Midway through the 2024 Coca-Cola 600, Ryan Preece found himself yet again languishing at the back of the pack. What had been billed as a dream opportunity for him to join Stewart-Haas Racing, a multi-car powerhouse with a championship pedigree, had by this point turned to the grim reality of being collateral damage of the organization’s terminal decline.

Despite taking the wheel of a No. 41 car that had won the Daytona 500 and many more races in the past, it had become well and apparent that Preece did not have what he needed to win races. Rather, he had to shoulder many burdens in trying to carry his car and his team forward — all the way to the point of having to play crew chief from the cockpit and motivate his actual crew chief atop the pit box.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins in his first race as a NASCAR crew chief in Xfinity Series one-off at Pocono

Steven Taranto

“I’m gonna go with that did not wake the front up, and it didn’t do what we need to,” Preece said after a caution came out. “So, I don’t care how much track position we lose right now, I can’t even maintain what I have.”

“OK, but everything that I do that is the direction that I think is wrong,” replied his crew chief, seemingly sulking. “So, I can pick a direction on the front, but I don’t know that it’s gonna be right because everything else that I’ve done is wrong.”

“Well, you need to be right now the leader — like I know you can be — and let’s figure it the f–k out,” Preece said in return. “Because we’ve got 600 miles, 220 laps to pull this together. Let’s make a direction and figure it out.”

In just over a year since then, the situation for Preece has changed dramatically. After Stewart-Haas Racing sold its assets and shut down at the end of 2024, Preece not only landed with a new third team at RFK Racing, but has been better for it. As the driver of RFK’s No. 60 Ford, Preece is in the middle of the best season of his Cup career, with a career-high six top 10s through 16 races putting him right in the thick of the fight to make the NASCAR playoffs later this season.

On the surface, Preece reaching his potential as a Cup driver after many years of clawing his way up from stardom in the Whelen Modified Tour is the product of him being put in the right situation at RFK Racing, where he is both part of an organization on the rise and has a car owner in Brad Keselowski that believes in him. But speaking to CBS Sports, Preece shared that there’s another contributing factor at play: an open mind, particularly when it comes to the car he’s driving and trusting the people working on it.

“I went in with an open mind of ‘I’m gonna work on me, I’m gonna trust the process and I’m gonna continue to push myself.’ And that comes with doing more listening than I do talking, having a different perspective going into the weekends, and really just having a big, open mind when it comes to a lot of things,” Preece said. “There’s definitely times where I almost know too much for my own good when it comes to race cars, and you can come up with preconceived notions. So, I’m trying to definitely get back to the Ryan Preece that just drove race cars instead of just ones that I set up. 

“There’s certainly times where you can help find the direction of what you need to make the car better, but right now it’s just trying to focus on the little areas that I need to be better at, and then maximizing and using the strengths that I have in the right opportunity.”

Considering he made his way to Cup in a hard scrabble, old-fashioned manner — from short track stardom in Modifieds to lesser Xfinity cars, to better Xfinity cars and then lesser Cup cars — Preece can speak on good authority to what goes into hitting the balance, from spring splits to wedge to nose weight, aerodynamics and how it all comes together to make a car handle properly. Trusting the process, though, has gotten Preece closer and closer to the feel he wants in his cars. And following through on the roadmap of driver responsibilities laid out to him by Brad Keselowski before the start of the season has optimized Preece’s performance both on the racetrack and as a team leader.

As things stand, there’s a good chance Preece can get his first career win before the end of the regular season. In fact, it almost happened at Talladega, where Preece ran second in a photo finish before eventually being disqualified for improprieties with the rear spoiler found in post-race tech inspection. But there’s a subtext in saying that Preece can win. If he wants to contend for a championship come the fall, he probably needs to.

Entering last weekend’s race in Mexico City, Preece had been tied for the final spot above the playoff cut line with Kyle Busch, and he should have been able to take command of that spot after winning a stage and running 15th while Busch crashed out on lap seven. But a win by Shane van Gisbergen, a road course specialist who had entered Mexico 33rd in points, bumped the cut line down and bumped Preece 19 points below the new line entering Pocono this weekend.

