INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 26, 2025) – Connor Zilisch gave himself a late birthday present and a special gift to NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. by winning the Pennzoil 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Xfinity Series rookie sensation Zilisch, who turned 19 on Tuesday, passed fellow rookie Taylor Gray with two laps remaining in the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet co-owned by Earnhardt and held off pole sitter Sam Mayer’s No. 41 Audibel Ford by .339 of a second for his third consecutive victory and fifth win this season.
The win was the 100th in the history of JR Motorsports, co-owned by Earnhardt.
“This is awesome,” Zilisch said. “Those bricks look really kissable, and I’m ready to kiss them. Winning at Indy is awesome and getting 100 wins for JRM is pretty cool, too, so I consider this a pretty awesome day.”
Gray finished third in the No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, followed by reigning Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet. Ryan Sieg rounded out the top five in the No. 39 Sci Aps Ford.
Zilisch led when the 100-lap race was halted due to rain for the second time during a caution period from Laps 92-96 after a crash between the No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet of Austin Hill and the No. 19 Young Life Toyota of Aric Almirola in Turn 4.
On the restart on Lap 97, Gray got a big jump and an aerodynamic push from behind to take the lead from Zilisch entering Turn 1. Zilisch then dove under Gray in Turn 2 on Lap 98 and pulled even on the back straightaway. But Gray was able to parry Zilisch’s charge and kept the lead.
Zilisch attempted the same move exiting Turn 2 on Lap 99, pulling even with Gray on the back straightaway. But unlike on the previous lap, Mayer tucked behind Zilisch’s rear bumper, which gave Zilisch the aerodynamic boost he needed to clear Gray for good entering Turn 3.
“The second time I got a push from behind, and it helped me clear him,” Zilisch said. “It was actually really racy, and you were able to make moves.”
Mayer also passed Gray but was unable to catch Zilisch over the last 1.5 laps around the fabled 2.5-mile oval.
Zilisch, who led 19 laps, rallied from a slow pit stop early in the race to return to the front. But it appeared late in the race that Justin Allgaier and Larson were the leading candidates to stand on Victory Podium.
But on a restart on Lap 87, Larson’s car pushed high in Turn 2 and hip-checked Allgaier’s No. 7 Hellmann’s Spicy Mayo Chevrolet into the SAFER Barrier, also slowing Larson’s momentum. That incident allowed Zilisch to take the lead, with Gray jumping to second.
2018 Pennzoil 250 winner Allgaier was eliminated from the race in the crash after leading a race-high 37 laps driving another car fielded by JR Motorsports.
“Unfortunately, Indianapolis is one of those places that it doesn’t take much to have an incident like that,” Allgaier said.
While this was the first win at IMS for Zilisch in his first oval race at the Racing Capital of the World, he has stood on the podium here in past road races. Zilisch finished third in the 90-car Spec Miata class in the 2021 SCCA Runoffs at IMS, and he was part of the Era Motorsport team that finished third in the LMP2 class at the 2024 IMSA TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
In qualifying for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, Indiana native Chase Briscoe won the pole to continue a remarkable streak of qualifying performances in NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel races this season.
Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, took the top spot for Sunday’s race with a best lap of 49.136 seconds, 183.165 mph in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. That was good enough to edge Bubba Wallace, who fell just .013 of a second short of Briscoe at 49.149, 183.117 in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin.
This was the third pole this season in a marquee Cup Series race for Briscoe, who also drove to the top qualifying spot in the Daytona 500 in February at Daytona International Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I’m holding back tears, truthfully,” Briscoe said. “This is such a special moment for me. Even hearing the crowd as I got the pole, it was super cool. Hopefully can keep it up there tomorrow. That’s the one we want to win tomorrow.”
The 160-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
Erik Jones qualified third at 49.248, 182.749 in the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota. Tyler Reddick will join him in the second row after his qualifying lap of 49.267, 182.678 in the No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota.
Ty Gibbs qualified fifth in the No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota, giving Toyota a sweep of the top five starting spots. Joe Gibbs Racing (Briscoe, Gibbs) and 23XI Racing (Wallace, Reddick) each put two cars in the top five.
Gibbs and Ty Dillon are competing Sunday in the final round of NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge. Gibbs and Dillon will race at the same time as all the other competitors in the NASCAR Cup Series classic, with the driver finishing ahead earning a $1 million bonus for his team.
Dillon qualified 26th in the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet of Kaulig Racing.
While Toyota took the top five spots in the lineup, it could have been six. Hamlin, who led pre-qualifying practice today, appeared to be headed for the pole when he suffered a vicious crash in Turn 2 in the No. 11 Progressive Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hamlin was tracking three-tenths of a second ahead of Briscoe when his car wiggled in Turn 2 and brushed the SAFER Barrier with the right rear corner panel. The car then veered across the 2.5-mile oval and smashed the SAFER Barrier inside Turn 2 head-on. Hamlin was shaken up but otherwise unhurt.
“I was super close to doing that in all four corners,” Briscoe said of his qualifying run when asked about teammate Hamlin’s accident. “That was the closest I think I’ve ever got to Indy 500 qualifying, just being on the absolute ragged edge. I thought I was going to lose it a couple of times but was able to hold on to it.”
Visit IMS.com to buy Brickyard Weekend tickets or for more information.
Simon Asselin Wins in XGT and Cole Boudreau Takes TA Checkered Flag in Trans Am Debut
PORTLAND, Ore. (July 26, 2025) – The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship Race 1 at Portland International Raceway stayed green from start to finish, allowing driver talent and car setups to shine in the 100-mile event. Brody Goble conquered the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, translating his pole award into his third victory of the season as he pursues his second TA2 championship. Ken Sutherland was dominant in TA Cup, leading the class from flag to flag to win the PIR SpeedTour race overall in his second-consecutive victory.
