Home Blog Page 10

Allgaier survives late chaos for wild O’Reilly victory at Martinsville

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Justin Allgaier doubled down with another victory in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season. His latest one occurred in the NFPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 28.

The 2024 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Riverton, Illinois, led three times for a race-high 114 of 250-scheduled laps at Martinsville. He was awarded the pole position due to qualifying being washed out by Mother Nature. After cruising to the first stage victory, Allgaier spent the majority of the event preserving his entry. He also executed the pit strategies that enabled him to keep him in contention.

After returning atop the leaderboard with 90 laps remaining, Allgaier claimed the lead for the third and final time during a restart with 25 laps remaining from his teammate Lee Pulliam. Through three additional caution periods and on-track incidents, Allgaier managed to fend off his competition and fellow JR Motorsports teammates. He became the first three-time race winner in the series this season, notching another victory at Martinsville.

On-track qualifying was canceled due to rain. The event’s starting lineup was determined through a qualifying metric formula from the NASCAR rule book. As a result, Justin Allgaier, winner of last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, was awarded the pole position. He shared the front row with teammate Rajah Caruth.

Before the event, Ross Chastain dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 91 DGM Racing Chevrolet entry.

When the green flag waved, Justin Allgaier muscled ahead of teammate Rajah Caruth and the field through the first two turns. With the clean air working to his advantage in the early stages, Allgaier maintained the lead. He transitioned from the outside to the inside lane, exiting the backstretch before cycling back to lead the first lap.

Over the next four laps, Allgaier maintained a steady lead. Teammate Caruth fended off Crews to maintain the runner-up spot. Behind, Sheldon Creed and Brandon Jones followed suit in the top five. Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil fiercely engaged in a side-by-side battle for sixth place in front of Parker Retzlaff.

As Jones started to battle Creed for fourth place, Kvapil prevailed in his battle for sixth place over Love. Retzlaff maintained eighth place in front of Corey Day and newcomer Lee Pulliam. Meanwhile, Allgaier led by six-tenths of a second over Caruth and eight-tenths of a second over third-place Crews by the Lap 10 mark.

Through the first 20-scheduled laps, Allgaier stretched his early advantage to more than a second over both Caruth and Jones. As Jones challenged Caruth for the runner-up spot, Crews and Creed raced in the top five. Kvapil, Retzlaff, Day, Love and Sammy Smith followed in the top-10.

Pulliam, William Sawalich, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Sanchez, Jeremy Clements and Dean Thompson trailed in the top 20. Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Austin Hill, Blaine Perkins and newcomer Andrew Patterson were mired in the top 25, respectively. By then, newcomer Luke Baldwin occupied 29th place in front of Ross Chastain.

Twelve laps later, the event’s first caution flew. Luke Baldwin, who was battling Lavar Scott for 30th place, locked up his brakes and veered sideways entering Turn 3. As a result, he spun backwards and collided on the driver’s left side against the Turn 3 outside wall.

Scott damaged the rear end of his entry as he slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting Baldwin’s wrecked entry. During the first caution period, several drivers pitted. They included Retzlaff, Day, Ryan Sieg, Mayer, Gray, Jeb Burton, Austin Hill and Blaine Perkins pitted. The rest, led by Allgaier, remained on the track.

The event restarted on Lap 43. Allgaier opted to restart on the inside lane. He then motored away from the rest of the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Allgaier led the next lap over Jones, Caruth battled Crews and Creed for third place. Sammy Smith and Kvapil tried to reel in the latter three for top-five spots. Amid the battles around the track, including three-wide action within the mid-pack region, Allgaier continued to lead. He stretched that lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Jones by the Lap 50 mark.

On Lap 56, the event’s second caution flew. Garrett Smithley, racing in the top-25 mark, spun through Turns 3 and 4 after he was bumped by Blaine Perkins. Smithley’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 60 to officially conclude under caution. As a result, Allgaier cruised to his third O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Jones settled in second ahead of Caruth. Crews, Creed, Sammy Smith, Anthony Alfredo, Kvapil, Love and William Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Under the event’s first stage break period, a majority of the field, led by Allgaier, pitted for the first time. Day, who was among a handful of competitors who pitted on Lap 37, remained on the track, inheriting the lead. Others who remained on the track included Mayer, Jeb Burton Pulliam, Gray, Patterson, Staropoli, Hill, Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg and Smithley. During the pit stops, Jones managed to exit pit road first, ahead of teammate Crews and Allgaier.

The second stage period started on Lap 71 as Day and Mayer occupied the front row. They briefly dueled for the lead through the first two turns. Day then used the inside lane to motor ahead through the backstretch. As the field fanned out to three lanes, Day cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap.

He was followed by Mayer. Then, Pulliam and Taylor Gray briefly went three-wide with Jeb Burton, who got loose entering the frontstretch. Amid the jumbled-up action within the field, Day proceeded to lead by two-tenths of a second. He was followed by Mayer at the Lap 75 mark. Pulliam, Gray, Jeb Burton, Austin Hill, Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg, Staropoli and Smithley scored in the top 10, respectively.

Just past the Lap 85 mark, Day extended his lead to more than a second over both Mayer and Pulliam. Gray, Austin Hill, Jeb Burton, Retzlaff and Ryan Sieg trailed in the top eight, respectively. Meanwhile, Allgaier was up into ninth place on his four fresh tires. He was ahead of Smithley, Crews, Jones, Sammy Smith, Creed and Sawalich. Alfredo, Staropoli, Love, Caruth and Kvapil trailed in the top 20, respectively. 

Two laps later, the caution returned due to possible fluid coming off of Jeremy Clements’ entry. The damage was due to Clements running into the rear of Sanchez a few laps earlier. It resulted in smoke billowing out of the rear of Clements’ car. He also reported a potential power steering issue amid the front-nose damage. During this latest caution period, some of the drivers pitted. They included Harrison Burton, Nick Sanchez, Lavar Scott, Myatt Snider and Clements. The rest led by Day remained on the track. 

As the event restarted on Lap 100, Day motored ahead of Mayer exiting the frontstretch and through the first two turns. After maintaining the lead through the backstretch, Day nearly lost his momentum in front of Mayer through Turns 3 and 4. But Day maintained the top spot to lead the next lap over both Mayer and Pulliam. Mayer then gently bumped and moved Day up the track, entering the first turn. This allowed Mayer to zoom ahead with the lead.

On Lap 104, the caution flew due to debris on the track. During the caution, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted. Meanwhile, the rest of the field led by Mayer and including Hill, Gray, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo, Sawalich, Caruth, Ryan Ellis, Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider and Joey Gase remained on track.

During the next restart on Lap 112, Austin Hill challenged Mayer in a side-by-side battle for the lead from the outside lane. Using the outside lane and the straightaways, Hill launched ahead. He led the next two laps over Mayer before Mayer muscled ahead by Lap 115. Hill then went beneath Mayer through the backstretch and they went dead even to start the final lap of the second stage period.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Hill managed to motor ahead of Mayer to capture his fourth O’Reilly stage victory of 2026. Mayer settled in second ahead of Gray, Ryan Sieg and Sawalich. Alfredo, Caruth, Harrison Burton, Day and Allgaier were scored in the top 10, respectively. Crews, Love, Kvapil and Creed were 14th to 17th, respectively. Thirty-five of 38 starters were on the lead lap. During the event’s second stage break period, some led by the leader Hill, Mayer, Gray, Ryan Sieg, Sawalich, Alfredo and Ryan Ellis pitted while the rest led by Caruth remained on the track. 

