission to create treasured moments through high-quality food and bell-ringing service. With restaurants from sea to mouth-watering sea, Long John Silver’s continues building on a belief that the unique seafood experience from the coasts should be accessible to all. Learn more at ljsilvers.com or join the conversation via social media on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 34 and No. 38 Craftsman Truck Series teams from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @teamfrm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Kaden Honeycutt will fill in for Stewart Friesen for the balance of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in the No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro starting with next weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway.

Friesen was injured while competing in a Super DIRTCar Series race at Canada’s Autodrome Drummond on Monday, July 28. He was later transferred to a hospital in New York where he continues to make progress after undergoing several surgeries.

“While I continue to recover, it was important for us to put someone in our truck that can help us compete at the highest level,” said Friesen. “I know Kaden will deliver strong performance in our truck and allow us to continue to run for the owner’s championship.”

Honeycutt comes to Halmar Friesen Racing after achieving at a high level all season in his first full-time year in the NASCAR Truck Series. In 16 starts, the Texas-native has finished in the top-10 nine times, including two third-place finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and Pocono Raceway in June. He comes into the race at Watkins Glen sixth in the standings with a 73-point buffer on the cutline for a NASCAR Playoff berth, which will potentially allow the No. 52 Toyota team to compete for both a driver and owner’s title this year.

“It’s an honor to be able to fill in for Stewart for the rest of the season and help give his team a chance at the owner’s championship, which they earned. I’m excited to compete in contending, race-winning equipment as I pursue a title this season,” said Honeycutt. “We are going to work hard to have a solid final eight races of the season and continue to deliver great results for Stewart, his family and this organization.”

2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Christopher Bell will drive the No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra this weekend at Watkins Glen International before Honeycutt takes over. Honeycutt’s run with Halmar Friesen Racing will begin next Friday, August 15 at Richmond Raceway with television coverage on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Honeycutt will drive for Young’s Motorsports this weekend at Watkins Glen International after being released from his Niece Motorsports ride on Monday.

The ARCA Menards Series is going to Upstate New York to take on Watkins Glen International this weekend.

There are 28 cars entered for the road course.

Dale Quarterley will make his first main series start since Lime Rock Park in his No. 4.

Fast Track Racing’s lineup is completely different from its Iowa Speedway roster. Trevor Ward moves to the No. 9, while Ed Pompa, Matt Wilson and Trent Curtis will run the Nos. 10, 11 and 12, respectively. It’s Wilson’s first start of 2025 and Curtis’ series debut.

Alon Day will make his second ARCA start of 2025 in the No. 25 for Venturini Motorsports.

Ryan Gemmell is back for his second appearance of the season in Nemco Motorsports’ No. 29.

ARCA Power Rankings: Brenden Queen, Brent Crews Pull Away from the Pack

Corey Aiken and Shane Backes are entered in VWV Racing’s Nos. 34 and 00. It’ll be Backes’ series debut.

Ryan Roulette is set to make his sixth ARCA start of 2025 in the No. 67 for Maples Motorsports.

Thad Moffitt will make his seventh ARCA start of 2025 in the No. 70 for Nitro Motorsports. It’s his first start in Nitro’s No. 70 after previously driving the No. 46.

Glen Reen and Andy Jankowiak are entered in a two-car effort, the Nos. 71 and 73, for KLAS Motorsports.

Chris Werth is back for his first race of the season in his self-owned No. 72.

Tristan McKee is in the Spire Motorsports No. 77 for his series debut.

Casey Carden will make his second ARCA start of 2025 in the No. 86 for Clubb Racing Inc.

Rise Motorsports’ No. 31, which was initially scheduled for the full season, is not entered, instead heading west for the ARCA Menards Series West event at Tri-City Raceway.

The ARCA Menards Series is scheduled to take the green flag at Watkins Glen at 2 p.m. ET, with coverage on FOX Sports 2.

Logan Kendall joined the Frontstretch team in 2025 as the Tuesday News Writer and fills in other roles as needed. He resides in the Finger Lakes region of New York and spends his free time writing as a hobby creatively and is a self published author.

Logan can be found on X @LoganKendall48