MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 03: Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing Second placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Third placed qualifier Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 03, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images)
Max Verstappen scores his second Miami pole position — and sets a new lap record around the Miami International Autodrome
Earlier in the day, Lando Norris claimed a dramatic Sprint victory after a late Safety Car in a rain-hit race — and later narrowly missed out on pole to Verstappen by just 0.065 seconds
Yesterday’s star, Kimi Antonelli, impresses again and will line-up third for tomorrow’s Grand Prix
Fans were treated to a brilliant day of on-track action, with a chaotic Sprint race, an ultra-close Qualifying, and nonstop entertainment — including performances from Kaskade and Steve Aoki — broadcasted across the entire Miami Campus
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Fans at the Miami International Autodrome were treated to a spectacular day of action on and off the track, featuring a dramatic, rain-hit Sprint race, an ultra-competitive Qualifying session, and high-energy musical performances. In the climax to the day’s proceedings, Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX, setting a new lap record of 1m26.204s around the 3.3-mile circuit.
The Red Bull driver edged out Lando Norris by just 0.065s, with Kimi Antonelli in an impressive third — only two-thousandths of a second further back. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri could only manage fourth ahead of George Russell, while the two Williams cars followed. Charles Leclerc was next, while his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton was the surprise of the session, failing to reach the Q3 top ten shootout by just 0.003s.
Verstappen, who earned the 43rd pole of his F1 career — and welcomed the birth of his daughter, Lily, earlier this week — joked: “Clearly being a dad doesn’t make me any slower!” He added: “It was a great qualifying. We made a small change to help rotate the car better and we improved with every run. I had a tiny moment at Turn 1 on the final lap, but it worked out.”
Second-placed Norris made a slight mistake at Turn 17, locking up his wheel at the final corner on his first run and running over the inside kerbs on his last attempt. “Congrats to Max — especially on becoming a dad. I was hoping that might slow him down a bit, but clearly not,” Norris said. “I’m happy with today and the progress I’m making. I’m ready for whatever tomorrow brings — dry or wet.”
Earlier in the day, the Miami International Autodrome experienced its first-ever wet Formula 1 session and the conditions only added to the drama. Norris claimed victory in Saturday’s Sprint, making the most of a late Safety Car to emerge ahead of the field in a chaotic race packed with incidents, lead changes and tire strategy gambles.
Originally scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. local time, the Sprint was delayed after just two laps behind the Safety Car due to the track being too wet. A red flag was shown, sending cars back to the pits for a 30-minute delay. But the chaos had already started, after Leclerc had already lost control of his Ferrari on the back straight during his reconnaissance lap — the damage forcing him out of the Sprint.
When racing got underway, Piastri passed 18-year-old pole-sitter Antonelli into Turn 1. The Mercedes rookie ran wide and dropped to fourth on the opening lap. Piastri led from Norris and Verstappen, but with the sun breaking through and the track drying, the race became a strategic battle over when to switch from intermediates to slicks. Hamilton, running in sixth, was one of the first to take the gamble, pitting at the end of Lap 11. He dropped to 15th but quickly began setting sector times two seconds faster than the leaders. The move paid off, and he vaulted to third as others responded.
Drama unfolded when Verstappen and Antonelli pitted simultaneously. Verstappen was released into the path of the Mercedes, causing contact that blocked the rookie access to his pit box, forcing him to complete another lap on wets. The stewards later handed Verstappen a 10-second penalty, dropping him from fourth to last in the final results.
Piastri pitted for slicks on Lap 14, while Norris stayed out. The next lap, as Norris dived into the pits, a Safety Car was deployed after Fernando Alonso had hit the wall opposite the Hard Rock Beach Club, following contact from Liam Lawson’s pink-liveried Racing Bulls car. Carlos Sainz also suffered damage, striking the wall at the chicane entrance and damaging his left-rear wheel. The timing worked perfectly for Norris, who rejoined ahead of his McLaren teammate to take the lead — which he held as the race ended under caution. But it was Hamilton, in third, who had made the best of the conditions.
“The crowd has been amazing today,” said Hamilton after stepping out of his Ferrari. “I didn’t think it would ever rain here, but what a race we had. I struggled on inters and decided to roll the dice — and it worked. Wish we had a couple more laps, but congrats to McLaren.”
Rain also impacted the F1 ACADEMY qualifying session this morning. American Chloe Chambers was first on track and secured pole with a 2m00.458s lap before the rain arrived. Alisha Palmowski was second, with Emma Lloyd just 0.076s off top spot in fourth as no one improved on their second laps due to the worsening conditions.
