Motorsports
Team change brings challenges to McDowell – The Morning Call
Switching teams has created a challenge for Michael McDowell. After seven seasons in the No. 34 Ford with Front Row Motorsports, the 40-year-old driver from Glendale, Arizona, is in his first season in the No. 71 Chevrolet of Spire Motorsports. That has meant learning new people, new processes and a new manufacturer. “The cars drive […]

Switching teams has created a challenge for Michael McDowell.
After seven seasons in the No. 34 Ford with Front Row Motorsports, the 40-year-old driver from Glendale, Arizona, is in his first season in the No. 71 Chevrolet of Spire Motorsports. That has meant learning new people, new processes and a new manufacturer.
“The cars drive a little different, they feel a little different. So what I needed last year versus what I need this year has been a little bit of difference,” McDowell said. “That’s honestly been a bit of a surprise, but that’s part of that working out process. We’re learning those things. We’re learning those tendencies and trends that maybe aren’t the same as we’ve experienced the past few years.
“But all in all I’m happy with the progress. I’m not happy where we’re at as far as points and finishes. But that’s because as a racer you want more. You feel like you should be doing more. But I feel like everything is in place to be successful. I’m happy where I’m at, happy with the direction we’re going. Just wish we would get there a little faster.”
On Sunday, McDowell and the rest of the NASCAR Cup drivers will compete in the series’ first race in Mexico City at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Then, they head to Pocono Raceway for next Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com. It is part of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend at the 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond that includes the Craftsman Truck Series Miller Tech Battery 200 on Friday and the Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 on Saturday.
Through 15 races, McDowell has one pole at Las Vegas and one top-10 finish — a seventh at Charlotte. His average finish is 19.1 and he is tied for 22nd in the standings, 37 points in back of Kyle Busch for the 16th and final cutoff spot to qualify for the playoffs over the final 10 races.
“All in all, with the speed we’ve had and some of the results we’ve gotten, I feel really good about where we’re at,” McDowell said. “We’ve had some bad weeks, no doubt about it, some off weeks — we call those character building. There have been some real challenges. At the same time, our car has had a lot of speed. So I feel good about where we’re at.
“Now, we don’t have a race win under our belt and I wish we had more top 10s and top fives to show for it. But we’re still early in the process. I feel like we’re one week away from being great. This is a good week to be great. That’s the mindset we have. Keep building and keep pushing forward.”
This could be the week for McDowell on the road course in Mexico City. The second of his two career Cup Series wins came on the road course at Indianapolis in 2023. His other victory occurred in the 2021 Daytona 500. On Friday, McDowell was the fastest car in the first practice session. On Saturday, he qualified fifth.
If not at Mexico City, then Pocono could possibly be McDowell’s breakthrough. In 22 career starts there, he has two top-10 finishes: eighth in June 2020 and sixth in July 2022. He also started second in the June 2021 race.
“I’ve had some good runs there, some not good runs there,” McDowell said. “But I love coming to Pocono. I feel like the last few years have been solid for me there. I feel like I find a rhythm there quickly. Some places just click and Pocono for me has always been a place that’s just clicked.”
He has a lot of support there, too. Besides Phoenix, McDowell said he has the most amount of fans at Pocono than any other track.
“I really don’t know why,” McDowell said. “It’s something I look forward to. The line of people standing along the fence as you walk out to the garage. There’s probably five or six people that I recognize every year that have been there for 20 years and I say Hi to and make a connection with. It’s just a place I enjoy going to.”
With its three different corners, drivers and teams vary in their philosophies on which one they feel is more important at Pocono. McDowell said you don’t have to be the best in any of them, but you have to be decent in all of them.
“I feel like it’s a compromise place where you’re going to have to live with being a little bit free here or a little bit tight there,” McDowell said. “You have to adapt well, find your rhythm. It is a rhythm race track, but it also is long straightaways with fast corners that challenge you every lap to live on the edge. It is one of those places that, like Indy, where you go, ‘I’m just going to commit to sailing it off in here and I hope it sticks’ because I know this straightaway is so important and so long. You just do that lap after lap after lap. There’s a lot to pushing yourself and being comfortably uncomfortable all day long.”
