DETROIT (Sunday, June 1, 2025) – Dennis Hauger quickly figured out the best way to avoid potential and real chaos Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix – stay out front.
Pole sitter Hauger, from Norway, led all 45 laps of the race on the streets of downtown Detroit in the No. 28 Rental Group car for his fourth victory in five races this season in the INDYCAR development series. He held off the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car of 2024 series Rookie of the Year Caio Collet by 1.0460 seconds in a one-lap dash for the checkered flag after a restart at the end of Lap 44.
“The tires, they cool down really quickly, so that last lap was sketchy,” Hauger said. “I think I heated up the tires nicely, and we got a good gap after the back straight.
“Super happy with that. We kept it clean, and we got a good win today.”
Hauger expanded his series lead to 38 points over fellow rookie teammate Lochie Hughes, who is the only other driver to win a race this season.
Rookie Juan Manuel Correa earned his career-best finish of third in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports car. His previous best result was 14th in the second race of the Indianapolis road course doubleheader last month.
Series veteran Josh Pierson completed a solid day for HMD Motorsports, which fielded the cars that finished second, third and fourth, with a fourth-place result in the team’s No. 16 machine. Hughes rallied from a late pit stop due to a damaged front wing to round out the top five in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car.
Just six of the 20 cars in the race finished on the lead lap, as the tight confines of the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary circuit on the streets of downtown Detroit induced chaos nearly from the green flag.
At the start, Hauger and Hughes raced side by side into the first turn, with Hauger clinging to the top spot. In Turn 4 on the same lap, the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car of Myles Rowe was sent into a spin due to rear contact from the No. 17 car of teammate Callum Hedge.
That incident spawned a caution period due to a bottleneck that blocked the track and led to an accordion effect of collisions, with nine cars involved and many suffering damage.
Hauger held steady on the restart on Lap 3 and gradually eased away from Hughes and Andretti Global teammate Salvador de Alba in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine.
De Alba passed Hughes for second place on Lap 5 and stayed within four-tenths of a second of Hauger by Lap 10.
But Hauger expanded his lead to 1.5 seconds by Lap 19 as de Alba, Hughes, Collet and Correa dueled – often side by side – for second through fifth. There was some contact, and the front wings on the cars of Hughes and de Alba were damaged.
The wing damage, which also included rubbing a deep groove into his right front Firestone Firehawk tire, forced de Alba to pit from second place on Lap 24. Hauger had all but checked out up front by then, ahead by 6.5 seconds.
Hughes’ front-wing damage compromised his car’s performance, and Collet passed him for second on Lap 38. Hughes was forced to pit for a front wing change on Lap 39 from third place.
It looked like Hauger was going to canter to the checkered flag, as his lead had reached double digits by Lap 40. But Jordan Missig spun exiting Turn 2 on Lap 41 in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, triggering the second and final caution of the race and erasing Hauger’s big lead.
The field lined up for a final restart and one-lap shootout at the end of Lap 44, but Hauger got a big jump at the green and never was threatened by Collet or Correa.
The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It’s the first of four oval races this season for the series.
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Titan Risk Solutions Chevrolet Team Overcome Tight Handling Condition to Finish Eighth at Nashville Superspeedway
Finish: 8th Start: 15th Points: 4th
“We fought a tight balance all night with our No. 2 Titan Risk Solutions Chevrolet. Danny Stockman (crew chief) made good calls, but we just couldn’t get our car free enough early on. The pit crew gained positions on each stop which got us track position when we needed it most. At the end of the race, our car was really good on the long run, and we raced our way back into the top 10 with less than 50 laps to go. To finish eighth is a testament to our Richard Childress Racing team after the handling issues we faced today. We will go back to work and figure out what we can do better.” -Jesse Love
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Continue Top-10 Finishing Streak at Nashville Superspeedway
Finish: 7th Start: 2nd Points: 2nd
“The balance of our No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet went through a lot of changes tonight, but we kept working on it. After starting on the front row, I felt track position was going to be a key and it was. From the drop of the green flag, our car was just too tight. I needed a big swing in the middle of the race, and Chad (Haney, crew chief) made a lot of adjustments to try and loosen the balance up. Nothing seemed to really fix the issue, but I think there are things from the adjustments that we can learn. Overall, we are leaving with another top-10 finish and stage points. We’ll keep digging together.” -Austin Hill
ALMIROLA DELIVERS ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH AT NASHVILLE Phoenix winner earns fourth top-10 in sixth start this season
NASHVILLE (May 31, 2025) – Aric Almirola led Toyota with a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday evening.
William Sawalich started from the pole for the first time this season and led the first 37 laps of the race before suffering a spin late in the race. He was scored in 35th.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Nashville Superspeedway Race 14 of 33 – 250.04 miles, 188 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, William Bryon* 2nd, Connor Zilisch* 3rd, Nick Sanchez* 4th, Justin Allgaier* 5th, Sammy Smith* 6th, ARIC ALMIROLA 14th, BRANDON JONES 20th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT 26th, TAYLOR GRAY 34th, DEAN THOMPSON 35th, WILLIAM SAWALICH *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 19 Young Life Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Heck of a battle with Ross Chastain there late. Can you talk about your finish? “Yeah, that was fun. Gosh, I wish that was for the win. It was fun. I love coming back and driving these race cars. We are just off right now. We are working really hard to figure it out, but we are just off. We don’t have whatever the JRM (JR Motorsports) cars have. We are looking for it, for sure, but we can’t find it. They are about a tenth to two tenths better than us at every race track we go to right now. We have work to do, but I have a blast every time I get back in these race cars. I have so much fun. They are so much fun to race. I really enjoy it. Racing with Ross (Chastain) was a lot of fun. He got the better of me on the long run, I just got way too tight.”
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.
Justin Allgaier redeemed himself from a late loss at Charlotte Motor Speedway a week ago to score a dominant victory in the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, May 31.
The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Riverton, Illinois, led three times for a race-high 101 of 188 scheduled laps. He started in fourth place, raced up front in the early stages and assumed the lead on Lap 42. Allgaier claimed the first stage victory under caution and dominated the second stage period under green flag conditions. But he lost the lead to Sheldon Creed during a late-race restart with 80 laps remaining.
Following a four-tire pit service during a caution period with nearly 50 laps remaining, Allgaier executed a bold three-wide move on Brandon Jones and teammate Connor Zilisch during the final restart with 48 laps remaining to reassume the top spot. From there, Allgaier weaved through lapped traffic and fended off Zilisch to cruise to his second victory at Music City and third of the 2025 Xfinity campaign.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, rookie William Sawalich notched his second Xfinity career pole position and the first of the 2025 season with a pole-winning lap at 155.152 mph in 30.860 seconds. Joining Sawalich on the front row was Austin Hill, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 154.731 mph in 30.944 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter William Sawalich fended off Austin Hill through the frontstretch to muscle ahead and lead the field through the first two turns. Hill, who was locked in a brief side-by-side battle with Sam Mayer through the first two turns, would then muscle ahead through the backstretch and get close to Sawalich’s rear bumper through Turns 3 and 4. Sawalich, however, managed to fend off Hill’s challenge to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Sawalich maintained a steady advantage over Hill while Justin Allgaier tracked down Hill for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Mayer retained fourth place ahead of rookie Carson Kvapil while Aric Almirola, Ross Chastain, rookie Nick Sanchez, Sheldon Creed and Ryan Sieg were racing in the top-10 mark ahead of Jesse Love, rookie Christian Eckes, rookie Connor Zilisch, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones. As Sawalich continued to lead through to the Lap 10 mark, Hill also continued to fend off both Allgaier and Mayer for the runner-up spot.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Sawalich extended his lead to more than a second over Allgaier while Hill, who dropped to third place, trailed by one-and-a-half seconds. By then, Mayer and Chastain were racing in the top five while Almirola, Kvapil, Creed, Sanchez and Ryan Sieg pursued in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Sawalich stabilized his early advantage to more than one-and-half seconds over Allgaier while third-place Hill and fourth-place Mayer both trailed by three seconds. Behind, fifth-place Chastain pursued by five seconds while top-10 racers Almirola, Kvapil, Creed, Sanchez and Jesse Love all trailed by as far back as 11 seconds.
