CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The legal fight between NASCAR and two race teams, one owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, heated up Monday ahead of a critical court hearing as both sides filed new motions over antitrust claims.

NASCAR said in its filing that it plans to issue one of the charters held by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to a team whose name is redacted in the document. It said it would do so ahead of the 2026 season.

Front Row and 23XI counterclaimed that selling charters will put them out of business. Additionally, the teams say they will suffer irreparable harm because not being chartered will give drivers and sponsors the option to leave; Tyler Reddick of 23XI has such a clause in his contract.

Both sides are due in court Thursday before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell as 23XI and Front Row seek an injunction to prevent NASCAR from selling the charters until the case has been settled. It is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 1.

A charter is the equivalent of a franchise tag in other sports and having one guarantees an entry a spot in each 40-car field, as well as financial incentives. NASCAR and its teams went through more than two years of bitter negotiations on charter extensions, with the teams fighting to have them made permanent.

When a final offer was presented to the teams last year — days before the playoff-opening race — the deal was a seven-year extension with an additional seven-year option beyond that. NASCAR got 13 organizations to sign, but 23XI and Front Row did not and instead filed the federal antitrust suit.

The two teams have six entries between them and initially won a temporary injunction to be recognized as chartered as the case heads to trial. That has since been overturned and the teams have appealed, but NASCAR has notified the court it plans to start issuing the six charters to others and wants back the money that 23XI and Front Row were paid when they were recognized as chartered earlier this season.

The playoffs begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Among the 16 championship contenders are 23XI Racing drivers Reddick and Bubba Wallace, as well as team co-owner Denny Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing.

In Monday’s filing, the teams say they have “smoking-gun documents” that show NASCAR wants to force competitors to sign “one-sided” charter deals. The teams also allege NASCAR acted illegally in trying to exclude competition.

The teams also accused NASCAR of “bullying and retaliatory behavior” and said “teams were forced to accept below competitive market prices, and have the same standing as college athletes or UFC athletes who also were forced to accept below market prices.”

Because the six charters held between 23XI and Front Row have been returned, NASCAR is arguing the teams never really had them, never signed charter agreements and that it has enough interest in them to begin reissuing them. NASCAR also says it cannot be forced to do business with parties it does not want to do business with.

The teams say selling the charters will put them out of business and contend NASCAR has so far done little to disprove the antitrust allegations.

“Much of NASCAR’s opposition is filled with personal attacks on plaintiffs, the racing teams, Curtis Polk and anyone else who has dared to challenge NASCAR’s monopoly,” the teams said. “None of these attacks have anything to do with the merits of plaintiff’s antitrust claims against NASCAR or plaintiff’s pressing need for a preliminary injunction.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press

Between the two series, IMSA and FIA, Corvette Racing and the second-year Z06 GT3.R have been on a tear! This weekend, Pratt Miller Motorsports, AWA Racing, and DXDT Racing headed over to the famed track at Virginia International Raceway for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. This racing coverage, along with the majority of our digital content, is FREE and not behind a paywall. When any pop-ups appear, please click to dismiss them and continue enjoying the coverage. Before we get to the full official press release from Corvette Racing and some of our bonus coverage, let’s take a look at some of VIR’s milestones after yesterday’s win and podium finish.

Milestones Highlighted In Corvette Racing’s Press Release

• Garcia and Sims now lead by 53 points heading into the final two races of the season, and Chevrolet extended its Manufacturers Championship lead to 81 points with 770 points still remaining in the final two events.
• The win Sunday was the seventh for Corvette Racing at VIR in IMSA competition.
• The Pratt Miller-run Corvette team also now has won at least one IMSA race in 25 of 26 seasons.
• The No. 4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Virginia’s Tommy Milner placed third overall and in class for their second podium finish in three races.
• Sunday marked the first time this year that both GTD PRO Corvettes finished on the class podium.

Enjoy an ad-free experience, get exclusive content, and support CorvSport for only $2.92/month!