NASCAR AT POCONO SCHEDULE
Friday, June 20: Craftsman Truck Series practice, 12:35-1:30 p.m.; qualifying, 1:40-2:30 p.m.; Miller Tech Battery 200, 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 21: Xfinity Series practice, 10-10:55 a.m.; Xfinity qualifying, 11:05 a.m.-noon; Cup Series practice, 12:35-1:35 p.m.; Cup qualifying, 1:45-2:30 p.m.; Xfinity Explore the Pocono Mountains 250, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 22: Cup Series, The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM, 2 p.m.
Motorsports
NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard
The NASCAR Cup Series takes on one of the schedule’s most unique tracks with The Great American Getaway 400 on June 22 at Pocono Raceway. The three-turn triangle-shaped track features three very different corners which will test drivers all afternoon. Denny Hamlin, the driver who has won the most at Pocono all-time, is on the […]

The NASCAR Cup Series takes on one of the schedule’s most unique tracks with The Great American Getaway 400 on June 22 at Pocono Raceway.
The three-turn triangle-shaped track features three very different corners which will test drivers all afternoon.
Denny Hamlin, the driver who has won the most at Pocono all-time, is on the pole. After crashing in qualifying on June 21, regular-season points leader William Byron will start outside the top 30. Bubba Wallace will join Byron at the back of the field after his car wouldn’t start for qualifying.
The in-season tournament bracket will be set following the results of Sunday’s race, with the best finish from the Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono races making up the seeding.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for sometime after the track dries at Pocono.
LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400
Chase Briscoe saves enough and holds off Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to win at Pocono. Briscoe will be in the playoffs in Year 1 at Joe Gibbs Racing.
The top 10:
- Chase Briscoe
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Blaney
- Chris Buescher
- Chase Elliott
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Preece
- Brad Keselowski
- Austin Cindric
John Hunter Nemechek has another top-10 run, while all three RFK Racing Fords finish in the top 10. What could have been for Brad Keselowski today if not for two unfortunate mishaps in strategy.
Chase Briscoe is four laps away from his first win at Joe Gibbs Racing, with Denny Hamlin still about a half-second behind. Chris Buescher has passed Chase Elliott for fourth.
Chase Briscoe is steady in front, with he and second-place Denny Hamlin trying to manage fuel. Ryan Blaney is still about a second behind.
Chase Briscoe leads Denny Hamlin by a half second, with Ryan Blaney closing in on Hamlin and Chase Elliott closing in on Blaney.
Chase Briscoe holds off Denny Hamlin for the lead. Briscoe was told before the restart that he would be OK on fuel if there’s another caution. We’ll see about that.
Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are just behind, with Chris Buescher in fifth.
Shane van Gisbergen spins off of turn 1 to produce a caution. SVG lightly backs into the wall. Brad Keselowski’s pit strategy won’t work out. He’ll have to pit under caution and lose a lot of track position.
The running order after stops under caution: Chase Briscoe, with Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott behind. Briscoe’s team tells him to save big time after a short (too quick?) stop previously.
Brad Keselowski takes the lead with 36 laps to go but has to pit again. Chase Briscoe leads among the drivers who pitted.
Austin Cindric, from sixth, pits to start the final pit cycle. One lap later, with 41 laps to go, is leader Chase Briscoe.
Chase Briscoe holds onto the lead, but Chris Buescher moves into second with Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott behind him. That’ll be a test for the driver of the No. 19 Toyota.
Chase Briscoe holds off Josh Berry for the Stage 2 win and the playoff point.
The top 10:
- Chase Briscoe
- Josh Berry
- Chase Elliott
- William Byron
- Chris Buescher
- Denny Hamlin
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney
- Kyle Larson
- Carson Hocevar
Hamlin and Buescher have not been at the front since the start, while Elliott has not been up this high in the running order all day. If strategy shakes out in their favor, they are the three cars likely to race for the win. Still plenty of racing to go.