Another five laps later, the event’s first caution flew when both Parker Retzlaff and Kyle Sieg wrecked through Turns 3 and 4. The incident, which started when Sieg got loose and made contact with Retzlaff that sent the latter spinning sideways entering Turn 3, left Retzlaff’s No. 4 Dove MenCare Chevrolet Camaro entry with significant damage as he slapped the outside wall while Sieg, who slid through the turns, managed to continue without sustaining significant damage to his No. 28 Shannon Speck’s Electric Ford Mustang entry.
During the event’s first caution period, nearly the entire field led by Sawalich pitted while the rest that included rookie Daniel Dye, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Jeb Burton, Matt DiBenedetto and Myatt Snider remained on the track.
With four laps remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, Dye tried to muscle his No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of Jones from the inside lane through the frontstretch. Dye then got sideways and went wide in front of Jones entering Turn 1, which allowed Jeremy Clements to capitalize and take the lead entering the backstretch. With Matt DiBenedetto also moving up into second place, the field fanned out through the backstretch as Clements led the following lap over DiBenedetto and a hard-charging Allgaier. Allgaier would then use his four fresh tires to zip past DiBenedetto for the lead through the backstretch for the following lap.
Then on the final lap of the first stage period (Lap 44), the caution returned when Corey Day spun his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry in Turn 2. Day’s incident concluded the first stage period that was initially scheduled to conclude on Lap 45 as Allgaier was awarded his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Clements followed suit in second ahead of DiBenedetto, Hill and Dye while Creed, Mayer, Kvapil, Brandon Jones and Connor Zilisch were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, some led by Clements and including DiBenedetto, Dye, Ryan Sieg and Jones, all of whom did not pit prior to the first stage’s conclusion, pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track. Sanchez, Myatt Snider, Blaine Perkins, Jeb Burton, Thomas Annunziata, Kris Wright, Nick Leitz, Logan Bearden, Mason Maggio and Mason Massey would also pit their respective entries.
The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Allgaier and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Allgaier used the inside lane to power his No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of Hill through the first two turns. Allgaier would proceed to lead from the backstretch and back to the frontstretch, where he led the following lap while Hill, Creed and Kvapil pursued in single-line formation. Behind, Almirola and Mayer were engaged in a side-by-side battle for fifth place in front of Zilisch and Sammy Smith.
Over the next five laps, Almirola would muscle ahead with fifth place and Zilisch would move into sixth place. Meanwhile, Josh Williams carved his way up to seventh place while Sammy Smith, Chastain and Mayer all fiercely battled for eighth place. Amid the battles, Allgaier stretched his lead to nearly two seconds by Lap 60.
Following another caution period that occurred on Lap 61 due to Blaine Perkins spinning through the frontstretch’s grass due to contact with Thomas Annunziata, the start of the next restart on Lap 65 featured Allgaier using the inside lane to muscle ahead of Hill entering the first two turns for a second consecutive time. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Creed challenged Hill for the runner-up spot while Taylor Gray, Mayer, Sammy Smith and Chastain nearly battled through four laps within the top 10 entering Turns 3 and 4. Amid the tight racing, every competitor kept their respective entries racing straight as Allgaier led the following lap.
At the Lap 70 mark, Allgaier extended his lead to more than a second over Creed while Hill, Zilisch and Almirola pursued in the top five ahead of Chastain, Kvapil, Mayer, Eckes and Gray, respectively. Behind, Sammy Smith, Dye, Jesse Love, Harrison Burton, Josh Williams, Sawalich, Dean Thompson, Nick Sanchez, DiBenedetto and Ryan Sieg trailed in the top 20 ahead of Brandon Jones, Brennan Poole, Ryan Ellis, Kyle Sieg and Corey Day while Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over Creed by Lap 75.
By Lap 80, Allgaier added another second to his advantage as he led by two seconds over Creed. Meanwhile, Almirola marched up to third place despite trailing the lead by four seconds and Zilisch was up into fourth place as he trailed the lead by five seconds. Behind, Hill dropped to fifth place despite trailing the lead by five seconds. Hill would then lose fifth place to Chastain during the following lap while Allgaier extended his lead to three seconds at the Lap 85 mark.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Allgaier captured his second consecutive Xfinity stage victory of the event and his sixth of the 2025 season. Creed pursued in second place by two-and-a-half seconds while Almirola, Zilisch, Chastain, Mayer, Hill, Kvapil, Eckes and Daniel Dye were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Allgaier peeled off the track to pit for service. Following the pit stops, Creed beat Allgaier off of pit road first while Zilisch, Mayer, Almirola, Hill, Kvapil, Gray, Dye and Love followed suit, respectively.
With 90 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Creed and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, however, the caution quickly returned when a stack-up at the front of the field triggered both a chain reaction and a multi-car wreck through the frontstretch. The accident occurred as Eckes T-boned into the rear of Harrison Burton, which left Eckes with a crumbled front nose to his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro entry, while Brandon Jones got bumped by both Corey Day and Ryan Sieg that sent Jones’ No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra spinning. Kyle Sieg, Josh Williams, Ryan Ellis, Anthony Alfredo would also sustain damage to their respective entries as all spun through the frontstretch. At the moment of caution, Creed had maintained the lead over Allgaier while Zilisch, Mayer, Almirola and Hill were in the top six.
The start of the following restart with 80 laps remaining featured Creed using the inside lane to muscle his No. 00 Ollie’s Ford Mustang entry ahead of Allgaier through the first two turns while Zilisch pursued in third place. Behind, Mayer pursued in fourth place ahead of Almirola, Hill and Gray while Kvapil was mixed in a tight battle with Love, Chastain and Daniel Dye for eighth place. Amid the battles within the field, Creed led the following lap and he would continue to lead by a tenth of a second over Zilisch with 70 laps remaining before Zilisch stormed to the top spot a lap later.
With 60 laps remaining, Zilisch retained the lead in his No. 88 Blues Hog Chevrolet Camaro entry by six-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while Creed fell back to third place in front of teammate Mayer and Almirola. Six laps later, the caution returned when Sawalich, who was battling teammate Taylor Gray and Sammy Smith for 11th place, ran into the side of Smith in the backstretch and spun his No. 18 Starkey Toyota Supra entry through the backstretch’s infield grass.
Down to the final 48 laps, the event restarted under green as Brandon Jones, who opted for a fuel-only pit service during the previous caution period, shared the front row with Zilisch, the latter of whom was among many who pitted for fresh tires. At the start, Allgaier used his four fresh tires to throw a big three-wide move beneath both Jones and teammate Zilisch through the frontstretch. With Jones quickly slipping back, Allgaier then used the inside lane to muscle ahead of Zilisch and clear him for the lead entering the backstretch. Behind, Creed, Almirola and Mayer all overtook Jones to move into the top five as Allgaier led the following lap.
With 40 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Zilisch while Creed, Mayer and Almirola pursued in the top five ahead of Chastain, Hill, Dye, Gray and Sammy Smith. Allgaier would proceed to slight stretch his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Zilisch 10 laps later.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Allgaier maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Zilisch. Behind, Creed trailed in third place by nearly two seconds while Mayer and Almirola trailed in the top five ahead of Chastain, Hill, Dye, Love and Gray, respectively.
