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Chase Briscoe prevails for first elusive Cup victory of 2026 at Chicagoland

By
Andrew Kim
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JOLIET, ILLINOIS - JULY 05: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 05, 2026 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images).

Chase Briscoe capped off a patriotic return to NASCAR competition at Chicagoland Speedway by fending off teammate Christopher Bell and scoring his first elusive victory of the 2026 campaign in the eero 400 on Sunday, July 5.

The two-time Southern 500 champion from Mitchell, Indiana, led three times for 51 of 267 scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in seventh place and notched a trio of top-five results during the event’s first two stage periods. By then, Briscoe, along with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Bell, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, flexed their on-track strengths and raced competitively towards the front as the event progressed into nighttime racing and the track conditions cooled.

During the third and final stage period, a key moment for Briscoe occurred during a late cycle of green flag pit stops with 53 laps remaining when he pitted from the runner-up spot. After the leader William Byron pitted a lap later, Briscoe managed to motor past Byron on the track to assume the top spot for a third and final time. Despite having Bell reeling in and nearly seizing the lead amid lapped traffic, Briscoe managed to power away from Bell to the point where the latter could not make it up for a final time and the former cycled back to add a win to his 2026 resume.

With on-track qualifying determining the starting lineup on Saturday, July 4, Denny Hamlin notched his 52nd Cup Series career pole position with a lap at 178.241 mph in 30.296 seconds. Kyle Larson started alongside Hamlin on the front row with the second-fastest lap at 178.235 mph in 30.297 seconds.

Prior to the event, Michael McDowell dropped to the rear of the field after his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection three times. McDowell was also assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road after taking the green flag, and his car chief, Travis Young, was suspended for the remainder of the Chicagoland weekend.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Denny Hamlin motored ahead of Kyle Larson and the field from the inside lane. As Hamlin led through the first two turns and the backstretch, the event’s first caution flew when Ryan Preece, who briefly stepped out of the gas to avoid Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hitting the backstretch’s outside wall, was bumped by Erik Jones and spun down the track. In the process, Connor Zilisch veered his No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the left to avoid Preece’s spinning No. 60 Mariano’s/Athletic Brewing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry and ended up hitting the inside wall head-on. While Preece managed to continue despite being towed behind the wall and losing four laps in the process, Zilisch was the first competitor knocked out of the race after sustaining his seventh DNF of his rookie Cup season.

As the event restarted on the sixth lap, Hamlin and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Larson used the outside lane to motor ahead through the backstretch. Entering Turn 3, Chris Buescher overtook Hamlin for the runner-up spot and the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Larson led the next lap. While Michael McDowell served his pass-through penalty, the field continued to jostle for early spots as Larson proceeded to lead through to the 10th lap mark ahead of Buescher, Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe, respectively.

Through the Lap 20 mark, Hamlin, who motored his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE entry past Larson for the lead two laps earlier while remaining on the inside lane, was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson while Buescher, Bell and Wallace occupied the top-five spots over Reddick, Byron, Blaney, Briscoe and Elliott, respectively. Behind, Ty Gibbs, Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trailed in the top-20 mark ahead of Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Corey Heim and Austin Dillon while Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson and Shane van Gisbergen were mired in the top-30 mark, respectively.

Eleven laps later, the event’s second caution flew due to Zane Smith driving into the rear of Carson Hocevar as both competitors were sent up the track entering the first two turns, with Hocevar making heavy contact with the wall on the right side and Smith getting sideways as he collided into Hocevar’s damaged entry. By then, Hamlin extended his early advantage to more than two seconds over Larson while Bell, Buescher and Wallace were in the top five. During the event’s second caution period, the entire field led by Hamlin pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Larson while Bell, Byron, Buescher, Briscoe, Wallace, Reddick, Elliott and Blaney followed suit, respectively.

The next restart on Lap 37 featured Hamlin and Larson dueling for the lead through the first two turns as the field fanned out. Hamlin and Larson continued to duel for the top spot through the backstretch until Larson, who restarted from the inside lane, motored his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry ahead entering Turns 3 and 4 as he led the next lap over Hamlin. As Larson led through the Lap 40 mark, Byron overtook Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Wallace fiercely battled Bell for fourth place. Byron then started to reel in on teammate Larson for the lead as Reddick overtook Briscoe for sixth place. Amid Byron’s charge, Larson retained the lead by three-tenths of a second through the Lap 45 mark.

On Lap 46, the event’s third caution flew when Austin Hill was bumped by Shane van Gisbergen and spun backwards into the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4, which left Hill with a demolished rear end and out from further contention. During this caution period, a majority of the field led by Larson returned to pit road for service, with mixed strategies ensuing, while the rest that included Austin Cindric, Riley Herbst, Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Dillon rand JJ Yeley remained on the track. During the pit stops, Todd Gilliland spun backwards while trying to enter his pit stall after he was bumped by Bell while Bell was trying to exit his pit stall. Meanwhile, Reddick was the first competitor to exit pit road after he only opted for a two-tire pit service.

The next restart on Lap 53 featured Cindric leading teammate Joey Logano and the field for a full circuit before the latter battled and led the following lap. Cindric, though, reassumed the top spot during the next lap and he maintained a steady advantage over Briscoe by the Lap 60 mark while Bell, Byron, Larson, Wallace, Logano, Herbst, Reddick and Buescher trailed in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who restarted in 21st place after opting for a four-tire service during the latest caution period, was up to 13th place.

By Lap 65, Cindric, who despite was on a major tire disadvantage compared to most of the field, maintained the lead by half a second over a hard-charging Byron while Larson, Briscoe, Bell, Wallace, Herbst, Buescher, Reddick, Ty Gibbs and Hamlin pursued, respectively. Meanwhile, Logano dropped to 14th place. Two laps later, Byron used the inside lane to duel and overtake Cindric for the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. As Byron led, Larson reeled in on both the latter and Cindric to make it a three-car battle for the lead, with Larson overtaking Cindric for the runner-up spot on Lap 69.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Byron, who managed to build a reasonable gap between himself and teammate Larson over the previous 11 laps, captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Larson trailed in the runner-up spot by more than a second while Wallace, Cindric, Briscoe, Buescher, Herbst, Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and Reddick were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 34 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the leaders led by Byron pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Byron retained the lead after he exited pit road first and he was followed by Wallace, Larson, Buescher, Cindric, Hamlin, Briscoe, Gibbs, Herbst and Reddick, respectively. Meanwhile, Bell made multiple pit stops to have his damaged entry addressed.

The second stage period started on Lap 88 as Byron and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, Byron received a push from Larson from the inside lane that allowed Byron to clear Wallace with the lead through the first two turns. As Larson tried to challenge Wallace for the runner-up spot, Byron led the next lap and Wallace maintained the runner-up spot while the field behind jostled for spots through every turn and straightaway. Wallace then reeled in and got beneath Byron as they dueled for the lead through the frontstretch on Lap 90 before Wallace motored his No. 23 Upper Deck Space Jam Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of Byron and had both the lead and both lanes under his possession by the next lap.

On Lap 92, the caution returned when Larson, who was battling Byron for the runner-up spot, snapped sideways through Turns 3 and 4 before he spun through the frontstretch’s grass and got stuck in the wet grass from the heavy precipitation overnight. Larson’s misfortune dropped him out of the lead lap category as he needed to be towed out of the gas and pushed by a wrecker due to flat-spotting his tires, which cost him two laps overall. Meanwhile, Preece, who was four laps behind following his opening lap accident, cycled back on the lead lap.

During a Lap 99 restart, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as both Wallace and Byron dueled for the lead through the backstretch. Wallace, who remained on the inside lane, then managed to clear Byron through Turns 3 and 4, and he led the next lap as Buescher tried to reel in Byron for the runner-up spot. As the field continued to fan out and jostle for spots while Shane van Gisbergen scrubbed the outside wall entering the backstretch, Briscoe occupied fourth place in front of Reddick and Hamlin while Wallace maintained the lead by half a second as the event surpassed its Lap 100 mark.

Through the Lap 115 mark, Wallace stretched his lead to more than a second over Byron while Buescher, Briscoe, Hamlin, Elliott, Reddick, Gibbs, Bowman and Erik Jones occupied the top-10 spots ahead of Cindric, Herbst, Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry, respectively. Wallace maintained the lead by the Lap 120 mark despite having his advantage shrink to half a second over Byron as Byron was also being challenged by Briscoe for the runner-up spot. Two laps later, Briscoe outdueled Byron for the runner-up spot and the latter lost third place to Hamlin when he briefly stepped out of the gas due to sliding up entering the backstretch.

On Lap 124, Briscoe and Hamlin pinned Wallace in a tight three-wide battle for the lead, and the two Joe Gibbs Racing competitors outdueled Wallace as Briscoe motored his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry to assume the lead during the next lap. While Wallace maintained third place over Byron, Briscoe also maintained the lead over Hamlin before Elliott, Reddick, Buescher, Austin Dillon and Michael McDowell pitted under green by Lap 127. Byron then pitted from fourth place during the next lap along with Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Nemechek, Herbst, Suarez, Allmendinger, Keselowski, Hocevar and Noah Gragson before Briscoe, Wallace and Erik Jones pitted during the following lap.