The afternoon’s F1 ACADEMY reverse-grid race was held in dry conditions and delivered more excitement. Doriane Pin took victory after passing reverse-grid pole-sitter Emma Felbermayr on lap four. She held off a late challenge from Palmowski to take the win. Chambers completed the podium, leaping from eighth to fourth at Turn 1 thanks to a first-corner incident. McLaren’s Ella Lloyd misjudged her braking and hit front-row starter Rafaela Ferreira, prompting a Safety Car. Race 2 of F1 ACADEMY gets underway tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.
Off track, the party atmosphere was in full swing across the Miami Campus. Fans were treated to A-list performances from Kaskade and Steve Aoki at the Hard Rock Beach Club. More major acts are scheduled for Sunday, including DJ Tiësto from the grid gantry before the race and the podium after the race, and GRAMMY® Award-winning artist and Miami native Pitbull performing after the main event to round off an unforgettable weekend in Miami Gardens.
About FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX
The FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX, established in 2022 on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar, is the premier culmination of world-class racing, fan experience, entertainment and hospitality, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The event is hosted by South Florida Motorsports (SFM), who was awarded Promoter of the Year by Formula 1 in 2025. The race was also recognized as Best New Event of 2022 by Sports Business Journal and was recently awarded the prestigious FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation rating for its overall sustainability and environmental management efforts. Now entering its fourth year, the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX is held at the Miami International Autodrome, a 19-turn, 3.36-mile track within the complex of Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the legendary Miami Dolphins NFL team.
In its third edition, the race boasted more than 275,000 attendees and a record-breaking average audience of 3.1 million viewers on ABC – a mark previously held by the inaugural FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX – making it the largest live US television audience on record for a Formula 1 race. The event has generated more than $1 billion in economic impact to South Florida over its three years. SFM and Formula 1 have also worked closely to engage with and support the local Miami Gardens community, providing thousands of tickets annually for residents, creating a STEM education program through MIA in Schools, offering event internships for local students and featuring several community-owned restaurants on Campus during race weekend each year.
TA Cup’s Cole Moore Fastest Western Competitor, Wang Best in XGT, Carlson and Koos Top SGT, Coffey Fastest in GT
SALINAS, Calif. (May 3, 2025) – The field has been set for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli National and Western Championship race at the Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Brent Crews in the No. 2 Weaver Concepts/Mobil 1 Dodge Challenger won the pole for tomorrow’s event with a new track record of 1:21.810. This is Crews’ second pole of the season, after setting the fastest time in Round 2 at Road Atlanta.
“I can’t thank Poncho [Weaver] and his guys enough for getting me here,” said Crews. “The No. 2 car was really good in qualifying. I ran some really good laps, and then Chris [Dyson] went faster than us about midway through the session there. We came in and dropped some air pressure and I made a little bit of adjustment in the car and went out there and ran one more lap, and it was good enough to get the pole. I just can’t thank my guys enough for making this long trip to California and bringing me a hot rod.”
Cole Moore in the TA Cup class was the fastest Western Championship qualifier, laying down a lap time of 1:25.233 in his No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang.
“I think I found some good lines in the [CUBE 3 Architecture] TA2 race, and I was just feeling it,” said Moore after qualifying. “I got some open track and found some sick lines and just dropped the hammer, dude. These things are so fast. Thanks to Chris Evans, my dad [John Moore] and everyone. I’m just having so much fun.”
Xuanqian Wang (No. 22 AURALIC North America Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO) was quickest in XGT. Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang) topped the SGT class for the National Championship, while JD Koos (No. 12 Nicole Douglas Design Porsche GT3 Cup 991.1) was fastest in the class in the Western Championship. Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4) was fastest in the GT class.
The TA/GT race will be contested tomorrow at 4:20 p.m. ET. It will be streamed LIVE on Trans Am’s YouTube channel, @TheTransAmSeries, and broadcast LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1 with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. An encore presentation will air on SPEED SPORT 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET. For more information on where you can watch SPEED SPORT 1, click here.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MAY 03: Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 Blues Hog Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy's Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 03, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).
Kyle Larson was dubbed the super substitute competitor of the day. He wheeled Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet entry to a thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 3, amid two overtime shootouts.
The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led twice for 32 of 208 over-scheduled laps during the Xfinity event. He was substituting for Zilisch who is recovering from a lower back injury sustained in a final-lap accident at Talladega Superspeedway a week ago.
Larson rolled off the starting grid in 20th place. He navigated through four early caution periods to settle in the runner-up spot after the first stage. After a penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation during the first stage’s break period, he settled in 11th place after the second stage period. But, Larson would methodically navigate his way back toward the front and challenge teammate Justin Allgaier for the lead.
Following a late cycle of green flag pit stops and a caution for carnage involving Allgaier under the final 50 laps, Larson cycled to the lead. He used the advantage to muscle away from the field during a restart with 37 laps remaining. Despite having his large advantage erased due to another late caution with 13 laps remaining, Larson and several competitors opted to pit for fresh tires.