Notes of Interest
Brody Goble claimed his third win of 2025 and the eighth of his career. Goble previously took the checkered flag in the season-opening race at Buttonwillow Raceway Park and the series’ last outing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The 2023 Western Championship title winner showcased his familiarity with the track, backing up his 2023 Race 1 victory with another statement win.
Goble has led the TA2 standings all season. His lead grew as second-place Barry Boes (No. 32 Accio Data/TRB Autosport Ford Mustang) went out of the race early due to a rear-end issue and finished last.
Cole Moore and Kyle Kelley both earned their second straight podiums, finishing second and third, respectively.
Fourth-place finisher and 2024 champion Michael LaPaglia earned his best result of the season.
Jade Avedisian finished fifth in her first-career Trans Am race.
Ken Sutherland earned his second straight win in TA Cup. Coming into this weekend with the championship lead, he continues to top the standings.
Second-place finisher Ken Thwaits matched his career-best finish in TA Cup.
Polesitter Brody Goble put on a masterclass in Race 1 of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series at Portland International Raceway. Driving the No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang, Goble quickly established a commanding lead and never looked back, executing flawlessly around the 1.97-mile circuit to take the checkered flag. Sixth-place starter Cole Moore (No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang) was consistent throughout the race, picking off positions and avoiding the issues plaguing other competitors to take over the runner-up spot on lap 40 and race toward the checkered flag. Kyle Kelley (No. 80 UPR.com/PK+k Motorsports Ford Mustang) crossed the finish line third, followed by Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang), who worked his way up from seventh to finish fourth. Fifth-place finisher Jade Avedisian (No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) ran second for a majority of the day, but had to visit pit road late in the race due to debris on the grille. She recovered to finish in the top five in her first-career Trans Am start.
“One race at a time, of course,” said Goble when asked if he was going to win another championship. “We’ve got to reset right now for tomorrow. But I’m super happy to win at what is kind of our home track. We’ve got Brown Bros. Ford here. This is four and a half, five hours from home, so we’ve got a massive team here. The car was awesome. I was just banging off laps and trying to be consistent. I used it almost as a little bit of a test to see how far you can push it because, you know, it’s pretty rare that we go green flag from pin to pin. Hopefully we got some good data and we’ll do it again.”
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Top Five:
Brody Goble, No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang
Cole Moore, No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang
Kyle Kelley, No. 80 UPR.com/PK+k Motorsports Ford Mustang
Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang
Jade Avedisian, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry
After taking the pole in this morning’s qualifying session with the fastest lap of any Trans Am class at Portland, Ken Sutherland (No. 85 Kallberg Racing Ford Mustang) kept that same speed when the green flag waved. With the TA Cup class starting in the back, Sutherland diced his way through the field of CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series cars, taking the overall race lead on Lap 12. Once he got into clean air, he never looked back, pulling out to an immense gap. However, the race between the TA Cup cars was still an exciting one, as second through fourth all finished within a second and a half of each other.
Second-place starter Ken Thwaits (No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) was initially keeping pace with Sutherland, but he lost first and second gear early in the race and began to lag behind him. Fourth-place starter Chris Evans (No. 08 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang) passed third-place starter John Moore (No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang) on lap nine, and the two battled it out nose to tail for the remainder of the race. Moore got side-by-side with Evans a few times, but was never able to regain the third position. Together, the pair of Evans and Moore stalked Thwaits, and the two were right behind him when the checkered flag waved.
“It was great,” said Sutherland from the podium. “The plan was to get a little gap, get by some of the back markers from the TA2 group, and then hopefully just maintain a gap. It just went way better than I ever could have expected. It’s just a testament to this car. My crew chief puts a lot of effort into making things just right on this car. And then of course, Chris Evans, Jeff Jefferson, Curt and Patty Kallberg, the car owners, they’re the ones that allow me to be able to do this. It’s just super fantastic. I would like to thank Trans Am for being here on the West Coast. If you look around the paddock, there are a lot of cars, and a lot of people that put a lot of effort into racing these cars out here. It’s just a great thing we have going, and I just so appreciate you guys coming out here, racing with us, and giving us a venue to race our cars.”
TA Cup:
Ken Sutherland, No. 85 Kallberg Racing Ford Mustang
Ken Thwaits, No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro
Chris Evans, No. 08 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang
John Moore, No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang
Simon Asselin in the No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup was the only competitor in his class. Despite contact with another entrant on the start, Asselin had a solid race, collecting his first victory in the XGT class.
“Well, you know, I’ve really got to give it to the TA2 guys doing these 75-minute races day in and day out,” said Asselin. “I was roasted at the end. I was hoping to hear, ‘Okay, only a couple of laps left,’ and I would hear, ‘45 minutes left.’ You’re killing me! I really appreciate you guys allowing me to race with you. Unfortunately, I had contact in Turn 1 with one of the racers. I have to go apologize, but that was a great race.”
XGT Results:
Simon Asselin, No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup
As the only competitor in his class, Cole Boudreau in the No. 88 Boudreau Racing Ford Mustang stood atop the podium in TA. Despite facing a number of mechanical challenges throughout the weekend, Boudreau made it to the checkered flag in his first-career Trans Am Series race.