Hamlin then pitted from the lead under green on Lap 131 along with Chastain and Logano. Reddick also returned to pit road, but his No. 45 Jordan Toyota Camry XSE entry was pushed to the garage due to the oil cooler leaking and both smoke and excessive oil billowed from his entry, starting from the first turn and occurring for a full lap. The caution then flew on Lap 133 due to oil on the track from Reddick’s entry. At the time of caution, Blaney, who was among several who has yet to pit, was leading while Hamlin was scored in 12th. During the extensive caution period to have the oil leakage from Reddick’s entry on pit road cleared, most of the field remained on the track while some including Blaney, Bell, Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pitted.

When the event restarted on Lap 143, Briscoe and Byron, both of whom cycled to the front of the field, dueled for the lead as the latter managed to outduel the former to lead the next lap in front of a pyramid of on-track battles. Byron proceeded to maintain the lead in his No. 24 Anduril Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry by half a second over Briscoe and he extended his advantage to more than a second over both Briscoe and Hamlin by Lap 150. Behind, Gibbs and Elliott were in the top five ahead of Blaney, Bell, Bowman, Wallace and Gilliland while Byron continued to lead despite having his lead shrink to six-tenths of a second by Lap 160.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Byron fended off Briscoe and Hamlin to win his second consecutive Cup stage of the event and his third of the 2026 season. Gibbs, Blaney, Bell, Elliott, Bowman, Cindric and Nemechek followed suit in the top 10, respectively. By then, 34 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while Reddick, who returned to the track after having his radiator replaced from the oil leakage, was strapped 29 laps down in 36th place. During the event’s second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Byron returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Byron beat both Briscoe and Hamlin off of pit road first while Gibbs, Blaney, Bell, Bowman, Cindric, Elliott and Wallace followed suit in the top 10, respectively.

With 95 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Byron and Briscoe occupied the front row. At the start, the field stacked up and fanned out to three lanes as Byron cleared the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Byron led the next lap when he cycled the field back through the frontstretch as Gibbs challenged teammate Briscoe for the runner-up spot. Behind, Bell, Hamlin, Bowman and Blaney battled in front of Wallace while Cindric battled Herbst for ninth place in front of a stacked field. While Briscoe led a Joe Gibbs Racing four-car parade from the runner-up spot, Hamlin fiercely battled Bell for fourth place while Byron continued to lead by six-tenths of a second with 90 laps remaining.

Down to the final 80 laps of the event, Byron slightly increased his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Briscoe while Briscoe’s teammates, Gibbs, Hamlin and Bell, continued to trail in the remaining top-five spots, respectively, over Blaney, Wallace, Bowman, Elliott and Herbst. Byron proceeded to stabilize his advantage to half a second over with 70 laps remaining while Hamlin overtook teammate Bell for third place three laps later. Meanwhile, Gibbs was back in fifth place ahead of Blaney and Wallace maintained seventh place in front of Bowman. In addition, Corey Heim outdueled Austin Cindric for 11th place while Byron extended his lead to more than a second over Briscoe, who scrubbed the outside wall while exiting Turn 2 a few laps earlier, with 60 laps remaining.

With 55 laps remaining, Josh Berry and John Hunter Nemechek pitted under green. Briscoe then pitted from the runner-up spot two laps later along with Ross Chastain before Byron pitted from the lead a lap later. Gibbs, Blaney and Cindric also pitted with Byron as Byron was overtaken by Briscoe through the backstretch. Meanwhile, Bell, Stenhouse, Allmendinger, Austin Dillon and Zane Smith pitted with 50 laps remaining while Bowman, Elliott, Suarez and Erik Jones pitted during the next lap.

Hamlin then pitted from the lead along with Herbst and Buescher with 48 laps remaining before Wallace pitted during the following lap. As more names that included Heim, Gilliland and Custer pitted under green, Briscoe cycled back to the lead with 46 laps remaining. By the next lap, Briscoe’s lead stood at eight-tenths of a second over Byron while Bell, Blaney, Gibbs and Hamlin were in the top six, respectively.

As the event reached its final 35-lap mark, Briscoe was leading by a second over Byron while Bell, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Gibbs, Wallace, Elliott and Heim were up in the top 10 ahead of Cindric, Herbst, Chastain, Suarez and Logano, respectively. Briscoe, who was weaving his way through select lapped traffic, continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Byron with 25 laps remaining while Wallace overtook Blaney for sixth place. Over the next five laps, Byron slowly started to reel in on Briscoe, but the latter rebuilt his advantage back up to more than a second with 20 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Bell, Hamlin and Bowman trailed by three, five and eight seconds, respectively, in the top-five mark.

Down to the final 15 laps, Briscoe retained the lead by nine-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Bell trailed by more than two seconds. Briscoe, who was reeling in on some more lapped traffic, maintained the top spot by more than a second over teammate Bell as Bell overtook Byron for the runner-up spot. As Hamlin, who scrubbed the outside wall, tried to reel in Byron for third place, Bell proceeded to reel in Briscoe for the lead as Briscoe, who was mired in lapped traffic that included Buescher and Ty Dillon, continued to lead by half a second.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Briscoe, who had his advantage shrink to as little as two-tenths of a second as Bell got very close to overtaking Briscoe over the previous three laps, remained in the lead by a tenth of a second. Briscoe, who went to the bottom of the frontstretch’s apron to move in front of Bell, managed to drive ahead and set a reasonable gap from Bell through the first two turns and the backstretch. Bell tried to mount a final-lap charge through Turns 3 and 4, but it was not enough, as Briscoe beat Bell to the checkered flag by two-tenths of a second.

With the victory, Briscoe, who won for the first time since Talladega Superspeedway in October 2025 and was mired as low as 37th in the standings when the 2026 season commenced, notched his sixth NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 199th series start, and he became the 14th competitor to win a Cup event at Chicagoland Speedway in the track’s return. In addition to becoming the 10th winner of the 2026 season, Briscoe notched the sixth victory of this season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 12th for Toyota.

Briscoe, who was coming off a runner-up result this past weekend at Sonoma Raceway and had racked up six top-five results prior to the Chicagoland victory, is currently ranked eighth in the 2026 driver standings as he continues his pursuit to build on his momentum before the Chase.

JOLIET, ILLINOIS – JULY 05: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 05, 2026 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

“How about that race?! Was that a good race?! It felt awesome!” Briscoe said on the frontstretch on TNT Sports. “What an unbelievable weekend. I feel so American winning in the Bass Pro Shops red, white and blue car. Fourth of July weekend, 250 years. Man, what an unbelievable race car. [Crew chief] James [Small] did a great job. The [No. 19] team did a great job. Honestly, [I] did not see coming. I felt like I was struggling in practice and qualifying,…man, just so cool to get this [patriotic] paint scheme back in Victory Lane. What a cool weekend to win a NASCAR race.”

During his victory celebrations, Briscoe dedicated the victory to his crew chief, James Small, who also celebrated a birthday on race day and played an instrumental role along with Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team that enabled the Indiana native to score the victory.

“[James Small] told me that if I win today, I can get some chocolate, so I’m pretty fired up about that,” Briscoe added. “I got lucky how the lapped cars worked out. I was struggling pretty bad. Christopher was certainly coming. Out of all the people to race against, I knew Christopher was gonna be clean with me. So excited to be back at Chicagoland. Hopefully, we can be back.”

Bell, who continues to recover from a fractured wrist from Michigan International Speedway, settled in second place for a fourth time this season.

“I was really struggling with the handling of my car early on in the race, and I still had a lot of pace,” Bell said. “I keyed up on the radio, and I said, ‘Hey, if we get this [No. 20 Toyota] driving good, we’re gonna have a shot at it. They made a great adjustment and got the car driving great the last run, but I was a straightaway-plus behind, it seemed like. I was soft on my green flag entry, for sure, which gave up a little bit of time. [I] Just need to go back and study that green flag cycle on how I lost so much time to the first couple of cars. It was a great day. We almost went to Victory Lane.”

Denny Hamlin managed to overtake William Byron to finish in third place and cap off a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing. Byron, who led a race-high 94 laps, settled in a strong fourth place ahead of teammate Alex Bowman while Bubba Wallace, who set the event’s fastest lap, claimed a strong sixth-place result. Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Corey Heim and Riley Herbst completed the top 10 in the final running order. Notably, Kyle Larson ended up two laps behind in 34th place following his early spin. In addition, Tyler Reddick settled for 36th place and was 30 laps behind the leaders after his punctured radiator.

This event generated 28 lead changes among 13 different leaders and 7 cautions over 43 laps. In addition, 16 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 19th event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin leads the standings by 44 points over Tyler Reddick, 113 over Ryan Blaney, 137 over Ty Gibbs, 180 over Chase Elliott and 181 over Kyle Larson.

Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Todd Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Ryan Blaney are the eight competitors who transfer through to the third In-Season Challenge round for next Sunday night’s event at EchoPark Speedway.

