Motorsports

Winners and losers from NASCAR at Talladega

As expected, Talladega delivered close finishes, big hits and a little bit of controversy. NASCAR’s biggest superspeedway was action-packed from start to finish and a YouTuber-turned-racer stole the spotlight. There was heartbreak for Jeb Burton and Ryan Preece, elation for Austin Hill and Austin Cindric, and plenty to discuss. Here are the biggest winners and […]

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1 month ago

April 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Here are the biggest winners and losers from Talladega Superspeedway:

WINNER: Austin Cindric carries the baton for a battered Team Penske

Watch: Austin Cindric ‘so proud’ to finally win at Talladega

It’s strange to think that Austin Cindric and Josh Berry in the allied Wood Brothers car have both reached Victory Lane before Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano this year, but that’s exactly what happened. And Cindric now holds the distinction of securing a spot in the playoffs before either of his championship-winning teammates in three of the last four seasons. On Sunday, he was all Penske had to be proud of as Blaney wrecked early and Logano was later disqualified. Cindric is always a solid driver in these drafting races and could have easily won all three this year. However, he got wrecked while battling for the lead in both the Daytona 500 and Atlanta events, but he was not going to be denied this time. And fences were even mended as Kyle Larson — the driver who wrecked him out of the lead at Atlanta — pushed him across the finish line.

LOSER: RFK leaves Talladega with nothing to show for their efforts

Watch: Race Rewind: Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway

Five championship points. That is the combined total for all three RFK drivers at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, who desperately needed a good weekend with how deep in the standings he is, was taken out in the first wreck of the race while simply trying to get to pit road. Chris Buescher fell soon after, crashing moments into a restart while battling for the race lead. Neither saw the end of Stage 1. The one bright spot was Ryan Preece, who soldiered on, showing speed all day and nearly winning the race! He finished a career-best second after losing by just 0.022s in a photo finish, but he did not get to keep it. Preece’s car failed post-race inspection and so, he became the worst of the three RFK drivers in the final order. Officially, Buescher finished 34th, Keselowski 36th, and Preece 38th. Now that is a rough day at the office.

WINNER: Cleetus McFarland for bringing new eyes to the sport

Cleetus McFarland

Photo by: Getty Images

Focusing on ARCA for a moment, popular YouTuber Cleetus McFarland absolutely stole the show once again. Crediting cut-off sleeves and the power of Talladega Blvd, the internet entertainer turned professional race car driver put on a show on Saturday as he wheeled his wounded car to a 10th-place finish. But more importantly, he brought a ton of eyes to the sport with 70,000 people watching a livestream of his in-car camera … in an ARCA race. NASCAR even gained tens of thousands of new subscribers on their YouTube channel as a result. And while it’s clearly a persona, it’s far more entertaining than the carefully crafted driver personas we see every weekend who rattle off sponsor mentions and offer overused phrases to describe their day.

LOSER: Logano for keying the mic when he really shouldn’t have

Drivers are known to be impulsive and sometimes they open the radio channel when they really shouldn’t. But Logano was guilty of that following Stage 2 at Talladega. Frustrated with his teammate Cindric for not sticking with him in the final run to the flag, he radioed the following message to his Penske team: “Way to go Austin. Way to go, you dumbf***. Way to f****** go. What a stupid s*** He just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota the stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a dumbf***.”

I believe that’s what we call a ‘crash out’ in 2025. But what makes it worse is that the replay clear shows Cindric getting a little loose in the treacherous tri-oval. He lifts and there is a stack-up that forces him out of line. Had he remained stuck to the back of Logano, he probably would have wrecked him. The radio rant raised eyebrows and even led to MLB legend and self-described NASCAR fan Chipper Jones slamming Logano on social media. And while things said in the heat of the moment over radio comms shouldn’t be taken seriously, there are times when you really shouldn’t push the button. This was one of them.

WINNER: Most of the drivers for a shockingly clean Talladega races

Crash involving Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing Ford; Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images

So, how about the drivers this weekend? The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races were fairly clean from green flag to checkered flag. The Cup race saw just two cautions for cause and only four drivers wrecked out of the race. The Xfinity race had three, but no wreck was bigger than the four-car incident that eliminated Katherine Legge, Brandon Jones, and Aric Almirola. In that race, only a total of seven cars failed to finish due to crash damage, which is fairly low for a superspeedway. There were some small incidents that ended with big hits, but even ARCA was calmer than what we’ve come to expect out of that series, despite an awkward multi-car restart crash that abruptly ended the race.