“I didn’t think we were going to finish that race, we had so many brake problems,” said Boudreau. “We were fighting that, we had some rear end problems, and maybe a little bit of driver problems too. But man, what a fun time that was. Oh my God, that was a blast. Most fun I ever had. These cars have got so much power. You just get on a little bit too fast, you’re sideways and fighting. And I don’t think there’s a better or more cool racing series, at least I haven’t seen one.”
TA:
Cole Boudreau, No. 88 Boudreau Racing Ford Mustang
Final Details:
Full race results can be found here.
The Western Championship returns to action tomorrow with Race 2 of the PIR SpeedTour.
Force, Hagan, Glenn and Gadson qualify No. 1 at Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge
SONOMA, Calif. (July 26, 2025) – A day after making the fastest run in NHRA history, Top Fuel star Brittany Force won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the first time in 2025, defeating Justin Ashley in the final round of the bonus race on Saturday Sonoma Raceway as part of this weekend’s 37th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) both won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, while Force, Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Glenn and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) qualified No. 1 at the 12th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the finals of the specialty race, Force went 3.869-seconds at 324.75 mph in her 12,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster, easily holding off Ashley, who ran into tire smoke during the matchup. It’s the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the year for the two-time world champion, continuing what has already been a banner weekend for the world’s fastest driver.
Her incredible run of 3.645 at a world-record 343.16 easily held up on Saturday, giving Force her third No. 1 of the season as well. She’ll open raceday against Seattle winner and points leader Shawn Langdon, who struggled during qualifying, looking for a clean sweep of the weekend and another Sonoma victory.
“I’m excited to finally win one of these Mission #2Fast2tasty Challenge races. I was talking with David [Grubnic, crew chief] last night and we said that we were disappointed we didn’t have one. We turned on two win lights today to get the job done,” Force said.
“The fans have been awesome here. I think about Sonoma and I think it’s wine country and everyone is chill but they’re rowdy here. It’s still surreal to think that we went 343 mph. I write it on an autograph and it just doesn’t look right. We had fun last night. We had a great time with the fans but David went right back to work. He’s trying to figure out how to win tomorrow.”
Doug Kalitta took the second spot with Friday’s 3.661 at 332.84 and Clay Millican qualified third with a 3.699 at 335.15.
In Funny Car, Ron Capps got a chance to celebrate on Saturday at one of his favorite facilities, defeating No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.904 at 324.20 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Car Toyota GR Supra.
It’s the second bonus race win of the year for Capps, who put together a solid run to slip past Hagan’s run of 3.926, defeating Spencer Hyde earlier in the day. Capps has come on strong in recent weeks and will try to turn it into a stellar weekend with his fifth victory at Sonoma Raceway.
“I wasn’t sure it was going to cool off but it did and we thought there were some 3.8s out there for sure,” Capps said. “Before we ran, Guido [Dean Antonelli, crew chief] said he thought we could better our qualifying position. That’s a big deal, so I had to stage thin. I also had to be ready for Matt because we all know how good he is.
“It was just a really cool race and it was good to give Toyota a win. I grew up three hours South of here and this has always been a great place to race.”
Hagan stayed on top heading into raceday, earning his first No. 1 qualifier of the season thanks to Friday’s run of 3.861 at 332.59 in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. The four-time world champion, who also picked up his 53rd No. 1 qualifier, will open eliminations against Jeff Diehl as Hagan attempts to win at Sonoma Raceway for the first time in his standout career.
“That momentum, that chemistry, all the stuff we’re doing right now I feel like has carried into this weekend,” Hagan said. “We’ve got a lot of great things going for us right now and as a team, as a unit, we’re working really well together. I’m excited to get back into race mode. I just love racing and turning the win light on. It’s competitive out there and it’s exciting for me, always.”
Rookie Spencer Hyde used Friday’s 3.865 at 333.58 to qualify second and Paul Lee took third with a 3.890 at 299.00.
Dallas Glenn closed out Pro Stock qualifying in spectacular fashion on Saturday in Sonoma, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, taking over the No. 1 qualifying spot and setting a new track record all in one remarkable run of 6.471 at 211.79 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
Cody Coughlin left first in the bonus race and went 6.501, but Glenn tracked him down with the quickest Pro Stock run in Sonoma Raceway history, picking up his third – and second straight – victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge this year. Glenn, who set track records galore last week en route to a win at his home track in Seattle, also qualified No. 1 for the fourth time this year. The points leader starts raceday against Kenny Delco as he attempts to keep on his torrid pace.
“This shows that we have a good car,” Glenn said. “We ran into a headwind, so I didn’t think we could [qualify No. 1], but we made a good run even though I messed up a bit. I guess I got a bit lucky since Cody was only seven thousandths away from stealing it from me.
“My car is great right now. This is the best car I’ve ever had and the only thing that keeps it from winning is me. I just need to do my job. There is always at least one thing we could do better, so I’m trying to make sure I find that and do it. I’m harder on myself than anyone else will ever be.”
Greg Anderson took second with a 6.472 at 210.14 and Greg Stanfield is third with a 6.480 at 211.66.
Matt Smith won the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle Callout over Richard Gadson, while Gadson finished as the No. 1 qualifier for the first time in his career.
Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
SONOMA, Calif. — Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final results from the 37th annual
Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
SONOMA, Calif. (July 26, 2025) – Six-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith continued to enjoy success at Sonoma Raceway in specialty races, winning the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout for a second straight year on Saturday as part of this weekend’s Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
Smith picked up the victory when Richard Gadson went red in the final round, claiming the $25,000 prize and winning the Callout in back-to-back years. He’s won a bonus race in Sonoma four times on his Denso/Matt Smith Racing Buell and continued to have the magic touch at the facility on Saturday.