Results:

  1. Chase Briscoe, 51 laps led
  2. Christopher Bell, one lap led
  3. Denny Hamlin, 30 laps led
  4. William Byron, 94 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
  5. Alex Bowman
  6. Bubba Wallace, 35 laps led
  7. Ryan Blaney, eight laps led
  8. Ty Gibbs
  9. Corey Heim, one lap led
  10. Riley Herbst
  11. Chase Elliott
  12. Joey Logano, one lap led
  13. Austin Cindric, 18 laps led
  14. Daniel Suarez
  15. Erik Jones
  16. Todd Gilliland, one lap led
  17. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down
  18. Ross Chastain, one lap down
  19. Chris Buescher, one lap down
  20. Ty Dillon, one lap down
  21. Brad Keselowski, one lap down
  22. Carson Hocevar, one lap down
  23. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down
  24. Austin Dillon, one lap down
  25. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down
  26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
  27. Noah Gragson, one lap down
  28. Zane Smith, one lap down
  29. Michael McDowell, one lap down
  30. Cody Ware, one lap down
  31. Cole Custer, one lap down, two laps led
  32. Ryan Preece, one lap down
  33. Josh Berry, two laps down
  34. Kyle Larson, two laps down, 23 laps led
  35. JJ Yeley, 11 laps down, two laps led
  36. Tyler Reddick, 30 laps down
  37. Austin Hill – OUT, Accident
  38. Connor Zilisch – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 12, and air at 7 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, PRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

Pato O’Ward erases goose egg season with win at Mid-Ohio

By
Tucker White
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LEXINGTON, Ohio - JULY 5: Pato O'Ward, driver of the #5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, celebrates victory in the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 5, 2026, in Lexington, Ohio. Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment

Pato O’Ward won’t go without a podium in 2026. In fact, he won’t go winless either.

The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet passed his teammate, Christian Lundgaard, on Lap 42 of the Honda Indy 200 and held off a late charge by Lundgaard to score the victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“It’s great that the first podium of the year for me is a win,” O’Ward said. “We’ve had performances, and I think today was a textbook showing of execution. I want to give it to my guys in the pits; they were phenomenal. I know they’ve been working so hard because this year that has been a bit of a challenge, and I know they’re working so hard to give me the pit stops that they gave me today. I know they’ve been working hard for that.

“I really want to recognize that because they make or break my race. They truly allowed me to fight my way and keep my position today as we were fighting on track.

“Obviously the cars have been strong all weekend. It’s been a very strong weekend for all three cars. It was a matter of being perfect.”

It’s his 10th career victory in his 109th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES start.

Pole sitter Lundgaard, who’s gone from a sure fire guarantee to return to the seat of the No. 7 Chevrolet to doubtful, gave Arrow McLaren its first one-two finish in INDYCAR with a runner-up.

“Yeah, very long day, very tough day,” Lundgaard said. “Obviously very tough physically out there with the heat, but also just an all-green race. It didn’t really help that we were quite loose. We kind of went into the race knowing that — or thinking the balance was going to go towards understeer, and I don’t think that was the case as much. I think we kind of overreacted and made the car a lot harder to drive.

“Very, very difficult, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how difficult the car is to drive. I still think we sort of maximized today, which is always nice.”

Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the podium.

“Yeah, that was one of the most physical days I’ve ever had in a race car,” Kirkwood said. “I’m cooked right now. Running all green around here with it being hot and this place is just so busy as it is, and it’s qualifying laps every single lap. My shoulders are shot. That’s why I’m leaning over. Will I’m definitely hydrated, just cooked.

“We drove from 10th to third. A lot of it was strategy and pit stops. We had a lot of good strategy that put us in a podium position there, and we also passed some cars in the beginning of the race, so a little bit of both.

“A really good day overall. It wasn’t where we were meant to qualify. We should have qualified towards the front, I think. I guess I’m glad that we were able to get us back towards the front in the race.”

Rinus VeeKay and Alex Palou rounded out the top-five.

Will Power, Christian Rasmussen, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden and Nolan Siegel rounded out the top-10.

Pato O’Ward erases goose egg season with win at Mid-Ohio

Race summary

Lundgaard led the field to green at 12:53 p.m. ET. The field settled into a green flag rhythm. Scott Dixon broke this up when he kicked off a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 7 (for those drivers running a three-stop strategy). This primarily consisted of cars that started the race on soft tires. By Lap 17, all but 11 cars made their first stop. The first of these cars on the two-stop plan pitted on Lap 25. Lundgaard pitted from the lead on Lap 27, but exited pit lane maintaining the lead.

Given where everybody pitted, that threw a two-stop plan out the window.

Mick Schumacher and Sting Ray Robb kickstarted the second round of stops on Lap 35. During this cycle, Lundgaard got off line in the keyhole and O’Ward pulled to his outside on Lap 42. Down the backstretch, they raced side-by-side. O’Ward completed the overtake in Turn 5 for the race lead. He pitted from the lead on Lap 48 and exited ahead of Lundgaard. Newgarden pitted from the lead on Lap 50 and O’Ward cycled back to the lead.

With 33 laps to go, O’Ward led Lundgaard by less than a second. With both of them on soft tires and dealing with lap traffic, third-place VeeKay, on hard tires, cut the gap from two seconds to 1.5 seconds by Lap 60. By Lap 63, O’Ward cleared Dennis Hauger in the keyhole. He stayed on track, while Lundgaard, VeeKay and Kirkwood pitted. Lundgaard exited ahead of both drivers, but Kirkwood exited ahead of VeeKay. O’Ward pitted from the lead on Lap 65 and cycled out roughly four seconds ahead of Lundgaard. Palou pitted from the lead with 25 laps to go. Power pitted from the lead with 24 to go and O’Ward cycled back to the head of the field.

With 18 laps to go, Lundgaard cut the lead to O’Ward from four seconds to 2.5 seconds. With 15 to go, the gap shrank to 2.1 seconds. With 13 to go, it dipped under two seconds. With 10 to go, Lundgaard pulled to within 1.4 seconds of O’Ward. With nine to go, O’Ward caught the tail-end of the field and lost time in his lead to Lundgaard. With four to go, however, the gap stabilized around 1.3 seconds and O’Ward drove on to victory.

Pato O’Ward erases goose egg season with win at Mid-Ohio

What else happened

Alexander Rossi and Dixon made contact on Lap 38. Rossi received a two-spot penalty for avoidable contact.

Pato O’Ward erases goose egg season with win at Mid-Ohio

Nuts and bolts

The race lasted one hour, 43 minutes and 23 seconds, at an average speed of 117.932 mph. There were five lead changes among four different drivers and zero cautions.

Palou leaves Mid-Ohio with a 56-point lead over Kirkwood.

The NTT IndyCar Series returns to action July 19, in the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway.

O’Ward Outduels Lundgaard as Arrow McLaren Scores First 1-2 Finish

By
Official Release
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 5, 2026) – Same papaya, different day. Different driver, too.

That was Arrow McLaren’s swap at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where Pato O’Ward – and not polesitter Christian Lundgaard – won The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid, the 11th race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Lundgaard and O’Ward had started the 90-lap race together on the front row, and they effectively held their positions throughout a caution-free race except when they pitted. But on Lap 42, O’Ward capitalized on the polesitter’s wide exit off Turn 2, swiping the lead and holding it the rest of the way.

The win was the first for O’Ward in nearly a year since he won last season’s Toronto street race. That was 15 races ago, a drought he couldn’t accept, especially as Lundgaard has won two races this year, including the most recent race at Road America.

The win also gave Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 finish in this series.

O’Ward hadn’t even scored a top-three finish this season despite being fifth in the standings. His best runs had been three fourth-place finishes and three fifth-place finishes.

“It’s been a year, it’s been a tough one for sure,” the Mexican driver said. “I think today is just a perfect example of execution. I waited for the perfect time pounce and from there we just controlled it.”

O’Ward’s pass of Lundgaard was noteworthy for a couple reasons, not the least of which stemming from what happens at year’s end. They are in their second season as teammates, but all signs point to Lundgaard driving elsewhere next year as Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist join O’Ward on the team.

That situation made O’Ward’s pouncing opportunity all the more interesting.

Lundgaard drifted a bit wide on the exit of Turn 2, allowing O’Ward to size him up and get a better run down the long straightaway that serves as the race’s starting point. By the time they arrived at the tricky, right-turning fourth corner, the cars were side by side, O’Ward on the outside. They touched at least twice at corner exit, and O’Ward had the preferred line into Turn 5 – and he used it.

By the time the Arrow McLaren twosome charged into Thunder Valley, O’Ward had the lead. Later, he used a key pass of series rookie Dennis Hauger to create additional separation leading into the final pit stop. O’Ward stayed out as Lundgaard, along with two other challengers pitted, and he then ran two laps longer to pad his lead.

O’Ward’s winning margin was .9877 of a second, earning his second Mid-Ohio victory in the past three years. This win was the 10th of his career, almost divided equally by circuit (four on ovals, three on street circuits, three on road courses).

Lundgaard’s second-place finish continued his strong season on road courses. In addition to winning races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America, he also finished second at Barber Motorsports Park. With Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finishing fifth, Lundgaard drew within 65 points of the series leader.