LOSER: Hendrick had all the cards but couldn’t make a winning hand

Watch: Larson earns career-best finish on a superspeedway

The good news for Hendrick Motorsports is that all four of the HMS cars finished inside the top ten at Talladega — something they haven’t done there since 2011. However, despite all those cards to play, they never put together a winning hand. And there were several opportunities to do so. Kyle Larson never moved high when he cleared his teammates, choosing to sit behind Cindric and push instead. Ryan Preece — who was behind Larson — did take that opportunity and nearly won. William Byron and Alex Bowman were in control of the top but became disconnected at the very end. It just never seemed like they had a clear plan to control the race. It’s a far cry from the organization we saw from just two Richard Childress Racing cars on Saturday as Jesse Love and Austin Hill firmly controlled the pack for the majority of the Xfinity race.

WINNER: Austin Hill for becoming inevitable at all superspeedways

Watch: Hill wins at Talladega after end-of-race review following Zilisch wreck

Without a mechanical issue at Daytona, Austin Hill probably would have won all three drafting races so far this year in the Xfinity Series. He’s already won five of the last six races at Atlanta and three of the last four season-openers at Daytona, but the one refuge from whatever superspeedway magic he possesses was Talladega … until now. Hill had (surprisingly) never won at Talladega until this weekend, but when NASCAR reviewed the three-wide battle for the lead at the time of the race-ending caution, it was none other than Hill out front. It’s bewildering to see him navigate these chaotic races with such ease and now, he’s even conquered the mighty ‘Dega, which should frighten the entire field.

LOSER: Jeb Burton deals with a heartbreaking loss

Watch: Jeb Burton gets emotional after Talladega runner-up finish

Burton drove like a winner all day, but this sport has no mercy, especially for the underdog teams just trying to scratch out a living on the track. It was hard not to sympathize with Jeb Burton after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Talladega. The fate of his entire season rested in the split-second decision over when to push the caution button. He thought he had won the race, but NASCAR reviewed the still images they had available and ascertained that he had instead finished a very close second. It was heart-wrenching to watch the post-race interview as Burton showcased a rollercoaster of emotions that resembled the five stages of grief in some ways. And then he broke down, wiping tears away as he said, “We don’t have a lot of chances to win.” While it was just another superspeedway win for Hill, that victory would have completely changed things for Burton, and everyone watching felt his pain as he dealt with the reality of the finish.

WINNER: The crew guy unfazed by his close encounter with a 3,400lb stock car

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

During a mid-race pit stop, Carson Hocevar’s crew came around the right-side of the car to go through the usual routine. But things didn’t go as planned this time as tire carrier Darius Morehead found himself in an unexpected meeting with a 3,400lb stock car, driven by Josh Berry. Trying to navigate around Hocevar into his own stall directly ahead of him, Berry clipped the tire Morehead was carrying, knocking him over the hood. Thankfully, he was okay and able to continue on working. FOX interviewed him later and he didn’t seem to be rattled at all, even comparing it to his football days and saying, “You get used to it.” Now that’s a winning mentality right there.

LOSER: Bell who probably hates superspeedway racing even more now

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; Chris Buescher, RFK Racing Ford

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

It’s no secret that Christopher Bell isn’t a big fan of superspeedway racing, and that opinion was likely only strengthened on Sunday. Yes, he won a drafting race at Atlanta earlier this year, but Daytona and Talladega have not been very kind to him. Earlier this year, he served as a launching pad for Preece’s unsanctioned flight in the Daytona 500 after getting turned from the lead. At Talladega, he was leading once again when he got turned near the end of Stage 1, slamming the inside wall head-on and destroying the front of his car.

Motorsports

Truck battle ends in a triple overtime Stewart Friesen win

Entering this race in the middle of a three-year winless streak, Canadian driver Stewart Friesen was not originally in the conversation to claim victory at Michigan International Speedway. And yet, through a series of late-race crashes and overtime restarts, it was his No. 52 Toyota leading the way. After a debris caution set up a […]

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3 hours ago

June 8, 2025

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After a debris caution set up a five-lap dash to the checkered flag, Friesen was only running 19th on track. It turned out that he was exactly where he needed to be. As the front row struggled to get going on old tires while those behind them were shoving, absolute chaos broke out with Gio Ruggiero getting turned, hooking Ross Chastain. Several contenders were taken out including Corey Heim as trucks spun all over the track.

Corey Lajoie, who had just signed a deal to run nine of the final 13 races for Spire Motorsport, was now in control of the race as he hoped to secure his first win ever in one of the national levels of NASCAR. He was just one turn away from taking the white flag when a cut tire sent Daniel Hemric into the outside wall, pushing the race into double overtime.

