Pocono on Prime delivers Chase Briscoe and Dale Jr’s warm body
The flurry of driver movement late last season was flurrier than usual, due largely to the shuttered windows at Stewart-Haas Racing. SHR’s closeout sale included four drivers with varying amounts of experience and street cred. Noah Gragson ended up at Front Row Motorsports, Ryan Preece at RFK and Josh Berry with the Wood Brothers/Team Penske. […]
The flurry of driver movement late last season was flurrier than usual, due largely to the shuttered windows at Stewart-Haas Racing.
SHR’s closeout sale included four drivers with varying amounts of experience and street cred. Noah Gragson ended up at Front Row Motorsports, Ryan Preece at RFK and Josh Berry with the Wood Brothers/Team Penske.
It was Chase Briscoe who got the most coveted seat — the No. 19 Toyota bequeathed by the retiring Martin Truex Jr. You know the story: With great opportunity comes great pressure.
“Such a big weight off my shoulders,” Briscoe said Sunday after collecting his third career checkered flag and his first as an employee of Joe Gibbs Racing. It also ends a shockingly long winless streak (68 races) for the No. 19 team.
Briscoe is the 11th different winner through 17 races and has now clinched his spot in the 16-team playoffs. Nine regular-season races remain.
Let’s review: 11, 17, 16, 9. We’re throwing around some numbers. Why? Explanation to follow as we go through the gears and speed along toward a place so new, it’s not yet on our GPS.
First Gear: Can we finally fill the NASCAR playoffs with winners?
You probably know the playoff deal. Win a regular-season race and you’re in, provided you’re a full-time driver who hasn’t had any unexcused absences during the season (Denny Hamlin got a “hall pass” two weeks ago due to the birth of his third child).
Assuming there are fewer than 16 winners, the playoff field is filled by turning to the points standings. And that’s what has always happened since the 16-team format began in 2014. They came close to filling the playoffs with winners two years ago when 15 different guys won.
And I’m here to tell you there’s a chance they’ll get to 16 winners this year. And while that chance might be as slim as Carson Hocevar, it’s not remotely out of the realm of possibility. Why?
Of the nine remaining regular-season races, five are wildcards — three road courses (Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen) and two plate races (Atlanta, Daytona).
Like Shane van Gisbergen in Mexico City, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell will get legitimate shots at the road races. Frankly, given McDowell’s plate-race history, Daytona and Atlanta are also possible for him — and everyone else, more or less.
Mix in a surprise or two at one of the four “regular” races — say, Ty Gibbs or Carson Hocevar — and 16 becomes workable. Don’t be shocked if a 12th winner emerges Saturday night at … at … at … what’s it called again?
Second Gear: Atlanta Motor Speedway erased from the map
That’s right, the Motor Speedway formerly known as Atlanta now answers to EchoPark.
As we connect the dots, an historic connection will emerge and you’ll realize that the more things change, the more they remain the same — except this time they want to sell you a car instead of a cordless drill.
EchoPark Automotive is a chain of used-car dealerships. Oops: “A U.S.-based retailer of nearly-new pre-owned vehicles.”
It’s a subsidiary of Sonic Automotive. Sounding familiar yet?
Sonic was founded by the late Bruton Smith and now overseen by his son, David. Yep, the same Smith family that owns and operates several big-league speedways, including Atlanta.
They brought the naming rights game to NASCAR in 1999 when they rebranded their mothership as Lowe’s Motor Speedway — 10 years later, the Charlotte label returned.
Third Gear: Dale Earnhardt Jr. puts a warm body on the box
Kyle Busch is still out there in the wilderness, hoping to uncover a combination that’ll make his RCR Chevy faster. He hasn’t lost his ability to stir the pot, however.
Quick background: Dale Earnhardt Jr. filled in as crew chief for Connor Zilisch this past Saturday at Pocono, and wouldn’t you know it, Zilisch won the race. The usual crew chief was suspended due to a violation found in post-race tech at the previous race.