With 120 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Caruth and Harrison Burton occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled in front of Day and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Amid the side-by-side battle, Caruth managed to muscle ahead and lead the next lap over Burton. Another two laps later, the caution returned. Retzlaff, racing three-wide with Creed and Staropoli, was bumped by Staropoli and was sent spinning towards the outside lane.

The next restart, with 112 laps remaining, only lasted for four laps due to a two-car incident that involved Staropoli and Kyle Sieg spinning through the first two turns. During the restart, Caruth mirrored his move from the previous restart by maintaining a narrow lead over Harrison Burton, but he surrendered the lead during this recent caution period to pit. Jones, Pulliam, the Sieg brothers and Staropoli also pitted while the rest, led by Harrison Burton, remained on the track. 

As Harrison Burton led the field to the next restart with 101 laps remaining, he was shoved by Allgaier entering the first turn. Burton managed to fend off both Allgaier and Day entering the backstretch and he proceeded to lead the next lap. As Burton slowly began to motor ahead with the lead, Allgaier overtook Day for second place with 99 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Love battled and overtook Sammy Smith for fourth place.

With 90 laps remaining, Allgaier used the inside lane exiting the backstretch to get beneath Harrison Burton and assume the lead entering the frontstretch. Allgaier then spent the next six laps extending his lead to more than a second over both Burton and Day while Love, Crews, Kvapil, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Sammy Smith and Creed followed suit, respectively. Meanwhile, Caruth was mired in 26th behind Ryan Sieg. Pulliam was in 22nd and Jones was in 24th, while Mayer was racing in 13th behind Hill.

With 70 laps remaining, the caution flew as Ryan Ellis spun in Turn 2. During the caution period, the top-18 competitors led by Allgaier along with Andrew Patterson, Brad Perez and Lavar Scott, pitted while the rest led by Pulliam and including Jones, Caruth, Staropoli and Ryan Sieg remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Allgaier exited pit road ahead of Crews, Kvapil, Day, Love and Harrison Burton.

The next restart, with 62 laps remaining, only lasted for eight laps. This was due to Brad Perez and Smithley spinning in Turns 3 and 4 after both made contact against one another and igniting a stack-up that damaged the entries of Retzlaff, Sanchez and Taylor Gray. Before Perez’s incident and amid a flurry of on-track bumps and late jostling for positions, Pulliam, who had led since the restart, retained the lead.

During the next restart with 48 laps remaining, Pulliam received a big bump from teammate Allgaier to launch ahead through the frontstretch with the lead. As Pulliam motored away with the lead, Caruth was briefly challenged by Allgaier and Day through the backstretch. However, he maintained the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Day overtook Allgaier for third place while Jones tried to reel in from fifth place. Day spent the next five laps reeling in on Caruth when he made a move beneath Caruth, dueled with him through the backstretch and claimed the runner-up spot. Allgaier followed suit and moved to third while Caruth dropped to fourth in front of Sammy Smith and Kvapil. Amid the battles that involved his teammates, Pulliam was leading by more than a second with 40 laps remaining. 

Following another caution with 34 laps remaining due to Nick Sanchez wrecking through Turns 3 and 4, the following restart with 25 laps remaining featured Pulliam fumbling to launch from the inside lane. This allowed Allgaier to duel with the latter for a full lap as Allgaier managed to lead the next lap. Allgaier muscled ahead of Pullliam through the backstretch. Pulliam was pressured by Day, Sammy Smith and Kvapil. Amid the bumps, the caution flew with 23 laps remaining when Ross Chastain spun through the backstretch.

The next restart with 17 laps remaining did not last long as Pulliam struggled to launch for a second time, this time from the outside lane. This resulted in him being T-boned in the rear by teammate, Kvapil, and a 19-car pileup erupting through the frontstretch. The carnage blocked the entire frontstretch, causing a red flag period of 26 minutes. Several drivers, including Kvapil, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Andrew Patterson and Josh Williams, were knocked out of contention. Amid the chaos, Allgaier maintained the lead over Day and Sammy Smith while Pulliam managed to continue in fourth place.

When the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, the event restarted under green with 12 laps remaining. At the start, Allgaier motored ahead from the inside lane while Day slightly struggled to launch from the outside lane. This allowed Sammy Smith to draw alongside Day and both battled for second while Allgaier led the next lap. Shortly after, the caution flew due to Sawalich spinning in Turn 2. By then, Pulliam’s entry was smoking due to a left-front tire rub, but the driver opted to remain on the track.

During the next restart with five laps remaining, Allgaier fended off Day and Sammy Smith through the first two turns and the backstretch, with Allgaier leading the next lap. Allgaier maintained a steady lead over the next two laps while Day and Sammy Smith dueled for second place in front of Creed and Pulliam. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained in the lead ahead of Day, Sammy Smith, Creed and Pulliam. After maintaining the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch, Allgaier’s road to victory was solidified after teammate Caruth spun, which drew a race-ending caution. As a result, Allgaier cycled back to the frontstretch and cautiously took the checkered flag under reduced pace.

With the victory, Allgaier notched his 31st NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career victory, which moves him into a tie with Jack Ingram for sixth place on the all-time wins list. He also achieved his third victory of the 2026 season, his second at Martinsville and his first win at the historic racetrack in the spring. 

“I keep saying it and I keep talking about how great this team is,” Allgaier said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “We have fired off 2026 better than I could have ever imagined. So proud of the race cars we brought to the race track and all of our partners. I said it last week, you get later on into your career, you never know if you’ll ever win another one and to do it the way we’ve done this year has been pretty special.”

Corey Day, who led 37 laps, managed to edge Sammy Smith at the moment of caution to achieve a career-best runner-up result. Sheldon Creed claimed fourth place while Lee Pulliam, who led 40 laps, notched a strong fifth-place result in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. Following his stellar top-five result, Pulliam, who apologized for igniting the multi-car accident on the frontstretch, fought back tears of joy as he soaked in his first opportunity in racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driving for JR Motorsports.

Photo by Logan Allen for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“Just so thankful to be here and do this,” Pulliam said. “It was just a dream come true day. [The crew] gave me such an awesome race car. What a dream come true to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. [The] Whole experience has been pretty special for me. Something I’ve wanted to do my entire life. Just thankful for everybody that led to this moment. I hope I made you fans proud leading all those laps. It was super cool, driving away. Just wished I could’ve gotten going on restarts a little better. If we ever get another chance to do this, I’ll learn from my mistakes and just come back stronger.”

Austin Hill, Dean Thompson, Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg and Brent Crews completed the top 10 in the fina running order. Notably, Jesse Love, Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer finished 12th, 13th, 18th and 23rd while Rajah Caruth dropped to 25th following his last-lap incident.

There were 14 lead changes for eight different leaders. The event featured 14 cautions for 153 laps. In addition, 25 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the seventh event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the standings by 92 points over Jesse Love, 116 over Sheldon Creed, 122 over Austin Hill, and 139 over Carson Kvapil.