Not that the added degree of difficulty is a problem for Preece. After all, his big break in NASCAR came when he opted to take his sponsor to a two-race opportunity in one of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity cars, knowing that he likely needed to win to get a real shot moving forwards — and did so.

“I thrive off pressure. I enjoy it,” Preece said. “There’s people that when it comes time for the Championship 4 or whatever — I haven’t been in that situation in the Cup Series, so I can’t speak on that. But what I can speak on is life-changing moments that I’ve had, and in those moments I’ve succeeded. And that’s because when someone’s back is against the wall, I’m not somebody that’s gonna curl up in a corner and just take what I get. I’m gonna fight.

“For me it’s approaching every weekend like it’s my last and trying to win. And not doing something stupid — I feel like I’m always pretty smart about the decisions that I make behind the wheel. I definitely have a checklist of things that we’re continuing to work on, I’m continuing to work on. When we nail it all down, I’m ready to go to war.”

Interestingly, the battle right now is between Preece and his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher, who had told CBS Sports in Nashville he is taking a must-win approach to the second half of the regular season despite being in a sound points position. When asked if he agreed with Buescher’s mentality, Preece affirmed the answer was yes — to a point.

“If you’re in our situation or anybody below us, I think you’re at that point where you need to think about winning,” Preece said. “Now, you can’t do it at the sacrifice of ‘Am I gonna take this risk and finish third, but at the same time I have the potential to finish 30th?’ Because you kind of have gotta do both. You need to put yourself in position to have great days, but take the opportunities to win the race when you can. 

“Because you’ve seen it, there’s some people that run 28th and then Daytona or a road course, if things go your way, you don’t even think about the other 17 or however many races that you may have not ran very well, but had one win and it changes your entire season or outlook on that season. Our goal is to win and win multiple times.”

A win before the end of the regular season would give Preece even more to smile about than he already has. Last weekend in Mexico City, Preece drove the Colgate Ford coinciding with a new ad campaign for Colgate, one of the many consumer brands Preece and RFK Racing have had adorn their cars this season through a partnership with Kroger — which, in an era where so many NASCAR sponsorships are business-to-business deals, harkens back to past times where consumer brands dominated the grid and connected race fans to their favorite drivers and teams through the products they used every day.

“I brush my teeth every day, I use mouthwash every day,” Preece said. “And obviously having a partner like Colgate, being able to do some of the commercials we do along with the other brands that Kroger and (BAM Marketing and Tad Geschickter) bring to the table, it’s a lot of fun for us. Because we not only are easily able to promote those things outside of just driving the race car, we’re also able to relate and push all the different ones that we use every day, and get our race fans that are loyal to us to go buy them too.”

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carson Hocevar walked around Pocono Raceway without a scratch on his face. His polo shirt looked more tailored than tattered and the Spire Motorsports driver was ready to race rather than rumble.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hadn’t socked Hocevar with a right hook quite yet — hot on the heels of Stenhouse’s threat to beat up his racing rival after last weekend’s race in Mexico City — leaving the next shot at any potential retaliation inside or outside the cars set for Sunday’s NASCAR race.

Hocevar should walk with his head on a swivel because Stenhouse can throw a right hook.

Just ask Kyle Busch, who suffered a crushing TKO loss when he clashed with Stenhouse after last year’s All-Star race.

Get ready! The Pounding at Pocono could be just another round in the ongoing feud between Stenhouse and Hocevar.

“He probably will be looking over his shoulder for a long time,” Stenhouse said Saturday at Pocono. “We’ll see how that goes.”

Hocevar has to look over his shoulder — and for that charging Chevrolet in his rearview mirror.

“The scorecard has it that I I’m getting something from the 47 at some point, right? And I think my team and everybody kind of knows that,” Hocevar said.