Smith went 6.783-seconds at 199.76 mph against Gadson, who went red by .001, as the multi-time champion enjoyed another magical Saturday in Sonoma. Smith opened the Callout with a victory against Chase Van Sant and then beat teammate John Hall in the semifinals, setting up the marquee matchup with Gadson in the championship round.
“This is awesome. I love this track. I came here as a kid and watched my dad [Rickie] win in a Pro Stock car. It’s a long tow from North Carolina but it’s worth it. This is also Denso’s home race,” Smith said.
“The track was really good but we had a headwind. We’ve had a headwind all weekend. If we could get a tail wind, you might see our 205 mph record get hit. When we ran the semis, I made the decision to choose John, that way we were sure to have a Denso/MSR bike in the final. It was just a strategy call and it worked. It was also a way to make sure they [Vance & Hines] didn’t put both of their bikes in the final.”
Despite the loss in the final round, Gadson did get to enjoy qualifying No. 1 for the first time in his career, as Friday’s run of 6.702 at 200.77 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki held up.
He’ll take that top spot into raceday – as well as a first-round matchup against Brad Hawkes – as he looks to win for the second time this season.
“I’m glad we were able to hold on to No. 1,” Gadson said. “This is my first yellow hat and it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. That was a big run. We didn’t qualify No. 1 by a little bit. It was quite a bit.
“As for the [GETTRX Callout final], we’re running for a lot of money so I made the decision to let it all hang out. Going red by a thousandth of a second is just part of the deal. You’ve got to know how to shake it off.”
Smith qualified second with a 6.740 at 200.26 and John Hall is third with a 6.759 at 197.28.
Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
SONOMA, Calif. — Saturday’s GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout final results from the
37th annual Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout — Matt Smith, Buell, 6.783, 198.35 def. Richard
Gadson, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.
SONOMA, Calif. — Final GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout round-by-round results from
the 37th annual Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
GETTRX NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALL OUT:
ROUND ONE — John Hall, 6.713, 201.52 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.795, 197.80; Richard Gadson, Suzuki,6.720, 192.08 def. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.729, 197.19; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.707, 202.55 def. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.791, 197.45; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.727, 199.91 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki,Broke – No Show;
SEMIFINALS — R. Gadson, 6.749, 199.76 def. G. Herrera, 6.769, 199.14; M. Smith, 6.764, 200.83 def.
J. Hall, 7.689, 124.14;
FINAL — M. Smith, 6.783, 198.35 def. R. Gadson, Foul – Red Light.
Despite firing off too free in the No. 10 Champion Container Chevy, Daniel Dye methodically worked his way into the top 20, catching up to teammate, Christian Eckes, by lap 23. Dye finished the opening stage in 18th place. During the first stage break, he pitted for tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, gaining two spots on pit road to start the second stage from 16th. Still battling a loose-handling No. 10 Chevy, Dye managed to gain four more spots during the incident-free second stage to finish 12th. During the second state break, Dye pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. When a caution for rain came out with 21 laps remaining, Dye sat 14th. As the weather stayed away, the race went back to green with 14 laps to go. Dye continued advancing forward, eventually finishing the race in eighth place, his seventh top-10 finish of the year.
“We struggled on the short run, but as the long run went on, our downforce package showed up a little bit more compared to the cars around us. We kept making good lane choice decisions and moving forward all day. I’m super proud to finally get a good finish with Champion Container on our No. 10 Chevy.” – Daniel Dye
Christian Eckes fell multiple positions at the start of the race but remained quiet throughout the opening stage. He and spotter Coleman Pressley worked on carrying speed through the corners. Eckes went on to finish the stage in 16th, radioing to the team that he only wanted tires during his first pit stop so that he could continue learning what he needed to work on inside the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. The crew gained Eckes five spots on pit road to start the second stage from 11th place. On a hectic restart, Eckes received heavy right-front damage. On lap 48, Eckes’ right-front tire went down, forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop for right-side tires. Going down a lap after the pit stop, Eckes fought hard to the stage end in order to not lose a second lap. He took the wave around during the second stage break, starting the final stage back on the lead lap. A wreck on the restart brought the caution flag back out, allowing Eckes to pit for tires and fuel. Restarting from 31st, Eckes navigated multiple incidents and moved back into the top 20 restarting with 14 to go. After his best restart of the day, he raced his way to 14th, eventually picking off one more spot to finish 13th.
“Some unfortunate circumstances set us back early, so we spent a good bit of the race trying to get back our track position. Thankfully, the guys worked hard to get our No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy faster, and our pit crew executed on pit road. Coming home 13th after being 36th and a lap down before the final stage made for a decent finish.” – Christian Eckes
The caution came out on lap three with Josh Williams having moved up to 28th. After the restart, Williams quickly nabbed 25th, where he finished Stage 1. He pitted for tires, fuel, and right-rear wedge and track bar adjustments during the stage caution, which gained the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy six spots prior to the second-stage green flag. Williams restarted in 19th on lap 36 and immediately battled in the pack before grass flew into the Chevy’s grille. With the car running hot, Williams slid back into 23rd place but retook 22nd on lap 53 and then 21st three laps later after the grass dissipated. He finished Stage 2 in 21st and pitted for tires, fuel, and left-rear wedge and air pressure adjustments, firing back off for the last stage in 20th with 34 laps to go. The yellow came out half a lap after the green due to a wreck on the backstretch, leading to more pacing; sprinkles began falling while under caution. On lap 73 of 100 scheduled laps, Williams restarted in 20th but dropped positions after getting shuffled out of line off the jump. After sliding back into 26th, the caution once again appeared for rain, but sunshine prevailed, leading to a green flag with 14 laps remaining. Williams made it up to 20th before a wreck brought out the caution on lap 90. Rain once again fell under the yellow, bringing out the red flag. After the track dried, the race went back to green with four laps to go, and Williams took the checkered in 22nd.