Results:

  1. Justin Allgaier, Stage 1 winner, 114 laps led
  2. Corey Day, 37 laps led
  3. Sammy Smith
  4. Sheldon Creed
  5. Lee Pulliam, 40 laps led
  6. Austin Hill, Stage 2 winner, nine laps led
  7. Dean Thompson
  8. Ross Chastain
  9. Ryan Sieg
  10. Brent Crews
  11. Parker Retzlaff
  12. Jesse Love
  13. Taylor Gray
  14. Brennan Poole
  15. Anthony Alfredo
  16. Patrick Staropoli
  17. Blaine Perkins
  18. Brandon Jones, one lap led
  19. Myatt Snider
  20. William Sawalich
  21. Brad Perez
  22. Lavar Scott
  23. Sam Mayer, 14 laps led
  24. Joey Gase
  25. Rajah Caruth, 18 laps led
  26. Harrison Burton, two laps down, 17 laps led
  27. Garrett Smithley, eight laps down
  28. Carson Kvapil – OUT, Accident
  29. Austin Green – OUT, Accident
  30. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident
  31. Andrew Patterson – OUT, Accident
  32. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident
  33. Nick Sanchez – OUT, Accident
  34. Kyle Sieg – OUT, Accident
  35. Josh Bilicki, 45 laps down
  36. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Brakes
  37. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Oil Cooler
  38. Luke Baldwin – OUT, Accident


Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule is Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, April 4, and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

Alex Palou takes pole position for Sunday’s race at Barber

By
Tucker White
-
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - MARCH 28: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Honda, and his team poses with the Firestone P1 Award after winning the pole for the NTT IndyCar Series Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park on March 28, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alex Palou told me, Friday, that entering this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park second in points “doesn’t change anything” about his strategy.

Saturday put action to words. Well, yes and no.

“I mean, it’s not for the championship,” he said. “At the same time, it is. I mean, we’re just trying to do the best we can every single weekend, every single session.

“I feel once you get closer to the end, maybe you’re just trying to go a bit more aggressive or less, depending on where you are in the championship. But I’m talking like last round or last two rounds.

“I feel now everybody’s just trying to get the pole and trying to get the win, because you know, ultimately that gives you the most points.

“Yeah, we’re not really worried or thinking too much about the championship. It’s too early. At the same time, we need to get as many good results as we can.”

Just as he did in 2025, the driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda won the pole for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix with a lap of 1:06.234. It’s his 13th career pole and first of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

“Yeah, very happy obviously,” he said. “I was very happy with the car this morning in practice two, compared to yesterday. Feel like yesterday, we were missing a little bit of balance. Conditions today helped a ton.

“It was a very close qualifying. We just wanted to make sure once we’re in Fast Six, although we know we’re not going to have two sets of brand-new alternates, to try to go for pole, and we did.

“Yeah, happy. Hopefully, future Alex is going to figure out how to balance against new alternates. Yeah, that’s an issue for tomorrow.”

David Malukas clocked in second with a lap of 1:06.347. Graham Rahal timed in third with a lap of 1:06.518.

“I think (the car is) very good,” Malukas said. “From practice one, practice two, our pace, on primary tires, but on reruns, we seem to have pace. Lap time was there. I think we’re in for a good race tomorrow.”

Marcus Armstrong (1:06.551), Kyle Kirkwood (1:06.832), and Romain Grosjean, who ran wide into the grass in Turn 9 during the final round of qualifying, rounded out the Firestone Fast Six (1:06.836).

Santino Ferrucci, Marcus Ericsson, Josef Newgarden, and Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top-10.

During the first round of qualifying, Will Power’s brakes went to the floor, and his car plowed into the foam, tire, and armco barrier in Turn 5. He was seen and released from the IndyCar medical unit.

Sting Ray Robb interfered with Grosjean’s flying lap in the first round. INDYCAR disallowed his two fastest laps, as penalty.

TOYOTA RACING – NOAPS Martinsville Post-Race Report – 03.28.26

By
Official Release
-

SAM HUNT RACING LEADS TOYOTA WITH STRONG PERFORMANCE IN MARTINSVILLE
Dean Thompson leads with top-10 finish, while Harrison Burton breaks team laps led record

RIDGEWAY, Va. (March 28, 2026) – Sam Hunt Racing’s Dean Thompson led Toyota with a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville Speedway. It is the California-native’s third top-10 in as many starts in the series at Martinsville.

Before being involved in a late-race incident, Thompson’s teammate Harrison Burton led 17 laps in his Toyota GR Supra – setting a new single-race record for Sam Hunt Racing.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS)
Martinsville Speedway
Race 7 of 33 – 131.5 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Corey Day*
3rd, Sammy Smith*
4th, Sheldon Creed*
5th, Lee Pulliam*
7th, DEAN THOMPSON
10th, BRENT CREWS
13th, TAYLOR GRAY
18th, BRANDON JONES

20th, WILLIAM SAWALICH

26th, HARRISON BURTON

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Another good run at Martinsville. Can you talk about your finish?

“I feel like our team just fires on all cylinders here. I feel like my crew chief, Kris Bowen, has a knack for this place. We all love it here, and we all get to sleep in our own beds, which is pretty nice. I just feel like this place clicks for me and clicks for my crew chief. Things just kind of panned out our way. We always have really, really fast race cars. I’m lucky to drive this One TPG Toyota GR Supra. It is always fast when we come here. We were struggling in practice, but I felt like I could have qualified well but it got rained out and we just fought and clawed our way to the front. I wish those last 16 laps went straight because I felt like we could have gotten a better finish out of it because we had a really good long run car but super pumped to come out of here with a good finish.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Defending Winner Palou Earns First Pole of Season at Barber

By
Official Release
-

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Saturday, March 28, 2026) – It may be time for every NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver not named Alex Palou to take a deep breath after qualifying Saturday for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst.

Four-time series champion Palou appears to be back on peak form, and that’s a very, very frightening prospect for his rivals – especially at Barber Motorsports Park.

Palou earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season and the 13th of his career by leading the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1 minute, 6.2341 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The Spaniard won this race last season by 16.0035 seconds – the largest margin of victory in the series in 2025 – after starting from the pole. He led practice this morning, too.

“Honestly, one of the best cars I’ve driven,” Palou said. “This morning (in practice) I already felt the car was really, really good, really well balanced. We just wanted to start up front, capitalize on a really good car we had today and see for tomorrow. Really happy to get our first pole this year.”

Live coverage of the 90-lap race starts at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls. A 30-minute warmup precedes the race at 10 a.m. ET (FS2, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

David Malukas continued the strong start to his Team Penske tenure, joining Palou in the front row by qualifying second at 1:06.3478 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Graham Rahal will start third – tying his season best set on the oval at Phoenix – after his best lap of 1:06.5181 in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Marcus Armstrong qualified fourth at 1:06.5312 in the No. 66 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.

Series leader Kyle Kirkwood qualified fifth at 1:06.8326 in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda fielded by Andretti Global. But he pulled an interesting strategic ploy by running the entire Firestone Fast Six on used tires, saving a valuable, grippier pair of new Firestone Firehawk alternate tires for the race. Romain Grosjean qualified sixth – tying his season best from St. Petersburg – at 1:06.8363 in the No. 18 Bmax Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.

There was tremendous team parity in the starting lineup, as seven different organizations were represented among the top seven qualifiers. Santino Ferrucci will start seventh for AJ Foyt Racing, as Andretti Global is the first repeat team on the grid with Marcus Ericsson qualifying eighth.

The first group in the first session of qualifying was halted when the tough start of the Andretti Global tenure of two-time series champion Will Power continued. Power said his rear brakes failed entering the downhill approach to the tight Turn 5 hairpin, and he speared head-first into the energy-absorbing foam barrier behind the gravel trap. Power was unhurt and will start 23rd in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.

Another two-time winner at Barber, Scott McLaughlin, rebounded from a big crash in Turn 1 during practice this morning to qualify a backup No. 3 Odyssey Batteries Team Penske Chevrolet in 14th.