What’s Inside Today’s Racing Coverage

1. The Official Full Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Press Release From Corvette Racing
2. CORVETTE RACING Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES, provided by Corvette Racing
3. Bonus Coverage: Celebrate with Pratt Miller Motorsports on Facebook

1) The Official Full Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Press Release From Corvette Racing: Authored by Ryan Smith and Judy Kouba Dominick

CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Garcia, Sims Take VIR Victory!

First GTD PRO win of 2025 as Pratt Miller Corvettes take two podium spots

ALTON, Virginia (August 24, 2025) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports scored its first victory of the season as Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims won the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on Sunday in their championship-leading No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The timing of the result couldn’t have been better as Sims took the checkered flag by 1.070 seconds over the No. 81 Ferrari – the closest car to the No. 3 in the GTD PRO points standings for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Garcia and Sims combined to lead for 41 of 81 laps. They now lead by 53 points heading into the final two races of the season, and Chevrolet extended its Manufacturers Championship lead to 81 points with 770 points still remaining in the final two events.

The win Sunday was the seventh for Corvette Racing at VIR in IMSA competition. Garcia won for the fifth time at VIR – most among active drivers – and Sims is now a two-time winner. The Pratt Miller-run Corvette team also now has won at least one IMSA race in 25 of 26 seasons.

The No. 4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Virginia’s Tommy Milner placed third overall and in class for their second podium finish in three races. Sunday marked the first time this year that both GTD PRO Corvettes finished on the class podium.

Garcia and Catsburg began from fourth and fifth on the grid with the Pratt Miller team electing to split strategies between the two cars in the first race stint. The No. 3 Corvette was the first GTD PRO to make its first scheduled pit stop at the 46-minute mark for fuel, fresh tires and a driver change to Sims. The move paid dividends as the No. 3 moved to the lead after the class pit cycle as Sims took advantage of better tire management and a quick stop by the pit crew.

Catsburg went about 10 minutes deeper in the opening stint before handing over to Milner to go to the end of the race. The No. 4 went from second to seventh after the pit stop but the advantage of fresher tires allowed Milner to catch back up to a four-car battle for third through seventh while saving fuel.

The race swung further in the direction of the two Corvettes as they both made their final stops just inside the final hour and minutes before the race’s second full-course yellow to gain valuable track position. Sims and Milner ran first and second for the final two restarts before a pace advantage for the Ferrari elevated it to second, but it was not quick enough to chase down Sims and the No. 3 Corvette.

In GTD, AWA’s No. 13 Corvette of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani placed eighth in class but critically won the Akin Award for the second race in a row and second consecutive season at VIR. The result vaulted Fidani back into the lead of the season-long championship and a step closer to having AWA return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.

DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell made a huge jump to second place in class in his first stint. A slow pit stop, however, knocked the No. 36 Corvette and Robert Wickens down the order to eighth after the class cycle. Unlike the GTD PRO Corvettes, the DXDT entry did not make it into the pitlane before the yellow with an hour to go. Wickens and Udell, in their final race of the year together, ended 10th in class.

The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA is the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 21.

JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“Congratulations to Antonio, Alexander and everyone at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports on today’s victory and two podium finishes at VIR. The strategy and execution by both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette teams were perfect and showed that ‘Never Give Up’ spirit of Corvette Racing. It’s great for our Corvette Z06 GT3.R program, good for the Manufacturers Championship and good for the Drivers Championship as well.”

2) CORVETTE RACING Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES, provided by Corvette Racing

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Finally! It feels like VIR has always been good for us. It’s been more than a year since our last win and we’ve been chasing it forever it seems. There was always something going on or this or that. It was a perfect race. It played out how we wanted by jumping everyone on the first stop. I’m very, very happy. Alex did a fantastic job. I’m so pleased and happy for this team and for Team Chevy. This is a great day for all of us in the championship for Drivers and Manufacturers.