“Not a good day for us. We struggled with grip, especially in traffic. We made some adjustments to make it better, but passing and traffic were hurting us. Wish we had a better showing for Alloy at one of their favorite tracks. Onto Iowa to get back in the top 10.” – Josh Williams
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 27 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Connor Zilisch capitalized on a series of late turn-of-events over the final 14 laps, scoring a thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 26.
The 19-year-old Zilisch from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for 19 of 100 scheduled laps. He started in seventh place and raced upfront through the early stages. Leading for the first time on Lap 52, Zilisch was edged by teammate Justin Allgaier for the second stage victory. However, he remained in contention as the event battled through four caution periods, three for weather, during the final stage period.
Allgaier was wrecked by Kyle Larson during a restart with 14 laps remaining as Zilisch navigated back to the lead. Despite losing the lead to rookie Taylor Gray during a four-lap shootout, Zilisch managed to overtake Gray with drafting help from Sam Mayer with two laps remaining. He then muscled through to post another victory to his resume. It was also the milestone 100th Xfinity career victory for JR Motorsports.
On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday. Sam Mayer notched his first Xfinity Series pole position of the 2025 season. It was also his first at Indianapolis and his third overall. His pole-winning lap was 166.623 mph in 54.014 seconds. Joining Mayer on the front row was rookie Nick Sanchez. Sanchez posted his best qualifying lap at 166.482 mph in 54.060 seconds.
During the event’s pace laps, a handful of competitors, including rookie Christian Eckes and Logan Bearden, encountered issues. Eckes had fire on his car’s dashboard due to a burnt wire. This forced him to pit for repairs before he returned to the track. Meanwhile, Bearden stalled his entry due to having no power. This issue resulted in him not taking the green flag with the field and dropping out of the lead lap category.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Sam Mayer received a push from teammate Sheldon Creed from the inside lane. This allowed Mayer to muscle ahead of Nick Sanchez through the first two turns and the backstretch. The field behind fanned out and jostled for spots. As Mayer proceeded to lead the first lap over Sanchez, Creed and Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier nearly hit the frontstretch’s inside wall and ran over a small drainage while trying to make a bold move beneath Aric Almirola in a battle for sixth place.
On the second lap, the event’s first caution flew when Harrison Burton, racing in 19th place, got loose underneath rookie Christian Eckes. He spun in Turn 2, though he managed to make no contact with the wall and the oncoming field. At the moment of caution, Mayer retained the lead over Sanchez. Creed, Brandon Jones and Almirola followed in the top five.
The next restart on the sixth lap featured Mayer receiving another shove from teammate Creed. This enabled Mayer to rocket ahead of the field from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out from the frontstretch through the backstretch, Mayer proceeded to lead from Turns 3 and 4 before he returned to the frontstretch and led the following lap. Creed moved up to the runner-up spot over Sanchez while Almirola and Jones followed suit in the top five.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Mayer stretched his early advantage to more than a second over teammate Creed. Sanchez, Almirola and rookie Connor Zilisch rounded out the top five. Behind, Allgaier was racing in sixth place ahead of Jones, rookie Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love and rookie Taylor Gray, rounding out the top 10. Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, Kyle Larson, Ryan Sieg, rookie Dean Thompson, rookie William Sawalich, Jeremy Clements, rookie Christian Eckes, Jeb Burton and Matt DiBenedetto were mired in the top 20, respectively.
Five laps later, Mayer added another second to his advantage, leading by more than two seconds over teammate Creed. Zilisch, who overtook Sanchez for third place two laps earlier, was reeling in on Creed for the runner-up spot. Almirola and Allgaier were racing in fourth and fifth, respectively, after both overtook Sanchez through the backstretch a lap earlier.
Zilisch then overtook Creed to assume the runner-up spot exiting the backstretch on Lap 16 while Sanchez battled Jones for sixth place. As Larson cracked the top-10 mark while Sanchez dropped to eighth place by Lap 18. Mayer stabilized his lead to two-and-a-half seconds over Zilisch at the Lap 20 mark. Creed, Almirola and Allgaier followed suit in the top five, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Mayer fended off a Lap 29 charge from Allgaier. By a tenth of a second overall, he claimed his third Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Allgaier settled in second ahead of Almirola, the latter of whom trailed the lead by half a second. Jones, Zilisch, Creed, Love, Larson, Taylor Gray and Kvapil were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Mayer peeled off the track to pit road for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Almirola exited pit road first. He was followed by Allgaier, Zilisch, Mayer, Jones, Larson, Gray, Sawalich, Love and Sanchez, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 36 as Almirola and Allgaier occupied the front row. Almirola and Allgaier dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and scattered, Sanchez hit the backstretch’s outside wall after he got hit by Eckes.
Allgaier and Almirola remained dead even against one another through Turns 3 and 4 before they dueled through the frontstretch. Then, exiting the backstretch, Allgaier received a push from teammate Zilisch that allowed both to muscle ahead of Almirola entering Turn 1. Almirola drove to third place as Allgaier cleared the field with the lead.
By Lap 40, Allgaier, who led the previous four laps, continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Zilisch. Third-place Almirola trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Behind, Larson was up to fourth place in front of Gray while Jones, Sawalich, Jesse Love, Kvapil and Mayer were racing in the top 10.
