Motorsports
NASCAR news: Insider addresses likelihood of another OEM added to Cup Series
NASCAR generated some excitement among fans and drivers in recent weeks with executives opening the door to a horsepower increase happening this season. With many around the sport also hoping for another manufacturer to be added to the Cup Series, there seems to be positive momentum on that front as well. On Sunday night’s episode […]

NASCAR generated some excitement among fans and drivers in recent weeks with executives opening the door to a horsepower increase happening this season. With many around the sport also hoping for another manufacturer to be added to the Cup Series, there seems to be positive momentum on that front as well.
On Sunday night’s episode of “The Teardown“, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic said the people he’s talked to inside the sport are now expecting Dodge will eventually become an OEM in the Cup Series.
“People I talk to, there is almost an expectation of it is going to happen at some point. Whether they announce it today, tomorrow or next year. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, you’re going to see a Dodge-branded car back in the Cup Series.”
Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic on a future fourth manufacturer in the Truck Series
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Read More: NASCAR execs suggests horsepower increasing coming to Cup Series
Ram made news on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway with its official announcement that it is returning to the Truck Series next season. As a result, it will become NASCAR’s first new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the national series since the Toyota Tundra was added to the truck series in 2004.
In the official announcement, Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis made it clear that this is planned as just a stepping stone for the company. While there is nothing planned in the immediate future, the goal is to enter the Cup Series in the future.
“So how am I going to get the Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to truck. So however we get to truck is going will obviously weigh heavily on do I have a path to Cup? Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis on his intentions with Dodge’s return to NASCAR (H/T Fox Sports)
Related: NASCAR standings for Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series
There are currently only three OEMs in the Cup Series – Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota – with the costs of operating at the highest level pushing Dodge out following the 2012 season.
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As Bianchi detailed for The Athletic, one current holdup preventing a fourth OEM from joining the Cup Series is the uncertainty regarding the new engine rule packages. NASCAR reportedly isn’t expected to finalize those rules for several years, per The Athletic
Over the weekend, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer John Probst told the Sports Business Journal that the sport is ‘very close’ to striking a deal with a new manufacturer to become the fifth OEM in the stock car series. Honda has been heavily rumored, but there is no timeline for when there could be five manufacturers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Also Read: Denny Hamlin reveals how NASCAR In-Season Challenge will affect strategy
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Motorsports
Shocker Hitch Air Ride Towing Hitches Joins Jessica Power Racing
Currently sitting 3rd and 4th respectively in the weekly DIRTcar Sportsman-Modified standings at Can-Am and Brockville Speedways, Kingston’s Jessica Power Racing is pleased to welcome Shocker Hitch Air Ride Towing Hitches to the team’s marketing program. From a corporate home base in Lethbridge, Alberta, Shocker Hitch Canada is a trusted name known industry wide. For […]

Currently sitting 3rd and 4th respectively in the weekly DIRTcar Sportsman-Modified standings at Can-Am and Brockville Speedways, Kingston’s Jessica Power Racing is pleased to welcome Shocker Hitch Air Ride Towing Hitches to the team’s marketing program.
From a corporate home base in Lethbridge, Alberta, Shocker Hitch Canada is a trusted name known industry wide. For anything you’re towing or whatever you’re hauling, there is a Shocker Hitch Air Ride Towing system to match every need.
With 5th Wheel, Bumper Hitch, Camper, Farm, Gooseneck applications and more, Shocker Hitch Canada has the products and expertise you’re looking for. Get safer, smoother towing with Shocker Hitch. Their air trailer tongue mount couplers, the Streamline Aluminum air bumper hitch and Shocker Impact and Impact Max cushion hitch ball mounts provide a more comfortable ride, whatever you’re towing.
Learn more about Stocker Hitch Air Ride Towing Systems by visiting www.stockerhitches.ca or by seeing the Jessica Power Racing team hauler at their weekly events.
“It has been a great season so far and we appreciate the assistance of all of our marketing partners,” said Jessica Power, driver of the No. 52 DIRTcar Sportsman-Modified. “Bringing a new sponsor like Shocker Hitch Air Ride Hitches into our program is a positive move as the team gets closer to the special events near the end of the season.”
Catch car No. 52 and driver Jessica Power in Friday night action at Can Am Speedway in Lafargeville, New York. The team’s Saturday night home is Brockville Ontario Speedway. Be sure to like and follow Jessica Power Racing on social media for information on plans for the balance of the 2025 schedule.
Motorsports
Quaker State 400 Playbook, 6/28 – EchoPark Speedway
The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Atlanta but with a new name as it has been re-branded as EchoPark Speedway! The Amazon portion of the broadcast schedule is in the past and now the NASCAR Cup Series can be seen on TNT, and they better bring their A-game because Amazon Prime was great to […]