“I was very nervous but very confident in the team and in Alex. We called a good race and it played out how we wanted. The Corvette had really good race pace, for sure. So I’m very glad for Team Chevy and our Corvette community. We’ve been chasing this win for more than a year. It’s great to do it again here at VIR.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I was just doing my job. Antonio did a fantastic job in his first stint and the team called a great strategy. We went aggressive on the first stop to try and force a situation, and it seemed to work. We could just about hold the gap to the BMW who had a significant fuel advantage on us had it stayed green. We were fortunate with that second yellow but I think we just about had the race anyway. A really great job by everyone. The Corvette was fast today. The Michelin tires held on nicely. In these temperatures they were working hard but held on well. It was a really enjoyable race and it’s great to get our first win of the year.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s a fantastic day for everyone at Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing. We’ve been in contention a couple times this year and things didn’t go our way. But they did today. This is really good for the 3 car guys in their championship and of course Chevrolet in the Manufacturers Championship. On all fronts it was really, really good. For us, I would have loved to have been P2 but we just didn’t have the pace of the Ferrari. If I look at the whole event as a whole and the race, we were quite far back in P6 early. Things just worked out for us with the second yellow and the timing of it. Days like today where the engineers work so hard, the mechanics work so hard and they do everything right… I’m just really, really pleased to be on the podium for these guys. An all-around great weekend.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Excellent execution by the team today! I felt like we weren’t the fastest car today or this weekend. But the team did such an amazing job for P1 and P3. It was really tough to keep the Ferrari behind. They showed some real pace at the end. So I’m super-happy with a 1-3 today. It’s good for all championships involved, and the team can be very happy with the results today.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The objective coming into this event was to leave with the Akin Award lead, and we’ve done that. Great job from the team and the crew. The car was good all weekend. We were fast and in the mix today. It was one of Orey’s best qualifying performances of the year as well. We’re building nice momentum going into the endurance races where we know we are always strong. A best-case scenario result from the last sprint race of the year, so now we can look forward to Indy.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We’ve got really talented people. We’ve got a really good race car. For one reason or another it just hasn’t worked out. I believe there’s always a divine plan in some things, so we’ll focus forward on it. It’s a bummer because I think Robbie has had a ton of pace and I think we’ve had a couple times this year and for sure two races that were, I’d say, bad luck and we should have had the result that we wanted and deserved. But I’m really looking forward to Indy and grateful that we have that opportunity with the team. These guys really have put in the effort and really worked hard to earn a spot on the podium and a spot on the top step. I know it’s coming.”

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was a tough day all around. I think on every weekend we kept chipping away at it. We didn’t start the weekend particularly strong, but we just got better and better every session. Alec did a good job of qualifying and did an amazing job at the start of the race to get us up into P2. And then, unfortunately, at the first stop, I don’t exactly know what happened. What I do know is that everyone at DXDT Racing has been so good in the pits all season long. For whatever reason, we couldn’t get a wheel off and we lost some track time. And then I was defending against the yellow Ferrari and we had some contact in Turn One; it wasn’t anything that egregious, but for whatever reason the car never felt the same again so I don’t know if I did some suspension damage or whatever, but from there on it was just really struggling for pace. We also had some electrical gremlins, so kind of a race to forget and definitely not the way I wanted to end my first year with Corvette and DXDT Racing. I really wanted to end on a high end with a bang. But that’s racing sometimes. I think this team has done such a great job always putting the car in contention to be where we need to be. And these things happen sometimes. Now the goal is to try to make sure I can be here with DXDT Racing and Corvette in 2026.”

3) Bonus Coverage: Celebrate with Pratt Miller Motorsports on Facebook

You can feel the excitement from racing enthusiasts on Pratt Miller Motorsports’ celebratory Facebook post! If you are a Facebook member, you can click anywhere on the embedded post below to engage with other enthusiasts.

“WINNERS! Antonio and Alex take the No. 3 Corvette straight to the top step at VIR! To make the celebration even sweeter, Tommy and Nicky join them on the podium with a hard-fought P3 finish for the No. 4.

Victory lane is always special, but sharing it side-by-side with your teammates makes it unforgettable.

With VIR behind us, just two endurance rounds remain, Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans in Atlanta. The final battlegrounds of the 2025 season are set!”

Celebratory Photos Shared By Pratt Miller Motorsports

I get the privilege to write about Corvettes nearly every day–thanks for being with us today on this Corvette journey. Join the CorvSport movement!

