Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR on Amazon’s Prime Video has provided fans with spectacular coverage over the past couple of weeks. Many are sad that this weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway is the final one of their five-week slate.

While Earnhardt Jr. won’t be leaving our screens just yet, as he’ll shift over to TNT for the rest of the summer, it remains to be seen if they can reach the bar Prime Video has set. From the pre-race to the post-race and everything in between, it’s been a breath of fresh air, for fans and for Earnhardt Jr. as well.

“We’re coming up on the final race of the Amazon (Prime Video) five-race package,” Earnhardt Jr. stated, via the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download. ” I knew it would be quick. It’s going to be — it’s bittersweet, because it’s been a great experience for me. Working with you guys has been fun. The whole team, really, has been really good. One race to go and then us three will move on to TNT.”

Throughout the past four-and-a-half weeks, Earnhardt Jr. has been the most popular name on Prime Video’s coverage, but other former wheelmen have provided fantastic insight, like Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie. Additionally, Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander have helped create a well-received booth during the race.

Speaking to that, Letarte and Alexander also joined the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download. The former crew chief explained how enthusiastic he is about the job the Prime Video team has done, as they’re hoping to go out with a bang this weekend in Pennsylvania.

“We were just talking about, knock on wood, we haven’t screwed one up yet. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, and I appreciate that,” Letarte added. “I think, internally, we look at, ‘Hey, did we do what we wanted?’ Charlotte was a barn-burner. Those are the sometimes the easiest ones to cover, because they’re great on the racetrack. Then Nashville and then Michigan, we had a whole different feel. But the last 25 in Mexico was a bit strung out, because of SVG. He was out there and gone.

“So, I’ve been proud of what we’ve put out there. What I really appreciate is, it’s been effortless. Fun, I think, is the right word. It’s just been fun. Everything’s a job, but some jobs are more fun than others.”

Alas, Prime Video has set a new standard for NASCAR coverage that FOX, TNT and NBC would be wise to follow. We’ll see if Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander have the same success as the trio moves to TNT after this weekend’s race, but Prime Video’s coverage will certainly be missed until next season.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has sold his 140-acre Mooresville, North Carolina, home for a whopping $12.2 million.

Despite not officially marketing the property, the NASCAR Cup Series driver and his wife, Madyson, received a cash offer which was impossible to refuse, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The property boasts an impressive 9,000-square-foot residence approached via a sweeping circular driveway, with an outdoor entertainment area, upper pool, pool house/cabana, putting green, and state-of-the-art equestrian facilities.

On top of this, there are detached garages, a fitness facility, five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and luxury features throughout. 

As 37-year-old Stenhouse Jr. heads into race weekend at Pocono Raceway, he does so following recent on-track drama with rival Carson Hocevar. After the latter crashed into the Hyak Motorsports driver at Nashville Superspeedway, Stenhouse Jr. had said, “I’m going to beat your ass when we get back to the States,” to Hocevar in Mexico City.

However, Stenhouse Jr. has since cooled off. 

“I’ve calmed down a little bit. My wife talks me off the ledge sometimes,” Stenhouse said Friday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

“She does a good job of that. But it doesn’t change the fact that you get spun out for no reason. Felt like it cost us at least seven spots. We didn’t wreck like at Nashville, but we put ourselves in a spot. We got spun a couple times in that race.

“And just kept trying to fight back and get our track position. Felt like on that long run there at the end — there was still three or four spots right there in front of us that we could get and we ended up giving up another four or five spots.

“Just frustrating, obviously, when you got someone a lap down that had ran into you a couple weeks before that. Our talk after Nashville — he said, ‘Hey, I’m going to run you a lot different,’ which hey, at Mexico City, he waved me by. I was like, ‘Alright, things are looking up.’

“And then, he missed his marks and came from pretty far back and ran into us. Again, I know he wasn’t racing us. But it’s really frustrating for my team and our partners and myself to get spun at a stage like that where there was nothing to be raced for.”