The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Atlanta but with a new name as it has been re-branded as EchoPark Speedway! The Amazon portion of the broadcast schedule is in the past and now the NASCAR Cup Series can be seen on TNT, and they better bring their A-game because Amazon Prime was great to watch.
The exciting part of this portion of the schedule is the In-Season Challenge, and if you haven’t submitted your bracket well by all means you can do so by clicking right here. 32 drivers going head-to-head in a March Madness style tournament. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night (in addition to watching UFC). Fortunately, we tend to know what’s in store for a race like this so let’s dig into the NASCAR DFS picks and plays for the first…
Motorsports
Inside MX-5 Cup: Ethan Goulart makes a name for himself in the rain
A pair of new faces in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin are not just battling for the Rookie of the Year honors – and the big scholarship money that comes with it – but looking like real threats for the overall championship as well. Ethan Goulart is one of those new faces. With […]

A pair of new faces in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin are not just battling for the Rookie of the Year honors – and the big scholarship money that comes with it – but looking like real threats for the overall championship as well.
Ethan Goulart is one of those new faces. With his victory in the most recent race at Mid-Ohio (above), driving the No. 29 Saito Motorsport Group MX-5, he’s not only propelled himself into the rookie fight with Noah Harmon, but with a little bit of consistency in the final six races, he could easily be contending for the overall championship.
Eight months ago, Goulart was in a different fight with Harmon, trying to claim the SCCA Spec Miata National Championship in the Runoffs at Road America. Starting on pole with no less than his father, four-time SCCA National Champion Elivan Goulart, alongside him, the race turned into a battle between the younger Goulart and Harmon. When the checkers flew, Goulart ended up the youngest SCCA National Champion in history at 15 years and 174 days old, and this in one of the most competitive amateur road racing classes.
Fast forward to June 2025, and Goulart is racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a track he hasn’t seen before – and with rain falling, too. With the help and advice of others, including his father casting a keen eye on the previous races during the IMSA weekend, and his own careful observation during the warm-up lap, Goulart found the grip, made the winning move and took his first win in MX-5 Cup.
“It was definitely really cool,” he says of that breakthrough victory. “Being a rookie just made it 10 times more gratifying. It was good in the moment, right? And now we’re on to the next weekend at [Canadian Tire Motorsport Park]. But I can’t thank the whole team enough, the Saito Motorsport team and SCDA track days. This past year-and-a-half has been really good for me: being the youngest National Champion in the SCCA Runoffs in Spec Miata, having a first MX-5 Cup win this year, plus having my podium debut at Daytona, too, is all really cool.”
Rain may be the great equalizer, but in a series of equal cars at a repaved track, the playing field was about as level as it could be.
“I don’t think it could have gotten more equal,” says Goulart, “because nobody has really driven on that track in the rain since the repave. But I actually hadn’t even been to Mid-Ohio before. That was my first time and I’m still fairly new to these cars as well, so I think that just made us even more of the underdog. But we were able to get the job done.”
And he got it done in conditions that were tricky and ever changing.
“The way the track dried and developed, it was so drastic,” he explains. “The way the puddles were developing…some spots would dry very quickly as the laps went on, and some would stay wet, and then some would actually even move to different spots as the water streamed. So, it was definitely the wettest in the beginning of the race, but what made it so tricky was on-and-off rain. You’d get 10, 15 minutes of dry, and then it would just start raining again. That’s what made it so tricky trying to read the track.”