With 10 laps remaining, Allgaier stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Zilisch. By then, Mayer was racing in third place ahead of teammate Creed and Chastain as Allgaier proceeded to further extend his lead to more than a second with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained in the lead by over Zilisch. Despite being mired in traffic, Allgaier was able to smoothly navigate his way around Nashville Superspeedway smoothly for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed his third checkered flag of the 2025 season.
With the victory, Allgaier notched his 38th career win in the Xfinity Series division, his second at Nashville Superspeedway and his first since he won back-to-back races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively, in March. Allgaier’s Nashville victory marked the 12th of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate, the sixth in a row for the manufacturer in recent weeks and the sixth of the 2025 campaign for JR Motorsports, with the organization also six victories away from reaching 100 Xfinity victories overall.
“These [No. 7] guys right here, they deserve this one more than anything,” Allgaier said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “I screwed them over last week by making a pit call that had equally as good of a car. This Hellmann’s Chevrolet was just absolutely on rails. There’s no cooler feeling than to win at a place like this, Nashville. The fans here are incredible. This race is special to me and I said before the race that I really wanted to get a second [Gibson] guitar for both [of my daughters] to have a guitar. They can fight over both of them or one of them, whatever.”
“I didn’t know what to do [prior to the final restart] and [crew chief] Jim Pohlman standing right over there was the guy,” Allgaier added. “He’s always the one that pushes me to be my best. Eddie D’Hondt, spotter, same [at] just pushing me to be my best. On that restart, I knew that [Brandon Jones] had old tires. I wasn’t sure how good [the race] was going to launch, but I knew at the start/finish line, we had to be able to get to his inside and then just obviously having clean air, being out front, race a lot of fun with Connor [Zilisch] there. I knew whoever of the two of us got out front was going to be the difference maker and ultimately, [it] was us. So, it was a great day.”
Teammate Connor Zilisch notched his second consecutive runner-up result in recent weeks and since returning from a one-race absence due to a lower back injury from a final-lap accident at Talladega Superspeedway in late April. Amid the disappointment of being one position shy of winning for a second consecutive race, Zilisch was still left pleased with his performance and result.
“I thought I might be able to get back by [Allgaier], but clean air was everything,” Zilisch said. “The first 20 laps of a run, if you had the clean air, you were going to prevail on the long run, keeping your stuff cooler and not having to run as hard. Congrats to Justin. He did a really good job executing on that restart. It’s the second week in a row I finished second because of a restart. It’s frustrating. Really happy with the progress we’ve been making. Being frustrated with second’s a good thing.”
Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed finished third and fourth, respectively, while Ross Chastain secured his second top-five result in his third Xfinity start of the year with JR Motorsports in fifth place.
Aric Almirola, Austin Hill, Jesse Love, rookie Daniel Dye and rookie Carson Kvapil completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Sammy Smith, Corey Day, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones and rookie Nick Sanchez finished in the top 15 while rookie Taylor Gray, who was initially poised for a top-20 result, dropped to 26th place in the final running order after he had light smoke billowing out of his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra entry in the closing laps.
There were eight lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 39 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 14th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 92 points over Austin Hill, 111 over Sam Mayer, 151 over Jesse Love and 189 over Connor Zilisch.
Results:
1. Justin Allgaier, 101 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner 2. Connor Zilisch, 18 laps led 3. Sam Mayer 4. Sheldon Creed, 25 laps led 5. Ross Chastain 6. Aric Almirola 7. Austin Hill 8. Jesse Love 9. Daniel Dye, three laps led 10. Carson Kvapil 11. Sammy Smith 12. Corey Day 13. Harrison Burton 14. Brandon Jones, three laps led 15. Nick Sanchez 16. Jeb Burton 17. Brennan Poole 18. Josh Williams 19. Jeremy Clements, one lap led 20. Jeffrey Earnhardt 21. Thomas Annunziata, one lap down 22. Ryan Sieg, one lap down 23. Myatt Snider, one lap down 24. Logan Bearden, one lap down 25. Mason Massey, one lap down 26. Taylor Gray, one lap down 27. Kyle Sieg, one lap down 28. Nick Leitz, one lap down 29. Mason Maggio, one lap down 30. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down 31. Blaine Perkins, one lap down 32. Kris Wright, one lap down 33. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down 34. Dean Thompson, four laps down 35. William Sawalich – OUT, Engine, 37 laps led 36. Christian Eckes – OUT, Accident 37. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident 38. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico, for The Chilango 150. The event is scheduled to occur on June 14 and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
Kalitta continues to roll in qualifying; Prock and C. Coughlin also take No. 1 spots at New England Dragway
EPPING, N.H. (May 31, 2025) – Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta continued an incredible qualifying run on Saturday at New England Dragway, keeping Kalitta Motorsports undefeated in Top Fuel in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a victory over Tony Stewart, setting the track speed record and also qualifying No. 1 for the fourth straight race at the 12th annual NHRA New England Nationals.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge as well, while Austin Prock (Funny Car) and Cody Coughlin (Pro Stock) qualified No. 1 at the seventh of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Kalitta Motorsports’ Top Fuel duo of Kalitta and Langdon have now won all six Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus races in 2025, with Kalitta taking his fourth victory of the year after going 3.670-seconds at 337.24 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster. It also sent him back to the No. 1 spot for the fourth straight race and the fifth time in seven races during what was the latest spectacular showing in qualifying.
Kalitta’s massive speed set the track record as well, as the veteran looks to win in Epping for the second straight year and pick up his first 2025 event victory as well.
“(Crew chief) Alan Johnson and the guys have been doing a great job. The car left straight and felt great, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Kalitta said. “We’ve been qualifying really well. I’m looking for a great Sunday.
“This Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge is a great idea. It gives fans something exciting to watch and it’s fun for us too. It’s a little like sprint car racing where you’re racing every day. I’m definitely having fun with all of this. Let’s keep it up.”
Stewart, who has won back-to-back races to move into the points lead, is second with a 3.694 at 330.55 and reigning world champion Antron Brown is third after going 3.697 at 337.07.
In Funny Car, the John Force Racing duo of Jack Beckman and Austin Prock dominated qualifying, with Beckman claiming the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory over Matt Hagan and Prock holding on to the No. 1 qualifier spot.
Beckman, who won the most recent event in Chicago, went 3.913 at 316.52 to get his second win in the specialty race this season in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS. Beckman continues to roll since taking over driving duties for defending event winner John Force, and he’s thrilled to get a chance to race at New England Dragway.
Beckman was also impressed with the job his team did on Saturday in Epping.
“This was one of the wildest Saturdays I’ve ever been part of. We had to do a full engine change before (the final) round, no warm-up, just bolt it in and go,” Beckman said. “The crew thrashed, I had to hang out by the car to make up time for Matt, and we got it fired. I didn’t even know if we’d get it done today, but it looks cool as hell now. The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge gives us a race within qualifying, and that adds so much more meaning.
“This place is as cool as it gets. Austin’s team makes it look easy. What both our crews did today, it’s awe-inspiring. I’m a huge historian of this sport and it means the world to be part of it like this.”
Nobody could touch Prock’s 3.860 at 331.69 from Friday in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, though the points leader came close with a 3.867 to close out qualifying. That was a solid sign for Prock, who picked up his second No. 1 of the season and the 20th in his career. He’ll open eliminations against Buddy Hull as the defending world champion looks for his third win of the year.