Brad Keselowski pitted before the end of the stage, but everyone still has to pit at least one more time.
Chase Briscoe keeps the lead, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slips back to fifth behind Josh Berry, William Byron and Chase Elliott.
Admittedly, there’s no telling what pit strategy will work by the end of the day. There are so many.
Tyler Reddick is in the garage, with his team looking at the right-front side of the car for a possible brake issue. A clean sweep of brake issues for 23XI.
He does make it back to pit road by the time of the green flag, but he’ll be two laps down.
Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland get together and spin off the tunnel turn, and Christopher Bell, SVG and Ty Dillon are also involved. Caution is out.
Chase Briscoe leads Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar. 12 to go in Stage 2.
Michael McDowell’s brake rotors expire just off of turn 3 and onto the frontstretch, and it cuts a tire down. No caution as McDowell limps around and to the garage.
That is the third brake failure, at least, today.
Alex Bowman assumes the lead and controls it on the restart, with Joey Logano in second and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar behind them. That’s one to watch.
From the lead, Brad Keselowski pits with pit road closed. His team is not happy atop the pit box. He’ll start at the tail end of the pack on the restart.
Keselowski’s team says there were a lot of voices talking about coming down pit road or not.
“Good chance this comes right back to us,” Keselowski tells his team.
Bubba Wallace has a problem into the tunnel turn and pounds the wall. Caution is out. Big time hit for Wallace after the brake rotor virtually exploded. Wallace drives to the garage; he’s out of the car and not happy.
That’s two 23XI Racing cars out due to cut tires and brake issues in the second stage.
Chase Elliott is up to fifth on the restart, ahead of Ty Gibbs. William Byron is up to third after a stellar restart. Cars are moving up or down in chunks of positions during these restarts behind the leaders. Brad Keselowski remains the leader ahead of Carson Hocevar.
Caution is out for Riley Herbst, who hits the wall hard in turn 1. A tire went down just as he entered the first corner. He’ll be done for the day.
Brad Keselowski, the top driver running among those who pitted before the end of the stage, leads and holds it through the restart. Carson Hocevar is second.
Denny Hamlin moves up four spots to sixth on the restart. Chase Elliott moves into the top 10, in eighth. Chris Buescher is back to 10th.
The top four cars stay out, while the majority behind them in the top 10 come in before the end of the stage.
Denny Hamlin wins Stage 1 ahead of Chris Buescher. The top 10:
- Denny Hamlin
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Chase Briscoe
- Erik Jones
- Zane Smith
- Joey Logano
- Chase Elliott
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
Carson Hocevar tells his team that he is very loose in turn 3, and he may have made contact with the wall after nearly wrecking off the corner. His team tells him that the fenders look OK. He is back to 4th and may be in danger of falling back a couple more spots before a possible pit stop.
For drivers who struggled in Saturday’s qualifying:
- William Byron started at the rear of the field after his team repaired his wrecked race car after a qualifying wreck, and he is up to 19th.
- Josh Berry did not make a qualifying run on Saturday, and is up to 29th.
- Bubba Wallace also started at the rear following an issue with starting the car during qualifying. He is 30th after starting 34th.
Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney has lost four positions during the first run and is 24th.
Denny Hamlin leads the first six laps unencumbered, but Chris Buescher is now on his bumper. The first stage is 30 laps, and a lot of teams will pit before the end of the stage to play track position. We’ll see what those two do in about 20 laps, with Buescher racing for points near the playoff cutoff as much as he is a win.
Denny Hamlin clears off of turn 1 for the lead, with Chris Buescher in second. Carson Hocevar slots into third. Not a good start for John Hunter Nemechek, who got shuffled back in the bad end of a three-wide scrap and is back to 10th.
New NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch gives the command, and engines are fired at Pocono. Should have plenty of daylight to get the race in barring any pop-up showers or a lengthy red flag.
NASCAR is targeting a 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT green flag. The radar is clearing, and the track is drying.