After reading the changing conditions to perfection, Ethan Goulart celebrated a first MX-5 Cup win at Mid-Ohio.
The win, after some rough races, has him in the thick of the rookie fight with Harmon. But while Goulart certainly covets the Rookie of the Year title and the award that comes with it, he’s looking for even more, and sees himself in a good position to achieve it.
“I have my eye on Rookie of the Year, but I also have my eye on winning the overall championship,” he declares. “I don’t think any true racing driver shows up to race a full season without having their eye on a championship. So that’s my main goal.”
Like many ascending pro racers – and endurance sports car racing is his aspiration – Goulart started on the Mazda Motorsports ladder. While part of choosing MX-5 Cup just makes sense to continue on that path, he says the well-built, evenly-matched cars and great people were a big part of it as well. But, ultimately, he knows it’s a great proving ground.
“Mazda Motorsports has always put on a great ladder program with grassroots racing, and it really gets your name out there in the IMSA paddock,” he says. “This is like the pinnacle of Mazda’s ladder, right? It’s just so competitive; you have probably at least 10,15 guys who could win at any race. So if you win one of those races, you’re getting your name out there. And this was one of the things that we thought was best this stage of my career, right now, to help me progress to the next level.”
With a victory in MX-5 Cup, he’s certainly getting his name out there. Now he’s looking to get it engraved in the record book with a championship.
- All Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube. The 2025 action continues with rounds 9 & 10 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ont., on Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13. Plus, find all the latest series news at mx-5cup.com.
Motorsports
Abiteboul plays down wild Hyundai-to-F1 rumors
(GMM) Former F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul (pictured) has played down wild rumors linking Hyundai with Formula 1. Once boss of Renault’s works Formula 1 team, Frenchman Abiteboul now heads Hyundai Motorsport. And the Korean carmaker caused a huge stir in the motorsport world on Friday with a social media post featuring a Formula 1 […]

(GMM) Former F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul (pictured) has played down wild rumors linking Hyundai with Formula 1.
Once boss of Renault’s works Formula 1 team, Frenchman Abiteboul now heads Hyundai Motorsport.
And the Korean carmaker caused a huge stir in the motorsport world on Friday with a social media post featuring a Formula 1 car with “What If?” on the rear wing.
“Get ready for the ride,” read part of the caption on the post, which was later deleted.
The rumor mill, however, was already in top gear, with some linking the post with recent statements made by Otmar Szafnauer about a potential bid for F1’s vacant twelfth team entry spot.
Speaking at Rally Greece, with Abiteboul overseeing Hyundai’s world rally team, the 47-year-old insisted: “I think there was a clumsy post from the marketing team in Korea.
“They wanted to create a buzz, and it worked,” Abiteboul told France’s Auto Hebdo.
“It has since been removed, which shows there is nothing behind it. There is no F1 project. We already have a lot to do with our two programs. We remain focused on that.”
Indeed, alongside its current world rally project, Hyundai is currently preparing a top-tier ‘hypercar’ prototype to contest the WEC and Le Mans from 2026.
When the Hyundai-to-F1 rumor spread around the Rally Greece paddock, Abiteboul also fielded questions from the international media.
“Perhaps in the long term,” he said when asked if the carmaker really might enter a Formula 1 team. “But not at all in the short term.
“Our only chance would be to enter the market in 2031. Take Audi as an example – they decided in 2021 to enter the market in 2026.
“Formula 1 is a different world,” Abiteboul added. “We can’t come as a sponsor as we have no interest in paying other people’s bills – that’s not our style.
“The other option would be to come in with our own technology.”
Interestingly, with Renault having announced the end of its works F1 engine project, recent rumors suggested that Abiteboul had gone shopping at Viry-Chatillon for motorsport engineers.
Hyundai has also been linked with Formula E.
“The Formula E technological roadmap is interesting,” Abiteboul admits. “However, I observe that it is a championship that is struggling to break through a glass ceiling in terms of audience and popularity among fans.
“We will continue to study this possibility,” he said.
Related Article: F1 Rumor: Hyundai eyes buying F1 team
Motorsports
NASCAR’s Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge in Saturday night’s Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there’s a points race to attend to. Every team’s top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven’t […]