“We went out there and laid down another strong run. That’s two No. 1 qualifiers in a row for us and we’re just getting started,” said Prock, who set a Funny Car record a year ago with 15 No. 1 qualifiers. “There’s still more on the table. If we need to push it harder, I believe there’s more in this car. I’ve always said, all I ever wanted to do was drive a Funny Car. Then all I wanted was to line up against John Force like my grandfather did. Now I’m doing it at this level with this team – it’s surreal.”
Bob Tasca III qualified second with a 3.891 at 335.40 and Paul Lee’s 3.891 at 329.18 gave him the third spot.
Pro Stock’s Matt Hartford is in the midst of his own impressive streak in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, winning for the third time in four races in the specialty event by defeating Dave Connolly with a run of 6.557 at 207.88 in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro on Saturday.
It also gives Hartford a class-best 13 bonus championship points thus far, which will translate nicely for the veteran in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He’ll look to double-up on Sunday and win for first time in 2025 in what has been a resounding bounce back year for Hartford.
“Anytime you’re racing Dave Connolly, you know you’re lining up against one of the best Pro Stock drivers ever. He’s proved it over and over again,” Hartford said. “We were both running KB (Titan Racing) power, so it came down to who did a better job on the track. I’m proud to say that today, our team did. It’s a testament to our crew, our prep, and our execution.
“We’ve got 13 Mission points now — that’s over half a round heading into the Countdown. Every point counts. We know Greg (Anderson) and Dallas (Glenn) are out front right now in regular season points, but once they reset in Indy, we want to be right there with them.”
The first career No. 1 qualifier is official for rookie Cody Coughlin, as Friday’s 6.537 at 210.28 in his Cody Coughlin Construction Chevrolet Camaro stood up on Saturday. It marked a special moment for the driver just six races into his NHRA career and he’ll look to build on that during eliminations on Sunday. Coughlin opens raceday against Brandon Miller.
“This is only my sixth drag race ever, so to earn my first No. 1 qualifier award already is really special,” Coughlin said. “Coming from the circle track world, I never expected this would be easy. The KB Titan group builds rocket ships, and the level of competition out here is intense, even among teams using the same power. You have to do everything right to make a run like that, and I’m just proud we were able to put those numbers on the board. I hope this is just the beginning of more good things to come this year.”
Defending world champ Anderson qualified second thanks to a 6.537 at 209.95 and points leader Glenn is third after going 6.539 at 210.28.
Eliminations for the New England Nationals begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday at New England Dragway.
EPPING, N.H. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 12th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the seventh of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.670 seconds, 337.24 mph vs. Bye; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.694, 330.55 vs. 15. Rit Pustari, 9.724, 75.76; 3. Antron Brown, 3.697, 337.07 vs. 14. Mike Bucher, 5.236, 131.96; 4. Shawn Reed, 3.702, 334.24 vs. 13. Scott Farley, 4.139, 224.14; 5. Brittany Force, 3.703, 336.40 vs. 12. Clay Millican, 3.860, 293.79; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.716, 334.48 vs. 11. Dan Mercier, 3.761, 329.18; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.717, 336.99 vs. 10. Josh Hart, 3.753, 329.18; 8. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.741, 330.55 vs. 9. Steve Torrence, 3.746, 335.07.
Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.860, 334.48 vs. 16. Buddy Hull, Dodge Charger, 4.190, 309.70; 2. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.891, 335.40 vs. 15. Phil Burkart, Ford Mustangh, 4.140, 303.30; 3. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.891, 329.18 vs. 14. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.022, 317.49; 4. Blake Alexander, Charger, 3.899, 328.70 vs. 13. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.953, 326.32; 5. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.908, 326.87 vs. 12. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.952, 291.63; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 3.909, 331.77 vs. 11. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.928, 329.91; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.909, 329.83 vs. 10. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.922, 329.75; 8. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.911, 328.70 vs. 9. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.920, 329.83.
Pro Stock — 1. Cody Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.537, 210.28 vs. 16. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.658, 205.63; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.537, 209.95 vs. 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.623, 207.91; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.539, 210.60 vs. 14. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.596, 208.36; 4. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.543, 208.81 vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.595, 208.88; 5. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.549, 209.59 vs. 12. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.594, 207.59; 6. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.555, 209.46 vs. 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.582, 208.14; 7. Dave Connolly, Camaro, 6.558, 209.01 vs. 10. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.566, 208.46; 8. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.564, 208.65 vs. 9. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.565, 209.26.
EPPING, N.H. — Saturday’s final results from the 12th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway. The race is the seventh of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
Pro Stock Challenge — Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.557, 207.88 def. Dave Connolly, Camaro, 6.567, 208.36.
Funny Car Challenge — Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.913, 316.52 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.920, 329.83.
Top Fuel Challenge — Doug Kalitta, 3.670 seconds, 337.24 mph def. Tony Stewart, 3.694 seconds, 330.55 mph.
EPPING, N.H. — Final round-by-round results from the 12th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the seventh of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Tony Stewart, 3.727, 329.75 def. Steve Torrence, 7.263, 76.72; Doug Kalitta, 3.724, 327.51 def. Justin Ashley, 4.268, 196.02;
FINAL — D. Kalitta, 3.670, 337.24 def. T. Stewart, 3.694, 330.55.
FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 4.132, 234.29 def. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 4.707, 172.54; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.451, 195.31 def. Austin Prock, 5.399, 171.23;
FINAL — J. Beckman, 3.913, 316.52 def. M. Hagan, 3.920, 329.83.
PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:
ROUND ONE — Dave Connolly, Chevy Camaro, 6.558, 207.82 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 11.856, 73.91; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.580, 209.46 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, Foul – Red Light;
FINAL — M. Hartford, 6.557, 207.88 def. D. Connolly, 6.567, 208.36.
Garcia, Sims, No. 3 Corvette go from eighth to second in GTD PRO after wild street race
DETROIT (May 31, 2025) – Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims led the way home for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports on Saturday with an inspired drive to second place from eighth on the GTD PRO grid of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic.
The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R squad made its way from eighth at the start to an improbable runner-up result in a chaotic 100-minute race at the 1.654-mile, nine-turn street circuit around GM’s global headquarters.
It marked the second consecutive podium finish and third of the season for the Sims and Garcia – they also finished second in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. More importantly, the two gained 40 points in the fight for the GTD PRO Drivers championship races heading into the summer stretch for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Teammates Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg weathered early contact that seemingly undid their race, but the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R managed to claw back from 10th in class after five minutes to sixth at the end.
Garcia took the start in the No. 3 Corvette and moved up to fourth for the majority of his 30-minute stint. He stopped from the class lead, and the team lost only two spots after taking fuel and a mighty outlap for Sims. He moved up into second when the then-class leader had to make its second stop of the race and set out for the win.
Sims set the fastest lap of the race a couple of laps into his stint and got to within a half-second of the class-winning car before taking the checkered flag in second.
Meanwhile, Catsburg ran as high as fifth as the race’s second and final full-course yellow bunched up the field for the final 30 minutes. The team took advantage of the late yellow to make its final pit stop, which put Catsburg back to seventh in GTD PRO. He appeared set for a top-five finish until he and the No. 77 Porsche were assessed dual drive-through penalties for late-race contact while fighting for position.