The call for tires paid big dividends. Larson navigated through three ensuing cautions and two overtime attempts to reassume the lead prior to the final lap. Larson led the final lap and cruised to both his second Xfinity victory of the 2025 season and his second in the Lone Star state.
On-track qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather and the starting lineup was based on a metric formula. As a result, Austin Hill, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Talladega Superspeedway, was awarded the pole position. Joining Hill on the front row was Justin Allgaier.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Austin Hill briefly launched ahead from the field, using the inside lane through the frontstretch. Through the first two turns, Justin Allgaier, who started alongside Hill on the front row, used the outside lane to rocket his No. 7 Jarrett Chevrolet Camaro entry past Hill. He surged ahead and led entering the backstretch.
As Allgaier proceeded to lead the field through Turns 3 and 4, the event’s first caution flew. Ryan Ellis, who was racing in the top-20 mark, received a tap from rookie Christian Eckes. It resulted in Ellis spinning his No. 71 Eclipse Claims Consulting Chevrolet Camaro entry sideways toward the apron and the bottom of the track in Turns 3 and 4.
The start of the following restart on the sixth lap did not last long. Nick Leitz, briefly stepped out of the gas due to Daniel Dye clipping the frontstretch grass and tossing dirt on the track in front of him. This ignited a brief stack-up that resulted in Sammy Smith hitting the rear of Leland Honeyman. Honeyman then spun and collided with Leitz in the frontstretch.
At the moment of caution, Allgaier retained the lead over Hill. Jesse Love, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, Matt DiBenedetto, Anthony Alfredo and rookie Nick Sanchez were scored in the top 10, respectively.
The event restarted under green on the 11th lap. Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Allgaier cleared Hill and the field for the top spot. With the lead in his possession, Allgaier proceeded o lead through the Lap 15 mark. By then, he was ahead by half a second over Hill while Creed, Love and Sanchez were racing in the top five.
On Lap 21, the caution returned. Josh Bilicki spun his No. 91 Rita’s Italian Ice Chevrolet Camaro entry through the frontstretch’s grass after slight contact from Leland Honeyman. Bilicki’s incident served as the competition caution that was planned due to the field receiving no practice from Friday’s weather washout.
During the competition caution, some including Love, DiBenedetto, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Daniel Dye, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Brennan Poole, Jeremy Clements, Mason Massey, Eckes, Kyle Sieg, Dean Thompson, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis pitted. The rest of the drivers, led by Allgaier, remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 25, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead for a second time. Allgaier cleared Hill through the first two turns. In the process, Hill struggled to maintain control from the outside lane. This allowed both Creed and Sanchez to overtake Hill for second and third, respectively, as Allgaier led the following lap. Behind, Kyle Larson was vying for fifth place from Mayer. Jones, Jeb Burton, Alfredo and Corey Day were in the top 10. As both Creed and Sanchez battled for the runner-up spot, Allgaier led to the Lap 30 mark.
Just past the Lap 35 mark, Allgaier extended his lead to more than two seconds over teammate Larson, who had acquired the spot two laps earlier. Behind, third-place Sanchez trailed by three seconds ahead of Hil land Mayer. Creed, Jones, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg and Alfredo were in the top 10.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier captured his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Larson, who reduced his deficit to two-tenths of a second, settled in second ahead of Sanchez. Hill, Mayer, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Jones, Jeb Burton completed the top 10.
Xfinity Series at Texas – Stage 2
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hill exited pit road first and he was followed by Creed and Jones. During the stage break period, Eckes took his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro entry to the garage after reporting a potential hole in a piston. Also, Larson was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Jeb Burton was also penalized for pitting outside his pit box.
The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Hill and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Hill muscled ahead of Jones and the field through the frontstretch to retain the lead. Jones and Allgaier battled for third place. With Jones prevailing, Sanchez battled and navigated his way into third place over Jones. Meanwhile, Hill led to the Lap 55 mark. Hill led by three-tenths of a second over Allgaier by Lap 60. Creed, Sanchez and Love occupied the remaining top five spots. Ryan Sieg, Mayer, Riley Herbst, Corey Day and Jones were racing in the top 10 ahead of rookie William Sawalich, Josh Williams, Harrison Burton, Parker Retzlaff and rookie Taylor Gray.
Through the Lap 70 mark, Hill led by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier. Third-place Creed trailed by more than a second. As Hill continued to lead to the Lap 75 mark, Larson and Jeb Burton, both of whom were trying to recover from their pit road penalties, were mired in 15th and 27th, respectively. Love, Herbst, Day, Ryan Sieg and Jones were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Hill led by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier. Creed, Sanchez and Mayer continued to trail in the top five. By then, Herbst had overtaken Love for sixth place as Jones, Gray and Ryan Sieg battled for ninth place. In addition, Larson carved his way up to 14th place as he was in between Kvapil and Josh Williams.