• Engage with CorvSport’s 169,000 Facebook followers and be the first to see our daily content.
• Experience how obsessed we are and view our top 25 monthly features by visiting our digital magazine, CORVETTE OBSESSED.
• Visit CorvSport.com to check out our vast database of over 5,300 features–exclusive market analysis, how-to guides, profiles, model history, racing coverage, and other unique/fresh content.
• Enjoy an ad-free experience, get exclusive content, and support CorvSport for only $2.92/month!
• This is Douglas B. signing off–click here if you would like to view more of my features.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nobody cheered Ryan Blaney louder to win NASCAR’s regular-season finale than Alex Bowman, who vowed to buy Blaney 7 million beers for the Daytona victory that saved Bowman’s spot in the playoffs.

Bowman had wrecked out at Daytona very early Aug. 23 and had to watch on television as Blaney won a four-wide race across the finish line to stop a gaggle of long shot drivers from snagging Bowman’s spot in the 16-driver field.

His relief was a contrast to the frustration shown by Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, who limped into the playoffs this year. Like Bowman, he also wrecked early, but his points total was better, so once Bowman was out of the race, Reddick was locked in.

But his 23XI team heads into the playoffs in a slump, a year after making it all the way to NASCAR’s championship-deciding season finale, and Reddick hasn’t had the consistency it will take to race again for the Cup title. Who has?

Well, no single team has emerged as the favorite as NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for the Aug. 31 playoff opener. Kyle Larson is the top seed, just ahead of regular-season champion William Byron.

Lurking right behind the Hendrick Motorsports teammates is Denny Hamlin, one of only two drivers with a Cup Series-high four wins this season. There are two first-time playoff participants in the field, including rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated street and road courses to match Hamlin with four wins.

The front of the pack

Larson is the top seed but hasn’t won a race since early May, before he ran the Indianapolis 500, when his Kansas victory gave him three wins in seven races.

It’s been up and down since, but Larson starts the playoffs coming off back-to-back six-place finishes.

Byron has two wins, including the Daytona 500, and hasn’t ranked lower than second the entire season. He is trying to make it to the championship race for a fourth consecutive year.

Hamlin does have four wins but is coming off a bad night in Daytona: His car was damaged in an early crash and he finished 25th, dropping from third to sixth in the season standings — which cost him five playoff points, the equivalent of a victory.

Hamlin has never won a Cup title and hasn’t even made it to the championship four since 2021. He’ll try to get there this year at the same time as 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, fights NASCAR in federal court over antitrust claims. The two sides are due in court Aug. 28, four days before the playoff opener.

Blaney’s victory at Daytona boosted him to fourth in the playoff seedings and gave him the momentum to potentially be considered the favorite. Team Penske gets hot this time of year and has won three consecutive championships with Blaney’s title in 2023 sandwiched between a pair of Joey Logano triumphs.

Logano is seeded a distant 12th, but as NASCAR’s only active three-time champion, he can’t be counted out.

Drivers in the middle

Christopher Bell is the fifth seed and his three wins are tied with Larson, but he won three straight after the season-opening Daytona 500 and hasn’t been to victory lane since March 9 at Phoenix.

Van Gisbergen is seeded sixth for his playoff debut based on four victories, all on street or road courses. If he can make it out of the first round, the New Zealander could be a spoiler — the hybrid road course/oval Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway is in the second round and a win there would vault van Gisbergen into the final eight.

Chase Elliott is the seventh seed, but the 2020 champion needs to start winning. His victory at home track Atlanta is his lone win this season and only one of two victories since 2022 — the last time he made it to the championship four.

One win club

Elliott is the highest-seeded driver among eight who made it into the playoffs with a single victory this season. The group includes Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to make the playoffs for just the second time in his career.

Austin Dillon earned a berth with his victory at Richmond this month, but Richard Childress Racing hasn’t shown to be a consistent contender and he enters the playoffs as the 15th seed.

Austin Cindric won at Talladega Superspeedway to put all three Team Penske cars in the playoffs, but Cindric has only one top-five finish since that victory 16 races ago.

Ross Chastain joins teammate van Gisbergen in the playoffs to put two Trackhouse Racing entries in the field. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in May but has just three top-10 finishes since.