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished third, getting a few points closer to Palou. Their separation is now 56 points, and Kirkwood overtook Team Penske’s David Malukas, who finished eighth, for second place in the standings. Lundgaard also jumped Malukas with O’Ward fifth. The top four drivers are separated by 66 points with seven races remaining, led by the July 19 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls at Nashville Superspeedway.

VeeKay scored his second fourth-place finish in the past three races following another such finish last month at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Fittipaldi Again Sweeps Mid-Ohio, Takes Series Points Lead

By
Official Release
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 5, 2026) – Enzo Fittipaldi completed a flawless weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading every lap for the second straight race to sweep the INDY NXT by Firestone doubleheader.

Fittipaldi crossed the finish line 12.7469 seconds ahead of HMD Motorsports teammate Jack Beeton to earn his fourth career series victory and second in as many days. Fittipaldi’s victory margin was the second largest in INDY NXT history at Mid-Ohio, trailing only Jack Harvey’s 17.3403-second victory in Race 1 of the 2014 doubleheader.

Driving the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry, Fittipaldi was untouchable all weekend. The grandson of two-time Formula One World Champion, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 1989 INDYCAR SERIES champion Emerson Fittipaldi topped Friday’s practice, earned both poles, including a track-record lap Saturday, led all 65 laps across the two races and also posted the fastest lap in each event.

“I’m just so happy,” Fittipaldi said. “What a weekend, absolute domination from all of HMD. It’s crazy. First practice, double pole and double victories, so it can’t get any better than this.”

Beeton finished a career-best second in the No. 45 HMD Motorsports entry, improving on Saturday’s third-place finish. Nikita Johnson finished third in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry, preventing HMD Motorsports from sweeping the podium for a second consecutive day.

After HMD Motorsports claimed the top four finishing positions Saturday, Johnson charged from fifth on the grid to third after finishing seventh in Race 1.

JM Correa climbed from ninth to finish fourth in the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports entry, while Tymek Kucharczyk completed the top five in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car in the caution-free race. Correa now has three top-seven finishes in the last four races, with the lone exception coming after contact with the Turn 12 tire barrier on Lap 21 of Saturday’s race.

Beeton moved into second on Lap 2 after Alessandro de Tullio attempted to pass Fittipaldi around the outside of Turn 4. De Tullio ran off course at corner exit, rejoined in eighth and recovered to sixth before slipping back to eighth at the finish.

Fittipaldi became the sixth driver to sweep an INDY NXT weekend at Mid-Ohio, joining Jack Harvey (2014), Santiago Urrutia (2016), Pato O’Ward (2018), Oliver Askew (2019) and Kyle Kirkwood (2021).

The dominant performance also vaulted Fittipaldi from third in the championship standings, 27 points behind entering the weekend, to a 17-point lead over Kucharczyk. Johnson sits third, 20 points behind.

“Just all race managing the tires,” Fittipaldi said. “I’m always good at long-distance races and managing tires. It’s kind of my specialty. I use my tools to my advantage, so a lot of work with the brake bias and the bars every lap, every corner, just keeping the car where I wanted it to be.

“Obviously the car was very fast today. I think it was a combination of many things, and our pace was rapid. I did a 1:09.9 (lap), which was only about five-tenths off my qualifying lap yesterday. I don’t know how many miles were on the tires, so I was quite happy with that.”

The series returns Sunday, July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway. Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

How to Get a Cheap Carfax Report in 2026 (Without Overpaying)

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SM
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TL;DR: Skip Carfax’s $44.99 report fee — VinCheckFast generates Carfax reports for a 10th of the price instantly.

Anyone who’s shopped for a used car knows the drill: you find a listing you like, and then Carfax wants $44.99 for a single report — more if you’re checking several cars before you settle on one. That adds up fast if you’re comparing five or six listings, and it’s enough to make plenty of buyers wonder if there’s a legitimate cheaper way to get the same information.

Why Carfax Costs What It Costs

Carfax’s pricing largely comes down to its data relationships — it licenses records from a wide network of dealers, insurance companies, and state DMVs, and maintaining that access isn’t free. For someone checking one or two cars a year, the price might not matter much. For anyone running a dealership, reselling used cars, or simply checking multiple listings before buying, it turns into real money before you’ve even test-driven anything.

What a Legit Cheap Report Actually Needs

Not every “cheap Carfax alternative” out there is worth the money. Before trusting a cheaper report, check that it’s actually pulling from NMVTIS — the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, the federal database that backs real title and salvage records. That’s what separates a genuine report from a reworded VIN decode with no title history behind it. At minimum, a useful report should cover accident history, title status (salvage, rebuilt, flood), odometer readings, and open safety recalls. Maintenance and service records are another category worth checking for — it’s traditionally been one of Carfax’s stronger points, and most budget alternatives skip it entirely, but VinCheckFast includes full service history as well. Anything thinner than that isn’t really doing the job, regardless of price.

Comparing the Options

A few paths exist if $44.99 per report feels steep. AutoCheck, Experian’s version of the same idea, runs closer to $24.99 per report and tends to be useful for auction and dealer-sourced vehicles specifically. On the free end, the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s VINCheck flags theft and salvage records pulled from law enforcement and insurance databases — a solid first-pass check, though noticeably thinner than a full paid report. VinCheckFast sits at the budget end of the paid options, running $4.49 per report while not cutting any corners on data quality.

VinCheckFast’s $4.49 Report

At $4.49, you can generate a vehicle history report for $4.49 covering the same core categories buyers actually care about — accident history, title records, odometer readings, maintenance records, and recall notices — without the markup that comes with the Carfax name. It’s built for buyers who want to check more than one listing without the per-report cost stacking up between cars, and reports typically come back almost instantly. If you want to identify a vehicle from a VIN plate photo first, there’s also a free Image to VIN Converter that handles that step before you commit to a full report.

Bottom Line

Whether you go with Carfax, AutoCheck, a free first-pass check, or a budget-focused option like VinCheckFast, the report itself matters less than actually running one before you buy. A $4.49 report that catches a flood title or a rolled-back odometer pays for itself many times over compared to skipping the check entirely to save a few dollars.

Hunter Lawrence Grabs Third Pro Motocross Championship Victory and 450SMX Points Lead on America’s 250th at RedBud

By
Official Release
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Cole Davies Goes Back-to-Back in 250SMX as Jo Shimoda Takes Points Lead

BUCHANAN, Mich. (July 4, 2026) – The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, celebrated America’s 250th Anniversary with the longstanding Independence Day tradition that is the 5.11 RedBud National. One of the biggest crowds in event history was on hand for Round 22 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, as overnight rain gave way to sunny skies and a continually evolving racetrack. With a heightened atmosphere for the milestone holiday the action on the track responded with compelling action across both classes. In the premier 450SMX Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96] made it two in-a-row and three for the season following an incredible second moto win in which he overcame a near 10-second deficit. In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] became the first repeat winner in the class this summer with back-to-back victories.

450SMX Class

Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado [#26] edged out the Lawrences to grab the Moto 1 holeshot as he, Jett Lawrence [#1], and Hunter Lawrence [#96] each took turns at the front of the field. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Qualifying

  • The two timed sessions in the premier class were split atop the charts, with championship leader and Honda HRC Progressive rider Jett Lawrence [#1] leading the way in the first session with a time of 2:16.573 and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan [#38] setting the pace in the second session with a time of 2:16.818. Lawrence’s lap was enough to narrowly edge out Deegan by a few tenths to earn the first gate pick.

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

  • The opening moto started with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Jorge Prado [#26] leading the Lawrence brothers to the holeshot, as the Spaniard then assumed control of the lead. Behind him, Jett and Hunter engaged in a spirited fight for second, while further back Deegan was involved in a first-turn incident and started at the tail end of the field.
  • The top three settled in through the opening five minutes as Jett Lawrence asserted his hold on second and started to chip away at the deficit to Prado while Hunter Lawrence lurked a couple seconds behind in third. A couple laps later Jett pulled the trigger on a quick, decisive pass to take control of the lead.
  • The top three remained unchanged through the middle of the moto, but Hunter Lawrence was able to close in on Prado just past the halfway point and made a quick pass to take over second. With about a dozen minutes left on the race clock the brothers were separated by 3.5 seconds.
  • The distance between Jett and Hunter remained about the same until the moto entered its final two minutes, when Hunter closed within striking distance of his younger brother. The elder Lawrence put in a charge and made the pass just before time ran out on the race clock then sprinted away to a lead of more than seven seconds. 
  • On the final lap, Hunter tipped over as he navigated lapped riders, which allowed Jett to reclaim the lead and bring home his fifth moto win of the summer by 3.2 seconds. Prado finished more than 20 seconds back in third, followed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire [#24] in fourth and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks [#36] in fifth.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