This time, Grant Enfinger prevailed over LaJoie, but he didn’t make it to the white flag in time either as three trucks in the back wrecked down the backstretch. This was also the end of Carson Hocevar’s shot at the win as he got called for a restart violation, pulling out of line too early as he tried to move forward on fresh tires.

The remaining drivers managed to keep it clean for the third and final restart with Friesen taking the lead from Enfinger with an inside pass into Turn 3, holding on for the entire white flag lap to claim victory.

“I don’t even know what to say,” said Friesen, who now has four wins in the NASCAR Truck Series. “Thank you to all of our great sponsors. These badass race fans. I know there are a lot of Canadians, there are a lot of Americans. Everybody is having a good time together and that’s what it is all about, baby. Yeah!”

Enfinger finished second with pole-sitter Luke Fenhaus in third. Ben Rhodes and LaJoie rounded out the top five. Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, Andres Perez, and Layne Riggs filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Frankie Muniz also survived the chaos mostly unscathed, bringing him a 14th-place finish — his best result since the season-opener at Daytona.

Race rundown

Ross Chastain, Niece Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

Heim won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 after working the draft perfectly with Hocevar. The race went 70 laps without a single natural yellow, but that all changed in the final stage.

Jack Wood spun into the outside wall for the first incident of the restart, which was promptly followed by a restart wreck involving Rajah Caruth. A handful of trucks opted to pit despite being just outside the fuel window. They were going to need help from some caution laps, which they were about to get.

A major incident on the subsequent restart involving Morgen Baird and Nathan Byrd actually damaged the outside wall. The leaders all came down pit road as they were now inside the full window, but the timing was going to put them all deep in the pack. The race was actually red-flagged to fix damage to the wall with safety crews working to repair a visible hole in the SAFER Barrier.

When things finally got rolling, Heim restarted 17th, Chastain 18th, Honeycutt 20th, and Hocevar outside the top 20. Enfinger was in control of the race for the restart to follow.

The drivers who pitted steadily marched forward, eventually catching Enfinger. A thrilling multi-truck battle for the lead broke out with Chastain and Hocevar actually making contact as they battled for the top spot. Chastain spun sideways but miraculously saved the truck while Hocevar suffered a flat left rear tire. A caution for debris (from Riggs) then set up the sprint to the finish and the aforementioned carnage that followed.

Watch: Ross Chastain makes massive save after contact with Carson Hocevar

Photos from Michigan – Race

Motorsports

Briscoe takes third-straight Cup pole in Michigan

For the third time in as many weeks, Chase Briscoe has secured a Cup Series pole. The Hoosier laid down a lap of 195.514 mph (36.826s) to secure the pole for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. In doing so, Briscoe remains the only polesitter of Prime Video’s NASCAR Cup Series race broadcast […]

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8 hours ago

June 8, 2025

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In doing so, Briscoe remains the only polesitter of Prime Video’s NASCAR Cup Series race broadcast slate, and now has four poles in the opening 15 races of his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Saturday’s result was arguably the most surprising of the stretch for Briscoe after a lap where he felt he’d left the door open for a quicker driver.

“I tried to run low,” Briscoe said of his lap around the two-mile oval. “I felt like with us all running wide open fairly easily, if you could just cut a lot of distance it would be better. I ran low, but I ended up way high on exit.

“I felt like the guys that kind of opened up their entry would maybe beat me to the line. I was surprised, truthfully, that it held on. It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be (sic), as far as holding it wide open.”

Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing were the surprise of the session, slotting in second with a 195.371 mph lap. Denny Hamlin (195.328) followed in third. He’ll fly home this afternoon to be with his partner, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to the pair’s third child. Hamlin plans to fly back to Michigan on Sunday morning.

William Byron and Kyle Larson completed the top-five, with Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Zane Smith wrapping up the top-10. Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney slotted in 12th and 13th, respectively, after suffering flat tires during the preceding practice session. Shane van Gisbergen had similar tire troubles, but was also able to qualify.

Christopher Bell was second in practice and poised to challenge for the pole, but a bobble in turn 3 left the Oklahoman free falling down the to 25th at session’s end. The Joe Gibbs Racing ace has never finished better than 13th at Michigan and will need a strong recovery drive to change that on Sunday.

Few endured a worse qualifying effort than Daniel Suarez, whose 193.392 mph lap left him 35th and only ahead of Cody Ware. It was the worst of a difficult session for Trackhouse Racing, who slotted 20th (Ross Chastain) and 26th (van Gisbergen) with its other two teams.