With modern technology, a crew chief can probably do his chiefing from the couch back home, which Kyle pointed out over the weekend. Just a cool way to garner some publicity, he said. Nothing but a “warm body” up there on the pit box.
Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to refrain from stating the obvious. The older, wiser Kyle knows that, which probably explains his next day’s apology of sorts. He suggested he was just pointing out the absurdity of suspending a crew chief when you know he’ll still be very involved through the marvels of modern telecommunication.
Either way, in the stat book, Junior is now 1-0 as a crew chief and Connor Z has his first NASCAR win on something without right-hand turns.
Fourth Gear: Amazon forwards NASCAR TV coverage from Prime Video to TNT
Tell your grandparents they’re back in business. Amazon Prime’s five-week run as the home of Cup Series racing has come and gone, and not a moment too soon for those who either …
A. Would rather tackle a Rubik’s Cube than try finding a streaming outlet on a TV that’s a little too smart for their liking.
B. Refuse to spend more money to watch TV since the cable company is already charging them over $200 a month for air.
C. Wouldn’t take advantage of the free month of Prime, even though it would’ve meant they could watch all five races, because they’re convinced they’d be unable to cancel in 30 days. I see you out there nodding in agreement.
Much to their relief, the next five races are on TNT, where they used to go to watch rasslin’. And they’ll get a feel for what they missed on Prime, since the main booth will still be manned by Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Junior Earnhardt’s warm body.
Aldermen Met With NASCAR Over Future Of Chicago Street Race
NASCAR is reportedly returning to Chicago in 2027, following its announcement last week that it would not host a race in the city next year. Alderman Brian Hopkins says after a meeting with race officials yesterday, he’s convinced NASCAR will return. One of the city’s sticking points is not having the event on the Fourth […]
NASCAR is reportedly returning to Chicago in 2027, following its announcement last week that it would not host a race in the city next year. Alderman Brian Hopkins says after a meeting with race officials yesterday, he’s convinced NASCAR will return. One of the city’s sticking points is not having the event on the Fourth of July weekend. Aldermen who attended the meeting said NASCAR committed to continuing and increasing its community support for causes that include the Boys and Girls Club during 2026, despite not having a Chicago Street Race next year.
Denny Hamlin’s feelings clear on Chase Elliott NASCAR run – Motorsport – Sports
Denny Hamlin has been impressed by Hendrick Motorsports rival Chase Elliott recently after he skyrocketed to the top of the NASCAR Cup Series points following a monster run. Elliott booked his spot in the playoffs with a win at Atlanta late last month, but his victory came amid a consistent run of top-ten finishes. Elliott […]
Denny Hamlin has been impressed by Hendrick Motorsports rival Chase Elliott recently after he skyrocketed to the top of the NASCAR Cup Series points following a monster run. Elliott booked his spot in the playoffs with a win at Atlanta late last month, but his victory came amid a consistent run of top-ten finishes.
Elliott finished third and fifth before taking the chequered flag in his home State. He finished 16th in Chicago but bounced back to third at Sonoma, followed by sixth at Dover, which Hamlin won to take his fourth victory of 2025.
“Six weeks ago, he was 10th to 15th every week and then would finish in the top 10 because attrition and whatever, and now he’s leading,” Hamlin said about Elliott. “A lot of it is [William] Byron’s had a very tough couple months. All of us guys at the top, there was three or four of us that had major issues. Chase doesn’t have those.”
Hamlin’s comments follow after Elliott, who started on pole, was in a prime position to win. The 29-year-old dominated 238 of the 407 laps, but poor pit stops saw Elliott lose control of the race.
“To me it felt like one of his stronger performances,” Hamlin added. “…I just feel as though Chase is one of those guys that leads 100-200 laps in races, right? He’ll get you really good finishes and he’ll get you some wins, but it’s not dominating.”