  • The final race of the day got underway with Prado out front for a sweep of the holeshots, followed closely by Deegan and Jett Lawrence. Hunter Lawrence started just outside the top five in sixth.
  • As the lead trio sprinted away from the field Hunter Lawrence fought his way around Hampshire and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb [#2] to move up to fourth.
  • While pursuing Deegan for second, Jett Lawrence lost traction with his rear tire and went down, eventually remounting just outside the top 10 in 11th place. That moved Hunter Lawrence up to third.
  • With the clear track, Prado was able to seize control of the moto and sprint out to a lead of 3.5 seconds over Deegan as Hunter Lawrence looked to close in from third. Behind them, Jett Lawrence experienced even more misfortune and went down for a second time while running eighth. He remounted once again in 11th place.
  • Prado continued to build on his advantage, which sat at nearly nine seconds at the halfway point of the moto. Deegan maintained a firm hold of second, but Hunter Lawrence inched in from third to initiate a battle for the position. Further back, Jett Lawrence continued to fight his way through the field and was on the cusp of the top five.
  • Hunter Lawrence easily got the upper hand in a brief battle with Deegan and took control of second place with 13 minutes left on the race clock. At that point, Lawrence faced a 9.2 second deficit to Prado.
  • Over the next few laps, Lawrence took big chunks out of Prado’s lead and soon enough the Honda rider moved within three seconds of his KTM foe. Lawrence’s push continued and moved him onto Prado’s rear fender. 
  • Prado responded and was able to stabilize his advantage as the moto approached its final five minutes. Hunter then went on the attack and made an assertive pass for the lead with under three minutes remaining. Moments later, Jett Lawrence made a pass on Marchbanks for fifth.
  • Once out front, Hunter Lawrence surged out to lead of more than five seconds and went on to redeem his miscue from the first moto with his fifth moto win of the season. He took the checkered flag by a margin of 11.2 seconds over Prado, with Deegan a distant third. Jett Lawrence made a valiant charge to salvage fifth.

Overall

  • Hunter Lawrence’s 2-1 effort netted him a second straight win and class-leading third overall victory of the season.
  • Prado’s pair of holeshots carried him to 3-2 finishes and a second career podium result, which equaled his career best from the opening round.
  • Jett Lawrence captured his 38th premier class podium in third following a 1-5 performance and finished tied with Prado in event points but lost out on the second moto tiebreaker.
  • For the first time in 53 years, the overall podium at RedBud was composed entirely of international athletes.
  • With the win Hunter Lawrence reclaimed control of the championship points lead and holds a three-point lead over Jett. Deegan, who finished sixth overall (10-3), remains third, 51 points out of the lead and 12 points ahead of Prado in fourth.

Results & Standings

450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-1 // 47)
  2. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM (3-2 // 42)
  3. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-5 // 42)
  4. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (4-4 // 36)
  5. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (5-6 // 33)
  6. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (10-3 // 32)
  7. Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph (7-7 // 30)
  8. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati (6-9 // 29)
  9. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (8-8 // 28)
  10. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph (11-11 // 22) 

450SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 5 of 11)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 227
  2. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 224
  3. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 176
  4. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 164
  5. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 157
  6. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 149
  7. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 125
  8. Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph – 124
  9. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 111
  10. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 102

SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 22 of 28)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 573
  2. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 426
  3. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 353
  4. Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki – 349
  5. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 323
  6. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 301
  7. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki – 298
  8. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 291
  9. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM – 275
  10. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 224

Quotes

1st Place – Hunter Lawrence | #96 Team Honda HRC Progressive (2-1)
“[This win] is so good. It’s America’s 250th birthday and we’re so grateful for the opportunity we have here [in this country]. We’re living the American dream and couldn’t have this life anywhere else in the world. What a day.”
 
2nd Place – Jorge Prado | #26 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (3-2)
“It’s an awesome experience racing at RedBud. We used the week off to make some improvements on the bike and in the second moto I felt way more like myself. We led laps, we got the holeshot, and I’m really happy with the steps we’ve made. We’re coming.”
 
3rd Place – Jett Lawrence | #1 Team Honda HRC Progressive (1-5)
“I doubled down [in Moto 2] with my terrible riding today. I made a decision with the team to go a certain way on the bike, and it didn’t work. Hunter [Lawrence] is riding really well so we’ll go back to work and try to come out better at Southwick.”

250SMX Class

Cole Davies #37
Cole Davies [#37] stormed to the Moto 2 holeshot and led for most of the race until he was caught and passed by Jo Shimoda [#30]. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Qualifying

  • Fresh off a first career win at the previous round, Davies kept the momentum rolling in Qualifying with the fastest lap of the morning at 2:19.661. The New Zealander set the pace in each session but did have his first fast lap disallowed after his motorcycle failed sound inspection. He sat 1.3 seconds clear of the 2:21.048 set by his rookie teammate Caden Dudney [#82] in second.

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

  • The first moto of the day started with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing duo of Dudney and Davies side-by-side, with Dudney able to grab his first ever holeshot and early lead. Behind them, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Nick Romano [#141] started third, battling Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer [#13], who then went down and dropped to the tail end of the field. Championship leader Levi Kitchen [#47] started sixth aboard his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. 
  • Dudney was able to seize the moment and lead the first laps of his young career, soon opening up a lead of more than three seconds over Davies. The top two then pulled away from the rest of the field, building a double-digit advantage over third just 10 minutes into the moto.
  • A multi-rider battle for third unfolded between Romano, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Casey Cochran [#56], and Kitchen. Cochran made the pass for third and inched away from the Kawasaki teammates. Kitchen then made the move for fourth.
  • Back up front, the battle for the lead picked up as the moto approached its halfway point. Davies hounded Dudney and attempted multiple passes for the lead, only to be denied every time. The lead then restabilized at around two seconds.
  • Inside the final 10 minutes the battle for third heated up again as Cochran, Kitchen, and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda [#30] sat within less than a second of one another. As Kitchen looked to make a pass on Cochran, Shimoda took advantage and made his way by both riders to take control of third. 
  • With less than five minutes to go Davies closed in on Dudney for the lead once again. Davies was patient and waited for his opportunity, and with just over 30 seconds remaining on the race clock he made the pass. He pulled away from Dudney over the final two laps, as Davies captured his third straight moto win by 2.6 seconds. Shimoda followed in third, with Kitchen fourth, and Cochran fifth.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

  • The second moto kicked off with Davies leading the field to the holeshot ahead of Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas [#29] and Cochran, with Shimoda in fourth and Dudney in fifth. Kitchen started outside the top 10 in 13th place. Cochran put in a charge on the opening lap and was able to make the move around Hymas for second.
  • As Davies sprinted out to a lead of nearly three seconds it was Shimoda who took the opportunity to push forward. He made the pass on his teammate for third and then went after Cochran. After several laps of pursuit, Shimoda made the pass for second but faced a 7.3 second deficit to Davies with 20 minutes remaining. Cochran, meanwhile, lost hold of third to his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Ryder DiFrancesco [#34] and then dropped behind Kitchen.
  • Just past the halfway point of the moto, Kitchen started to pressure DiFrancesco for third as Shimoda made small inroads on his deficit to Davies. Kitchen made the move around DiFrancesco but went down a couple laps later and dropped from third to sixth, which moved DiFrancesco back into a podium spot.
  • Back up front, Shimoda erased almost the entire deficit to Davies and moved within striking distance with more than five minutes left in the moto. The Japanese rider got alongside the New Zealander and made the pass with about 3.5 minutes remaining on the race clock.
  • The reigning SMX World Champion charged home to his first moto win of the summer, and 15th of his career, by a margin of 11.1 seconds over Davies. DiFrancesco finished third.

Overall

  • Despite losing his grasp on another sweep of the motos, Davies’ 2-1 effort still placed him atop the overall classification, with back-to-back victories to make him the first repeat winner of the season.
  • Shimoda’s impressive win in Moto 2 landed him in the runner-up spot (1-3) for his third straight podium result. It also paid big dividends in the championship standings as it moved him atop the points as the third different rider to carry the red plate through the first five races.
  • A quiet and consistent afternoon for DiFrancesco netted him the first overall podium result of his career (6-3), which came in his 43rd start. He’s the sixth different rider to earn a maiden overall podium this season.
  • Shimoda’s lead atop the 250SMX Class standings sits at four points over Davies. Kitchen dropped from first to third following a fifth-place finish (4-5) and now faces a nine-point deficit to Shimoda.

Results & Standings

250SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

  1. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha (1-2 // 47)
  2. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (3-1 // 45)
  3. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna (6-3 // 36)
  4. Casey Cochran, Portsmouth, Va., Husqvarna (5-4 // 35)
  5. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (4-5 // 35)
  6. Caden Dudney, Des Moines, Iowa, Yamaha (2-12 // 32)
  7. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (8-6 // 30)
  8. Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM (11-7 // 26)
  9. Kayden Minear, Perth, Western Australia, Yamaha (9-9 // 26)
  10. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (10-10 // 24)

250SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 5 of 11)

  1. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 194
  2. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 190
  3. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 185
  4. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 159
  5. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 147
  6. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 134
  7. Kayden Minear, Perth, Western Australia, Yamaha – 127
  8. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 120
  9. Nick Romano, Bayside, N.Y., Kawasaki – 116
  10. Caden Dudney, Des Moines, Iowa, Yamaha – 105

SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 22 of 28)

  1. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 421
  2. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 362
  3. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 314
  4. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 311
  5. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 294
  6. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 233
  7. Daxton Bennick, Morganton, N.C., Husqvarna – 203
  8. Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., Yamaha – 203
  9. Nick Romano, Bayside, N.Y., Kawasaki – 188
  10. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha – 182
  11. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha – 182

Quotes

1st Place – Cole Davies | #37 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-2)
“Jo [Shimoda] was riding good. It’s a long championship and we have a long way to go. It was a good day, and we got a win at RedBud. That’s all I can ask for. We’re in a really good spot with the bike right now so I’m really happy.”
 