A lightning hold was lifted at about 12:35 p.m. CT, allowing for track-drying efforts to begin at Pocono. But there are still scattered showers and thunderstorms to dodge in the area. A reminder: Pocono Raceway does not have lights, and sunset is set for about 8:37 p.m. ET/7:37 p.m. CT.
Denny Hamlin is on the pole for Sunday’s race, with Chris Buescher joining him on the front row.
The top 10:
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Find the full starting lineup here.
The Great American Getaway 400 will be aired on the radio by the Motor Racing Network. MRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
- Green Flag Time: Approx. 1:20 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 22
- Track: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile triangular oval) in Long Pond, Pennsylvania
- Length: 160 laps, 400 miles
- Stages: 30 laps, 65 laps, 65 laps
- TV coverage: Amazon Prime Video (streaming) (Watch Amazon Prime with a free trial)
- Radio: MRN
- Streaming: Amazon Prime Video (subscription required); MAX app for in-car cameras (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM on Channel 90 for audio (subscription required)
The Great American Getaway 400 will be broadcast nationally via streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Other streaming options for the race include MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.
- 2024: Ryan Blaney
- 2023: Denny Hamlin
- 2022: Chase Elliott
- 2021 doubleheader race No. 2: Kyle Busch
- 2021 doubleheader race No. 1: Alex Bowman
Motorsports
CHEVROLET NCS AT POCONO: Michael McDowell Quotes – Speedway Digest
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – McDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway. Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out? “Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to […]

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet –
McDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway.
Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out?
“Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to make it. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t what we needed for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We came off a good weekend (in Mexico City), and this is the exact opposite of what we needed. But we have Atlanta, Chicago and Sonoma coming up, so we have a lot of good tracks on the horizon for our team. The season is grueling sometimes.
I was just trying to nurse it there at the end on that last restart, knowing I was starting to lose my pedal a little bit. In the car, there’s not a lot you can do other than dial bias to the rear and hope and pray for the best. What put us behind this weekend was yesterday in qualifying. I just made a mistake there, and that kind of sets you up for the whole race starting 28th. We did some strategy there and we were going to give ourselves a fighting chance. But like I said, I knew we had an issue with the brakes and I was trying to get to a place where hopefully they would last, but they didn’t. ”
Does this put more emphasis on winning moving forward?
“No, that’s been the mindset anyways. I’ve been telling you guys all year that I’m not planning on pointing my way in… I’m planning on winning a race because that’s the way I see us getting into the playoffs. You’re going to have weekends like this where you have issues, you get taken out or you have something happen. You can’t plan on pointing your way in, especially this early on because there’s still a lot of opportunities for guys below the cutline to win, as we saw last weekend. When you have places like Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Daytona, you’ve got a lot of tracks that it could open it up for a new winner, like we saw with Harrison Burton last year. That last few years, there’s been a few surprise winners.”
What is it about this place that’s leading to the brake issues?
“Yeah, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the teams pushing more. Obviously, for us, this is a different team, a different car, a different package than what we ran here in the past. But I think the brakes have been fairly close here at times. Obviously there’s really long straightaways and high braking zones, so the brakes heat and cool and heat and cool. Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today. We’ll look at it and see what we could have done differently.”
GM PR
Motorsports
Chevrolet NCS at Pocono: Post-race Report – Speedway Digest
Chase Elliott paced Chevrolet to the finish of The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway – taking the checkered flag in the fifth position to earn the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s fifth top-five finish this season. Elliott was among just five drivers to earn points in each stage of […]

Chase Elliott paced Chevrolet to the finish of The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway – taking the checkered flag in the fifth position to earn the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s fifth top-five finish this season. Elliott was among just five drivers to earn points in each stage of the 400-mile race – ending the series’ annual trip to the Pennsylvania oval with a strong 43-point day. The result extends Elliott’s top-10 streak at Pocono Raceway to now four-straight.
· Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar put together yet another strong showing throughout the Pocono Race weekend – starting with a third-place qualifying effort to lead Team Chevy to the green flag in the series’ 17th points-paying race of the season. The 22-year-old Michigan native stayed steady in the top-five through the opening laps before early pit strategy brought the No. 77 Chevrolet to pit road for the team’s first scheduled stop in the closing laps of Stage One. Continuing to carry speed throughout the race, Hocevar went on to collect points in Stage Two before taking the checkered flag with a 18th-place result.
· With NASCAR’s top division entering the single-digit countdown to the end of the regular season, a familiar face continues to stand atop the driver points standings. Fighting an uphill battle following an incident in qualifying, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team took advantage of pit strategy to collect points in each stage – ultimately leaving Pocono with a two-point lead.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th – Chase Elliott
7th – Kyle Larson
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 17 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 6
Poles: 8
Top-Fives: 35
Top 10s: 71
Stage Wins: 16
UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at EchoPark Speedway with Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart on Saturday, June 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 5th
“We were just really loose in (turn) three. I felt like I could pace pretty good through turns one and two, but I just could not get turn three right all day. Certainly as the run went on, it became more challenging for me and I started making more and more mistakes over there. I thought Denny (Hamlin) and Ryan (Blaney) could do a better job of kind of stalking the person in front of them to get themselves opportunities. I was just a little bit too far back and I think it was mainly because of that. But overall, happy to get a fifth-place finish for this No. 9 NAPA Chevy team.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 7th
You showed a lot of pace there at the end and you scored stage points in Stage Two. Talk about your day here at Pocono Raceway…
“It was an up-and-down day. It was really hard to pass. It was a good fight for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team to get a seventh-place finish. I just hope we don’t carry what we had the last few weeks into the rest of the season. Prior to the last few weeks, we’ve been really fast. It’s just been a rough stretch, but we’ll continue to go to work.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 15th
“It was an average day for the No. 99 Very Good Ventures Chevrolet team. We started the race OK on the short run, but then in the final stage, we just lost the balance of the car a little bit. We were just way too tight and never got it back.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 20th
“Our zone Chevrolet team worked hard today at Pocono Raceway to overcome obstacles. A speeding penalty on pit road put us behind at the end of Stage 1, then we ended up with heavy damage to our Chevy after spinning towards the end of Stage 2. We just lost the air racing in traffic. Crew chief Randall Burnett and the rest of the RCR team worked hard to keep us on the lead lap. Our Chevy was never the same after the spin, and handling was really bad in traffic. We’ll regroup and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 24th
“Our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet team fought hard all race long at Pocono Raceway. We had a long delay from rain and that changed the way the track reacted. It was hot and slick. We fought a tight balanced Chevrolet. Crew Chief Richard Boswell made great strategy calls, and the car handled better towards the end. I tried to make a move to the top on a late restart, but the track was rubbered up more than I was expecting and itcost us a lot of spots. By the end of the race, our Chevy went back to the tight side, and we couldn’t recover. We will regroup and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next week.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
McDowell endured a brake failure in Stage Two, ultimately ending the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team’s day early at Pocono Raceway.
Finished: 35th
Did you have any warning that your brakes were going out?
“Yeah, I had warning half of the race that the brakes weren’t going to make it. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t what we needed for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We came off a good weekend (in Mexico City), and this is the exact opposite of what we needed. But we have Atlanta, Chicago and Sonoma coming up, so we have a lot of good tracks on the horizon for our team. The season is grueling sometimes.
I was just trying to nurse it there at the end on that last restart, knowing I was starting to lose my pedal a little bit. In the car, there’s not a lot you can do other than dial bias to the rear and hope and pray for the best. What put us behind this weekend was yesterday in qualifying. I just made a mistake there, and that kind of sets you up for the whole race starting 28th. We did some strategy there and we were going to give ourselves a fighting chance. But like I said, I knew we had an issue with the brakes and I was trying to get to a place where hopefully they would last, but they didn’t. ”
Does this put more emphasis on winning moving forward?
