WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — As the countdown begins for the much-anticipated race weekend at Watkins Glen International, excitement is building among fans and drivers alike. John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the number 42 car for Legacy Motor Club, came to our CNY Central studios to share his enthusiasm for the upcoming race, citing his personal connection to the track.

“This is one of my favorite courses to come to,” said Nemechek. “Growing up as a kid, second generation, I always enjoyed coming to Watkins Glen. Playing video games, playing NASCAR on Xbox, PlayStation, all that. When I would challenge friends, the racetrack I would pick was Watkins Glen. There was nothing better than that.”

Nemechek, who has come close to winning races at the Glen, is hopeful for a victory this year. “I’ve had a lot of fun there. I’ve been really close to winning races there. So hopefully we can get it done when we come back here in less than a month,” he said.

Track president Don Berlew also accompanied Nemechek to the studio. Bewlew outlined the packed schedule for the race, which spans five days and includes multiple racing series. “It’s always such a five-day event really with us,” said Berlew. “Our campers will show up on Thursday. On Friday, we have our Arca series. We have our truck series. We also have our HSR running on Saturday. We have the Xfinity series and then we cap our weekend off with our NASCAR Cup series.”

In addition to the races, the event will feature concerts, a kids zone, and other family-friendly activities. “There’s gonna be five races in three days. We’ve got concerts for two nights, our kids zone that NASCAR puts on is just a fantastic family area,” Berlew added.

Nemechek also highlighted the improvements made by Legacy Motor Club in their road course program. “At Legacy Motor Club 2024, our road course program was our Achilles heel. We were absolutely terrible, and this year we’ve been able to get our cars better. We’ve been able to have speed. We’ve been able to have some really good results,” he said.

With the race being one of the last opportunities to secure a spot in the playoffs, Nemechek emphasized the importance of a strong performance. “There’s so many unknowns going into the weekend. Third race before the playoffs start. So one of those last and final chances to try and win your way into the playoffs,” he said.

The Watkins Glen race weekend will take place from August 8th through the 10th, with tickets available online at www.theglenn.com.

Owosso, Mich. (WILX) – 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick retired from the Cup Series after the 2023 season but has stayed very busy since. Harvick is involved with on-air media coverage of the sport, and this summer, he has traveled the country racing against his 13-year-old son, Keelan Harvick.

Kevin and Keelan will race among a very talented field of drivers at the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour ‘Masters of the Pros’ pro late model race at Owosso Speedway on Wednesday, July 16. The 200-lap race begins at 7 p.m.

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What’s Happening?

A producer for iRacing’s upcoming NASCAR ’25 Console game confirmed in a recent interview that the game will not have local multiplayer.

• During an interview with Mike Straw of Insider Gaming, Matt Lewis, a producer on NASCAR ’25, stated that the upcoming game will not have local multiplayer. “We made the tough decision to cut local multiplayer, so that’s not a thing in this game,” Lewis said.
• Lewis did not expand on what exactly he meant by local multiplayer, though most could assume that split-screen or in-person multiplayer is not featured in NASCAR ’25. Split-screen mode is a long-time gaming staple, but its use has steadily declined since the introduction of online play.  
• Yet Lewis could mean another form of Local Multiplayer, as the term is often used interchangeably for certain forms of play. For example, Lewis could have referred to features such as LAN play being removed from the game, with the split screen still intact.
• Of course, online multiplayer is a major part of this game, with private lobbies and “special events” for those seeking a multiplayer experience. Lewis said these special events include “certain nights have sort of special events at a given track where there’s kind of a structure.”
• There is no set release date for NASCAR ’25 at this time. We have covered all the news and rumors about NASCAR ’25 and its development via the article linked below.

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Cody Ware was hoping for a calm day at Sonoma Raceway after a terrifying crash at the end of the Chicago Street Course race, one week prior. A brake rotor exploded at one of the fastest parts of the circuit and Ware’s car buried itself into the tire barriers at Turn 6. He impacted the wall at around 90mph, causing noticeable damage to the steering wheel and cracking his HANS Device.

Thankfully, nothing like that happened at Sonoma, but it wasn’t without its own drama. In the closing laps of the race, the right-rear wheel separated from the car. The No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford was able to continue, but the runaway wheel brought out a caution flag. Ware drove the car back to the pits and carried on, ultimately finishing 34th of the 37 starters. It was Ware’s worst finish since Bristol in April.

As a result of the loose wheel, NASCAR has issued team penalties to RWR. Rear tire changer Marquill Osborne and jackman De’Quan Hampton have both been suspended for the next two races — Dover this weekend and Indianapolis next weekend.

The only other penalties from the race weekend were fines for unsecured lug nuts in the Xfinity Series. The No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Hill, No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota of Dean Thompson, and the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet of Brennan Poole.

NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing team has announced the hiring of Todd Meredith from Joe Gibbs Racing as president of racing operations. The newly created role means Meredith does not replace anyone at the team.

According to LinkedIn, Meredith was the vice president of operations at JGR and has been serving the team since May 1992. The big announcement comes a day after Trackhouse’s Shane van Gisbergen won the Cup Series race at Sonoma.

Meredith began his new role on Monday, marking the start of a new chapter with Trackhouse and the end of his long partnership with JGR. Speaking about Meredith’s arrival to the team, Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks said in a statement:

“We’re thrilled to welcome someone of Todd’s caliber and experience to help guide Trackhouse from the top. His focus on culture, strategy, quick decision making and organization will be a massive shot in the arm for this company as we navigate a pivotal growth period in the history of Trackhouse Racing.”

Meredith said:

“I feel at home in NASCAR and wanted to return in some form. The more I talked with Justin, the more I was excited by his vision of Trackhouse Racing. The team is very talented and quite successful, as you have seen in the last few months, but we want even more.”

While Trackhouse’s SVG stole the show at Sonoma, JGR made news for other reasons. The team found itself in the middle of a controversy after Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski pitted.

JGR’s pit stall was right next to RFK Racing. At the end of Stage 2, Gibbs came into the pit lane and grazed RFK’s tire changer, Telvin McClurkin. Footage revealed later that Gibbs’ car grazed a tire McClurkin was holding as he prepared to service Keselowski’s car.

The situation escalated after both drivers had pitted. McClurkin confronted the JGR crew before a fight erupted between them. NASCAR officials had to intervene to prevent further escalation.

The sport decided not to penalize Gibbs for the incident, despite Keselowski’s team presenting footage with an overhead view. Former driver Kyle Petty stated that crew members need to adjust and make space due to the smaller pit boxes. He said:

“People get bumped, people get moved, people have to adjust. And I think it’s just the timing. It’s the perfect storm here. Ty had to be in his pit box, had to get in straight.

“When you’ve got a short pit box, the only way to get in your pit box straight and close for fueling and give the tire guys room is to come in the back door, to come in that back line completely straight. And when you see Ty come in, he comes through the 6’s box and into his box straight.

“No, I don’t have an issue with what Ty did. Now, I don’t really have an issue with what the tire carrier did either because he’s a little upset. He should have maybe kept his tire out of the way.”