At the halfway mark on Lap 50, Allgaier continued to lead by half a second over teammate Zilisch while Larson was up to third place. Behind, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Almirola and Gray trailed in the top five by as far back as five seconds. Teammate Jones, Kvapil, Mayer, Love and William Sawalich were racing in the top 10. They were ahead of Ryan Sieg, Creed, Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson and Austin Hill, respectively.
Meanwhile, Eckes, who pitted two laps prior with a flat right-front tire under green, had plummeted to 36th place. Sanchez, who pitted earlier amid his on-track incident with the wall, and Eckes, were mired in 37th place and scored five laps behind.
Another lap later, Zilisch used the inside lane to overtake teammate Allgaier exiting the backstretch. As Zilisch led the Lap 52 mark, Allgaier continued to stalk his JR Motorsports’ teammate through the turns and straightaways, but he settled behind Zilisch’s rear bumper as the latter maintained a steady advantage. Despite having a stronger car than Zilisch through the turns, Allgaier kept racing and settling behind Zilisch’s rear bumper over the next three laps while third-place Larson started to reel in the two leaders as he trailed by less than a second.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Allgaier, who spent the previous eight laps stalking behind teammate Zilisch’s rear bumper through every turn and straightaway, capitalized on Zilisch getting trapped behind the lapped competitor of Eckes, starting from Turns 3 and 4, to draw alongside Zilisch entering the frontstretch, drag-race and edge him at the start/finish line by 0.025 seconds for his seventh Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Zilisch settled in second ahead of Larson, Almirola, and Gray, while Jones, Mayer, Kvapil, Love, and Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the latest stage break period, the lead lap field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead by exiting pit road first while Larson, Jones, Mayer, Zilisch, Sawalich, Gray, Kvapil, Leland Honeyman and Creed followed suit, respectively.
With 34 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Allgaier and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Jones attempted to throw a three-wide move beneath Allgaier and Larson entering the first turn, but he could not execute his move. In the process, Larson executed on a push from Mayer from the outside lane that allowed the latter to muscle the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead with the lead over Allgaier’s No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro entry through the first two turns.
Then as the field led by Larson navigated through the backstretch, the caution returned when Kvapil, who was racing in the top-10 mark, was pinned in a tight three-wide battle with Leland Honeyman and Sawalich entering Turn 2. This resulted with Kvapil getting sideways and spinning backwards into the outside wall, which he hit and sustained rear-end damage to the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet Camaro entry, while Honeyman also sustained damage to his entry. Kvapil’s incident would then commence an extensive caution period due to a weather advisory as light sprinkles were detected around the track.
When the race restarted with 27 laps remaining, Allgaier used the outside lane to draw even with Larson through the first two turns. He then executed a power move through the outside lane to shoot ahead of Larson and reassume the lead entering the backstretch. Allgaier proceeded to fend off Larson to lead the next lap as the field cycled back to the frontstretch, with Larson trying to reel in and follow suit.
With less than 25 laps remaining, Allgaier maintained a steady advantage over Larson while Jones and Zilisch followed suit. Zilisch proceeded to overtake Jones for third place and Mayer trailed by two seconds in fifth place as the laps dwindled. Larson continued to reel in on Allgaier for the lead, though Allgaier led by a tenth of a second with 20 laps remaining. Shortly after, the caution flew due to on-track precipitation.
During the next restart with 14 laps remaining, Allgaier and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns. Then, entering the backstretch, Larson slid up and made contact with Allgaier, which resulted in the latter hitting the outside wall. As both Allgaier and Larson lost their momentum amid their late run-in, Zilisch capitalized by storming to the lead. Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill, Almirola, and Creed all followed suit as the field fanned out through the backstretch. Amid the chaos, Zilisch led the following lap.
With 10 laps remaining, Zilisch continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Gray while Mayer, Hill and Creed pursued in the top five. By then, Larson was mired back in ninth place while Allgaier retired his damaged car on pit road. Shortly after, the caution returned due to a controversial accident in Turn 3.
The incident started when Almirola got Austin Hill loose in Turn 3, just as Hill had outdueled Almirola for fourth place. Hill then veered dead left into Almirola and sent Almirola head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3, leaving Almirola with a severely damaged race car.
Hill proceeded to spin, slid back across the track, and hit the outside wall before he continued. The incident was enough for NASCAR to park Hill for five laps as Almirola deemed Hill’s actions as “intentional.” It also placed the event in a red flag period for 12 minutes.
When the red flag lifted and the race restarted under green with four laps remaining, Zilisch and Gray dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Gray, who received a push from Creed from the outside lane, muscled his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra into the lead entering Turn 1. While Zilisch was trying to fend off Mayer and Larson for the runner-up spot, Gray led the next lap.
Then, with three laps remaining, Zilisch reeled in on Gray and got the latter loose entering Turn 2. This allowed Zilisch to get underneath and draw even with Gray through the backstretch, but Mayer drafted Gray back to the lead exiting the backstretch. After Gray led with two laps remaining, Zilisch mirrored his move entering the backstretch. This time, Mayer drafted Zilisch past Gray as Zilisch led. Behind, Mayer moved into second place and dropped Gray to third place in front of Larson while Zilisch pulled away.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zilisch remained in the lead over Mayer, Gray, and Larson. With the clean air to his advantage, Zilisch was able to smoothly navigate his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed his unprecedented fifth checkered flag of the 2025 season.