Rookie Mick Schumacher, the son of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, was the quickest among the three rookies in the 25-driver field, qualifying 20th at 1:06.8140 in the No. 45 ENVE Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

TEAM CHEVY INDYCAR QUALIFYING – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park natural terrain road course
Birmingham, Alabama
Saturday Qualifying Report
March 28, 2026

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (March 28, 2026) – David Malukas will start the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on the outside of the front row in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, improving his average starting position on the season to 4.3, tied for the series lead with today’s pole winner Álex Palou.

Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, and Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet were the other Chevrolet-powered drivers to qualify in the top ten.

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

A crazy few hours for McLaughlin and Team Penske

McLaughlin, the driver of the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet dropped the right rear in Turn 1 at Barber Motorsports Park, spinning 180 degrees and impacting the tire and foam barrier and ending up halfway through the catch fence. McLaughlin was seen and released by INDYCAR Medical. He told the INDYCAR Radio Network:

“I just dropped the right rear, unfortunately. It’s a testament to the safety of the INDYCAR and what Barbers has done here. Honestly, I think the crash looked a lot worse than it felt. I hope we can get this thing fixed and go out and ship it again in qualifying. I knew the impact was coming, so I tried to brace myself, and then I ended up halfway through the fence, so it was pretty exciting. I’m sad for my guys. I’ve got the best crew on pit land, and they’ll fix it as fast as they can. It’s a shame.”

The team made a quick decision to go to the backup car, swapping the undamaged Chevy Indy V6, and replacing the damaged parts, getting the car already wrapped for the Streets of Long Beach, prepared in plenty of time for qualifying.

“We’re race drivers,” said McLaughlin to Harvey before qualifying. “You’re paid to push the limits. It’s what you have to do. I have full confidence in the car. I felt really good on that run, it was just a small error with big consequence. It looked pretty crazy, right. For me, it’s just business as usual. Just get in this Odyssey Battery Chevy, feel it for the first lap and send it.”

McLaughlin, in the second group, barely missed out on advancing to the Fast 12, with a lap that was only one-hundredth of a second behind O’Ward, saying after qualifying:

“First off, massive thanks to the Odyssey Battery Chevy team. I put us behind with the big shunt in practice and these guys just always answer the bell. Can’t thank them enough for their hard work. It was great just to be able to get out for qualifying and if we are in the first group I think we sail through. Really proud of the effort.”

What they’re saying – qualifying:

David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet qualified:

“I’m satisfied for sure, but I think it still hurts because we could have gone for the pole. It was so close between me, Palou and Kirkwood, especially in that Fast 12; I couldn’t believe how tight it was. Overall, we did well. I made a call there in the Fast Six, and we definitely overstepped it on the car. I thought in my head, this is going to be perfect. I went a few corners and said man, I overdid it, so that’s on me. I wanted to be aggressive on the set-up. Overall, this Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet has been awesome. From Practice One, we’ve been on such a good streak and really happy that we can start on that front row and keep this consistency we’ve had in 2026 going.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet qualified 7th:

“Honestly, one of our new things this year is try and start with the car we rolled out with and just build on it. We had it, we’ve been missing time in Turn 12 & 13, and it’s been on me to fix that. And, I just kind of sent it through (Turn) 13 and I think I sent it too far because I passed the line off the track. It sucks, because that what cost us sixth. I can’t thank everybody at A.J. Foyt Racing, HFOT.org and Chevy. We’ve come a long way in the last few years. We’re trying to make this the new normal. We made the Fast 12 in Arlington and almost in the Fast Six this weekend. We’ve had great race cars, but I just want to pass less cars. I like being the pass master, but it feels good to start up front.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet qualified 9th:

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 10th:

“Qualifying was disappointing. We had a lot more going into it than where we ended up. Overall, pace in Q1 was good; pace in Q2 was not quite there. We have some things we need to figure out. Balance wasn’t really the issue, I don’t think. We just lacked a bit of grip in Q2, and it felt weird, so we’ve got some things to figure out in our debrief and address for the race tomorrow.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet qualified 11th:

“Pretty anti-climatic result, but a good improvement from yesterday. I am glad we were able to get the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet out of our group and into the second round of qualifying. We have some good ideas for tomorrow!”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 12th:

“It was a very frustrating day. No explanation to what happened in Qualifying. We had the exact same reads for what happened to the 5 and the 7 car, which obviously, we need to get to the bottom of it because these days can’t be happening when we feel like we have a chance for pole and are then eight tenths behind.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet qualified 14th:

“First off, massive thanks to the Odyssey Battery Chevy team. I put us behind with the big shunt in practice and these guys just always answer the bell. Can’t thank them enough for their hard work. It was great just to be able to get out for qualifying and if we are in the first group I think we sail through. Really proud of the effort.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 15th:

“A little bit of a confusing Qualifying. I think all of us are expecting a lot more pace. The car felt really good and the session was executed quite well, and the lap time didn’t match the feeling. So, (I’m) confused, and I think that’s consistent across the camp. We have some things to look into, but I’m happy with the execution of Qualifying and we’ll just find some speed.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet qualified 16th:

“Tough qualifying to say the least. To start, we’ve had really great pace all weekend, especially on the Blacks. We showed some promising pace in practice #1 on the Reds. In qualifying, we started on Blacks. We were P2, really quick and happy with the car. Then on the Reds, unfortunately, once again could not find the grip on that tire and didn’t get the jump in lap time that we were looking for like almost everybody else did. Just a bummer. We have a lot more pace than where we qualified. We need to figure this out coming into the rest of the season to see where we can find that grip on the Red tire. We’re making it a bit harder on ourselves for the race. We’ve got it all to play for. We’ve got good minds on strategy and good pace to make strategy happen, so all eyes forward.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet qualified 17th:

“We just missed it. We’ve been struggling to find the balance the whole weekend. We’ve thrown some big changes at the Splenda Chevrolet over the course of the weekend but obviously haven’t quite found a solution yet. We’ll keep working.”

Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet qualified 21st:

“I think the car felt very good, both on black and red tires. On red tires, we only had one lap, and unfortunately, I made a big mistake out of turn nine, so that was it. I mean, after that, I lost a little bit of the peak of the tire, and qualifying was over. Not much to say, except that I have a good race car for tomorrow.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet qualified 25th:

“Today was very interesting. Barber is always a challenging track. A lot of interesting dynamics to think about. But, very temperature sensitive and we felt that today. We made a great step overnight to get a good car for practice 2 this morning and really felt like we were in a good spot going into qualifying. But, when we put the Red tires on in qualifying we weren’t able to get the pace out of them that we expected. Both cars struggled with similar things. Rinus and I are both wanting the same thing from the car, which is nice so that we can change the set up together for tomorrow. I think warm up will be good, but the high temps in the middle of the day will be challenging for us. We’ll make some good adjustments overnight and hopefully be able to race forward.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Saturday, March 28, 2026
David Malukas
Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: David Malukas with his best starting position in his fourth start, second front-row start in 2026.

Happy to be starting front row tomorrow?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, very happy. Super happy. Obviously we had the opportunity to go for pole. It was actually my call to make a big setup swing change going into the Fast Six. Overdid it. It was a bit on me.

Very happy with everything. Yeah, front row for tomorrow is fantastic.

THE MODERATOR: How is the car for tomorrow?

DAVID MALUKAS: I think it’s very good. From practice one, practice two, our pace, on primary tires, but on reruns, we seem to have pace. Lap time was there. I think we’re in for a good race tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Let’s open it up for questions.

Q. David, obviously starting on the front row, super important. Alex started on pole last year, ran away from the field. How important is that first lap, first corner, to get ahead? How aggressive are you planning on driving?

DAVID MALUKAS: We’ll see how the race plays out. I mean, this track, it’s tough to pass. There’s only a few spots. We’ll see how the first lap plays out. If the opportunity is there, we’ll go for it. If not, we need to kind of settle in.