Josh Berry makes his playoff debut with Wood Brothers Racing because of his early season victory at Las Vegas. His performance picked up in the final two weeks of the regular season, and he heads into the playoffs with consecutive top-10 finishes. He’s the 13th seed.

Reddick and Bowman are the only two drivers in the playoff field without a win this season.

AdventHealth not only sponsors Erik Jones’ NACAR Cup Series racecar, Jones and the hospital group also form a perfect partnership.

The first pillar of the Erik Jones Foundation is igniting children’s passion for reading (the others are encouraging early cancer detection and care and promoting animal welfare). Jones has partnered with his sponsor in providing Inchy’s Bookworm Book Vending Machines to elementary schools.

Jones and AdventHealth joined forces again on Friday, Aug. 22, at Rymfire Elementary School in Palm Coast where they unveiled a new book vending machine in the cafeteria.

Jones was in the Daytona Beach area to race in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 23. 

At two consecutive assemblies at Rymfire, Jones sat in a chair on stage and read “Goodnight Racetrack.” He then took some questions from students.

His favorite book when he was a kid? “Dragons Love Tacos.”

His favorite racetrack? Daytona is pretty fun, Jones said, but Darlington (South Carolina) is his favorite. Those happen to be the two tracks where he’s won his three races. He won the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400, and he’s won two races at Darlington.

A boy asked, “Why do you do all this for us?”

“I’ve loved to read since I was your age,” Jones answered. “I still love to read.”

Then it was time to reveal what was behind a black curtain against a wall in the cafeteria. Jones and Yuri Pashchuk, the associate chief of nursing at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, drew the curtain to reveal a vending machine filled with books.

“You put a token in the slot, choose a book and you take it home. You get to keep it,” Jones explained.

Students will receive tokens as rewards in the school’s Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports program and use them to get a free book. AdventHealth will keep the vending machine stocked with books from Flagler School’s approved list, said Debi McNabb, AdventHealth’s director of Community Advocacy in the East Florida Division.

“Reading levels for children in Flagler and Volusia are lower than statewide,” McNabb said. “They’re improving, and this is one of the activities to help.”

Rymfire becomes Flagler Schools’ third elementary school to have a book vending machine.

Bunnell and Belle Terre elementary schools have had book vending machines for the past couple of years, donated by other groups, Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore said, adding, “I’m sure this one won’t be the last one donated by AdventHealth.”

Rymfire was a natural choice for the AdventHealth/Erik Jones Foundation donation. AdventHealth supports Rymfire’s medical science program of study, providing all the equipment in the school’s medical lab. The program’s end-of-the-year field trip is a visit to the AdventHealth Palm Coast sim lab.

AdventHealth also sponsors the Allied Health Assisting career education programs at Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high schools, provides full-time athletic trainers to the two high schools and provides the district with mental health services.

“They’ve gone above and beyond,” Moore said. “We could not provide the Allied Health programs without AdventHealth.”

Jones said this was the ninth or 10th book vending machine his foundation helped to provide to schools in proximity to NASCAR racetracks.

Jones’ interest in children’s literacy began during the pandemic when he began to do virtual book readings as a way to stay connected with fans.

“They caught on,” he said of the readings. “Then I found out about the vending machines through my foundation.”

He said he likes to read biographies. He prefers paper to e-books. He likes having a book in his hand, he said. And he enjoys helping give the younger generation that opportunity too.

• NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
• Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 7, to serve as second of three races in the opening Round of 16.

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 25, 2025) – The 16-driver field has been set for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following Saturday night’s dramatic regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

With two of the 16 Playoff berths up for grabs, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney spoiled the opportunity of the four drivers that finished behind him to gain entry with a victory. Blaney, already in as a result of an earlier win this season at Nashville, finished .031 of a second ahead of Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing. Justin Haley of Spire Motorsports, Cole Custer of the Haas Factory Team and Erik Jones of Legacy Motor Club, respectively, rounded out the top five.

Blaney’s victory was of great solace to the winless duo of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who both earned Playoff berths via points. It was a huge relief to Bowman, who finished 36^th after an early-race crash with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and would have been the odd man out with a win by any of those four.