After 16 of 36 races in 2025, Chase Elliott sits fourth in the regular season standings. While he remains winless, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has finished inside the top 20 in every single race this year and holds the third-best average finish of all drivers.

Unless there were suddenly several new winners over the next ten weeks, his place in the playoffs is very secure, so how would he rate his season so far? Elliott agrees that it’s been a “good” season for him, but “it’s not where I want to be, no doubt.”

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jam Media / Getty Images

He continued: “I think for us there have been some high spots and to be honest, there have been weeks where we have run well where we have had a good finish, and there have been weeks where we have not had a good finish and I can go home and be like, ‘man, we were in the mix, and we had good pace today’.

“And those are the weeks where you just want to feel like you are in the ball game as it pertains to pace, doing the right things, and getting up in there and giving yourself a shot. Those days I can go home and have something to be proud of. It’s the days and weekends where we are just not even relevant that I think are the most frustrating to me. We have had more of those than I would want to have and that we would want to have as a team. So, I think it’s been good but not satisfactory for myself or to our team, but there is still a lot of racing left in the season and I think we have ourselves in a position to make a mediocre day alright. We can build from it, and we still have a chance.”

And while consistency is nice, Elliott was quick to note hoe the current format is all about winning, especially if you want to go very far in the playoffs.

“It’s way more important to win and to get those Playoff points in fives than to have to wait till the end of the regular season and maybe get eight or ten, depending on where you finish in the points,” explained Elliott. “So, you need to have some wins, and you need to finish good in the points and then kind of double down on that to get yourself in a really good spot. The consistency is nice, no question. I think our team has done a really good job taking some of those days where we were not having a good day, and digging in, and finding a way to just get something halfway decent out of it. Sometimes that can be a really hard thing to do, and I am really proud of them for that. Because it’s easy to throw in the towel on those days, just lose it and be done and go try again next week. But we as a whole, we don’t know any better and we just keep trying, keep pushing, and make the most out of whatever the day has brought us.”

What Elliott needs to be better

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

While Elliott’s pace has been solid, he’s rarely had winning pace. Teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson have both led over 750 laps this year while Elliott has yet to reach 100 (currently at 95 laps led). Surprisingly, even teammate Alex Bowman, who is a bit further down the standings in 12th, has led more laps than Elliott. 

In a Saturday media availability, Elliott was asked about the gap between himself and his teammates. He believes the major thing he needs to fix in order to bridge the gap is to get better at qualifying. All three of his teammates have earned at least one pole position this year while Elliott’s best start came at Martinsville. Starting second, he went on to lead 42 laps and finish fourth in one of his best showings of the year.

“I think there are a lot of things that go into that. It’s a little bit of everything truthfully, but I think probably the biggest one, is qualifying,” said Elliott. “You know I think the qualifying thing is so important and an area that I have struggled in. No doubt. So, when I look at some of the races … I look at Michigan, I think Michigan is a good example. We got ourselves up front and when that happened, I thought we were super competitive.

“It was like night and day from running around 10th to 20th and just a lot of traffic, and starting runs in traffic and it can just really dictate what your car drives like. So, I think being up front, having a really good pit stall, keeping yourself up there, it can change the complexion of your day in such a large way that it can really be overlooked. So, I think that would be really top of mind for me as I look at what is one thing that we can do to help ourselves, and I think that is probably it.” 

Fresh off his first podium finish of the year in Mexico City, Elliott now heads to Pocono where he won the Cup race back in 2022. He’s also running the Xfinity race this weekend — and started things off on a high note by earning pole position for the event.

A week after a heated exchange with veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and a fine from his team for posting a controversial social media take on the Mexico City race weekend, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar faced the media Saturday morning at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and conceded he could have handled things a little better in both instances.

“Yes,” he conceded, he fully expects Stenhouse to exact revenge after a dust-up the two had on track in Mexico – the second time Stenhouse has been miffed at the 22-year-old in a race. And “yes,” Hocevar said, posting a negative review online before actually getting a chance to experience Mexico, was also wrong. Both things are a learning experience.

Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, said he had not yet spoken with Stenhouse since the trip to Mexico, but doubted, at this point, there was anything he could say that would make a difference to the veteran as they came to Pocono for Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 (2 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I feel like we have a good relationship or had one,” Hocevar said. “I was just running behind him, just kind of logging laps and just locked up in a very dumb spot. And it was just so dumb, really. Just a mistake that didn’t need to happen and didn’t want it to happen.

“But there’s nothing that I could do or say. You know, I can’t buy him a Hallmark card and, really make things better. So, it sucks. It sucks for me because he’s the only NASCAR driver that owns a sprint car team, and I love sprint cars. So, it sucks because I want to go talk to him about sprint cars. So, yeah, hopefully everything can be set, but I know that the scorecard has me ahead right now, unfortunately.”

As for the social media post, initially uncomplimentary of his early Mexico experience, Hocevar was fined $50,000 by his Spire Motorsports team. He explained that his words were written before really having an opportunity to explore Mexico City.

“The issue wasn’t for the team having their kind of frustrations that I’m giving my opinion and putting it out there – it’s just the fact that, you know, my opinion wasn’t my opinion,” Hocevar said. “It was just based off everything else, you know, that I’ve heard or seen, right? I didn’t go do my own homework and voice my own opinion. I didn’t give it a shot. I didn’t give it a chance. I didn’t go walk around. I didn’t go see it.

“When I did then hindsight’s 20/20, then I have my own opinion. But I’ve already put it out there. So, I think that was the biggest thing was like — I wasn’t doing what I pride myself of doing. I was just having my own opinion, putting it out there and being me. I just didn’t give it a fair shot, so I think that’s where it all stems from.”

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carson Hocevar walked around Pocono Raceway without a scratch on his face. His polo shirt looked more tailored than tattered and the Spire Motorsports driver was ready to race rather than rumble.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hadn’t socked Hocevar with a right hook quite yet — hot on the heels of Stenhouse’s threat to beat up his racing rival after last weekend’s race in Mexico City — leaving the next shot at any potential retaliation inside or outside the cars set for Sunday’s NASCAR race.

Hocevar should walk with his head on a swivel because Stenhouse can throw a right hook.

Just ask Kyle Busch, who suffered a crushing TKO loss when he clashed with Stenhouse after last year’s All-Star race.

Get ready! The Pounding at Pocono could be just another round in the ongoing feud between Stenhouse and Hocevar.

“He probably will be looking over his shoulder for a long time,” Stenhouse said Saturday at Pocono. “We’ll see how that goes.”

Hocevar has to look over his shoulder — and for that charging Chevrolet in his rearview mirror.

“The scorecard has it that I I’m getting something from the 47 at some point, right? And I think my team and everybody kind of knows that,” Hocevar said.

Their beef has little chance of getting squashed any time soon, a dispute that started three races ago when Hocevar wrecked Stenhouse early at Nashville. Hocevar sent Stenhouse spinning last week in Mexico City, which ignited the postrace melee on pit road.

Stenhouse seemed to grab at Hocevar as he spoke to him, then slapped at his helmet as Stenhouse walked away.

Hocevar’s in-car camera captured audio of the confrontation.

“I’m going to beat your (behind),” Stenhouse threatened. “You’re a lap down, you’ve got nothing to do. Why you run right into me? It’s the second time. I’m going to beat your (behind) when we get back to the States.”

Hocevar avoided a smackdown from Stenhouse but his Spire team hit him where it hurts — a $50,000 fine on Tuesday for derogatory comments he made about Mexico City on a livestream as NASCAR raced there last weekend.

At just 23 and in his second full Cup season, Hocevar has whipped himself into a flurry of unwanted attention, continuing a trend that started last year when even veteran Denny Hamlin chimed in and said NASCAR had “ to do something to Carson.”

