According to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Rulebook, Section 12-4.9, any member who fails to comply with a vehicle teardown request from track officials is subject to fines, disqualification, probation, and suspension.

Bowman Gray Stadium, which hosts weekly NASCAR events, is also scheduled to host the NASCAR Cup Series Clash on Feb. 1, 2026.

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.”

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

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press