Hendrick Motorsports paces the way with a series-high four drivers advancing to the Playoffs while Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have three each. Here is the 16-driver field:

• William Byron, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports
• Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing
• Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric of Team Penske
• Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing
• Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing
• Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing
• Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs open Sunday with the Round of 16 race at Darlington Raceway (5 p.m. CT, TV: USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM) and will be followed by the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 7 (2 p.m. CT, USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM). This will mark the fourth Cup Series race held at WWT Raceway, but first in the Cup Series Playoffs.

The Cup Series Playoffs consists of four rounds – the Round of 16, Round of 12, Round of 8 and then the Championship 4 Round. The first three rounds are made up of three races each while the Championship 4 is the one-race playoff finale Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway where the highest race finisher among the four remaining drivers is crowned the series champion. Click here for an overview of the format.

Here’s a quick look at the Cup Series Playoffs and its upcoming visit to World Wide Technology Raceway:

• Planting the Seeds: Hendrick Motorsports secured the top two seeds with Larson earning the No. 1 spot and Byron, the regular-season champion, seeded No. 2. They both enter the Playoffs reset at 2,032 points, but Larson secured the top seed by virtue of more wins during the season. Behind the Hendrick duo are Hamlin (No. 3, 2,029), Blaney (No. 4, 2,026), Bell (No. 5, 2,023), van Gisbergen (No. 6, 2,022), Elliott (No. 7, 2,013), Briscoe (No. 8, 2,010), Wallace (No. 9, 2,008), Cindric (No. 10, 2,008), Chastain (No. 11, 2,007), Logano (No. 12, 2,007), Berry (No. 13, 2,006), Reddick (No. 14, 2,006), Dillon (No. 15, 2,005) and Bowman (No. 16, 2,002).
• New Kids on the Block: The opening Round of 16 has two of the three new venues in the Cup Series Playoffs this season. Darlington Raceway, the regular-season finale last year, will kick off the Playoffs as the opener. World Wide Technology Raceway, after three years as a regular-season June race, now moves to the second of three races in the Round of 16 on Sunday, Sept. 7. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a June regular-season race a year ago, will open the Round of 12 on Sunday, Sept. 21.
• Gateway to the Round of 12: A victory by a Playoff driver will automatically advance them to the next round, with one in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway moving them to the Round of 12. Playoff drivers who have won at WWT Raceway previously are both Team Penske drivers. Cindric is the defending race winner while Logano was victorious in the inaugural 2022 race.
• Championship Pedigree: Four of the 16 Playoff drivers are previous Cup Series champions under this format. The group is led by Logano, the defending series champion and only two-time winner (2022, ’24) among the field. The others are Blaney (2023), Larson (2021) and Elliott (2020).
• Welcome to the Post-Season Party: Two drivers – van Gisbergen and Berry – are making their first appearances in the Cup Series Playoffs. Van Gisbergen heads to the post-season during a stellar rookie campaign in which he was the co-series leader for victories (4) with Hamlin. All of his wins have come on road courses or temporary street circuits – Mexico City in June, the Chicago Street Race and Sonoma Raceway in July, and Watkins Glen in August. Berry, in his second full season and first with the Wood Brothers, made the field by securing his first career Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
• Spoiler Role: The most prominent name to miss the Playoffs is Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion. Busch, the 2023 winner at WWT Raceway, has missed the Playoffs the last two seasons after previously qualifying for the post-season 11 consecutive years (2012-23). Busch, a 63-time Cup Series race winner, has won at nine of the 10 Playoff tracks, with the lone exception being the Charlotte ROVAL.

Limited tickets remain for the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 16 race and are available by visiting www.wwtraceway.com.

About World Wide Technology Raceway

World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the home of NASCAR, INDYCAR and NHRA racing in St. Louis’ Metro East region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering 700 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1.25-mile superspeedway; 1/4-mile drag strip; 2.0-mile road course; the Gateway Kartplex state-of-the-art karting facility; and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and Owner & CEO Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2023 St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame induction; 2023 Innovation in Philanthropy Award by the St. Louis Business Journal; 2022 Explore St. Louis Hospitality Hero Recognition; 2022 Best in Show and Best Event & Festival from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism; 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association. Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.