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge in Saturday night’s Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers.
After all, there’s a points race to attend to. Every team’s top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven’t paid attention to the new race within the race.
Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction.
“If there’s something to win, you want to go win it,” Logano said Friday before winning the pole for Saturday night’s race in his Team Penske Ford.
Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.
Briscoe said Friday he felt “definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders” following last week’s win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived.
“I’m expected to win multiple races, not just one,” Briscoe said. “It’s a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.”
NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night’s race.
“I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,” said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford.
“I think it’ll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,” Keselowski said.
Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: “It’s cool. I think after this weekend you’ll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.”
Team Penske dominates qualifying
Team Penske claimed four of the top five qualifying positions and Ford claimed all of the top five spots.
Logano was first at 178.960 mph, tying Josh Berry, who drives for Wood Brothers but has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Ryan Blaney qualified third and Austin Cindric was one spot back for Team Penske, while Ryan Preece, in another Ford for RFK Racing, was fifth.
“It definitely helps at the start for sure,” Logano said. “Being at the front and controlling the race is the thing for sure.”
Drawing ‘Uncle’ Noah
Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it’s a difficult matchup, in part because “he’s actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son’s favorite driver.”
Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson “like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he’s with them.”
Added Briscoe: “Hopefully I’ll win. If not I’ll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.”
Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son’s bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father’s No. 19 winning every round of the tournament.
Racing for Rhealynn
Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills’ design to highlight his foundation’s efforts to raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Elliott said the “Design to Drive” program has raised $500,000 for the children’s hospital.
“The only bad thing is I feel like we’ve crashed every time we’ve done it,” Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit “for giving up the car” so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills’ design.
New name for Atlanta track
EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It’s the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint “was different for me. I think it’s fine.”
Odds and ends
Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next.
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Motorsports
NASCAR announce Kyle Larson penalty as Hendrick Motorsports hit with double punishment
NASCAR has announced a double penalty for Kyle Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team ahead of Saturday’s race at Atlanta. NASCAR released an official report on the matter ahead of the race, with officials penalizing the team after two pre-race inspection failures at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. READ MORE: […]

NASCAR has announced a double penalty for Kyle Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team ahead of Saturday’s race at Atlanta.
NASCAR released an official report on the matter ahead of the race, with officials penalizing the team after two pre-race inspection failures at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.
READ MORE: NASCAR Race Today: Atlanta start times, schedule and how to watch live on tv
The team eventually passed technical inspection on their third attempt, but have been hit with multiple penalties having failed twice beforehand.
The No. 5 car chief, Jesse Saunders, has been ejected for the remainder of this weekend’s event, for example, whilst Larson and his crew have also forfeited their pit selection for Saturday’s race.
It is the second time in as many days that Hendrick Motorsports have been punished by NASCAR, with the series hitting the team with a huge penalty following a post-race car inspection after last weekend’s action at Pocono.
Kyle Larson is set to start Saturday’s Quaker State 400 in 11th.
READ MORE: NASCAR owner agrees to sell Cup Series team
What is NASCAR tech?
Every weekend, no matter the race, track, or event, NASCAR requires all Cup Series teams to pass inspection before hitting the circuit.
If a team fails tech on the first instance, it must fix the issue and repeat the process all over again until it passes.
If a car fails once, there is no punishment. However, if you fail twice or more, punishments are handed out, such as in Larson and the No. 5’s case above.
According to NASCAR, the point of inspections is to level the sport’s playing field as much as possible.
The website also outlines the five stations of a standard inspection, which are as follows:
Station 1: Car is elevated to visually inspect the nose, under the body and inside.
Stations 2-3: Body is visually inspected using a handheld template to ensure the body conforms to regulations.
Station 4: Optical scanning is used to inspect the chassis and body of car.
Station 5: Holding blocks are removed and final safety inspection is done.
NASCAR HEADLINES: Joey Logano claims $1 MILLION reward as Cup Series team set for sale
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