“No, that’s been the mindset anyways. I’ve been telling you guys all year that I’m not planning on pointing my way in… I’m planning on winning a race because that’s the way I see us getting into the playoffs. You’re going to have weekends like this where you have issues, you get taken out or you have something happen. You can’t plan on pointing your way in, especially this early on because there’s still a lot of opportunities for guys below the cutline to win, as we saw last weekend. When you have places like Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Daytona, you’ve got a lot of tracks that it could open it up for a new winner, like we saw with Harrison Burton last year. That last few years, there’s been a few surprise winners.”
What is it about this place that’s leading to the brake issues?
“Yeah, I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the teams pushing more. Obviously, for us, this is a different team, a different car, a different package than what we ran here in the past. But I think the brakes have been fairly close here at times. Obviously there’s really long straightaways and high braking zones, so the brakes heat and cool and heat and cool. Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today. We’ll look at it and see what we could have done differently.”
GM PR
Motorsports
Jose Iglesias does it all in Padres’ comeback win over Royals
Sometime after the Padres started to get healthy in early May, Padres manager Mike Shildt had a talk with Jose Iglesias. The 35-year-old veteran had done his part to help hold things together as Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, Brandon Lockridge, Jason Heyward and Luis Arraez all hit the injured list in the early part of […]

Sometime after the Padres started to get healthy in early May, Padres manager Mike Shildt had a talk with Jose Iglesias.
The 35-year-old veteran had done his part to help hold things together as Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, Brandon Lockridge, Jason Heyward and Luis Arraez all hit the injured list in the early part of the season.
The next way that Iglesias could help — off the bench as he did in Sunday’s 3-2 walk-off win over the Kansas City Royals — would be just as critical in this eight-month slog through a 162-game season.
“It means a lot coming from the bench and in such a situation like that and to be able to come through for the team,” Iglesias said. “I’m just very happy to get the job done and just be ready in those situations.”

All three situations on Sunday arrived after Iglesias pinch-hit for Jake Cronenworth in Sunday’s seventh inning.
A two-run single with the bases loaded tied the game. Two innings later, Iglesias seamlessly collected a throw from the right-center alley from Merrill and fired to home plate to cut down the go-ahead run.
And a half-inning after that, Iglesias’ groundball to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. against a drawn-in infield plated the winning run, securing the Padres’ first series win since June 6-8 in Milwaukee.
Not bad for a veteran feeling his way through his first year as a role player.
Then again, Iglesias has proven time and time again that he’s cut from the right cloth.
“It’s very high,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of Iglesias’ situational awareness. “ … (Fernando Tatis Jr.) says it beautifully: Do what the game calls for. That’s way easier said than done. Part of the process of being a winning major league player is knowing what the game does call for.”

Iglesias had plenty of company Sunday.
Randy Vásquez threw a career-high seven innings in outlasting former Padres right-hander Seth Lugo, Xander Bogaerts was superb at shortstop to support a pitching staff that could afford few mistakes and Shildt pulled all the right strings, beginning with asking Iglesias to hit for Cronenworth with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Lugo retired 18 in a row after Tatis’ single to start the game when Merrill doubled to start the seventh. Two batters later, Lugo was out of the game and left-hander Angel Zerpa had walked the bases loaded to put a decision to Shildt:
Have the left-handed hitting Cronenworth face Zerpa or ask Iglesias to come off the bench to face right-hander Lucas Erceg, who was warming in the bullpen
Shildt chose Iglesias, Zerpa was lifted for Erceg and Iglesias poked an 0-2 single to right field, tying the game.
Two innings later, right-hander John Schreiber had Iglesias in another 0-2 hole after Arraez’s leadoff single and Bogaerts’ one-out double when an 86 mph grounder up the middle pulled Witt behind the mound, just far enough to keep him from making a strong throw to the plate.
The throw was up the first line a bit, too, and Arraez slid across the plate safely to send a sellout crowd of 43,567 home happy.
“Man, he battled his tail off,” Shildt said. “He got down two strikes a couple times and just found a way. Bat to ball, good player, man. Finds a way to get it done.”
The same could be said for Vásquez, who really made just one mistake on Sunday: A middle-middle cutter that veteran Salvador Pérez pulled out to left to open a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning.