Source: World Wide Technology Raceway

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nobody cheered Ryan Blaney louder to win NASCAR’s regular-season finale than Alex Bowman, who vowed to buy Blaney 7 million beers for the Daytona victory that saved Bowman’s spot in the playoffs.

Bowman had wrecked out at Daytona very early Saturday night and had to watch on television as Blaney won a four-wide race across the finish line to stop a gaggle of long shot drivers from snagging Bowman’s spot in the 16-driver field.

His relief was a contrast to the frustration shown by Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, who limped into the playoffs this year. Like Bowman, he also wrecked early, but his points total was better, so once Bowman was out of the race, Reddick was locked in.

But his 23XI team heads into the playoffs in a slump, a year after making it all the way to NASCAR’s championship-deciding season finale, and Reddick hasn’t had the consistency it will take to race again for the Cup title. Who has?

Well, no single team has emerged as the favorite as NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for Sunday’s playoff opener. Kyle Larson is the top seed, just ahead of regular-season champion William Byron.

Lurking right behind the Hendrick Motorsports teammates is Denny Hamlin, one of only two drivers with a Cup Series-high four wins this season. There are two first-time playoff participants in the field, including rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated street and road courses to match Hamlin with four wins.

The front of the pack

Larson is the top seed but hasn’t won a race since early May, before he ran the Indianapolis 500, when his Kansas victory gave him three wins in seven races.

It’s been up and down since, but Larson starts the playoffs coming off back-to-back six-place finishes.

Byron has two wins, including the Daytona 500, and hasn’t ranked lower than second the entire season. He is trying to make it to the championship race for a fourth consecutive year.

Hamlin does have four wins but is coming off a bad night in Daytona: His car was damaged in an early crash and he finished 25th, dropping from third to sixth in the season standings — which cost him five playoff points, the equivalent of a victory.

Hamlin has never won a Cup title and hasn’t even made it to the championship four since 2021. He’ll try to get there this year at the same time as 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, fights NASCAR in federal court over antitrust claims. The two sides are due in court Thursday, four days before the playoff opener.

Blaney’s victory at Daytona boosted him to fourth in the playoff seedings and gave him the momentum to potentially be considered the favorite. Team Penske gets hot this time of year and has won three consecutive championships with Blaney’s title in 2023 sandwiched between a pair of Joey Logano triumphs.

Logano is seeded a distant 12th, but as NASCAR’s only active three-time champion, he can’t be counted out.

Drivers in the middle

Christopher Bell is the fifth seed and his three wins are tied with Larson, but he won three straight after the season-opening Daytona 500 and hasn’t been to victory lane since March 9 at Phoenix.

Van Gisbergen is seeded sixth for his playoff debut based on four victories, all on street or road courses. If he can make it out of the first round, the New Zealander could be a spoiler — the hybrid road course/oval Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway is in the second round and a win there would vault van Gisbergen into the final eight.

Chase Elliott is the seventh seed, but the 2020 champion needs to start winning. His victory at home track Atlanta is his lone win this season and only one of two victories since 2022 — the last time he made it to the championship four.

One win club

Elliott is the highest-seeded driver among eight who made it into the playoffs with a single victory this season. The group includes Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to make the playoffs for just the second time in his career.

Austin Dillon earned a berth with his victory at Richmond this month, but Richard Childress Racing hasn’t shown to be a consistent contender and he enters the playoffs as the 15th seed.

Austin Cindric won at Talladega Superspeedway to put all three Team Penske cars in the playoffs, but Cindric has only one top-five finish since that victory 16 races ago.

Ross Chastain joins teammate van Gisbergen in the playoffs to put two Trackhouse Racing entries in the field. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in May but has just three top-10 finishes since.

Josh Berry makes his playoff debut with Wood Brothers Racing because of his early season victory at Las Vegas. His performance picked up in the final two weeks of the regular season, and he heads into the playoffs with consecutive top-10 finishes. He’s the 13th seed.

Reddick and Bowman are the only two drivers in the playoff field without a win this season.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.