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Elliott clawed his way up the Cup Series rankings after being over 100 points off top spot. “He’s made a massive run, and it’s not just because of this one week,” Hamlin said. “I’ve just feel like they’ve turned the corner, and they are stronger now than what they were.”
Elliott was proud of his team’s performance, battling the weather and other challenges in the race. “Been really proud of the effort all day,” Chase Elliott said to TNT Sports during a weather delay in the final stage.
“Couple little hiccups here and there, but had a nice recovery to get back to the lead and didn’t want to see that caution. I was hoping I was settling in for the last run of the day, but it’s part of it. It can change really fast.”
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A jack issue played its part in costing Elliott from competng for the win. “You know you’re still early enough in the event at that point that there’s still a lot of time to recover,” Elliott said.
“It’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, so you just have to deal with whatever comes your way, and we had an issue come our way and I felt like we’ve dealt with it well.”
NASCAR drivers take part in Goodyear Tire Test at NHMS
NASCAR drivers test tires at New Hampshire Motor Speedway SO EXCITED TO, YOU KNOW, GO OUT THERE AND COMPETE WITH HIM. T-MINUS TWO MONTHS UNTIL NASCAR ROARS BACK INTO LOUDON RACE WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 19TH TO 21ST. IT WILL BE A NASCAR PLAYOFF ROUND. TONIGHT, A FEW OF THE BEST DRIVERS IN THE SPORT WERE AT […]
NASCAR drivers test tires at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
SO EXCITED TO, YOU KNOW, GO OUT THERE AND COMPETE WITH HIM. T-MINUS TWO MONTHS UNTIL NASCAR ROARS BACK INTO LOUDON RACE WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 19TH TO 21ST. IT WILL BE A NASCAR PLAYOFF ROUND. TONIGHT, A FEW OF THE BEST DRIVERS IN THE SPORT WERE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY. TWO TIME NEW HAMPSHIRE WINNERS CHRISTOPHER BELL AND JOEY LOGANO, PLUS ROSS CHASTAIN, TOOK PART IN A GOODYEAR TIRE TEST. RACERS WENT AROUND THE MAGIC MILE TO FIGURE OUT WHICH TIRES TO USE FOR THE BIG SEPTEMBER RACE. IT IS CRAZY THE DIFFERENCE THAT TIRES CAN MAKE. LIKE WE WENT THROUGH A COUPLE TIRES THAT WERE SECONDS DIFFERENT ON THE TRACKS, AND THIS IS WHERE I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE SPORT WAS RIGHT HERE. SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THERE’S A LOT OF REALLY SPECIAL MEMORIES FOR ME HERE, WHETHER IT’S SITTING IN THE GRANDSTANDS STARTING MY FIRST RACE, WINNING MY FIRST RACE. IT’S ALL HAPPENED HERE IN LOUDON. I LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK.
NASCAR drivers test tires at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Updated: 12:48 AM EDT Jul 23, 2025
Editorial Standards ⓘ
VIDEO: On Tuesday, NASCAR driver Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain were at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Goodyear Tire Test. New Hampshire’s NASCAR race weekend in Loudon is September 19-21.
MANCHESTER, N.H. —
VIDEO: On Tuesday, NASCAR driver Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain were at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Goodyear Tire Test. New Hampshire’s NASCAR race weekend in Loudon is September 19-21.
Five races to go: The fight to make the NASCAR Cup playoffs
21 of the 26-race regular season are now complete, leaving just five races left before the NASCAR Cup playoff field is locked in for the 2025 season. However, there’s still a road course, two short tracks, a superspeedway, and a crown jewel before we get to that point. 12 drivers have already guaranteed themselves a […]
21 of the 26-race regular season are now complete, leaving just five races left before the NASCAR Cup playoff field is locked in for the 2025 season. However, there’s still a road course, two short tracks, a superspeedway, and a crown jewel before we get to that point.