It’s a bit of a game. You don’t want to be pushing so hard, kill your tires, ruin your race for one position.

Q. A couple drivers starting behind you on presumably new reds. How important is that going to be to your race?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, if Palou is going to do the same thing like last year and pull away, hopefully we can pull away with him and creat a gap before those guys get the new set of reds.

It is going to be a big change for them, but hopefully track rebuilds up and toward the end there is not going to be a big difference when they have that new tire difference. I think it will be good either way. The car is quick.

Q. David, earlier today your teammate, Scott McLaughlin, had a very wild ride. What was your reaction when you saw that?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah pretty much that. It was crazy. The car was almost skidding. Like you throw a rock in the water, in a pond, it was skidding. You couldn’t slow it down. Looked like a big hit.

Team Penske guys built it so quick, got it done. Very impressive.

Q. You were able to save the day by getting into the Fast Six, the only Chevy or Penske in the Fast Six. How does that help the Chevy side?

DAVID MALUKAS: I think it’s very big, very strong. I think for us, from day one yesterday, it seemed that pace was very good for all of us, for more Chevys. It’s been interesting how things came out, even through practice two.

It’s interesting. We’ll look at everything and see why things changed for qualifying.

Q. On the tire strategy, was there ever a question for you guys if you were going to use new or old alternates for that final six laps or you wanted to try to get the pole and be on those new tires for the Fast Six?

DAVID MALUKAS: Normally when we make one of those decisions we make it early on and commit to it no matter what’s going on around us. We did the same thing in St. Pete. We committed to doing used. Coming into Barber, we committed to going to the new tires for the Fast Six.

Q. Did you notice any difference with the cars based on the temperature compared to yesterday?

DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, for sure from my side, yeah, it was a big difference. I think the difference was more in practice two. I think quallie the temp went up a bit, kind of closed in a little bit more to how practice one reds were.

We got the setup accorded to what the temperature was. But yeah, a little different.

Tune-In Guide

Sunday

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 10am (ET)/9am (CT)/8am (MT)/7am (PT) –FS1/ INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (90 laps) – 1pm (ET)/noon (CT)/11am (MT)/10am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218

Chevrolet History at Barber Motorsports Park

Chevrolet Wins – 9

2024 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske

2023 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske

2022 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren

2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2017 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske

2015 – Josef Newgarden – ECR

2013 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global

2012 – Will Power – Team Penske

Chevrolet Poles – 10

2024 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske

2022 – Rinus VeeKay – ECR

2021 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren

2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2017 – Will Power – Team Penske

2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske

2015 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske

2014 – Will Power – Team Penske

2013 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global

2012 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske

Chevrolet Podiums: 21

Driver Podiums: Josef Newgarden (4), Will Power (4), Scott McLaughlin (3), Scott Dixon (2), Helio Castroneves (2), Simon Pagenaud (2), Ryan Hunter-Reay (1), Christian Lundgaard (1), Pato O’Ward (1), Rinus VeeKay (1)

Team Podiums: Team Penske (13), ECR (3), Arrow McLaren (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (2), Andretti Global (1)

Chevrolet Laps Led: 699

Driver Laps Led: Josef Newgarden (141), Will Power (114), Simon Pagenaud (87), Helio Castroneves (73), Rinus VeeKay (58), Pato O’Ward (52), Santino Ferrucci (14), Sebastian Saavedra (11), Sebastien Bourdais (6), Scott Dixon (3), James Hinchcliffe (1)

Team Laps Led: Team Penske (455), ECR (104), Andretti Global (54), Arrow McLaren (52), KV Racing Technology (13), A.J. Foyt Racing (18), Chip Ganassi Racing (3),

Manufacturer History at Phoenix International Raceway

Wins (with competition)

9 – Chevrolet (2024, 2023, 2022, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012)

4 – Honda (2025, 2021, 2019, 2014)

Poles (with competition)

10 – Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)

4 – Honda (2026, 2025, 2023, 2019)

Historical Chevrolet in the INDYCAR SERIES information

  • INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979)
  • Chevrolet-Powered Wins in the Twin-Turbo 2.2L V6 Era (2012-present)
  • Chevrolet-Powered Wins – All-Time

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US INDYCAR series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

Johnson Dodges Leaders’ Mayhem To Win at Barber

By
Official Release
-

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Saturday, March 28, 2026) – Nikita Johnson had a hunch opportunity might present itself late in the first race of the Grand Prix of Alabama doubleheader, and his accurate instincts helped him earn a dramatic victory Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

Johnson earned his second victory of the season and took the lead in the INDYCAR development series in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry after race leader and pole sitter Alessandro de Tullio and second-place Max Taylor tangled and spun with eight laps remaining in the 35-lap race.

“I kind of expected it,” Johnson said of the incident that vaulted him to the lead. “I knew who was up front; I know those two guys battle really hard. I’ve raced them forever, so I knew something was going to happen.”

Johnson, 17, won by .7687 of a second over fellow series rookie Enzo Fittipaldi in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. Fittipaldi’s teammate Tymek Kucharczyk finished third in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports machine.

Max Garcia placed fourth in the No. 12 ABEL Motorsports car, as series rookies took the top four spots at the finish. Myles Rowe rounded out the top five in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine as the top veteran finisher.

Johnson, who won the season opener in his native St. Petersburg, Fla., leads second-place Kucharczyk by 28 points in the standings. The second race of the weekend, a 30-lap event, is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

De Tullio pulled away from pole at the start and maintained a steady gap of around seven- to eight-tenths of a second on Taylor, who started second. Then that pair started to encounter Chip Ganassi Racing teammates James Roe and Carson Etter, who were dueling for position at the tail end of the lead lap with less than 10 laps to go on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.

That joust ahead of him slowed de Tullio on Lap 27, allowing Taylor to close quickly. De Tullio dove inside in Turn 9, with his car slowing when his right-side wheels touched the dirt inside the racing surface, with Roe and Etter right ahead of him.

Taylor pounced, taking the lead with an outside move and lapping Etter. Then de Tullio fought back on the same lap, regaining the lead in Turn 12 through the esses section of the circuit.

The race’s biggest flashpoint occurred just four turns later. Taylor looked inside de Tullio in Turn 16, but his left front wheel touched the right rear wheel of de Tullio. Both drivers spun, and Johnson – who trailed de Tullio by 1.8 seconds the previous time past the flag stand – squeezed through to take a lead he would not relinquish.

“When I saw those lapped cars, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s about to get messy,’ Johnson said. “So, I just maintained my tires, left them a good gap and made sure I could avoid any trouble.”

De Tullio was beached in the gravel trap, while Taylor drove out of the gravel and continued. De Tullio eventually finished 20th in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry, one lap down. Taylor was penalized for avoidable contact and ended up 19th in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen machine of Andretti Global.

There was one small moment of suspense for Johnson en route to the checkered flag. The incident between de Tullio and Taylor triggered the second and final caution period of the race, bunching the field for a restart on Lap 30.

But Johnson pulled away on the restart and never was threatened to the finish.

The race featured 96 on-track passes, including 83 for position – both track records for INDY NXT competition.

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Martinsville Qualifying Quotes – Denny Hamlin – 03.28.26

By
Official Release
-

TOYOTA RACING – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

RIDGEWAY, Va. (March 28, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

This is Hamlin’s first pole of the season and 49th of his career. Toyota has now won the pole for the three consecutive races, and four of the last five.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Bob’s Discount Furniture Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

How would you characterize your relationship with Kevin Harvick now?