The next race in IMSA for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, June 22 from Watkins Glen International.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think we played it very well. It is difficult to stay calm and make the moves and so on. But yeah, I just tried to be smart. Probably at times I lost positions, but then I got them back and from that point on, I think I knew how to play it, so saving fuel, and relying on all the practice we did in the pits. So I think that’s where we really jumped everyone also on the stop. It’s a shame that we were behind the 64 for over an hour. We couldn’t really pass that car so that’s a long time following that one. But after all that happened yesterday, I think we can be happy with this. Alex did great, the team was great and the Corvette was great. Thanks to everybody.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “If I’m perfectly honest, no, I didn’t think this sort of result would be possible with a relatively normal strategy. But people fell off all around us. We gained a few positions on the pit stop, we had good pace in clear air, anyway. And it worked out for us this time. It’s impossible to overtake the Ford, but we had the car underneath us. Our Corvette was really working well around the streets here in Detroit. And yeah, after the pit stop I took some big risks to try to get the laptime on the outlap in case we needed to jump people on the stop, which we ended up doing so it paid off. for sure. It all worked out well. I couldn’t ask for much more. The team did a great job. The Corvette felt nice. Thanks to Pratt Miller and everyone on the team.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “A typical street race and a place where it’s hard to pass. We got roughed up a little bit right at the start, and then got roughed up again the next corner after that. Obviously, we had a little issue with the bumper, which of course, doesn’t affect the driving but we knew what to expect at that point. But frustrating for sure. It really didn’t have a massive effect on our race in reality… not good for it, for sure, but that was one of the strategies that we actually discussed – basically pitting very early. So we kind of had a plan for that anyway.
“At the end, Nicky and the Corvette were certainly fast, no doubt about it. I can only imagine what Nicky feels like. I know he had some frustration built up. But it’s street racing. Everybody gives a little bit. Sometimes you take a little bit, sometimes you give a bit more than you take. It’s just kind of how it goes sometimes. Obviously, we’re fighting hard to get a good result for ourselves but obviously our car needs to be in better shape than what it has been in the last couple of races. I think that’ll be our plan going forward – just focusing on having a clean race and hoping that that’s the key to our success.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We tried and we fought hard again. But today, it wasn’t meant to be for us. I think we had good pace in the car. We showed it all race. I tried quite hard with the Porsche but I couldn’t pass him. We got together so yeah, we were racing hard… a little bit too hard, but that happens. That’s part of it. And you race each other the same way. I’m happy for the sister car that they got their good result. And I think honestly, we should have been there as well.”
Corvette Racing high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Chase Briscoe NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
NASHVILLE (May 31, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
This is Chase Briscoe’s second straight pole and third this season (Daytona, Charlotte).
With Briscoe, William Sawalich (Xfinity) and Corey Heim (Trucks – set by the rule book) on the poles for this weekend’s races – Toyota has swept the NASCAR national series pole positions for the second straight weekend.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
What does it mean to win two straight poles?
“I guess it was a good enough lap. Alan Cavanna (PRN) was asking me right before I went out what it takes to run a perfect lap here and I said I don’t know. I think the best I’ve ever qualified here was like 20th. It was a surprise. I felt like it was a good lap. I definitely felt like I left a little bit on the table, but I felt like it was a smooth, clean lap and I felt like for sure it was going to be a top-five lap, but it was a surprise that it was as fast as it was. It is nice to start on the pole two weeks in a row. Hopefully, we can do better tomorrow than we did last week, but certainly, this track is very, very track position dependent, so to able to start on the pole is going to be a huge advantage for us. Hopefully, we can hold that advantage.”
Where did you fish with Kevin VanDam?
“We actually went to Luke Bryan’s place which was ridiculous. Just to fish with Kevin VanDam – I was telling people, it is like playing catch with Tom Brady. He is literally the greatest of all time, so to be able to go fish with Kevin, and obviously with the Bass Pro connection, it is just super, super cool. We probably caught 60 to 70 something fish, and a couple seven pounders, which is a personal best for me. It was just a super, super cool day and hopefully, can fish with Kevin a lot more. I told him that hopefully I didn’t use up all of my luck on Thursday and Friday fishing with him, but so far it seems to still be there.”
Was it all bass?
“Yeah, all bass.”
How did you feel about your car in race trim?
“I thought my car in race trim could have been better for sure. I knew that I was behind the 9 (Chase Elliott), the 11 (Denny Hamlin), the 45 (Tyler Reddick) – the 11 was definitely better than me, especially on the long runs specifically, but I thought my car was a top-10 car. I didn’t think it was good enough to win, per say, if we had to race today. We definitely need to make some adjustments on it, but it was at least in the mix. I needed to be a little bit better to be what the 11 was, or even the 12 (Ryan Blaney) or the 45. Hopefully, that track position will help that, and also, we will make our car better. It has been a place that hasn’t been great to me. I kind of just don’t fully know what I need. I’m always searching here, and talking to Denny after practice, I felt like I learned some stuff, so hopefully I can put it all together tomorrow.”
Are the temperatures the reason for the new track record?
“Every year the teams get better, so that is one reason right? I don’t know if the left side tires or the tires were any different. I have no idea, but I definitely think the weather being a little cooler – I don’t think I ever remember qualifying this late here either, so I don’t know if that has something to do with it. I think a lot of it is just the teams get better and better and understand what they need to do to make their cars faster. I don’t know how much the track record was before, but it certainly seems like almost everywhere we go anymore we are a little bit faster between car setup and even the engines, right? They are constantly gaining a couple horsepower every time we go back. It is a multitude of things.”
What is the difficulty of Nashville?
“Truthfully, this is one of those places that your car is so important just from a car capability. In the past here, truthfully, my car just hasn’t been very good. It is just on top of the race track, not doing what you want it to do. I say it all of the time, but (Kevin) Harvick used to say – you can’t drive a slow car, fast. I came here today, and my first lap of practice – it was the best driving car of my life here. It just drives better, has better grip, turns better, goes faster. It just makes my job way easier. Honestly, I think that is a lot of it. For whatever reason, at SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing), we just struggled really, really bad here. This is one of those tracks that I feel like you can’t really get a lot more out of it. Whatever it is, is what it is. You might be able to pick up a couple of positions, but you are not going to go from a 25th place car to leading the race. Just comes all down to car at this level, to a certain extent. I’m in, arguably, one of the best cars every single week, so it makes my job a lot easier.”
What do you do tonight to make this car better tomorrow?
“I will just tell him, typically, where I feel like I’m losing time. A lot of the time, where I think I’m losing time, is not where I’m losing the most time, and they are like, well I think we need to look at this or work on that. In between James (Small, crew chief) and the engineers – we will all look at data and try to understand, okay, where is the best car better than us at and what do we need to do different to make our car better there. James and the 19 team have a pretty good understanding kind of every week of what they need to do from Saturday to Sunday, obviously, that changes based on where you qualify and your track position. Last week was a great example, we set up our car to be up front all day long, and when you have a bad pit stop, it puts you behind. Your car doesn’t drive very good back there, so after last week, I don’t know if we will go full blown for clean air setup but definitely leave it up to James and the engineers. I’ll give them kind of my input on the car, but they have been doing it way longer than I have an understanding on what I need.”
How does having a better car impact your preparation each week?
“One thing is the team itself is so much better prepared and understanding going into the weekend, like here’s the things you need to look at. It has simplified my life a lot. I’m not looking at 100 different things. It is here is 10 things you need to focus on going into this week. This is how the car should drive this week. This is the perfect way to drive it, and then for me, I can go look at what the other cars are doing, where in the past, I can go look at the best cars, but my car is not going to do that, so it is kind of irrelevant. Where now, I think the biggest thing for me these last couple of weeks, is finally just the understanding on how hard I can push this car and what is it absolutely able to take. The first 10 races of the year, I would always underdrive in qualifying because the car’s capability is so much more than anything I’ve ever ran, where now I’m finally getting to the other side of it, where – even today, I didn’t feel like I got 100 percent potential out of it, but I felt like I was at least at 95 percent, where earlier in the year, I felt like I was at 80 percent. It is just all of those things coming together where the results have been way, way better.”
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.
No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R finishes second in 100-minute race
DETROIT (May 31, 2025) – Staring eighth, the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing team employed an opportunistic strategy in the 100-minute Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the 1.654-mile downtown circuit.