2nd Place – Jo Shimoda | #30 Honda HRC Progressive (3-1)
“The bike was better today. I felt good and didn’t get tired until the end [of Moto 2]. Every bit of it today was better. We’re making progress and that’s exactly what we need right now.”
 
3rd Place – Ryder DiFranceso | #34 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (6-3)
“This [first podium] has been a long time coming. I was sitting in third [in the second moto] and was thinking I was the only American to get on the podium [on 4th of July]. This is what every motocross rider dreams of.”

SMX Next – Motocross

Carson Wood
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

The first gathering of the summer for SMX Next – Motocross brought 25 of the top amateur prospects in the sport to the RedBud Scouting Moto Combine. On Friday, the athletes took part in several education sessions surrounding various aspects of the sport and received mentorship from a decorated group of Rider Coaches featuring AMA Hall of Famers Broc Glover and Kevin Windham, along with Michael Byrne and Gareth Swanepoel. After one moto on Friday weather forced the second moto to be held on Saturday, as both races saw Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Carson Wood [#260] take the victory for a 1-1 sweep and his first SMX Next victory.

SMX Next – Motocross Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

  1. Carson Wood, Zephyrhills, Fla., Yamaha (1-1 // 50)
  2. Landon Gibson, Peachtree City, Ga., Husqvarna (2-2 // 44)
  3. Kade Johnson, Hideaway, Texas, Kawasaki (3-4 // 38)
  4. Kayd Kingsford, Goulburn, NSW, Australia, Honda (6-3 // 36)
  5. Owen Covell, Plymouth, Mass., Yamaha (5-6 // 33)
  6. Jesson Turner, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha (8-5 // 31)
  7. Luke Fauser, Midland, Pa., KTM (4-9 // 31)
  8. Cade Bradley, Kingman, Ariz., Honda (11-13 // 20)
  9. Gavin Betts, Clifton Park, N.Y., Kawasaki (15-10 // 19)
  10. Riley Busse, New Berlin, Wisc., Yamaha (9-16 // 19)

The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship will reach its halfway point next Saturday, July 11, for Round 23 of the SMX World Championship regular season and the annual visit to the iconic sands of Massachusetts’s The Wick 338. The Crestview Construction Southwick National will be shown live in its entirety on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET, followed by coverage of the motos at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

For information about the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, please visit www.SuperMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the new SMX social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news:
Instagram: @supermotocross
Facebook: @supermotocross
X: @supermotocross
YouTube: @supermotocross
TikTok: @supermotocross

About the Monster Energy SMX World Championship:
The Monster Energy SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs.
Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

About Pro Motocross Championship:
The Pro Motocross Championship features the world’s fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of seven competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, manages the Pro Motocross Championship.
For more information, visit ProMotocross.com.

About Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship:
Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing championship on the planet. Founded in America and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) since 1974. Over 17 weeks, Supercross attracts some of the largest and most impressive crowds inside the most recognizable and prestigious stadiums in North America to race in front of nearly one million live fans and broadcast to millions more worldwide.
For more information, visit SupercrossLIVE.com.

About MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.:
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world’s premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, its mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of action sports athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators.
Visit MXSportsProRacing.com for more information.

About Feld Motor Sports, Inc.:
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting specialized arena and stadium-based motorsports entertainment. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, Inc.
Visit monsterjam.com, SupercrossLIVE.com, and feldentertainment.com for more information.

RCR NOAPS Race Recap: Chicagoland Speedway

By
Official Release
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Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Showcase Speed and Lead Laps En Route to Third-Place Finish at Chicagoland Speedway

Finish: 3rd
Start: 6th
Points: 2nd

“We had a lot of potential in our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. I thought we were close, but didn’t quite have enough to be elite tonight. I wish I would have been able to give Chase Elliott a little bit better of a push on the final restart, but overall, I thought our car was pretty close tonight, we just lacked a little bit of something special. Overall, I wish the points day was a little bit better. I was surprised to see we only gained as much as we did to Justin Allgaier, but overall, I’m proud of the effort of everybody — our pit crew kept us in the fight and we had some good restarts at the end there. I would have loved to see what another lap would have done if they (Brandon Jones and Chase Elliott) were side by side, if I could have strung together a really good run or move somebody out of the way. Regardless, it was a good day, we needed one. It’s been a tough last month or two, a lot of stuff out of our control. Glad we could control our own destiny tonight even though we wanted a little bit more.” -Jesse Love

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Bring Home Top-Five Result at Chicagoland Speedway

Finish: 5th
Start: 16th
Points: 5th

“Good finish for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team. We struggled during the first run, so we made some really big changes on the first stop. The guys did a great job of making the car better. Once we got it close, we had a shot at the win which is all you can ask for in these races. We restarted fourth on the green-white-checkered, but I couldn’t get my tires cleaned up enough. Drove down into Turn 1 and the front tires slid. It took our car about five laps to get going, but then we had a good long run car. The short run speed just wasn’t there. We will go back, look at that, and see what we can do better for fire off at the end of races. That felt like the difference maker tonight, but overall big improvements for everyone on this No. 21 team.” -Austin Hill

TOYOTA RACING – NOAPS Chicagoland Post-Race Report – 07.04.26

By
Official Release
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BRANDON JONES WINS IN GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED THRILLER AT CHICAGOLAND
Two Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra’s Finish Inside Top-Five in Return to 1.5-mile Oval

JOLIET, Ill. (July 4, 2026) – Brandon Jones used a strong green-white-checkered restart to make a thrilling last-lap pass on Chase Elliott and win Saturday night’s rain-delayed NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The victory was Jones’ first of the season and the eighth win of his career, coming in NASCAR’s return to the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet after a seven-year absence. It was also a strong night for Team Toyota, with Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supras claiming three of the top-seven finishing positions. Brent Crews finished fourth, while Taylor Gray, who led a total of 55 laps, came home seventh.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS)
Chicagoland Speedway
Race 20 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, BRANDON JONES

2nd, Chase Elliott*

3rd, Jesse Love*

4th, BRENT CREWS

5th, Austin Hill*

7th, TAYLOR GRAY

15th, HARRISON BURTON

17th, DEAN THOMPSON

29th, WILLIAM SAWALICH

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BRANDON JONES, No. 20 Menards/MD Building Products Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How did you muscle through and hold off Chase Elliott on that final restart?

“I had to earn that one. I haven’t had an exciting one like that in a long time. Thank you guys for sticking this out in the rain. MD Building supplies and Menard’s and Toyota, I’m so happy to get them back in victory lane. It’s been so up and down year. We’ve had some success early on and we’ve been in a little bit of a rut the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice to do what we did today, we had to earn that one.”

What does it mean to win in the return to Chicagoland, but also hold off a Cup Series Champion?

“Think it says a lot about how resilient we are and how hard we are working at this. Chase (Elliott) made it really difficult on me. He’s one of the best in the sport so I know it was going to be difficult. We were all on old tires, that was a blast to slide around and duel it out like that. I knew had made the right adjustments there at the end and you can tell people were getting tighter tonight with the temperature falling down and the track was migrating. Awesome racetrack, you guys know I love these style of tracks, they fit me so well, lets get on a roll and get some more here before the Chase starts.”

BRENT CREWS, No. 19 YoungLife Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Can you tell us what happened with the contact with William Sawalich?

“I take full accountability for sure. Squeezing off the bottom off of (turn) 2 and he’s coming off the top and I was just trying to pack air on his left rear and get him free and I got him free like I was trying to and when he got free he checked up I couldn’t get checked up fast enough. These aero spots when you are going 170 mph you can barely, barely tap somebody and they go around. I take full accountability, I would hate to do that to anybody, especially to a teammate. I hate that has to be my learning experience, but I definitely learned my limit there and I hate that was on my teammate.”

What do you take away from coming here to another new racetrack for you and bringing home a top five finish?

“We had a very difficult day. We were really, really good in practice, I thought we were one of the best cars and went out there for the first run and we were good there for the first three laps and then we were just extremely tight and we came in and the right front tire was just destroyed. Don’t know how it really corded there and just had a bad right front tire there. We made some adjustments going into the second run thinking it was something on our end but then we fought balance on the total opposite end on the next stage and then the last break there we were really good. I hate that’s what we had to go through, but I felt like the last 20 laps we were incredible, I just wish we had found out a little bit sooner.”

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 over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 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.

Brandon Jones prevails in overtime for thrilling O’Reilly victory at Chicagoland

By
Andrew Kim
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JOLIET, ILLINOIS - JULY 04: Brandon Jones, driver of the #20 Menards/MD Building Products Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Cuervo 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 04, 2026 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

Brandon Jones weathered through an extensively delayed start by winning the return of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Cuervo 300 at Chicagoland Speedway between July 4-5 in overtime.