12 drivers have already guaranteed themselves a spot by winning, but four spots still remain up for grabs. While there are several drivers in a must-win situation, there’s still a handful of drivers with a shot of making it in on points alone. Here’s a look at where those drivers stand entering the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
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Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota
Reddick is in a fairly solid position points-wise. Unless he somehow loses almost 100 points to Bowman over the next few weeks, there would need to be four new winners over the next five weeks to knock him out of playoff contention. Reddick is also the only driver who was part of the Championship 4 last year, and yet, hasn’t won a race in 2025.
The last Hendrick Motorsports driver not already locked in, but Alex Bowman has to be feeling fairly good about his position. Outside of Sonoma, Bowman has been looking good in recent weeks with top-five runs in Mexico City, Atlanta, and last weekend at Dover.
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Buescher is the highest RFK Racing driver in the standings, and he’s been making steady gains over the cut-line, but one bad race could erase it all. Last year, he was in a similar position, but due to some new winners just before the end of the regular season, he ended up being pushed out of the playoffs.
Sitting on the bubble, Wallace has absolutely zero room for error. And if any driver below the cut-line wins, he automatically ends up on the wrong side of the line. Wallace is also facing a three-year winless streak, so it’s more likely he’ll have to point his way in. He gained some valuable ground at Dover, but he needs to keep that up in the weeks to come.
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Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Preece has been hovering around the cut-line for what seems like the entirety of the 2025 season. The No. 60 team have been a model of consistency, making the most of what they have. Seven consecutive top 20 finishes and some stage points have helped Preece to remain in contention. He lost some points in a late-race incident at Dover, but he still managed to bring the car home on the lead lap.
Busch has had a very up-and-down season, marred by incidents, but the No. 8 team is going in the right direction at the moment. He has cut his way to within 40 points of the cut-line after being over 70 behind after Atlanta. If he keeps gaining points on the cut-line at that rate, he’ll get there by Race #26, but he can’t afford any surprise winners.
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Three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have already won this year, but Ty remains winless so far in his entire Cup career. However, despite lagging far behind his teammates, Gibbs has really turned his season around. In the first 14 races, he had eight finishes of 24th or worse. But in the last seven, he has finished 14th or higher in every race, including three top fives. He has rapidly climbed up the standings as a result of his efforts, and made it all the way to the finals of the $1 million in-season challenge.
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University of Florida students build cars and compete with Gator Motorsport
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – In this week’s Tech Tuesday, our partners at UF Innovate and SCAD Media spotlight Gator Motorsports, where University of Florida students design, build, and race a Formula-style car while gaining real-world engineering and management experience. “Building a car from scratch is exactly as hard as it sounds. We’re here with Gator […]
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – In this week’s Tech Tuesday, our partners at UF Innovate and SCAD Media spotlight Gator Motorsports, where University of Florida students design, build, and race a Formula-style car while gaining real-world engineering and management experience.
“Building a car from scratch is exactly as hard as it sounds. We’re here with Gator Motorsports to learn more. Daniel, tell us more about who you are and what you do,” said Bethany Gaffey, host of UF Innovate.
“Yeah, I am the captain of Gator Motorsports for the F ’25 to F ’26 season. Every year, we build a two-thirds formula car, just like this one, from scratch to compete at the Michigan International Speedway. I basically am in a project management role, so I oversee two chief engineers underneath me and we oversee about 40 engineers every year to build our car,” said Daniel Patel, team captain of Gator Motorsports.
“So, how hard is it to build a car from scratch?” asked Gaffey.
“A lot harder than most people would think. The biggest part of it is the project isn’t an engineering project at the end of the day. We always say it’s a people management project. A lot of people, a lot of personalities with a really huge task. From a technical aspect, we’re really good engineers. The university teaches us a lot, and we teach ourselves a lot to build the car, but getting all of us to work together and make deadlines on time is the biggest challenge,” said Patel.
“What does it take to build a successful car?” asked Gaffey.