Their beef has little chance of getting squashed any time soon, a dispute that started three races ago when Hocevar wrecked Stenhouse early at Nashville. Hocevar sent Stenhouse spinning last week in Mexico City, which ignited the postrace melee on pit road.

Stenhouse seemed to grab at Hocevar as he spoke to him, then slapped at his helmet as Stenhouse walked away.

Hocevar’s in-car camera captured audio of the confrontation.

“I’m going to beat your (behind),” Stenhouse threatened. “You’re a lap down, you’ve got nothing to do. Why you run right into me? It’s the second time. I’m going to beat your (behind) when we get back to the States.”

Hocevar avoided a smackdown from Stenhouse but his Spire team hit him where it hurts — a $50,000 fine on Tuesday for derogatory comments he made about Mexico City on a livestream as NASCAR raced there last weekend.

At just 23 and in his second full Cup season, Hocevar has whipped himself into a flurry of unwanted attention, continuing a trend that started last year when even veteran Denny Hamlin chimed in and said NASCAR had “ to do something to Carson.”

Stenhouse might do it on behalf of the sanctioning body with his fist or even his No. 47 Chevrolet.

Hocevar conceded, yes, payback may be imminent and the time to talk out their lingering issues is over.

Yet, Hocevar pleaded: “It’s not an open hunting season on the 77 because of these incidents.”

Hocevar stamped his own target on his back. With his aggressive racing. With his ignorant words.

“Just because I do something in the heat of the moment or maybe, you know, you do it two or three times, doesn’t mean I’m not hard on myself for those mistakes because they are mistakes,” he said. “It’s just trying not to make that a pattern. But when you’re constantly making aggressive moves like we’re doing, it’s balancing that fine line of, you know, you make a thousand moves a day. Just unfortunately, what people remember isn’t always the good ones. You always remember the negative ones.”

Case in point, Hocevar walked back his derisive comments about Mexico after he actually experienced the culture of the country following NASCAR’s foray into a new Cup Series market.

“I didn’t give it a shot. I didn’t give it a chance,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t go walk around. I didn’t go see it. When I did, you know, then hindsight’s 20/20, then I have my own opinion. But I’ve already put it out there.”

Spire also ordered Hocevar to attend cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.

He can be thankful he gets a shot at another race. Stenhouse’s spotter, Tab Boyd, was fired this week by HYAK Motorsports in the wake of an unflattering social media post about his experience in Mexico.

“That’s above my paygrade,” Stenhouse said.

The biggest KO so far came in the standings, where Stenhouse has been flattened in just three weeks from 13th in points in the thick of playoff contention before Nashville to 21st entering Pocono. Hocevar is one point ahead of Stenhouse in the standings.

“That’s the thing that hurts worse for our team is just where it’s put us,” Stenhouse said.

Stenhouse’s trash talk more worthy of UFC hype could put him in hot water should he actually deliver on his vowed retribution and take out Hocevar.

If it comes to a point where NASCAR dishes out a monetary punishment, it’s OK, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion could afford his fine. He just sold his North Carolina estate for $12.2 million, the highest-priced residential sale ever recorded in the greater Charlotte metro area.

“It’s been a big week. We’ve had a lot going on,” Stenhouse said, laughing.

He’d rather talk real estate than about the space and time wasted thinking about Hocevar.

“I’m just honestly tired of talking about the kid,” Stenhouse said.

Tired of the talk? Sure. Of the action? Not just yet.

“Eventually it’ll all come together at some point,” Stenhouse said. “I’m not sure when or how. But it will.”

___

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

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press

LONG POND, Pa. (June 20, 2025) – Kurt Busch, a member of the 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, has been named the Grand Marshal for The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM NASCAR Cup Series race set for Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Busch will deliver the official command for the drivers to start their engines in his role while Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro will serve as the Honorary Starter and wave the green flag to commence The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM at 2 p.m. ET (TV: Amazon Prime, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM).