A one out-single from Vinnie Pasquantino preceded Pérez’s ninth homer of the season. Vásquez, however, recorded the next two outs to get out of the sixth and then retired the side in order the next inning as he completed seven innings for the first time in his career.
His previous best was an out shy of seven innings last June against the Diamondbacks.
Vásquez struck out two, walked two and scattered five hits while throwing 63 of his 89 pitches for strikes.
“I thought Vásquez was fantastic,” Shildt said of Vásquez’s first quality start since May 26. “. … A huge seven innings. Earning more trust deeper into games and rewarding it.”

A double play started by Bogaerts helped Jason Adam through a scoreless eighth inning and defense helped Suarez escape the ninth after walking Drew Waters with two outs.
Freddy Fermin gave the Royals a good look at retaking the lead, too, with a 103 mph double to right-center. Merrill, in this first game off the concussion list, gathered the ball before it reached the wall and fired to Iglesias, who sent a relay a bit up the third base line but in plenty of time to cut down the go-ahead run.
His third RBI of the game — all after beginning the day on the bench — followed a half-inning later.
Yes, Iglesias wants all the playing time he can get.
But this role is beginning to suit him, too.
“It’s my first time in 14 years that I’m in this role,” Iglesias said. “I’m still adjusting to the routine and each and every day learning about when to start my routine. It’s a process, but each and every day I feel more comfortable.”
Originally Published:
Motorsports
NASCAR RESULTS | News, Sports, Jobs
NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM Results Sunday At Pocono Raceway Long Pond, Pa. Lap length: 2.50 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (6) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160 laps, 57 points. 2. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160, 50. 3. (20) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160, 37. 4. (2) Chris Buescher, Ford, […]

NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM Results
Sunday
At Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pa.
Lap length: 2.50 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (6) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160 laps, 57 points.
2. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160, 50.
3. (20) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160, 37.
4. (2) Chris Buescher, Ford, 160, 48.
5. (18) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160, 43.
6. (4) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 160, 31.
7. (24) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160, 32.
8. (13) Ryan Preece, Ford, 160, 29.
9. (14) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160, 28.
10. (19) Austin Cindric, Ford, 160, 31.
11. (25) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160, 27.
12. (35) Josh Berry, Ford, 160, 34.
13. (11) Erik Jones, Toyota, 160, 30.
14. (7) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 160, 23.
15. (10) Daniel Suárez, Chevrolet, 160, 22.
16. (12) Joey Logano, Ford, 160, 25.
17. (9) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160, 20.
18. (3) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 160, 20.
19. (22) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 160, 18.
20. (26) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 160, 17.
21. (33) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160, 16.
22. (5) Cole Custer, Ford, 160, 15.
23. (17) Noah Gragson, Ford, 160, 14.
24. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160, 13.
25. (15) Zane Smith, Ford, 160, 17.
26. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 160, 11.
27. (31) William Byron, Chevrolet, 160, 19.
28. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 160, 9.
29. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, 160, 8.
30. (30) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 160, 7.
31. (23) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 159, 6.
32. (8) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 159, 13.
33. (27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 140, 4.
34. (37) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, garage, 111, 0.
35. (28) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, accident, 73, 2.
36. (34) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, accident, 54, 1.
37. (29) Riley Herbst, Toyota, accident, 41, 1.
___
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 130.204 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 4 minutes, 20 seconds.
Margin of Victory: .682 seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D.Hamlin 0-32; B.Keselowski 33-56; C.Hocevar 57; J.Logano 58-62; A.Bowman 63-77; R.Stenhouse 78-79; C.Hocevar 80; C.Briscoe 81-118; C.Buescher 119-120; R.Blaney 121-123; B.Keselowski 124-126; C.Briscoe 127-160
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): C.Briscoe, 2 times for 72 laps; D.Hamlin, 1 time for 32 laps; B.Keselowski, 2 times for 27 laps; A.Bowman, 1 time for 15 laps; J.Logano, 1 time for 5 laps; R.Blaney, 1 time for 3 laps; C.Buescher, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Hocevar, 2 times for 2 laps; R.Stenhouse, 1 time for 2 laps.