The result was a runner-up finish – the best of the season for Cadillac Racing’s three-car Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) contingent in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the 100th podium for Cadillac Racing in IMSA (99) and FIA World Endurance Championship (1) prototype competition.
“Congratulations to Cadillac Racing team and the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R on their second place in the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Every member of the team can be proud of their efforts on preparing the racecar for success, from both a technology and durability standpoint,” said John Roth, vice president, Global Cadillac.
“For more than a century, racing has provided a testbed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles, and our V-Series portfolio demonstrates how we seamlessly bring lessons from the track to the road. The podium today showcases the remarkable capabilities and determination of the Cadillac Racing team.”
“Street smart,” a spectator along pit lane offered an instant analysis.
At Long Beach the past three years, eschewing fresh tires on the lone pit stop in the 100-minute race on the temporary street course has proven the winning strategy. In this second edition of the GTP race on the tight and bumpy circuit around the Renaissance Center, a revised pit strategy by the 10 car group propelled Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor to second place after winning in 2024 with another manufacturer.
After Albuquerque gained three positions in the first corner of the green flag lap and drove to the front of the 11-car field while every other entry pitted for the mandatory driver change and energy replenishment, the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R rumbled down pit lane with 54 minutes left. A quick swap of drivers and timing the fuel fill to just enough to make it to the checkered flag brought Taylor back onto the racing surface in second.
The four-time winner in Detroit (three at Belle Isle) stalked the pace-setting Porsche, running 0.396 of a second arrears with 15 minutes remaining. A lap later, a strong inside move in the right-hand Turn 3 pushed Taylor to the front.
He held off the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 for 11 minutes, until being overtaken with 3:35 left. The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R finished 0.761 of a second back at the checkered flag.
The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R driven by Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz finished ninth and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber placed 10th.
Four Cadillac Racing entries will aim for the overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15. The next IMSA race is June 22 at Watkins Glen International.
What they’re saying
No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Ricky Taylor: “A little sadness from me because we were so close to our first win with Cadillac in the GM race with everybody here. To get the 100th Cadillac podium in IMSA prototype competition feels amazing, but that one step would have been nice. It was a great fight, the team did an amazing job, the strategy was incredible, Felipe (Albuquerque) did a great start. I think everything for our race went perfectly for us to go from eighth to first and almost winning. I can’t say enough about the team and the execution. It’s nice to take this solid result into Le Mans.”
Filipe Albuquerque: “Starting from eighth, we didn’t know what to expect. A podium was brilliant. The race start came out brilliant, moving up three positions to fifth in the first turn. And the strategy to leave me out for so long paid off and we lined up P2. Ricky held up really well on the outlap with everyone hot already. Then it was Ricky stuff, chasing the leaders and then he dived in for P1. There is no shame in getting passed later on in traffic. I think we are happy with the result because we did a perfect race. The other car was just a little faster in the last phase of the race. I’m happy with the team, the evolution we are doing with the team with Cadillac. I’m happy today.”
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Jack Aitken: “For the 31, it just wasn’t our day. We started the weekend really strong, showed a lot of promise. But as the weekend went by, it got harder and harder. It’s a bit tough to take at GM’s home race. At least Cadillac got that 100th podium and the 10 car put on a great performance, so we didn’t come away empty-handed.”
Earl Bamber: “Tough day for the 31 car. A tough weekend all around. I took over from Jack and held off the competition but couldn’t move up with traffic. We’ll regroup, go to Le Mans and see if we can have four strong cars there and come back for six hours at Watkins Glen with some momentum.”
No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Jordan Taylor: “It was great that the 10 car got a podium to have a positive leaving here. Hopefully, we can have a good weekend at Le Mans, reset and go from there. It’s a lot of track time to keep learning, so hopefully we can come back to Watkins Glen stronger.”
Louis Deletraz: “Difficult race. I got boxed in at the start, couldn’t move anywhere and lost position and then we were stuck. Overall, we lacked some pace, so it’s hard to make things happen. I’m happy for the sister car that got a podium and for Cadillac at home. Good points and we’ll come back stronger at Watkins Glen.”
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 Media Availability Saturday, May 31, 2025
Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 Freightliner Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, was made available to the media ahead of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Berry enters Sunday’s Nashville race 17th in the driver standings, -230 points to the leader, with one race win this season (Las Vegas).
LAST YEAR THIS CUP RACE ENDED IN A LITTLE BIT OF CHAOS WITH FIVE OVERTIMES AND YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD RUN GOING THAT ENDED WITH YOU SPINNING OUT. WHAT IS THE MINDSET THIS WEEKEND WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS? “Yeah, nothing has really changed too much from our side. We just go and try to have a good practice and qualifying today. Get us some decent track position and a good pit stall. Go to work tomorrow and go racing. I feel like this has been a place I have enjoyed coming to and ran pretty good over the years. We’ve had speed and everything. Obviously, Miles and the guys have been doing a great job over the course of the season bringing speed. If we can just execute from when we get on the track today then I think we have a chance at a good finish.”
I AM SURE YOU HAVE SEEN THE COMMENT FROM ELTON SAWYER THIS PAST WEEK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL INCREASE IN HORSEPOWER IN THE NEXT GEN CAR. AS SOMEONE WITH THE AMOUNT OF SHORT TRACK EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING THIS CAR NEEDS TO IMPROVE THE PRODUCT ON SHORT TRACKS AND, IF SO, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK IT NEEDS? “I definitely think it needs more. The question, I think, boils down to how much more does it need to move the needle? I don’t really have an answer to that. It probably needs to be pretty significant. What I would hate to happen is to go up 100 horsepower and it doesn’t really look that different and everyone goes ‘oh that wasn’t it.’ It is a combination of a lot of things. It is the aero side of the car, it is horsepower, it’s the tires. Honestly, it’s technology. I raced a Pro Late Model on Thursday night and when I got out front my car drove a lot better than when I was tucked up behind someone’s bumper. It’s just technology and the field is that close. It’s just physics and aero. It would definitely be a step in the right direction if they go in that direction. We will see what happens.”
HAVE YOU GOTTEN MUCH TIME ON THE SIMULATOR GOING INTO MEXICO AT THIS POINT? “Yeah, I have a little bit. It is definitely a pretty cool layout. It is going to be interesting. I think there are some passing zones. There’s definitely going to be issues with track limits in the esses, right? It’s just tight. You can just tell. To me, it is probably just a little bit worse than COTA. It doesn’t feel like there is going to be grass on both sides so it is just a little bit different. Overall, I think it should probably be a good race. That is what we want to see.”
IN A RACE AT A HIGHER ELEVATION IT IS GOING TO JUST SAP THE HORSEPOWER. IS THAT FACTORED IN? DOES IT FEEL A BIT SLOWER COMPARATIVELY? DO YOU GET A SENSE OF THAT? “It is hard to get a sense of that. Our engineers and Ford talk about that. We are trying to recreate it, I guess, to think about it. But, I will be honest, I never had that experience. I have never raced at a high elevation like that to know how it will change things or not. Obviously, a bunch of other forms of racing have raced there and we can communicate with those guys to get an idea but I am not really sure if it will be enough to notice or not.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU ARE DOING, OR CAN DO, TO PREPARE YOURSELF AND YOUR BODY TO RACE AT 7,000 FEET ELEVATION? “I don’t know? I have never done that. It is hard to say. Something to think about a little bit. Thankfully we are going to be there on Thursday so we will have a couple days to acclimate to it. But, I haven’t really thought about it too much, I guess.”