With another pole run complete, Briscoe will set his sights on trying to convert the top starting spot into a trip to victory lane.

“It’ll definitely be nice starting up front,” Briscoe said. “I’ve been able to do that now three weeks in a row, and we haven’t really been able to execute with it. Hopefully third time’s the charm and we can finally get one on Sunday.”

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Motorsports

2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 odds, picks, prop bets: Expert who nailed 17 winners backing 100-1 longshot

Published

8 hours ago

June 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ryan Blaney will try to make it two in a row when he takes part in the 2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Blaney is off to a solid start to the season, and has seven top-10 finishes, including last week’s win at Nashville. He dominated the Cracker Barrel 400 by leading a race-high 139 laps en route to the victory. He also placed third at the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway and Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway last month.

Kyle Larson is the +550 favorite, with Denny Hamlin at +600, Blaney at +700, William Byron and Tyler Reddick at +800 and Christopher Bell at +850 in the latest 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 odds, from DraftKings Sportsbook. Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. Before making any 2025 NASCAR at Michigan picks or NASCAR predictions, you need to see what NASCAR insider Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. He has an annual NASCAR media credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez’s breakthrough wins in 2022.

Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. He correctly picked the Straight Talk Wireless 400 winner in Larson on March 23. Anyone following his NASCAR picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Now, Taranto has analyzed the starting lineup and odds for Sunday’s 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. He’s sharing his best bets at SportsLine. You can also use them to take advantage of the latest FanDuel promo code, DraftKings promo code or BetMGM promo code.

2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 expert picks

For the 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Taranto is high on Kyle Larson at +550. Larson has three wins at Michigan and always seems to be in the mix when racing there. Last year he led the most laps but a bit of misfortune led to a 34th-place finish. He was fifth at the 2023 FireKeepers Casino 400.

Larson, 32, who placed sixth last year, was the Series champion in 2021. He has three first-place finishes this season, including wins at Homestead, Bristol and Kansas. He placed eighth at last week’s Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville. In 380 races over a span of 13 years, he has 32 wins, 192 top-10 finishes and 22 poles. See which other drivers he’s backing at SportsLine.

Top NASCAR props for Michigan International Speedway

Head-to-head: Taranto sees Bubba Wallace (-110) finishing ahead of Chris Buescher (-120). Both drivers have been off to good starts to the year, with both registering five top-10 finishes in 2025. But Taranto gives Wallace the edge, due to his recent success at Michigan. He has been consistently running up front at the track and has led 48 laps over his last three Michigan starts.

Buescher, meanwhile, has struggled of late, finishing 22nd at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. He was 14th last week at Nashville’s Cracker Barrel 400. He has had success at Michigan. Last year he placed sixth at the FireKeepers Casino 400. He won the race in 2023. See all of Taranto’s picks at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 predictions

Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 best bets. He’s also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who’s going off at nearly 100-1, potentially netting any backer a huge payday. You can only see who they are here.

So who wins the 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, and which massive longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Classic 400 at Michigan International Speedway picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who nailed a colossal 17 winners last year, and find out.

2025 NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway odds, lineup

See full NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway picks at SportsLine

(odds subject to change)
Kyle Larson +550
Denny Hamlin +600
Ryan Blaney +700
William Byron +800
Tyler Reddick +800
Christopher Bell +850
Chase Elliott +1200
Ross Chastain +1400
Joey Logano +1400
Kyle Busch +1800
Chase Briscoe +1800
Carson Hocevar +1800
Chris Buescher +2200
Bubba Wallace +2800
Brad Keselowski +2800
Josh Berry +3500
Alex Bowman +3500
Austin Cindric +4000
Ty Gibbs +4500
Erik Jones +5500
Ryan Preece +6500
Daniel Suarez +9000
Zane Smith +10000
Michael McDowell +10000
Austin Dillon +10000
A.J. Allmendinger +10000
Noah Gragson +13000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +15000
John Hunter Nemechek +15000
Shane Van Gisbergen +20000
Todd Gilliland +25000
Justin Haley +25000
Ty Dillon +40000
Riley Herbst +40000
Cole Custer +40000
Cody Ware +50000

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Motorsports

Supersub Lewis stars en route to IMSA VP Challenge win at Mid-Ohio

IMSA veteran Corey Lewis played a fill-in role to perfection in Saturday’s first of two 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Lewis, substituting for the injured Matthew Dicken in the No. 36 RAFA Racing Ligier JS P320 won his first race in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) […]

Published

9 hours ago

June 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

IMSA veteran Corey Lewis played a fill-in role to perfection in Saturday’s first of two 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Lewis, substituting for the injured Matthew Dicken in the No. 36 RAFA Racing Ligier JS P320 won his first race in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class. Dicken stood down with a shoulder injury and Lewis, Dicken’s longtime co-driver, filled in to capture the win.

