NASCAR PR WEEKLY REPORT
August 31, 2025
CREATED BY: Campbell Marketing & Communications (Dan Zacharias)
RACE WEEKEND: Darlington and Portland
NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE RECAP
- Chris Buescher was Ford’s top finisher in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
- Austin Cindric had the best result among Ford’s four playoff drivers in 12th place.
- Ryan Blaney was 18th, Joey Logano 20th and Josh Berry 38th.
- Two races remain in the Round of 16 before four drivers will be eliminated.
DARLINGTON, SC. | August 31, 2025 – Darlington Raceway is recognized as one of the toughest tracks on the NASCAR circuit and that proved to be the case for a number of teams as the Cup Series playoff season got underway with the Cook Out Southern 500.
Those issues included Ford’s four championship contenders as Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Josh Berry all struggled at times.
The start of the race proved to be an omen of what was to come as Berry got loose and hit the wall in turn two of the very first lap. He was forced to the garage, where his team took the entire first stage to make repairs. Berry eventually re-entered the race on lap 119, but finished 38th.
Ryan Blaney was the next one to encounter an issue when he got hit from behind on lap 209 and was sent skidding down the backstretch while running 13th. That damaged his splitter and forced him to restart 31st, but even though he recovered, a caution just as he was pitting sent him to the back to 25th with 48 laps to go. Blaney ended up 18th.
Austin Cindric didn’t encounter any major issues on the track and ended up Ford’s highest playoff finisher in 12th place. He got off to an especially strong start, scoring three points in the first stage after finishing eighth, but battled to maintain track position from that point on.
Defending series champion Joey Logano struggled with handling throughout the night and finished 20th .
Chris Buescher was Ford’s highest finisher on the night as he ran 10th.
With two races remaining in the first round, Blaney is Ford’s highest driver in the standings as he sits seventh, 22 points above the cut line. Cindric is ninth (+12) while Logano (-3) and Berry (-19) are currently 13th and 16th, respectively.
The second race in the Round of 16 for the Cup Series is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NCS RACE TOP-10 OFFICIAL FINISHERS
1st – Chase Briscoe
2nd – Tyler Reddick
3rd – Erik Jones
4th – John Hunter Nemechek
5th – AJ Allmendinger
6th – Bubba Wallace
7th – Denny Hamlin
8th – Kyle Busch
9th – Carson Hocevar}
10th – Chris Buescher
REMAINING FORD FINISHERS
12th – Austin Cindric
13th – Zane Smith
14th – Noah Gragson
15th – Brad Keselowski
16th – Ryan Preece
18th – Ryan Blaney
20th – Joey Logano
24th – Cole Custer
26th – Todd Gilliland
35th – Timmy Hill
37th – Cody Ware
38th – Josh Berry
NASCAR Xfinity Series (August 30 – Portland)
Harrison Burton recovered from mid-race spin to finish a Ford-best 12th in Portland.
Sam Mayer, who finished fourth and fifth in the first two stages, got involved in a late-race incident and ended up 16th.
Mayer is the only Ford driver who has clinched a spot in the 12-driver playoff field.
Sheldon Creed is 10th, 65 points above the cut line, but only 34 points ahead of Harrison Burton in 12th. Burton is 31 points ahead of his cousin, Jeb, for the final berth.
The Xfinity Series regular season concludes on Saturday, September 6 at World Wide Technology Raceway (7:30 p.m., CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (August 30 – Darlington)
Ty Majeski bounced back from a flat tire early to lead Ford with a fourth-place finish in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.
Layne Riggs won the pole and was leading with 20 laps to go when he hit the wall going into turn one and suffered a flat tire. He ended up finishing 17th.
Riggs led a race-high 71 laps and won Stage 2 while Smith led the first 10 circuits.
Jake Garcia finished 10th and Chandler Smith 30th after he hit the wall during the opening stage.
Riggs is second in the playoff standings (+38 above the cut line). Majeski is sixth (+16) while Garcia is eight (+2) and Smith is ninth (-2) with two races remaining in the Round of 10.
The series is off next week and returns to action on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m., FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
TOP WEEKLY PR ACTIVITIES
Produced two–page Darlington/Portland advance and emailed to media.
Attended Cup Series Playoff Media Day and produced 13 pages of Notes and Quotes. Emailed Notes and Quotes to media list.
Transcribed and produced two pages of Notes and Quotes on Josh Berry and emailed to media.
Produced two pages of Notes and Quotes on Truck qualifying including one page on pole-winner Layne Riggs. Emailed to media.
Produced two pages of Notes and Quotes on Cup qualifying.
Produced two pages of Notes and Quotes on Truck Series race.
Produced two pages of Notes and Quotes on Cup Series race.
Updated Ford Performance social media sites with the latest information before, during, and after all three races.