“We’re honored to celebrate Kurt’s Hall-of-Fame career with our fans during The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.com race weekend,” Pocono Raceway President Ben May said. “Pocono Raceway is proud to be a small part of that illustrious career with Kurt being a three-time race winner and two-time polesitter at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’”

The 46-year-old Busch culminated a stellar NASCAR career with the May 20 announcement that he, along with Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick, would make up the 2026 Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony will take place in Charlotte, N.C. on Jan. 23, 2026.

Over a 23-year Cup Series career, Busch recorded 34 victories, including the 2017 Daytona 500, 28 pole positions and earned the 2004 championship. He also posted at least four wins in all three NASCAR national series (Cup, Xfinity, CRAFTSMAN Truck); was named the 2014 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth in the historic open-wheel race; and competed in the NHRA as just the fourth driver to transition from NASCAR to the drag racing series.

Busch also was a three-time winner (2005, ’07, ’16) and two-time polesitter (2005, ’11) at Pocono Raceway. He amassed 21 top-10 finishes, including 14 among the top five, in 41 career starts at “The Tricky Triangle.”

In addition to the Grand Marshal position, Busch will be honored by Pocono Raceway with “TY KURT” painted on the start/finish line and the Mattioli Foundation donating $10,000 to Vet Tix in his honor.

Pocono Raceway will play host to a NASCAR national series race each day, beginning with Friday’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series MillerTech Battery 200 at 5 p.m. ET (TV: FS1). That race will be followed by the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 Xfinity Series race Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV: The CW).

The weekend culminates with The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM Cup Series race Sunday at 2 p.m. (TV: Amazon Prime).

In celebration of The Great American Getaway 400, Visit PA will host additional fan-focused experiences all weekend long at Pocono Raceway. NASCAR fans can explore an interactive Fan Zone featuring giveaways, games, and the ultimate summer thrill – UTV rides around the infield campground.

Fans will also have a chance to win tickets to iconic Pennsylvania attractions including Hersheypark, Kalahari Resorts, and more.

As part of Visit PA’s commitment to giving back, the organization donated its race-day sponsorship ticket package to Pennsylvania veterans, welcoming 125 service members to enjoy the race.

“The Great American Getaway is all about the perfect summer road trip, so I can’t think of a better backdrop for Visit PA than Pocono Raceway – or a better Grand Marshal than Kurt Busch to come and cheer on the drivers at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’” said Anne Ryan, Deputy Secretary of Tourism.

There’s just something about country music and NASCAR, don’t you think? The two pair well with one another, like ketchup and mustard — which, coincidentally, you can get on your hot dog at the racetrack’s concession stand.

Whether racing is considered a “country” sport or not, there are plenty of country music fans who enjoy watching their favorite drivers out on the track on Sunday afternoon. Networks have picked up on this, and many use hit country tracks in their promotional video packages.

And if you’ve been out to the track to take in an event, you know it’s likely the race will feature country music playing in the stands. If you’re really lucky, it will be a country artist singing the national anthem before the first engine is revved up.

Country Music Loves NASCAR

There are quite a few country artists who are fans of the sport of racing. In addition to being a part of race day traditions, it’s not a rare thing for singers and their families to be roaming the infield or the pit area at the tracks in Nashville.

Country artists have also been given the honor of taking part in other pre-race activities, like driving the pace car, waving the checkered flag and delivering the iconic line, “Gentlemen, start your engines.”

And let’s not forget those who have graced the actual cars themselves.

Luke Combs, Bailey Zimmerman and Chris Stapleton are some of those whose names or likenesses have been used on a car’s wrap, thanks to various drivers. We’ve never seen some of these guys move so fast!

The next time you rally up the crew on race day, add these songs to your pre-race soundtrack. Some are sentimental and others are just silly, but they’re perfect for any fan!

Keep scrolling to see the best country songs about NASCAR.

By DAN GELSTON

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. might already be NASCAR’s most popular crew chief.

He’s certainly an undefeated one.

Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet and they landed in victory lane Saturday in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway.

“We had a lot of things going our way,” Earnhardt said.