Wins: K.Larson, 3; C.Bell, 3; D.Hamlin, 3; W.Byron, 1; R.Blaney, 1; R.Chastain, 1; J.Logano, 1; A.Cindric, 1; J.Berry, 1; S.Van Gisbergen, 1.
Top 16 in Points: 1. W.Byron, 604; 2. K.Larson, 537; 3. C.Bell, 524; 4. C.Elliott, 500; 5. D.Hamlin, 494; 6. T.Reddick, 477; 7. R.Blaney, 466; 8. R.Chastain, 443; 9. J.Logano, 411; 10. B.Wallace, 411; 11. C.Briscoe, 393; 12. A.Bowman, 376; 13. C.Buescher, 373; 14. R.Preece, 354; 15. A.Cindric, 337; 16. M.McDowell, 330.
Motorsports
Why Williams could lose their midfield supremacy in 2025
As it stands, Williams are comfortably 5th in the constructors standings. The British team have generally been the ‘best of the rest’ in 2025, with the FW47 proving a competitive machine. Despite the volume of crashes and incidents they suffered 2024, the Grove-based squad managed to address many of last year’s shortcomings. Team principal James […]

As it stands, Williams are comfortably 5th in the constructors standings. The British team have generally been the ‘best of the rest’ in 2025, with the FW47 proving a competitive machine.
Despite the volume of crashes and incidents they suffered 2024, the Grove-based squad managed to address many of last year’s shortcomings.
Team principal James Vowles made a point to switch Williams’ focus to this season relatively early last season – so that his personnel could focus entirely on the 2026 regulations.
Until the Imola GP, Williams enjoyed a significant buffer over other teams in the midfield.
In recent months, however, Vowles’ personnel have seen their advantage steadily eroded.
Williams losing out in the development race
As previously outlined, Williams abandoned 2024 development relatively early to focus on this year’s package.
This decision put them in a very strong position in the opening rounds, with Alex Albon in particular achieving big points hauls.
Even Carlos Sainz, who has vocalised his struggles in adapting to the FW47, has regularly fought in the top 10.

Misfortune has also negatively impacted the Spaniard, with floor damage in Miami preventing him from finishing ahead of the Ferrari duo.
Despite this, the British team can generally be satisfied with their performance so far in 2025.
Unfortunately for James Vowles, this could change over the coming months. In fact, the Grove outfit’s advantage is largely eliminated already.
Unlike Williams, others in the midfield have introduced substantial upgrade packages since the European leg of the calendar.
Aston Martin, for example, have been far more competitive since their Imola updates.
Poor strategy and reliability failures prevented Fernando Alonso from securing big points in Imola and Monaco – but cleaner weekends in Spain and Canada saw the Double Champion secure solid results.
Haas and VCARB can also be credited with impressive mid-season updates. Haas’ transformation into a team with an effective development programme is particularly notable.
Even Sauber, at least in the hands of Nico Hulkenberg, are capable of fighting for points.
Like Aston Martin, the Swiss team have more updates scheduled for the coming weeks.
The Canadian GP was of unique significance for Williams, given it is a circuit well-suited the FW47.
For James Vowles’ team to be relatively average at a track like Canada does not bode well for the remainder of 2025.
Focus remains on 2026
To some extent, it is obviously frustrating for Williams to see other teams catch up in the midfield.
It is also plausible that, as mentioned above, the likes of Aston Martin progress further.

This could further complicate their efforts to retain 5th place in the constructors – which would be their best result in F1 since 2017.
At the same time, James Vowles has clearly articulated what the priorities at Williams are.
The former Mercedes engineer wants to lead Williams into Championship contention – with the 2026 regulations being the best opportunity to rapidly progress.
Because of this, the team’s entire development approach has been centred on next year.
Inevitably, this mean’s the FW47 is unlikely to see any major improvements. This could certainly pay off when the lights go out in Australia next year.
Until then, however, Williams will be in an increasingly demanding midfield scrap.
Main photo: Williams Media Gallery
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