FOR THE IN-SEASON CHALLENGE, THE TOP 32 AFTER TOMORROW NIGHT ARE IN THE FIELD. WITH THE FOCUS ON WINNING WEEK-TO-WEEK, HOW MUCH THOUGHT IS THERE OF THAT ? DOES THE MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE GET YOUR ATTENTION? “I think we all pay pretty close attention to it once it gets rolling. I think it is going to be exciting to follow and watch. I am sure we will go into the weekends knowing who we are paired against. Obviously, there is a lot of money on the line and potentially a lot of money on the line for a fan if they have a perfect bracket. I think it will be cool to follow. It should be fun.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, driver of the No. 6 Solomon Plumbing RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, was made available to the media ahead of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Owner/Driver Keselowski is 32nd in the driver standings, -319 points to the leader. Nashville is the site of Keselowski’s first NASCAR win in 2008.
YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH SEASONS LIKE THIS BEFORE, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET THE KIND OF FINISH YOU GOT AT CHARLOTTE? HOW HARD IS IT TO NOT TO TRY TOO HARD TO DIG OUT AND YOU CREATE NEW PROBLEMS? “That last part is what really stands out. You know, just trying not to do too much. We’re hitting our stride as an organization, in particular with the 6 team. The cars are developing more speed, our execution is getting better. It is an exciting time for us, outside of looking at where we are in the point standings. We need to build off of that and incrementally inch our way up to being able to win. I think we are really close to that right now. Trying not to jump the shark on that is important. But last week was a really positive moment for us. The last run of the race we passed at least a half dozen cars and ran the fastest laps and did a lot of positive things that would make you feel like you can go win.”
HOW DO YOU VIEW WHERE YOU SIT IN THE POINTS STANDINGS? DOES IT MAKE LIFE SIMPLE, JUST GO FOR WINS OR DO YOU VIEW IT ANOTHER WAY? “It is simple in some ways. Last year, I don’t think we had much pace but we were executing and getting good finishes out of it. We were sitting in the top 10 in points and all of those things. We have more potential now but we haven’t had the execution that we had last year.I am just eager to get the execution to go with the potential.”
THE 32 TEAMS FOR THE IN SEASON TOURNAMENT WILL BE LOCKED IN THIS WEEKEND. YOU ARE THE GUY ON THE BUBBLE, AT 32ND. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GET A TEAM AND A DRIVER IN THAT TOURNAMENT CONSIDERING IT IS PROBABLY GOING TO GET A LOT OF TV TIME. “I can’t say I have thought a lot about it. I really just think about winning this weekend and what that takes. It will be fun to talk about when it gets going. It’s good for the sport, good for our fans. It’s a competition and if it is a competition, we want to win it. With that said, our heads are down and focused on one week at a time, really one day at a time, and that is Nashville and it is hard to look further ahead than that.”
AS WE LOOK AT GOING TO MEXICO FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE CUP CARS, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU ARE HOPING TO EXPERIENCE MAKING THAT TRIP AND AROUND THAT EVENT? “It is an interesting event. There are all kinds of different sentiments; positive, negative. I think it is good for the Cup Series in general to see the schedule variability that has really been driven over the last half-dozen years or so. An international race just fitting the bill for everything else we have been doing. I am just really curious to see the reception of our fans. I think the reception from our partners has been pretty strong which is always fun and great for the teams. But I am really curious about the reception from our fans both here and in Mexico. Will they turn out the way we think they will turn out? It is one of those things that when it is all said and done, I think I will be able to answer a lot better than I can now. We will just have to see how it all plays out.”
TWO BIG PENALTIES IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME TO YOUR TEAMS. AS AN OWNER, WHAT’S THE MESSAGE? IS IT PUSHING TOO MUCH? IS IT CARLESSNESS? HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THIS SITUATION? “The situations at hand were not items I would call ‘pushing too much’ as much as I would call just not having enough regard to understanding the rule book and all of its complexities. Ultimately, that burden falls on us and we have had those conversations internally. I think everyone knows what is expected of them moving forward.”
THIS WEEK AND INDY CAR TEAM ANNOUNCED IT WAS PLACING SOMEONE IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THE RULES. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO LOOK INTO MORE? “The rules are extremely complex. It is a bit like an IRS tax code. You have to read this paper and you have to reference this paper, to reference this paper to reference this paper. When you’re head down and digging, running 38 weeks a year, oversights are going to happen. From our perspective, that’s not an excuse, I can’t really speak to other teams and how they handle it. I can speak to ours and we made a small restructuring this week to be better prepared and more mindful of what it takes to be in compliance.”
RYAN PREECE MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER OF THE YEAR. AS A TEAM OWNER, HOW IS IT TO SEE HIM SUCCEED SO EARLY AND TO FIND THAT SPEED AND EARN POINTS? “Yeah, I am really happy for him. When we brought him on, it reminded me a lot of the Chris Buescher story. When people said ‘what do you see in him?’ and ‘I don’t know if this is a good move?’ I just felt really strong about it. I like his work ethic, I like his talent. I just felt like he wasn’t in the right situation, just like I felt about Chris. It just felt like the burden was on us to put him in the right position. To allow him to thrive in the scheme that was made for him and he has done just that. He has put in the effort. He is very hungry. He is very driven. He is in a spot where he has people who believe in him, who are engaged with him. In a system that is very supportive and he is showing what he can do. I am thrilled for him. I am here to see him win. He’s been close a few times. I can’t wait to see him break through. That will be a great moment for him. Three or four years ago I feel like we were having the same conversation about Chris Buescher and now Chris is clearly the guy for the 17 car. He is doing all the right things and producing results. I feel like we are going to be saying the same thing over the next few years about Ryan.”
YOU HAVE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS ON CONCRETE TRACKS BEFORE AT DOVER AND BRISTOL. WHAT MAKES THIS CONCRETE DIFFERENT WHERE YOU ARE STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST TOP TEN RESULT AT NASHVILLE? “We have had some really good runs here at Nashville. We haven’t been able to get the finish on the Cup side here. I won my first race ever here in NASCAR which is great, in 2008. What I have always enjoyed about it is that the concrete is just really, really unforgiving and takes a lot of discipline. When you get sideways the car is much more difficult to recover, generally. I just think it is a different type of racing than asphalt racing. I enjoy it. It is the only track above one mile that is concrete. It is something different, interesting, that kind of breaks up the schedule a little bit. We have to survive the restarts and bring speed. I think we can do both of those.”
WAS IT KIND OF NOSTALGIC LOOKING BACK WHEN YOU DROVE IN? “I was thinking that as I did the track walk this morning. I remember coming here in 2006 for an ARCA race where I worked on a team. That was 19 years ago and now I am here owning a team in the Cup series. It has been quite a ride. I am really proud to be where I am at and this track has kind of aged like fine wine. The surface here is 25-26 years old and it is in great condition. The facilities are in great condition. It is really just kind of a walk back in time for me.”
DID YOU NOTICE ANYTHING ABOUT THE BUMP IN TURN 4 BEING MORE PRONOUNCED? “No. The only thing I really noticed on the track walk is there is some significant grinding to the track in the middle of turn three and four but not at the exit of turn four. The key to this race track in the Next Gen car is that these cars are very sensitive to rough surfaces. We will get a better answer to that after practice.”
OTHER DRIVERS HAVE BEEN IN HERE TALKING ABOUT SIM TIME AND WORKOUTS. WITH YOU, AS AN OWNER, HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO DELEGATE YOUR TIME SO YOU CAN DO THOSE THINGS TOO? “It is a delicate balance. Trying to make sure we have fulfilled the needs of the team and I am doing the things I need to do to be prepared as a race car driver. There is obviously a lot going on. We have a great cast of people to support me to help me be efficient with my time which is really important. Otherwise it is not achievable. There is a lot of juggling but it is part of the fun.”