He finished second on the road to Oscar Tunjo in the No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08, but took the top spot at the checkered flag as Tunjo was assessed a 10s post-race time penalty for a false start at the initial green flag, changing columns.

“It was a case of making our way through the day over the long run,” Lewis said. “We knew (Oscar) had the 10s penalty post-race. Just grateful to be in the No. 36; obviously this one goes out to Matt Dicken. Wish he was in the car racing and he would have done a great job.”

The race in P3 appeared to belong to the polesitting Valentino Catalano in the No. 30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 who led the opening 19 laps, but intermittent mechanical woes after the second race restart slowed his progress.

Catalano checked up heading into Turn 2, the Keyhole, on lap 20 where both Tunjo and Lewis made it past. Catalano eventually fell down the order to eighth overall, fourth in P3 at the checkered flag behind Bronze Cup winner Brian Thienes in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320.

The Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) race was a straightforward affair as Turner Motorsport captured a pair of wins with its two BMW M4 GT3s.

Jake Walker led flag-to-flag from pole for his third straight GTDX win in the No. 6 Turner BMW, with a key pass on Thienes earlier in the race helping to gap several of his GTDX competitors.

Michael Levitt/IMSA

“I tried to make the most out of creating a gap by putting a car in between me and just one more car than the other competitors would have to pass,” Walker explained. “But you know, it’s awesome racing against these guys. There’s some really fantastic drivers. I can’t thank BMW and Turner much more enough for just a fantastic car again.”

Walker won by 3.661s over points leader AJ Muss, who scored his fifth straight GTDX podium in the No. 66 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Adam Adelson in the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was third, ahead of Bronze Cup winner Vin Barletta in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

In Grand Sport X (GSX), Steven Clemons finally broke through for his first win of the season in the No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 over Kiko Porto.

Porto qualified fastest but was sent to the rear for an infraction found in post-qualifying technical inspection. Undeterred, the driver of the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota embarked on a mission through the 11-car GSX class field.

Clemons inherited the pole and started ahead of Porto’s teammate Ian Porter in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota. Chris Walsh started third in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

Porto climbed seven spots to fourth by the first full-course caution of the race on lap five following debris on course from an incident between two other GSX class cars. That positioned him right behind the leading trio for the restart, and two quick moves in the next green flag stanza got him to second behind Clemons ahead of the second restart with just under 20 minutes remaining. But Porto was unable to save enough of his tires and mount a pass on Clemons, ending 1.124s behind at the checkered flag. Porter was third, banking another podium and scoring the GSX Bronze Cup win.

“I was glad to run it home, flag-to-flag,” Clemons said. “I think we finally were able to pull through what we weren’t able to in Daytona. The team was able to set up a really good car. I think we were able to just put it all together.

“Figured towards the end of the race, both of our tires were gonna be equally shot at the end. I was not completely worried, but it was in the back of my mind, but just looking through the windshield.”

Porto recapped his comeback drive: “It was definitely a blast coming from the back. I destroyed the tires. But this is part of the situation that it had to be. I tried to put some moves together, but I definitely left it all on the table. (Clemons) definitely saved a little bit more of the tire.”

Sunday’s second race of the weekend, race six of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season, goes green at 9:00 a.m. ET. Coverage begins at 8:55 a.m. ET on Peacock in the U.S. and globally via IMSA’s Official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV.

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Motorsports

Stewart tops Top Fuel field at Thunder Valley Nationals | Motor Sports

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June 8, 2025

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Stewart Friesen Wins Thrilling Triple-Overtime NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at Michigan

Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon’s triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway – a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn’t want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps. The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had […]

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10 hours ago

June 8, 2025

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The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race’s frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger’s Chevy by a slight .111-second – both drivers benefitting from a rash of late-race caution flags.

With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race.

“I don’t know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmar and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there’s a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,’’ Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.

While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.

“I don’t know,’’ he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently.

“We weren’t as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. …Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn’t meant to be.’’

ThorSport Racing’s Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start.

The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.

A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day’s strongest competitors – Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.

It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race’s best – NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.

He led a race 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.

Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th – his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener.

Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.

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