Stenhouse might do it on behalf of the sanctioning body with his fist or even his No. 47 Chevrolet.

Hocevar conceded, yes, payback may be imminent and the time to talk out their lingering issues is over.

Yet, Hocevar pleaded: “It’s not an open hunting season on the 77 because of these incidents.”

Hocevar stamped his own target on his back. With his aggressive racing. With his ignorant words.

“Just because I do something in the heat of the moment or maybe, you know, you do it two or three times, doesn’t mean I’m not hard on myself for those mistakes because they are mistakes,” he said. “It’s just trying not to make that a pattern. But when you’re constantly making aggressive moves like we’re doing, it’s balancing that fine line of, you know, you make a thousand moves a day. Just unfortunately, what people remember isn’t always the good ones. You always remember the negative ones.”

Case in point, Hocevar walked back his derisive comments about Mexico after he actually experienced the culture of the country following NASCAR’s foray into a new Cup Series market.

“I didn’t give it a shot. I didn’t give it a chance,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t go walk around. I didn’t go see it. When I did, you know, then hindsight’s 20/20, then I have my own opinion. But I’ve already put it out there.”

Spire also ordered Hocevar to attend cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.

He can be thankful he gets a shot at another race. Stenhouse’s spotter, Tab Boyd, was fired this week by HYAK Motorsports in the wake of an unflattering social media post about his experience in Mexico.

“That’s above my paygrade,” Stenhouse said.

The biggest KO so far came in the standings, where Stenhouse has been flattened in just three weeks from 13th in points in the thick of playoff contention before Nashville to 21st entering Pocono. Hocevar is one point ahead of Stenhouse in the standings.

“That’s the thing that hurts worse for our team is just where it’s put us,” Stenhouse said.

Stenhouse’s trash talk more worthy of UFC hype could put him in hot water should he actually deliver on his vowed retribution and take out Hocevar.

If it comes to a point where NASCAR dishes out a monetary punishment, it’s OK, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion could afford his fine. He just sold his North Carolina estate for $12.2 million, the highest-priced residential sale ever recorded in the greater Charlotte metro area.

“It’s been a big week. We’ve had a lot going on,” Stenhouse said, laughing.

He’d rather talk real estate than about the space and time wasted thinking about Hocevar.

“I’m just honestly tired of talking about the kid,” Stenhouse said.

Tired of the talk? Sure. Of the action? Not just yet.

“Eventually it’ll all come together at some point,” Stenhouse said. “I’m not sure when or how. But it will.”

___

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Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, a three-race winner this season, missed last week’s race in Mexico City so he could be home with his family for the birth of his first son, Jameson Drew. Hamlin revealed it was a tough labor for his wife Jordan and was glad he could be there for her – and their two daughters.

His son’s name was thoughtful and purposeful – Jameson is “James’ son” and James is Hamlin’s first name. And Drew gives him JD initials – a nod to both the late JD Gibbs, a cherished friend of Hamlin and the person credited with hiring him at JGR. JD are also the initials of James Dean, the car owner earlier in Hamlin’s career providing his big opportunity to be seen – and eventually hired – to a major NASCAR operation.

“He’s been great, slept through the night the last three nights in a row. …he’s behaving good early,” Hamlin said with a smile of his son.

Hamlin said he watched the Mexico City race from home last weekend and was very impressed with the Amazon Prime broadcast and the extended time the network uses. But he’s ready to race at Pocono – where his seven wins is most all-time. He finished runner-up (2024) and scored that seventh win (2023) in the last two visits.

“Just a track that no matter what the car we drive or the tires we have on or the aero package, none of that really matters,” said Hamlin, who earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono, sweeping both races – from pole position no less – in his 2006 rookie season.

“You still make speed at this race track the same way no matter what car you’re driving.

“It’s been one of the few tracks that I haven’t had to change my approach to it, depending on the car I’m driving. So, I think that’s why the success has been sustained.”