The 29-year-old Jones from Atlanta, Georgia, led four times for 12 of 201 over-scheduled laps in an event where he took the green flag from 29th place and motored his way up to 14th place at the first stage’s conclusion. After settling in sixth place following the second stage’s conclusion, Jones, who continued his march to the front, gained his first sniff at the lead while battling teammate Taylor Gray during a restart with 61 laps remaining.

Beginning on Lap 162 through Lap 189, Jones led 10 laps, and he primarily duked with Gray and Chase Elliott towards the front amid four late-race cautions and three ensuing restarts. During an overtime shootout, Jones dueled and motored ahead of Elliott for nearly a full circuit and prior to the final lap mark. Amid Elliott’s pair of final-lap challenges, Jones was not to be denied, and his race-long fight prevailed with a victorious ending under the lights, along with winning his first event of the 2026 season in Joliet, Illinois.

The event’s starting lineup was determined by a metric qualifying formula from the NASCAR rule book after NASCAR replaced the event’s qualifying session with a lone practice session for Saturday. This was because the event’s initial practice session was postponed from Friday, July 3, due to inclement weather. As a result, Connor Zilisch was awarded the pole position, and he shared the front row with rookie Brent Crews.

*This event was delayed for nearly five hours due to inclement weather, thunderstorms, and heavy precipitation that resulted in the event commencing under the lights.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Connor Zilisch and Brent Crews dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes until Zilisch gained the upper advantage and motored his No. 1 KOA Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead from the outside lane entering the backstretch. As the field cycled back to the frontstretch, Zilisch led the first lap over Crews while Corey Day, Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil and the rest of the 38-car field pursued from behind.

Over the next four laps, Zilisch stretched his early lead to one-and-a-half seconds Crews and nearly two seconds over third-place Love while Day, Kvapil, Chase Elliott, Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, Parker Retzlaff and Sammy Smith were racing in the top 10, respectively. As Elliott squeezed his way past teammate Kvapil to crack into the top-five mark in fifth place, Zilisch added another second to his advantage as he led by more than two seconds over both Crews and Love by the 10th lap.

Through the first 25 laps, Zilisch continued to extend his advantage as he led by more than four seconds over Love. Behind, Day and Elliott occupied third and fourth, respectively, while Crews dropped to fifth place. Kvapil, Creed, Mayer, Retzlaff and Taylor Gray, the latter of whom started 25th, were racing in the top 10 ahead of William Sawalich, Justin Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Austin Hill, Jeremy Clements, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Ryan Sieg and Dean Thompson, respectively.

At the Lap 35 mark, Zilisch stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Love and Day while Elliott and Creed were racing in the top five ahead of Gray, Mayer, Kvapil and Sawalich. Meanwhile, Crews dropped to 10th place, and he had Retzlaff, Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Austin Hill reeling in from behind while teammate Gray had gained an additional four spots on the track.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Zilisch, whose lead stood at nearly five seconds, cruised to his fourth O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Love and Day settled in second and third ahead of Elliott and Creed while Gray, Mayer, Sawalich, Allgaier and Alfredo were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 26 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the event’s first stage break period, Zilisch fell off the pace due to having no fuel pressure and had to have his entry pushed to pit road. This allowed Love to assume the lead as he led the field to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Elliott cycled to the lead over Love while Day, Gray and Creed followed suit. Meanwhile, Zilisch, who managed to remain on the lead lap, dropped to 27th place while William Sawalich was penalized for a safety violation.

The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Elliott and Love occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out and jostled for spots through the first two turns as Elliott fended off Love with strong momentum from the outside lane to retain the lead. As Elliott led the next lap, Day occupied third place in front of Mayer, Creed, Allgaier, Gray and Kvapil while teammates Jones and Crews battled for ninth place. During the following lap, Crews outdueled Jones and Jones fell back to 11th place while Crews battled Kvapil for eighth place. While Zilisch carved his way back up to 13th place, teammate Elliott led by nine-tenths of a second over Love on Lap 60.

By Lap 70, Elliott was leading by more than two seconds over Love while third-place Day was being pursued by Mayer and Allgaier. Behind, Gray, Crews, Creed, Jones and Zilisch were racing in the top-10 mark ahead of Custer, Kvapil, Hill, Retzlaff and Alfredo while Clements, Harrison Burton, Kyle Sieg, Jeb Burton and Ryan Sieg trailed from the top-20 mark, respectively. A few laps later, both Mayer and Gray overtook Day for third and fourth on the track before Allgaier overtook the latter for fifth place on Lap 75. Meanwhile, Elliott maintained his lead by more than two seconds over Love at the Lap 80 mark.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Elliott cruised to his first O’Reilly stage victory in his first of two series starts of 2026. Love settled in second place for a second consecutive time during a stage’s conclusion while Gray, Allgaier, Mayer, Jones, Creed, Day, Zilisch and Crews were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 27 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while a fog patch started to overshadow Turns 3 and 4 of the speedway circuit.

During the event’s second stage break period, Jeremy Clements had a left-rear wheel detach from his entry, and he had sparks trailing from his entry as he limped to his pit stall. The incident resulted in Clements being held in his pit stall for two laps as a penalty. Once pit road became accessible for the field, Elliott led the field for service. Following the pit stops, Gray exited pit road first ahead of Love, Elliott, Allgaier, Creed, Mayer, Jones, Day, Sawalich and Zilisch. Soon after, Allgaier was penalized and sent to the tail end of the field due to a safety violation on pit road.

With 101 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Gray and Love occupied the front row. At the start, Love motored ahead with the lead from the inside lane while Elliott and Creed placed Gray in the middle of a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. As Elliott motored ahead for the runner-up spot, Love led the next lap while Gray retained third place in front of Creed, Mayer and Jones. Meanwhile, Zilisch and Day battled for seventh place in front of Hill, Crews and Custer while Elliott battled Love for the lead.

After stalking and challenging Love a lap prior, Elliott used the inside lane and the frontstretch’s apron to power the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead with 97 laps remaining. Love, though, fought back from the outside lane as both he and Elliott spent the next two laps duking for the lead, which allowed Taylor Gray to join the battle. Amid the tight battle for the lead, Creed made an unscheduled pit stop to have a flat right-front tire addressed.

Soon after, Gray, who had a strong No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra entry on long runs and had overtaken Love for the runner-up spot a few laps prior, overtook Elliott for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 with 91 laps remaining. With 85 laps remaining, Gray extended his lead to more than a second over Elliott. Gray’s lead over Elliott grew to more than two seconds with 80 laps remaining as Jones, Love, Mayer, Hill, Zilisch, Custer, Sawalich and Crews trailed in the top 10, respectively.

Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Gray led by nearly three seconds over Elliott while Jones, Love, Hill, Zilisch, Mayer, Custer, Sawalich and Crews occupied the top-10 mark, respectively. Behind, Day, Retzlaff, Allgaier, Alfredo, Ryan Sieg, Kvapil, Nick Sanchez, Dean Thompson, Patrick Staropoli and Kyle Sieg trailed in the top 20, respectively. Then with 68 laps remaining, a caution flew due to Zilisch hitting the outside wall while racing in sixth place as a tire carcass also rolled out from Zilisch’s entry through Turns 3 and 4. During this latest caution period, the field led by Gray pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Gray maintained the lead by exiting pit road first while Jones, Elliott, Sawalich and Love followed suit along with Mayer, Hill, Crews, Day and Allgaier.

The next restart with 61 laps remaining featured teammates Jones and Gray duking it out dead even for the lead for a full lap as the field fanned out. Through the frontstretch, Elliott made a bold three-wide move beneath both Jones and Gray to assume the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn, though Jones led the previous lap. Elliott then cycled back as the leader during the next lap while a variety of on-track battles ensued, primarily within the top-10 and 15 marks. Amid the battles, Elliott maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Gray with 55 laps remaining. The former continued to lead the latter by half a second with 50 laps remaining while third-place Jones trailed by more than a second.

With 45 laps remaining, the caution flew when Zilisch was involved in his second incident of the event, this time for a spin in the second turn. During the caution period, Elliott led the field back to pit road for service, but Jones managed to beat Elliot off of pit road first as they were followed by Love, Sawalich and Gray, respectively.

As the event restarted with 38 laps remaining, Jones motored ahead with the lead while a brief four-wide battle for the runner-up spot between Elliott, Gray, Love and Ryan Sieg ensued, with Sieg quickly being overtaken by the field. As Jones led the next lap, Elliott outdueled Gray for the runner-up spot, and he pursued Jones for the lead while Love was pursued by Kvapil, Sawalich and Crews for fourth place. The caution returned with 36 laps remaining when Crews bumped and sent teammate Sawalich for a spin below the backstretch.