“Yeah, I mean, very similar to kind of how we talked about last week, the teammates, very similar. We weren’t great friends on the racetrack. We had some run ins here and there. Later in his career, we were definitely a lot more friendly and certainly you talk about those years, like 2020, 2021, when it was our team versus their team, usually on a weekly basis, just gained it just a ton of respect for him and his whole team through that run, and so we raced really well together, probably the last 10 years of my career.”

You are now 10th all-time in poles, and just a couple behind Ryan Newman. Does that mean something to you?

“It’s pretty awesome. Really, with age, the hardest part is actually still having the fast time. You know what I mean? It’s one thing to be able to kind of manage races and understand – use your experience to your advantage, but usually the first thing that goes is your all-out speed, and we’re still knocking off poles, which is really good. I was around when (Ryan) Newman was just unstoppable in qualifying, so damn, I didn’t know he had that many. That was a lot.”

Is there a certain number of poles you are looking to get?

“Yeah, I don’t know whether it will change much other than just, make me feel better. I can’t compromise my preparation for a race to really focus on, all right, well, I want to get five more poles, right? If I never get another one, it’s possible. I never get another one, then that’s fine, but I never really go into any weekend thinking about qualifying on the pole. It’s kind of a sidebar for how did my Saturday go.”

How does the pole cap your day? Did you think it was possible going into qualifying?

“I knew it was possible. Simply from kind of where my car was in practice, and anytime that I’ve got fast lap speed in practice here at Martinsville, that’s in the top 12, I think that you’re close enough there that qualifying trim doesn’t change your car that much and so you’ve got enough speed to where if you nail it and you do a good job as a driver, you’ve got a chance at the pole. So, I knew it was very possible but truthfully, I approached the lap to get in the top eight. That was that was the goal and executing that lap is that – I think I would go faster if I went out and did it again right now. I think I’ll go ahead and stand on my time on this one.”

How do you teach this place to someone who doesn’t have the rhythm or pace?

“I think in a few years, I’ll be able to do that more with him. There’s plenty of tracks where I think that he can improve greatly and I could probably help him with that. That’s the advantage that team has right now is that just – they got an extra teammate over there and I’m certainly unleashing my journal of decades of notes that those guys get to hear each and every Monday, but this place, it takes time. When I say it takes time, not like experience time, it would take a solid two races here of just in his ear after practice, qualifying, race to just change a few things here and there to change the style, change the approach, and more than likely be right there.”

How important is it to lock Tyler Reddick up and have him a part of 23XI’s long term future?

“He will be. Tyler’s (Reddick) one of those guys that was very important for us to, to get our hands on him very early as you talked about. I think he’s lived up to the expectations for us. Certainly, last year was not great, but like when his not great years are still in the top 10, those are the elite drivers. We’re seeing it this year. He’s putting it all together and our race cars are really fast too. They really are, and what I like about it is, they’re winning races that they’re overcoming something. They’re not just flat out dominating them, so that shows his maturity.”

Would you even worry about Tyler’s ego?

“No (laughter). I’ve been around lots of divas before and Tyler’s (Reddick), he’s not there yet. (laughter) His teammate’s definitely more of a diva than what Tyler is (laughter). That is 100% accurate. Riley (Herbst) is the most humble of them all, and it’s not even remotely close. He’s someone that just is still willing to learn on race winning weekends. Even after this hot start and I’m like 100s of points behind him. He’s still asking me questions like he’s behind me. He’s like, well, what about this, and what about that, and what about this? So, he’s still very much the student who is going to continue to just keep getting better and better.”

Looking at tomorrow, how much stock should we take into everyone’s speed tomorrow?

“Yeah, you can take you can take some, but this is such its own beast. It really is. There’s been years that our short track package has not been good at Joe Gibbs Racing, and we still come here and do what we normally do. I think you can take some stock in it, but you’re going to have to get past Richmond to really understand where the field is at.”

Are you looking forward to that when you retire and being all hands-on at 23XI Racing?

“I think they’ll get better when that happens, but maybe not. Just there’s no other owner that’s able to understand what these drivers are talking about, and able to designate resources to fix. There’s no other owners that can challenge when I hear something that I don’t think is necessarily correct and I can say, are you sure? Are you sure something else doesn’t lead to that? And then it prompts another thought and it’s, like yeah, you know what? Maybe that’s it because next thing you know, because they could be going off and off in a rabbit hole type of path. So that’s just the really the strategic advantage that we have over there. When I stop driving, I think I’ll still be able to contribute for a couple years, because I’ll be fresh out of the car but eventually it will be more traditional like the other teams are.”

Should it scare the competition that 23XI Racing could be even better?

“Yeah, but I think there’s negatives too, right? Once I get out of the car, I can’t fully challenge them on – are you sure the track did this? Because I was there (laughter). So, I will lose a little bit of that. I think what gets gained might get lost. It could be a wash.”

How are you physically feeling six races in?

“Oh, just get fatter, truthfully (laughter). I can’t play the sports I like to play. That’s about it, but it’s holding up – to be at this point, you know, a lot of it too is that I’m really being cautious with all the other things to not aggravate. So, when I come here on the weekend, I know that it’s like 100 percent – it’s as good as it’s going to be. So, it’s not too bad. Last week, wore me down pretty good. It’s been a while since I’ve been that wore down after a race, and certainly I felt it in the shoulder, but I feel like if it stays on this pace, I’ll be fine for the end of the year.”

What are your thoughts on Hall of Fame induction?

“Check me out Monday night. We talk about it.”

What should fans look for tomorrow?

“I don’t think from the fans sitting in the stands perspective, you’ll see a whole lot of difference, but there certainly will be inside the car. This place is really technical. It’s going to make it harder to hit your marks with the additional horsepower and certainly the tire change that we had from last fall. I mean, what are you looking for? What happens when the leader gets to the back of the pack? That’s what you should pay attention to. Who gets stuck and then who keeps going forward and passing cars? That’s going to be the X factor.”

Can you talk more about your philosophy for hiring at 23XI?

“The general question is really good, and it would take a really long time to explain it all. But if you’re building a race team and it is a puzzle, all I did was put the big pieces in, and then they filled out all the other little pieces of this thing to make it kind of what it is, right? The main 10, 12 guys, those are the ones I went and recruited and said, these are the ones I want running these departments, and they know talent when they see it, and they’re going to go then hire the right people to, the smaller pieces that fit in, that makes this whole thing work. Again, we have less people because we pay a hefty service fee to JGR, right? We could take that eight million and just get more employees, but is then aren’t we just doubling up? Aren’t we just doing the same work that they’re doing two miles away? Is that the best thing for Toyota? I’m not really sure. I think it’s better when we work together, consolidate resources, and at that point, have seven cars that are going out there and competing.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Denny Hamlin scores first Cup pole of 2026 at Martinsville

By
Andrew Kim
-
Denny Hamlin wis Cup Series Pole at Martinsville. Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Denny Hamlin marched his way to the Busch Light Pole Award for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 28.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through a single-car, two-lap qualifying format. In the format, all 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots cycled around Martinsville Speedway twice while attempting to post the fastest lap. The competitor who posted the fastest single lap was awarded the pole position.

During the qualifying session, Hamlin, who was the third-fastest competitor earlier on Saturday in practice, clocked in his fastest lap at 98.241 mph in 19.275 seconds. The lap was enough for the three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, to claim the top-starting spot at his home track.

