Photo credit: Porsche

AO Racing used strategy to finish fifth on Sunday in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship action, leading the Porsche contingent. The two-hour, 40-minute race opened with multiple drive-through penalties for contact. After staying clear early, the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R was assessed a drive-through with two hours remaining, prompting a switch in approach. The team extended its first stint and became the last car to make a full-service stop. Klaus Bachler cycled to the lead while others pitted, then handed to Laurin Heinrich with one hour, 36 minutes to go. A shorter second stop under caution with slightly less than an hour remaining moved Heinrich to fifth in GTD Pro and overall, where he held to the flag.

Wright Motorsports charged late for seventh in GTD. Adam Adelson ran a clean opening stint before Elliott Skeer took over the green No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Restarting 12th with less than 30 minutes left, Skeer gained five spots to secure seventh. He described it as “a tale of two stints,” noting the team missed a yellow while stretching its first run, then recovered to the top seven.

Photo credit: Porsche

Porsche customer programs also delivered results on Saturday. RS1 earned its third Michelin Pilot Challenge GS win of the season with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport as Jan Heylen and Luca Mars extended their points lead. Early contact dropped Mars down the order, but strategy brought the car back into contention. Heylen restarted second with slightly less than 15 minutes to go, took the lead in Turn 1, and held to the finish. With two races left in 2025, the pair leads by 240 points. Adelson, pulling double duty, finished second in the GTDX class across three VP Racing SportsCar Championship sprints and stretched his championship lead to 210 points with two rounds remaining.

Post-race, Bachler said fifth was the maximum on the day and praised the team’s pit work, while acknowledging lost points in the title fight. Skeer highlighted the late run from 12th to seventh. Jan Heylen said the team “needed a good result and we got it,” crediting pace and execution.

Official results listed Garcia and Sims in the No. 3 Chevrolet as GTD Pro winners after 81 laps, with Costa and Altoe’s No. 81 Ferrari second by 1.070 seconds and Milner and Catsburg third in the No. 4 Chevrolet at 5.036 seconds. Heinrich and Bachler finished fifth in the No. 77 Porsche, 10.123 seconds back. In GTD, Ward and Ellis won in the No. 57 Mercedes after 81 laps, Triarsi and Koch’s No. 21 Ferrari finished 1.078 seconds behind, and Gamble and Stevenson took third in the No. 27 Aston Martin at 2.611 seconds. Adelson and Skeer finished seventh, 7.640 seconds adrift. The GTD Pro and GTD fields will rejoin GTP for the six-hour Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta to close the season.

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.”

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has revealed that the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series could undergo major changes by 2028, aligning with the Cup Series in terms of having single-source suppliers.

Currently, all parts for the Cup Series cars come from single-source suppliers, making them spec cars. Now, Hamlin has stated that cars from the Xfinity and Truck Series could become spec cars.

The practice of having spec cars ensures equality in competition across all teams. While Hamlin stressed that it is a rumor, the probability of it happening is high. He said on his Actions Detrimental podcast:

“From what I’m hearing, in the Truck Series, NASCAR’s telling them — this is what I’ve been told, this is a rumor; I don’t know if this is factual, but it’s a rumor — that they need them to go to spec trucks by 2028. It’s going to happen in the Xfinity Series as well. Those guys are running cars that are old, old, old, old, old, old.”

Related: Dale Jr. Hits Back at Kyle Petty For Supporting NASCAR’s Next Gen Car

The Xfinity Series made headlines recently, given its multi-year sponsorship signing with O’Reilly Auto Parts. From 2026, NASCAR’s secondary racing series will be called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Announcing the deal, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said in a statement:

“Like the great sport of NASCAR, O’Reilly Auto Parts was born in America and built on the hard work and drive of passionate people. This new partnership allows us to continue to fuel that passion for the next generation of NASCAR’s stars and fans while celebrating the journey we’ve been on together for decades.”

O’Reilly Auto Parts President Brent Kirby added:

“Our company is rooted in the same values that define NASCAR — teamwork, enthusiasm and dedication. You’ll see those in action when our customers walk through our doors. We know they need fast service, and Team O’Reilly will get them the parts they need quickly, with excellent customer service. We welcome all fans to stop by our stores and see how our team can help keep them running.”

Hugo Sanchez, O’Reilly Auto Parts vice president of advertising and marketing, said:

“Partnering with NASCAR and The CW at this level enables us to further deepen our connection to one of the most loyal fanbases in all of sports. This agreement builds on our long-term involvement in NASCAR and our dedication to the fans who love cars as much as we do.”

Statement from the NASCAR team posted below

Sad news from the NASCAR garage area.

Zachary Yager has been a pit crew member at the NASCAR ranks since 2014. He was a former Daytona 500 winning crew member.

Yager has died at an early age. The news was first reported by Toby Christie.

This season, he’s worked on the No. 39 RSS Racing team via the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In addition, he’s been working on the No. 88 for ThorSport Racing via the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

He has been the Jack Man for both teams. In years past, he’s served many duties of the over-the-wall crew.

As of now, there is currently very little information on his death. This post will be updated if more information becomes available.

Yager was 35 years old.

ThorSport Racing Statement

On Monday, ThorSport Racing issued the following statement.

“We are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of our friend and teammate, Zachary Yager,” ThorSport opened.

They added, “He was an important part of our family, and our hearts are with his loved ones and community as we grieve this loss together.”

Yager was not at the track over the weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Xfinity Series race.

Links

NASCAR

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

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