With the victory, Zilisch notched his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series career win in his first series start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his third in a row in recent weeks. Having turned 19 years of age this past Tuesday, Zilisch became the youngest NASCAR winner at Indianapolis at age 19 years and four days. Above all, Zilisch recorded the milestone 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory for JR Motorsports.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Those bricks [on the start/finish line] look really kissable and I’m ready to kiss them!” Zilisch said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Man, this is awesome, 100 wins for [JR Motorsports]. Congrats to [owners] Dale [Earnhardt Jr.], Kelley [Earnhardt-Miller], LW [Miller], everybody’s who’s raced for JRM. Everybody who works at JRM. I’m the smallest part of this team and man, I’m so glad to be a part of it. It’s been such an awesome journey with JRM. It’s so cool to get them 100 [wins]. Winning at Indy is awesome and getting 100 wins for JRM is really cool, too. I consider this a pretty awesome day.”
Pole-sitter Sam Mayer followed Zilisch across the finish line in second place by three-tenths of a second while Taylor Gray, who was within striking distance of notching his first Xfinity career victory, settled in third place. Kyle Larson rallied from his late incident with Justin Allgaier by finishing fourth, while Ryan Sieg came home in fifth place.
Rookie William Sawalich, Sammy Smith, rookie Daniel Dye, Jesse Love, and rookie Dean Thompson completed the top 10 in the final running order. Notably, Austin Hill finished in 34th place, five laps down, following a late accident with Aric Almirola.
There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 29 laps. In addition, 31 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 21st event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the regular-season standings by 21 points over teammate Connor Zilisch, 48 over Sam Mayer, 96 over Jesse Love, and 100 over Austin Hill.
Results:
1. Connor Zilisch, 19 laps led 2. Sam Mayer, 32 laps led, Stage 1 winner 3. Taylor Gray, three laps led 4. Kyle Larson, seven laps led 5. Ryan Sieg 6. William Sawalich 7. Sammy Smith 8. Daniel Dye 9. Jesse Love 10. Dean Thompson 11. Matt DiBenedetto 12. Jeremy Clements 13. Christian Eckes 14. Parker Retzlaff 15. Jeb Burton 16. Kyle Sieg 17. Sheldon Creed 18. Harrison Burton 19. Josh Bilicki 20. Brennan Poole 21. Ryan Ellis 22. Josh Williams 23. Anthony Alfredo 24. Mason Massey 25. Garrett Smithley 26. Leland Honeyman 27. Blaine Perkins 28. Joey Gase 29. David Starr 30. Carson Kvapil 31. Dawson Cram 32. Brandon Jones, three laps down 33. Nick Sanchez, four laps down 34. Austin Hill, five laps down 35. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, two laps led 36. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 37 laps led, Stage 2 winner 37. Katherine Legge – OUT, Electrical 38. Logan Bearden – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is Iowa Speedway for the HyVee Perks 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 2, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday, July 26, 2025
Ford Unofficial Finishing Order
2nd – Sam Mayer 5th – Ryan Sieg 16th – Kyle Sieg 17th – Sheldon Creed 18th – Harrison Burton
SAM MAYER, No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “This one hurts a lot but I’m really proud of these guys. They put the work in over the last couple of weeks, and we’ve gotten better every time we show up to the racetrack. We brought a heater for sure, I was really looking forward to it and I think we had good pace. It’s just that you don’t know what to do, I’m learning on the fly and this is my first full race here.”
RYAN SIEG, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We managed to stay out of trouble and found ourselves right where we needed to be. And top five with our Sci Aps Ford was a great day, and my first top five at Indy is always a plus. We’ve struggled the three weeks before and we finally just turned it around. Things are starting to go our way and we’re executing throughout the race. I feel like Iowa and the next few tracks should be some good ones for us and we should find ourselves back in the playoffs.”
GRAY CONTINUES PERFORMANCE SURGE, FINISHES THIRD IN INDY Toyota’s three rookies shine with top-10 finishes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 26, 2025) – Taylor Gray led Team Toyota with a third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is the third consecutive top-10 run for Gray, and sixth top-10 in the last seven races.
Toyota’s rookie drivers – Gray, William Sawalich and Dean Thompson – all delivered top-10 finishes. Sawalich, who finished sixth, scored his third consecutive top-10 finish, while Thompson (10th) continued his consistent performance with his seventh straight top-20 run.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race 21 of 33 – 250 miles, 100 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Connor Zilisch*
2nd, Sam Mayer*
3rd, TAYLOR GRAY
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Ryan Sieg*
6th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
10th, DEAN THOMPSON
32nd, BRANDON JONES
35th, ARIC ALMIROLA
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Was there any more you could have done there?
“Just got too tight in clean air. That long red flag – before the red flag I was a little free, and then with the long red flag letting the tires heat soak, it just got me too tight, especially when I got clean air, I was tighter all day than when I was in traffic. Just struggled – he was better in me in (turns) one and two. We were comparable to maybe a little better in (turns) three and four. But I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough for bringing a fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra – just got to keep clicking off the good finishes here.”
WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 18 Starkey Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Can you tell us about running in the top-10 at Indy?
“Having three top -10 finishes in a row is really building great momentum for our team. I’m excited for the direction we are trending. Hopefully we can keep this up and consistent top-10s turn into consistent top-fives for our No. 18 Starkey Toyota team.”
DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
Can you tell us about running in the top-10 at Indy?
“It was a frustrating day. In practice, I thought we were pretty strong, and in qualifying we were pretty good, but in race trim, we were just working on the long run. We were badass on the short runs, but not good on the long run. I think we were a 16th-place car, but those restarts really helped me because we were really good on the short run. I think finished off better than we should have, so got to thank Thompson Pip Group, Sam (Hunt, team owner), Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota for giving me a fast Supra and believing in me all day.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 19 Young Life Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
What exactly happened?