With the pole, Hamlin notched his 49th NASCAR Cup Series career pole, which moves in sole possession of 10th place on the all-time poles list. The pole was also his first of the 2026 season and his fifth at Martinsville, with his previous at the track dating back to October 2019. And, it was also the fourth of this season for Toyota and the second for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin is a six-time Cup race winner at Martinsville, with his latest occurring a year ago in the spring. For Sunday’s main event, he will attempt to tie Rusty Wallace for the fourth-most Martinsville victories at seven.

“Hats off to the whole Bob’s Discount Furniture team,” Hamlin said on Prime Video. “The car was good today. I did a lot of really good things in practice and I was hoping it would get somewhere in that top eight for qualifying.” He continued, saying, “I was really concentrated on hitting my marks, doing what I needed to do. And, I thought that the track had a 2-0 in it. How to do it all over again? I thought I could, but it was good enough, and (the team) did a great job with the adjustments. Certainly, that’s gonna be a great place to start.”

Hamlin will share the front row with William Byron, the latter of whom is a three-time Martinsville winner and won last year’s fall event. Byron, who won the spring Martinsville events in 2022 and 2024, posted his fastest lap at 97.957 mph in 19.331 seconds.

“Yeah, I feel good,” Byron said. “I feel like not a lot has changed, so you know, for us, it’s just really trying to build on what we did here last fall and what we did at Bowman Gray. The tire is the same, but the horsepower is different, so just try to understand that in practice, how much that’s going to feel different.

“But yeah, I love coming here. It’s always a battle with these two tracks back-to-back, Darlington and Martinsville, I was thinking on the way up here. Just tough places, so just got to be ready and do a good job.”

Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen will start in the top five, respectively, while Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar qualified sixth and seventh, respectively. Tyle Reddick, the series’ points leader and last weekend’s winner at Darlington Raceway, will start in eighth place after he posted his lap at 97.729 mph in 19.376 seconds. Joey Logano and Chase Elliott complete the top-10 starting grid.

Notably, Bubba Wallace, who was the fastest competitor in practice, qualified in 15th place at 97.382 mph in 19.445 seconds. In addition, Brad Keselowski, who is scheduled to become the 35th competitor to achieve 600 Cup starts for Sunday’s main event and is coming off a strong runner-up result at Darlington, will start in 23rd place at 97.018 mph in 19.518 seconds. Lastly, Justin Allgaier, who is making his third start as a interim competitor for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry, will start in 21st place at 97.093 mph in 19.503 seconds.

With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, all made the main event.

Martinsville – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Denny Hamlin, 98.241 mph, 19.275 seconds
  2. William Byron, 97.957 mph, 19.331 seconds
  3. Josh Berry, 97.941 mph, 19.334 seconds
  4. Ty Gibbs, 97.921 mph, 19.338 seconds
  5. Shane van Gisbergen, 97.916 mph, 19.339 seconds
  6. Austin Cindric, 97.855 mph, 19.351 seconds
  7. Carson Hocevar, 97.795 mph, 19.363 seconds
  8. Tyler Reddick, 97.729 mph, 19.376 seconds
  9. Joey Logano, 97.664 mph, 19.389 seconds
  10. Chase Elliott, 97.649 mph, 19.392 seconds
  11. Christopher Bell, 97.618 mph, 19.398 seconds
  12. Ryan Blaney, 97.463 mph, 19.429 seconds
  13. Kyle Larson, 97.448 mph, 19.432 seconds
  14. Zane Smith, 97.387 mph, 19.444 seconds
  15. Bubba Wallace, 97.382 mph, 19.445 seconds
  16. Chris Buescher, 97.377 mph, 19.446 seconds
  17. Ryan Preece, 97.342 mph, 19.453 seconds
  18. Ross Chastain, 97.322 mph, 19.457 seconds
  19. Erik Jones, 97.177 mph, 19.486 seconds
  20. Michael McDowell, 97.133 mph, 19.495 seconds
  21. Justin Allgaier, 97.093 mph, 19.503 seconds
  22. Daniel Suarez, 97.068 mph, 19.508 seconds
  23. Brad Keselowski, 97.018 mph, 19.518 seconds
  24. Cole Custer, 96.959 mph, 19.530 seconds
  25. Connor Zilisch, 96.929 mph, 19.536 seconds
  26. Riley Herbst, 96.805 mph, 19.561 seconds
  27. Chase Briscoe, 96.800 mph, 19.562 seconds
  28. AJ Allmendinger, 96.721 mph, 19.578 seconds
  29. Todd Gilliland, 96.671 mph, 19.588 seconds
  30. Austin Dillon, 96.489 mph, 19.625 seconds
  31. Noah Gragson, 96.366 mph, 19.650 seconds
  32. John Hunter Nemechek, 96.298 mph, 19.664 seconds
  33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96.239 mph, 19.676 seconds
  34. Kyle Busch, 96.097 mph, 19.705 seconds
  35. Cody Ware, 96.029 mph, 19.719 seconds
  36. Ty Dillon, 95.830 mph, 19.760 seconds
  37. Austin Hill, 95.055 mph, 19.921 seconds

The 2026 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, March 29, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

CHEVROLET NCS AT MARTINSVILLE: William Byron Media Availability Quotes

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
MARCH 28, 2026

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is a three-time Martinsville winner in NASCAR’s top division, including the series’ most recent appearance at the track in October 2025.

Media Availability Quotes:

William, you’ve won three times here at Martinsville, including a clean sweep last October. How are you feeling going in tomorrow?

“Yeah, I feel good. I feel like not a lot has changed, so you know, for us, it’s just really trying to build on what we did here last fall and what we did at Bowman Gray. The tire is the same, but the horsepower is different, so just try to understand that in practice, how much that’s going to feel different.

But yeah, I love coming here (Martinsville). It’s always a battle with these two tracks back-to-back, Darlington and Martinsville, I was thinking on the way up here. Just tough places, so just got to be ready and do a good job.”

How do you evaluate where the team is so far overall? Obviously, for you guys on the 24 team, you have three straight top 10s and you guys have shown speed, but the team still being winless so far this season. Where do you feel like the 24 team and Hendrick Motorsports stand?

“Yeah, I think we’re executing well on race days. I feel like our pit stops have been pretty solid, but could be quicker on pit road. I feel like our starting balance on Saturdays has been off and I think that’s been throwing us for a curveball, particularly at Phoenix and Darlington, with the short-track package. So I feel like that was an adjustment. I feel like Las Vegas went pretty much according to plan and we had a lot of strength there. You saw three of our cars be in the top-five for most of the race, and we had a shot to win that race. Still just a touch off the 11 car (Denny Hamlin) there. But then, you have the superspeedways.

The road course was kind of similar to Phoenix in that sense, that we were a little bit off on balance. So I think we need to do a better job on balance on Saturdays so that we’re not guessing so much for Sundays. Some of that could be obviously the new body, but also just tire changes and things of that nature. We need to do a better job of utilizing our tools and getting closer to unload so that we’re not guessing so much.

Yeah, that’s kind of how I see it. You know, if we have smoother Saturdays, we qualify better and we don’t have so many question marks going in Sunday, we’ll probably have a better weekend.”

You have been good both here (Martinsville) in the spring and the fall, but there is some kind of a difference between two races, in terms of who is strong and who is good. Why the difference?

“Yeah, I mean it’s similar at every racetrack, really, but I feel like it’s probably noticeable here (Martinsville) with the short-track and just tire wear. But I feel like the balance of the track is different, and because of that, you have some tendencies in your driving style that are unique. I think this place probably changes the least, but it just seems like the amount of time that goes by between this race and the fall race is just so big that there’s probably a lot of time for development and that’s probably why you see different guys be good by the fall. You know, sometimes if you’re good here (at Martinsville) in the spring, you kind of rest on that and try to bring it back, but you’re not as good. We’ve lived that. I feel like it’s better to live the song and dance of like – hey, you’re pretty good in the spring and then you come back here in the fall and you put it all together.”