ABOUT BABY WATCH PLANS? “Our baby is due in August. We have two months, which is not what my wife wants to hear. It will be around the corner which is all the more reason that a win this weekend would be great.”
NASCAR CUP SERIES NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES MAY 31, 2025
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and 2022 Nashville winner, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
Chase, consistency has been a key word for your season so far. It seemed like you really stepped it up and at Charlotte and Kansas. Are there any changes in the team or what have you all found here in the last few weeks?
“I think, yeah, Kansas (Speedway) and honestly North Wilkesboro (Speedway), too, I thought was a solid week for us. And then, yeah, I thought we had a really good car last week at Charlotte, as well. I think it’s a product of a lot of hard work and just a collective effort of trying to make some improvement. That’s always the goal, just keep chipping away. I think the team’s in a really good spot. We had a really good week on pit road. Really, they kept me in the game last week. They gained me two or three spots on every pit stop, and I’d give away five or six. So it was a frustrating night on my end, but I thought the car performed really well. All the pieces of the puzzle were really in place. I just need to continuously work on my craft and make sure that I’m doing my part.”
Three concrete tracks on the schedule – here at Nashville, Dover and Bristol, and you’ve won at all three. What about the concrete surface fits your driving still?
“Yeah, I don’t really know that it’s — I mean, I guess it could have been concrete, but I didn’t really think about it like that. I think we’ve fortunately had some good runs at those three tracks. I don’t necessarily have one reason, I think it’s probably a lot of reasons, truthfully. So I hope that this weekend’s another good effort for us.
For me, it’s never about — hey, you won here however many years ago, you should be good. It’s what do I have going on right now? What is our team doing well right now? What do we need to improve on to be good here this weekend? Just because so much changes. I’m more of a ‘what’s going on lately’ type of person, and I just think the performance is really centered around that more than those historical practices and things that happened years ago.”
Chase, how do you view your playoff situation? We’re into the second-half of the regular season. We’ve only had eight winners. You’re the highest, way above the cut line, of the drivers who haven’t won yet because of your consistency. Just how do you view being so far above the cut line in your picture of the playoff right now?
“I mean, yeah, certainly better to be in that position than on the other side of the fence, no doubt. But I’d be lying if I said that was my top focus. It’s just not. I think that if you’re worried about barely getting into the playoffs, I think you have some work to do. It really is kind of the best way I can think about that. And just to talk about my thought process, I want to be better than that. I want to be in the group of people of how many playoff points do you have, not just barely getting in. Our expectations and goals are above that, and we hope that we can achieve all of our goals.
But again, nice to be on that side of the fence, no question. But there’s also a lot of racing left between now and the cutoff. You know, if you win, then your problems are likely solved. And if you don’t and you have a bunch of winners, you can find yourself in a tough spot. We’ve been in that spot before, too. So yeah, we want to not find ourselves in a tough position, you know, come the end of Week 26.”
The top-32 are set after tomorrow night for this in-season challenge. With the eye on the big picture of the playoffs, how interesting is it week-to-week, trying to win each week, or how much do you keep an eye on that in-season challenge of trying to win that prize? A million dollars is not bad…
“Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, similar to the last question — all of the points stuff, it all takes care of itself when you just do your job. So that’s kind of my approach to all those things. It just does not do you any good to worry about those things. Our expectations and our goals are to try and be amongst those teams that have opportunities to win regularly. You know, if you’re doing that, you’re going to get your turn. And if you’re not, then you won’t. It’s really that simple. I think that if your goals and your expectations are in a high enough place and where they should be, the stuff that goes on on the side will sort itself out, and that’s kind of how I’ll view that, as well.”
Without a stage win or a race win season, do you get a little anxious for those kinds of things while you’re trying to manage and be consistent?
“No, I don’t. I wouldn’t say I’m anxious about it. I just want to go and achieve it. You know, those are our goals and those are the things that we want to go out there and achieve.
But no, I guess to answer your question, I don’t feel any anxiety from that. I just want to make it happen.”
You’ve had a really good record at Michigan International Speedway in the past. I think you started your career there with three second-place results. How important is it to do well at that track since it’s home to the manufacturers?
“Yeah, for sure. It’s always good to go to Michigan (International Speedway) and have a good run. It’s certainly changed a lot, you know, over the years, just with how the cars have changed. But the racetrack itself is like the most consistent place I’ve ever seen for, for a racetrack that has those hard winters. It just doesn’t seem to get old, which is kind of crazy.
I enjoy going out there. If you’ve never been to Michigan in the summer, it’s actually really nice. I highly recommend it. I always enjoy going up there in the summer months. Certainly a great place to have a good run for GM and everybody involved there. They do a lot for us.”
Elton Sawyer said on SiriusXM this past week about the possibility of increasing horsepower. In your opinion, do you feel like that is something that’ll help the product with the short-track racing? And if so, how much does it require to see a difference?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m not super in-tune with what those numbers are or like what’s being talked about as far, as how far they want to go with it. So I don’t know that I’m super educated on kind of what’s possible, what’s even true or not true. I think it’d be worth a shot, you know, if the engine manufacturers are willing to do it. And that’s probably going to be a question for them, truthfully, because they’re going to dictate how much power we can give the current packages that we have and still have the longevity and the reliability we expect to have because I think we have to run them three times. So, you know, I think without having a total overhaul, you’ve got to play within those walls, right? And I think the engine manufacturers are going to have to get on the same page and agree to a number, which is always difficult. You know, throughout my career, it’s like — Chevrolet might want one thing, Toyota might want something else, and Ford might want something different. And everybody kind of plays to their strengths as to what they think they have their leg up on, right? And that’s just a game. So you’re going to have to get all of them to agree, which in my view, is going to be a difficult thing to do. But hopefully they can, and everybody’s willing to give it a shot somewhere just to see if it makes a difference. It might not do anything, but it might really help. And until you try, I don’t know that you really have an answer.”
Chase, at various times in your life, you’ve snow skied and snowboarded in the higher elevations of the Western Mountains, so you’re aware of the physical activity and all at a higher elevation. With the Mexico track being more than 7,000 feet, what are you doing to prepare for that elevation you’ll be racing in?
“Yeah, I had thoughts of trying to get somewhere, you know, with the higher elevation before the weekend or before going down there, but I’m not so sure if my schedule is going to allow that to happen. So I’m going in earlier than I would typically go in, you know, for a race weekend for Mexico City. There’s lot of reasons for that, one of them being to your question, and just to hopefully alleviate any kind of sickness or not feeling good. I visited Mexico City a month or so back, and we did some media events for the race, and fortunately, I felt fine. I felt good. We were only there for a day or two, but I felt okay that whole period of time. Granted, I wasn’t pushing my heart rate, running or anything like that, so that might be different. But yeah, hopefully, it’s like that again. I felt normal. So yeah, kind of wait and see when we get on track and see how you feel. But going to go in a little early, and hopefully that alleviates all that stuff.”
How’s your father doing? Does he get to attend many races, and you still kind of rely on him sometimes for advice or counsel when things aren’t going too well?
“Oh, yeah, he’s doing good. He comes to the races every now and again, not a ton. He enjoys his time away from the racetrack, and I think he’s earned that right. He ran around this deal for a long time, so he seems to be enjoying that, which I think is great. I love to have him when he does come.
And yeah, for sure. I mean, I think he keeps up and pays attention, and he keeps his eye on us. I hope we don’t have to have many of those conversations, right? You just want to keep trucking, keep plugging away and keep working hard. He’s done it long enough to know that this deal is going to have ups and downs, and that’s just part of racing. But yes, if that is needed, he’s always there for that.”
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