“I had a fast race car. Our Young Life Toyota GR Supra was so fast today. We missed the balance to start the race, and we worked on it. We had an unfortunate mishap on pit road and lost some spots and came out 13th, but we were making a lot of progress going forward and thought we still had a chance to win. That’s what I’m most proud of and what I want to focus on – the positives. We had such a great night, last night, with a bunch of Young Life folks – talked a lot about J.D. Gibbs, told a lot of stories about him. I really felt like we were going to have an opportunity to kiss the bricks today, and pay all of the glory to Jesus Christ, and honor J.D. Gibbs and it just didn’t end up that way.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
Monterey, Calif. (Saturday, July 26, 2025) – Brazilian driver Caio Collet is not letting up in his pursuit of the INDY NXT by Firestone championship.
Hours after scoring the top starting position for both Grand Prix of Monterey races this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the HMD Motorsports driver led all 35 laps of the first race. Collet held off series points leader Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global for his second race win this season and his third overall over the past two years.
Collet’s margin of victory was .2092 of a second, making it the closest INDYCAR-sanctioned INDY NXT by Firestone race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Collet also is the series’ 11th consecutive pole winner to reach victory lane at this 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course.
“I think at the beginning of the race we had a really good car with pace,” Collet said. “I was just pushing, praying that everything would stay under control.
“But with a few laps to go I started to see a lot of vibration on my left front (tire), and I’m like, ‘OK.’ So, I worked with my tools, and I could see Dennis was catching me, catching me, catching me. I was counting down the laps, praying that the race was over soon.”
Collet also won the Grand Prix of Road America in June. He will start on the pole for Sunday’s second race, set for 1 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Hauger entered the weekend with a string of five consecutive poles and a 76-point lead over Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes. With Hughes among the eight drivers collected in a series of first-lap incidents and finishing sixth, Hauger’s series lead grew to 81 points with Collet now in the second spot. Hughes is third in the standings, 89 points in arrears. Four races remain.
Hauger has finished first or second in eight of the 10 races this season. He also has finishes of fifth (at World Wide Technology Raceway) and eighth (in Race 1 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course). He will again start from the second position in Sunday’s 35-lap race.
HMD Motorsports’ Josh Pierson finished third, and he will start Race 2 from that position. It is his first career podium in 33 race starts.
The cars of Abel Motorsports’ Jordan Missig and Andretti Global’s Salvador de Alba were out after taking contact in the race’s first few corners. Other drivers involved in the incidents but able to continue were HMD Motorsports’ Juan Manuel Correa and Max Taylor, Andretti Global’s Hughes and James Roe, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Niels Koolen and Andretti Cape Motorsport’s Sebastian Murray.
The race continued under green after that stoppage, which lasted four laps.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Saturday, July 26, 2025) – The NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ title fight will be easy to follow Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The top two championship contenders will start the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey together on the front row.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward will be 1-2 when the green flag drops shortly after 3 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). They happen to be the winners of the season’s past three races and four of the past five.
Palou’s best lap in Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six round was clocked at 1 minute, 8.3413 seconds, and that time was nearly three-tenths of a second quicker than O’Ward’s fastest tour of the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. O’Ward’s lap was 1:08.6280.
O’Ward called Palou’s performance in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda “a monster lap.”
“It felt amazing,” Palou said. “Honestly, the car has been amazing (all weekend). I’ve felt we had a ton of pace, like all year. Everybody at CGR has been doing a tremendous job making me look good on track.”
Last year, Palou won this race for the second time in three years, and his average finish in four races is 1.8. He won the 2022 race by more than 30 seconds. O’Ward’s average finish at this track is 7.5.
A win Sunday would all but cement Palou’s third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years. He holds a 99-point lead heading to the season’s final four races, and winning the pole will add another point to his accumulation.
Palou already has seven wins in the season’s first 13 races, and he is driving toward history. The record for most series wins in a season has stood since A.J. Foyt won 10 of the 13 races in 1964. Six years later, Al Unser matched that total in 18 races. Only eight drivers have won eight or more races in a given season.
The NTT P1 Award was Palou’s fifth of the season, tying his personal mark set in 2023.
O’Ward was pleased to earn his third front-row start of the season – he was on the pole at The Thermal Club in late March and qualified third for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge – but he knows a massive challenge awaits him.
“(Palou) is the guy we have to beat, and he’s starting in front of us,” the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet said. “We’ll see what tomorrow has in store (for us).”
Like Palou, O’Ward has goals to pursue. He set a personal mark last year with three race wins; he has two so far this season. He also is seeking his first title at this level after winning the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2018.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who won this event in 2023, is one of the four drivers to have won races this season. But the driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda did not advance to the second round of qualifying and will start the race from the 19th position. Only once in the 27 previous series races has the winner started outside the top 11. Max Papis won the 2001 race from the 25th position.
Palou, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood (three wins) and O’Ward are the other race winners this season. Kirkwood will start 18th in the No. 27 JM Bullion Honda after bobbling on the exit of the track’s famous Corkscrew corner.
The only incident of note in qualifying occurred when Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian went wide in Turn 5 late in the second round. The driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian was on pace to advance to the Firestone Fast Six until the slide into the gravel pit required a local yellow, which by rule disqualified the Swede’s fastest lap. He will start Sunday’s race from the 12th position.
“I went in (to Turn 5) a little hard and I couldn’t save it,” the event’s 2023 pole winner said. “It’s unfortunate. Yeah, it is what it is. My bad.”
Qualifying was the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ first session of the day as the morning practice was cancelled amid lingering fog on the Monterey Peninsula. With the same weather expected Sunday morning, INDYCAR officials rescheduled the weekend’s third and final practice to the end of this day.