“A lot of what it takes is building off of our past failures. So, our first electric car in ’23 unfortunately ended in a small electrical fire. That was really shocking to a lot of people there. And in ’24, we didn’t get through any of our technical inspections. Well, we only got through two of them. This year, we got through all our technical inspections. We finished with only, we had only one lap left, and we didn’t finish in our 2025 season. So, our major priority is figuring out why that happened and fixing it. But on top of that, we want to get through all of our technical inspections faster and we want to have our car more prepared before we go to competition, drive all the dynamic events, as well as, well, obviously the major goal is to win. The more realistic goal is to aim for about a top 10, top 15 finish of about 85 teams,” said Patel.
“How do you see that helping you transition to industry once you graduate?” asked Gaffey.
“A lot of the major skills is being able to work with a bunch of different personalities, a bunch of different people. The interesting thing about engineers is a lot of us tend to be really stubborn and really stuck in our technical ways, but a lot of being on the team forces you to communicate with each other and learn those skills that you don’t necessarily get in the classroom level,” said Patel.
“For updates on the 2026 season, follow Gator Motorsports on social media,” said Gaffey.
Zac Brown Band and HendrickCars.com to rock NASCAR playoffs with ‘Stone Skull’ paint scheme
CONCORD, N.C. – Zac Brown Band and HendrickCars.com are teaming with Hendrick Motorsports for a show-stopping presence in the NASCAR playoffs to promote the group’s just-announced 2025 limited engagement at Sphere Las Vegas. The collaboration will feature a special paint scheme on Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet during the Oct. 12 Cup Series race at Las […]
CONCORD, N.C. – Zac Brown Band and HendrickCars.com are teaming with Hendrick Motorsports for a show-stopping presence in the NASCAR playoffs to promote the group’s just-announced 2025 limited engagement at Sphere Las Vegas. The collaboration will feature a special paint scheme on Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet during the Oct. 12 Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Zac Brown Band will perform at Sphere Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13 to coincide with the release of their seventh full-length studio album, “Love and Fear.” Known for fusing country, rock and Southern roots, the multi-platinum, GRAMMY® Award-winning group’s immersive live shows will be elevated by Sphere’s state-of-the-art technology and storytelling capabilities that deliver a concert experience like no other.
The No. 5 Zac Brown Band HendrickCars.com Chevrolet will feature the band’s signature “Stone Skull” logo on the hood with a matte black and gold chrome color palette. Primary sponsor HendrickCars.com will remain prominently featured on the car.
“Hitting the track with Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Larson is a badass way to get the word out about our shows at Sphere,” said Zac Brown, frontman and lead vocalist of Zac Brown Band. “Mr. H has been an awesome friend for many years, and we’re thrilled to have this opportunity with his team. These performances are going to be unlike anything we’ve ever done – and this car is just a preview of the spirit we’re bringing to Vegas.”
Hendrick Motorsports fans can access an exclusive presale offer for Zac Brown Band’s Sphere Las Vegas concerts at www.zacbrownband.com using the promo code “HENDRICK”from 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 23, to 1 a.m. ET on Friday, July 25. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning Friday, July 25.
“Zac and the band are great friends of our organization,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. “They always put on an incredible show, and I personally can’t wait to see what they come up with at Sphere – it’s going to be unbelievable. There’s a natural connection between the energy of rock and roll and the intensity of NASCAR. Las Vegas is one of Kyle’s best tracks, and we hope to deliver a performance for our fans that matches what the band brings to theirs.”
Larson, 32, has been dominant at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Elk Grove, California, native is a three-time winner on the 1.5-mile oval and has led 690 laps there. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has gone to victory lane twice in his last four starts at the track.
“It’s always cool when two different worlds come together like this,” Larson said. “The paint scheme has a killer edge to it. I’m pumped to take something to Vegas that our No. 5 team fans and Zac Brown Band fans will all be excited about. I love that HendrickCars.com wanted to make this collaboration happen and is going all in. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