Earnhardt — who won NASCAR’s most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his day job as team owner at JR Motorsports with normal crew chief Mardy Lindley suspended one race because of a lug nut infraction this month at Nashville.

Aside from his duties as team owner, Earnhardt also was at Pocono for his role on the Prime broadcast for the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday.

“Lot of fun for me today,” Earnhardt said. “I missed the thrill of competition. I love broadcast, don’t get me wrong. But nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn’t really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun.”

Earnhardt had his wife and two young daughters in tow with him as he made the celebratory walk to victory lane. Oldest daughter Isla Rose clutched the checkered flag while youngest Nicole Lorraine soaked in the scene from her dad’s arms.

The win continued a banner season for the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver — who swept two races at Pocono as a driver in 2014 — after JR Motorsports and reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier qualified for the season-opening Daytona 500 and secured their Cup Series debut.

Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s, in 2004 and 2014, and 26 races overall.

His side hustle Saturday was made a bit easier with Zilisch behind the wheel. Zilisch, who turns 19 in July, raced to his second Xfinity victory of the season and third of his young career. He won his Xfinity debut last year at Watkins Glen International.

Earnhardt even pitched in during the race and tossed tires over the wall during pit stops.

Zilisch took the win down to the wire and finally passed Jesse Love with five laps left in the race. Love finished second.

“Dale Junior, not too bad on the box,” Zilisch said. “Pretty cool to have him up there. Getting him a 1-for-1 win as crew chief is pretty awesome.”

___

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

Denny Hamlin missed the race in Mexico City, but it didn’t seem to impact him as the NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Pocono. With a record seven wins at the 2.5-mile track, it was obvious that the No. 11 Toyota would be fast again, and in qualifying, no one could match his pace. He went to the top of the charts in his fifth pole position at Pocono but his first of the 2025 season.

“Obviously, because I was a little more rested than the field right there, I was able to get a little more speed,” joked Hamlin.

“I mean, I love all of them,” added Hamlin when asked about Pocono being one of his favorite tracks. “Every week, we have a great shot to win and this team just knows what I need out of the car. And with all the cars and tires and everything that has changed over time, you still make speed at this track the same way. I was able to execute it there in qualifying and that’s a good start for us.”

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

Joining Hamlin on the front row will be RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who ended the session 0.083s behind Hamlin’s fast lap. Buescher’s first career Cup win came at Pocono back in 2016. Carson Hocevar qualified third, John-Hunter Nemechek fourth, and Cole Custer fifth in some really impressive runs for both the Legacy Motor Club and Haas Factory Team.

Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Daniel Suarez filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Qualifying trouble

Watch: William Byron hits inside wall hard during qualifying at Pocono

Four drivers didn’t even set a qualifying time. As a result of inspection issues, Brennan Poole’s team was not allowed to take part while Cody Ware crashed in practice and was unable to do so. Josh Berry’s Wood Brothers No. 21 suffered a broken rear diffuser in the practice, which the team was busy repairing. 

And then there was Bubba Wallace, whose No. 23 Toyota would not start when it was his time to go. 23XI Racing tried to push start it but to no avail, and he was visibly frustrated inside the car. A.J. Allmendinger and Todd Gilliland were the two slowest drivers on track, partly because they abandoned their laps after sketchy moments.

But the biggest moment came near the end of qualifying. William Byron wasn’t going to challenge for pole, but he was likely going to be inside the top 10 when he lost control through the Tunnel Turn, spinning out and slamming the inside wall. After posting the fastest time in practice, the team will now have to make extensive repairs as they’ve chosen not to go to a backup car.

Byron’s HMS teammate Chase Elliott was on track at the same time and the incident ruined his lap. Luckily, NASCAR allowed him to put on a fresh set of tires and Elliott was allowed to go back out, but that was only good enough for 18th. Shockingly, he was the highest-qualifying Hendrick Motorsports driver. Kyle Larson qualified 24th and Alex Bowman was 25th.

As for Mexico City winner Shane van Gisbergen, he ended up 23rd, matching his best qualifying effort of the season on an oval.