Do you have to change your driving style for the two races? Some tracks, you don’t have to, but here, do you have to modify?

“There are some little differences. I feel like the fall race, the fall-off is typically a little higher, so there’s a little bit more tire wear. So there’s some little differences, but I feel most of it is in car setup and just kind of what your approach is. So yeah, for some reason the track is just a little bit different here in the spring versus the fall.”

Earlier this week, NASCAR said they’re kind of looking at considering using the 750-horsepower package at intermediate tracks, possibly next year. I’m just curious, what do you think the overall effect on the racing would be if they went in that direction?

“I don’t know. I think our intermediate package is pretty good right now. I feel like it puts on a pretty good race. I mean, at Las Vegas, I just think about how we were three-wide for the lead for multiple laps and that’s hard to recreate. So I feel like the intermediate package is good the way it is. I’ll be honest, I thought last week had less grip. I thought it was a good thing in that sense of tire fall off, but it was not easier to pass. If anything, the wake behind other cars was worse. I think there’s still work to do on that, so with that being said, I don’t think the power is a bad thing, but I don’t necessarily think the wake behind the cars last week with the short-track aero was any better.”

I know, obviously, it’s early in the season, but we’re six going on seven races in. Do you notice people racing any differently because of the change in the championship format?

“Yeah, that’s a great question. I think I do. I notice guys are just a little more protective of their finish, which I feel like in the past, you have maybe some more issues in stage three where guys have issues and they don’t finish as well. So I think there’s more emphasis on finishing well, but goes with that is stage points because, like you know last year, we had a really good start to the season. We scored a lot of stage points. This year, we’re not scoring as many stage points and we’re not as high up in the points. So I think there’s more of an emphasis on finishing the race strong, but I still think with stage points, you can’t overcome not having a good couple stages, and so the guys scoring a lot of points might still not finish as well, but they’re just scoring throughout the weekend on the stages.”

What are your thoughts about racing at Bristol and what stands out about racing at Bristol?

“It’s not really been my favorite place. I feel like it just hasn’t been great, result-wise. I think it’s just really fast-paced. The way you kind of load up into the banking with the concrete is very unique and just really hurts the tires if you’re a little bit off. So I think just finding a good rhythm there, where you can make speed but not damage your tires. It really depends on the weather on how much tire wear we’re going to have. So if it’s 70 degrees and sunny, it’s no big deal… you’re going to be able to run the top of the racetrack. If it’s 60 degrees or below and cloudy, it’s probably going to be a high tire wear race.”

How much stock should we put into what we see tomorrow (at Martinsville), as far as trying to see who has what on a short track, considering that there is the higher horsepower in play?

“Yeah, I would say a lot of stock. I mean, if you’re good here tomorrow, you’re probably going to be good at the other short-tracks. Bristol is different, so I don’t think it really is an indicator for there. But the other places — North Wilkesboro and Richmond comes to mind. If you’re good here, you’ll probably be pretty good at those other places. I’d say the majority of our tracks are going to be the mile-and-a-halves, so you need to be good here because it’s an important time of the year, but there’s really not many of these until you know, middle of the summer to late fall.”

What do you remember from your first trip here 10 years ago? I think it was your first track you’d ever gone to as a NASCAR fan…

“Yeah, it was actually like 22 years ago, Bryon said. “I’m getting old (Byron laughs). I’m 28 now, but I think I came here when I was six. But yeah, I just remember playing with the slot cars out in the parking lot. Where they have the parking lot now, it used to be the fan zone. But I just remember playing with the slot cars and just getting in the stands. We were probably about 20 rows up. I just remember the engines firing up and just as soon as that happened, I just had this energy and I was like – man, I love this.

“I’d already watched a lot of races on TV, so I kind of knew what I was looking for. But for some reason,” Byron said, “I just remember the launch off turn two (at Martinsville). You could see — I think it was Tony Stewart and Jamie (McMurray) were running well that day and Tony ended up winning the race. But the way they got off turn two was just really important, at least for my seat, so just remember that. I came back for many races. I remember Dale Jr. and Kevin Harvick going at it the one year. I thought Dale had been on kind of a winless streak and so the fans were really pulling for him, and then Kevin passed him with like six laps to go and that was not a super popular win.

But yeah, I remember those two races. And then, I came here with Stefan Parsons, my good buddy, and sat on the pit box with him and Phil and watched their car go around here. And then, I think that was the year that Jeff Gordon won, not his last race, but like the 2013 race, I think it was. The cars had a lot of power back then, so you could see him kind of light up the tires on exit of the corner. So yeah, a lot of cool races here. It’s close to home, so here and Darlington, they’re kind of my favorite tracks.”

Do you have anything planned for the off-weekend?

“No, not yet. I’m not a planner, so I need to figure that out. My friends have been bugging me about it and trying to figure something out, but I just need to get through the weekend and see where I’m at.”

You mentioned pit stop performance… is that something you’re reviewing on a regular basis? Are you contributing or are you asking for changes? How does that work… is that just a coach’s thing?

“No, I think we have a really we have a really strong team, so I think it’s just looking at some of your stats and looking at just the general performance,” Byron explained. “How it can get in the pit stall, how it can be more effective on our rolling time. It’s a whole equation; it’s not just the pit stop. I think it’s pit stall selection. We haven’t qualified as well, so we haven’t had the best, like top-five or six pit stalls, so we need to do better there to have cleaner ins and outs. But you know, try to just continue to get a couple tenths here and there on the pit stop itself. I think trying to be as quick as we can be, especially when we have track position, we have an opportunity to capitalize and gain a spot inside the top-five because I feel like those spots are a lot harder to come by on-track, as well.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

Alex Palou: Second in points ‘doesn’t change anything at all’

By
Tucker White
-
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - MARCH 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Honda, speaks to reporters prior to the NTT IndyCar Series Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park on March 27, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. Photo: Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alex Palou spoke to a throng of reporters gathered on the balcony of the media center, Friday, at Barber Motorsports Park. The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda finds himself in a position he’s not been in for over two years.

Off the top of the points standings.

After winning the season opener at St. Petersburg, wrecking out early at Phoenix Raceway and losing out to Kyle Kirkwood on the streets of Arlington, Texas, the four-time series champion enters the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix second in points.

And what does that change about his strategy, going forward?

“Nothing,” he said. “Doesn’t change anything at all.”

“If we were on the last two races, it would maybe change a little bit, but it’s still so early on. We just need to win as many races as we can.”

And what better place to win than a track where he’s the defending race winner. He led 81 of 90 caution-free laps from the pole to score his third victory of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR Series season, on his way to a third-consecutive championship.

If any driver has had Palou’s number since 2025, it’s Kirkwood. In addition to the aforementioned Arlington, Texas, race, he bested him on the streets of Long Beach, California, the streets of Detroit and on the oval at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

Of course, 26 points is by no means insurmountable.

“I think we’re in a great spot, but it still doesn’t mean anything, yet,” he said. “But the point swings are crazy right now because it’s so early on. So yeah, we just need to focus on winning this weekend.”

Kirkwood, however, bested him in first practice, Friday, with a lap of 1:08.146 (third fastest). While Palou clocked in fourth. Saturday, however, Palou topped the chart in second practice with a lap of 1:06.468. Kirkwood clocked in second fastest.

1...91011...6,605Page 10 of 6,605