The next restart with 30 laps remaining featured Gray outdueling his teammate Jones amid a side-by-side battle as the former returned atop the leaderboard and led the next lap while a variety of battles ensued. While Gray maintained a steady lead, Elliott fiercely battled Jones for the runner-up spot and slid from the top to the bottom of the track through the frontstretch while trying to fend off Jones for the spot. Elliott then managed to slide in front of Jones and maintain the runner-up spot with 26 laps remaining before Jones fought back. The late side-by-side action between Jones and Elliott allowed Love to reel in, though Jones reclaimed and muscled away from both with the runner-up spot, while Gray motored away with the lead by more than a second.

Down to the final 20 laps, Gray stretched his lead to nearly two seconds over Jones while Elliott, Love and Kvapil occupied the top-five spots, with Kvapil trailing by four-and-a-half seconds. Four laps later, the caution flew due to Ryan Sieg blowing a right-front tire and shredding the right-side sheet metal from his No. 39 SciAps Chevrolet Camaro entry . By then, Gray maintained his lead by more than a second over Jones, and Hill moved up to fifth place behind Elliott and teammate Love while Crews, Kvapil, Allgaier, Retzlaff and Custer were scored in the top 10.

During the next restart with 11 laps remaining, Love and Elliott pinned Jones and Gray in a tight four-wide battle for the lead. Ultimately, the latter two briefly lost momentum, with Gray slipping out of the top-five mark and Jones settling in third while Elliott cycled back as the leader for the following lap. As the laps dwindled, Gray was locked in a heated battle with Allgaier for sixth place, but he trailed the lead by two seconds and he had Love, Hill and Crews in front of him. Meanwhile, Jones started to reel in on Elliott for the lead, but the caution flew with five laps remaining due to Brennan Poole, Patrick Staropoli and Kyle Sieg spinning and wrecking through the first two turns.

As the field restarted in overtime, Jones and Elliott dueled for the lead in front of the field that fanned out through the first two turns. With both Jones and Elliott receiving no drafting momentum at the overtime’s start nor gaining an advantage of one another, they dueled from the first two turns and the backstretch as Jones mounted a fierce fight beneath Elliott. Jones then gained the upper advantage from the inside lane as he motored his No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra ahead of Elliott’s No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry through Turns 3 and 4.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Jones remained in the lead by a tenth of a second over Elliott. Though the first two turns, Elliott nearly scraped the outside wall while trying to reel in Jones. He then tried to make a move beneath Jones through Turns 3 and 4. Ultimately, both moves did not prevail as Jones cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by a tenth of a second over Elliott.

With the victory, Jones, who became the 11th winner through 20 events of the 2026 season, notched his eighth career win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division, his third on a 1.5-mile circuit and his first since Kansas Speedway in September 2025. He also became the third competitor from Joe Gibbs Racing to win in the O’Reilly division this season and he racked up the third victory of 2026 for Toyota.

JOLIET, ILLINOIS – JULY 04: Brandon Jones, driver of the #20 Menards/MD Building Products Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Cuervo 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 04, 2026 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

“I had to earn that one,” Jones said on the frontstretch on CW. “I haven’t had an exciting one like that in a long time. Thank you, guys, for sticking this out, through the rain and everything. It’s been an up and down year. We’ve had some success early on. We’ve been in a little bit of a runt the last couple weeks, so it’s just nice to [win] it like we did today. We had to earn that one. I think it says a lot about just how resilient we are and how hard we’re working at this. Chase [Elliott] made it really difficult on me. He’s one of the best in this sport. I knew he was gonna be difficult. We were all on old tires. That was a blast to slide around and duel it out like that…Let’s go on a roll and let’s get a couple more [wins] here before the Chase starts.”

Chase Elliott, who led a race-high 78 laps and won an O’Reilly event at Chicagoland in 2014, settled in second place for a seventh time in his O’Reilly career after he was unable to outduel Jones during the overtime shootout. Elliott will make a second start in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry for JR Motorsports at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25.

“[I] Ended up having momentum going the wrong way into Turn 3,” Elliott said. “I tried to drive in really hard and got myself super tight. Super bummed about that, honestly. It was kind of an up-and-down night. Credit to Brandon [Jones]. He did a good job. He had a good restart, stayed side by side through [Turns] 1 and 2, and he had momentum going the right way into Turn 3. I got myself in a bad spot and paid the price.”

Jesse Love, Brent Crews and Austin Hill finished in the top five. Points leader Justin Allgaier, Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Connor Zilisch, the latter of whom set the event’s fastest lap time, completed the top 10 in the final running order.

This event featured 16 lead changes for six different leaders, and a total of seven cautions for 40 laps. In addition, 30 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 20th event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the standings by 195 points over Jesse Love, 224 over Corey Day, 225 over Sheldon Creed, 255 over Austin Hill and 265 over Brandon Jones.

Results:

  1. Brandon Jones, 12 laps led
  2. Chase Elliott, 78 laps led, Stage 2 winner
  3. Jesse Love, five laps led
  4. Brent Crews
  5. Austin Hill
  6. Justin Allgaier
  7. Taylor Gray, 55 laps led
  8. Sam Mayer
  9. Cole Custer
  10. Connor Zilisch, 48 laps led, Stage 1 winner
  11. Carson Kvapil
  12. Nick Sanchez
  13. Sammy Smith
  14. Parker Retzlaff
  15. Harrison Burton
  16. Sheldon Creed
  17. Dean Thompson
  18. Garrett Smithley
  19. Corey Day
  20. Jeb Burton
  21. Leland Honeyman Jr.
  22. Ryan Ellis
  23. Myatt Snider
  24. Rajah Caruth
  25. Brennan Poole
  26. Anthony Alfredo
  27. Patrick Staropoli
  28. Lavar Scott
  29. William Sawalich
  30. Kyle Sieg
  31. Ryan Sieg, one lap down, three laps led
  32. Blaine Perkins, two laps down
  33. Tyler Tomassi, two laps down
  34. Joey Gase, three laps down
  35. Jeremy Clements, three laps down
  36. Josh Bilicki, five laps down
  37. JJ Yeley – OUT, Power
  38. Dawson Cram – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule is EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, for the Focused Health 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 11, and air at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network, PRN Radio and SiriusXM.

Lundgaard’s Statement Leads Arrow McLaren’s Front Row Sweep at Mid-Ohio

By
Official Release
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Saturday, July 4, 2026) – Christian Lundgaard made another statement about his worthiness as a top driver in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Two weeks ago, the driver, expected to soon be a free agent, won at Road America despite being in last place after the first lap. Now, he is the No. 1 qualifier for Sunday’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading an Arrow McLaren sweep of the front row.

Lundgaard edged teammate Pato O’Ward for the fourth NTT P1 Award of his career, the most recent coming in 2023 when he won the Toronto street race. Last year at Portland International Raceway, Lundgaard grabbed the top spot in qualifying, but he had to serve a six-grid starting position penalty for an unapproved engine change.

The combination of the above has the still-young Dane, who turns 25 on July 23, brimming with optimism as his future remains unsettled.

“I think everybody knows the abilities,” he told FOX after posting the pace-setting lap of 1 minute, 4.8396 seconds in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I don’t need to say anymore than that.”

Lundgaard will be aiming for his third road course victory of the season in Sunday’s The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). He also won the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May and finished second in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AMR at Barber Motorsports Park in March.

Lundgaard is one of three drivers still with a reasonable chance of catching four-time series champion Alex Palou in the standings. Palou leads Team Penske’s David Malukas by 60 points, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood by 61 points and Lundgaard by 77. No other driver is within 100 points of the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.

Lundgaard said the goal now is to capitalize on the opportunity.

“We’ve got two wins now and we’re going to carry that momentum,” he said. “It’s just awesome to have a 1-2 (for the team in qualifying). We’ve got to go finish the job tomorrow and that’s the most important.”

O’Ward’s lap of 1:04.8649 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet earned him a front-row start for the second time this season. He also held that position for the Detroit street race.

The performances of Lundgaard and O’Ward weren’t the only noteworthy developments in a qualifying session delayed nearly three hours by thunderstorms. Palou’s streak of five consecutive NTT P1 Awards ended when he qualified eighth in the No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Palou’s best lap of 1:04.865 was the fourth-fastest of the qualifying session, but it came in the opening round. He was unable to improve in the second round, leaving him eighth on the starting grid. His streak of five consecutive poles is tied for the fourth longest in series history with Mario Andretti (1984) and Danny Sullivan (1988).

Still, Palou can build on his hefty series points lead in the season’s 11th race. He has finished in the top two each of the past four years – a win in 2023 and three second-place finishes.

Joining the Arrow McLaren drivers as Firestone Fast Six qualifiers were Andretti Global’s Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda), Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), ECR’s Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet) and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet). Rasmussen reached the final round of knockout qualifying for the first time this season. VeeKay earned JHR its fourth career top-six starting position.

Chevrolet placed five drivers in the top six. Power was the lone Honda driver in that group.

Scott Dixon has won a record seven INDYCAR SERIES races at this track, one of them in 2014 when he drove from the 22nd and last starting position. If he is to win Sunday in his final Mid-Ohio race with Chip Ganassi Racing, he must do it after starting 23rd. The driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was penalized for interference on Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean (No. 18 BMax Honda) approaching Turn 5 in the first round of qualifying.

Warmup will be held Sunday at 9 a.m. ET on FS1.

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