With three laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew as Kris Wright spun his No. 5 First National Bank Corp Chevrolet Camaro entry in the backstretch. Wright’s incident concluded the second stage period that was initially scheduled to conclude on Lap 90. Hill was awarded his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Allgaier, who had nearly gotten to Hill’s rear bumper before the caution, settled in second. Creed, Sanchez, Mayer, Herbst, Love, Day, Jones and Gray completed the top 10.
During the stage break, the field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill exited pit road first. He was followed by Creed, Allgaier, Sanchez and Love, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Sawalich was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.
Xfinity Series at Texas – Final Stage
With 103 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Hill and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, however, the caution returned. Contact between Gray, Herbst, Day and Mayer jumbled up the field, starting from the sixth position. It resulted in Josh Williams driving through the grass and getting turned head-on into the frontstretch’s outside wall by Alfredo. The incident ignited a chain reaction as Garrett Smithley, Katherine Legge, Mason Massey, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Nick Leitz, and Blaine Perkins all wrecked.
The start of the following restart with 97 laps remaining did not last long when Creed, who restarted in the second row and was racing in fourth place through the first two turns, made contact with Day that sent Creed up into Love as the latter hit the backstretch’s outside wall. Meanwhile, Creed spun to the bottom of the backstretch and hit the inside wall on the driver’s left side, which terminated his race. Amid the incident, Allgaier maintained the lead over Hill.
As the event restarted under green with 88 laps remaining, Allgaier muscled ahead of Hill to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Behind, Sanchez overtook Hill for the runner-up spot and Larson maintained fourth place in front of Jones, Harrison Burton and Ryan Sieg as Allgaier led the following lap. Over the next seven laps, Larson would overtake Hill for third place while Jones maintained fifth place over Ryan Sieg, cousins Harrison and Jeb Burton, and Leland Honeyman. Meanwhile, Allgaier extended his lead to more than a second over Sanchez with 80 laps remaining.
Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Larson as the latter assumed the runner-up spot from Sanchez two laps earlier. As Sanchez trailed by more than two seconds in third place, Hill and Jones were racing in the top five ahead of Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Sawalich, Jeb Burton and DiBenedetto while Herbst, Day, Honeyman, Dye and Parker Retzlaff were mired in the top 15.
Fifteen laps later, Larson, who spent the last several laps reeling in on Allgaier’s advantage, trailed the latter by four-tenths of a second while third-place Sanchez trailed by nearly three seconds. Behind, fourth-place Hill trailed by five seconds while fifth-place Jones trailed by more than 11 seconds.
A few laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops ensued. Herbst pitted his No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entry. Teammate Sawalich would also pit a few laps after Herbst. Allgaier, who nearly got hit by Larson as Larson slid up the track through Turns 3 and 4, led by six-tenths of a second with less than 55 laps remaining. Cousins Jeb and Harrison Burton along with Ryan Sieg, Love, and DiBenedetto pitted their respective entries within the final 50-lap mark. Larson and Sanchez pitted with 49 laps remaining. Hill, Jones and Day then pitted within 48 laps remaining before Allgaier shortly after.
Amid the pit stops with 45 laps remaining, the caution flew. Allgaier, who was overtaken by Larson following his green flag pit stop and was trailing his JR Motorsports teammate by a distance, ran into the lapped competitor of Kris Wright entering the frontstretch. The bump resulted in Wright spinning through the frontstretch’s grass. Allgaier slid and hit the outside wall, which terminated his race. Mayer, who had yet to pit, was leading ahead of Dye, Gray, Clements and Sammy Smith while Larson was back in seventh. During the caution period, Mayer led a group of competitors that had yet to pit. The rest led by Larson remained on the track.
Final Laps at Texas
Down to the final 37 laps, the event restarted under green. Larson rocketed his No. 88 Blues Hog Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of the field through the frontstretch and the first two turns. While Sanchez and Hill dueled for the runner-up spot, Larson muscled away and grew his lead to nearly a second with 35 laps remaining.
With 30 laps remaining, Larson was out in front by two seconds over Sanchez who was ahead of Hill. Behind, Gray and Jones occupied the top five spots. Dye, Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Clements, Poole, Alfredo, Harrison Burton, Love and Herbst trailed in the top 15.
Ten laps later, Larson extended his lead to more than five seconds over both Sanchez and Hill who were duking against one another for the runner-up spot. Gray and Mayer trailed in the top five. Larson proceeded to lead by five seconds with 15 laps remaining. Sanchez maintained the runner-up spot by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Hill.
Then with 13 laps remaining, the caution flew when Day spun and hit the tire barriers in Turns 3 and 4. The caution erased Larson’s advantage of nearly six seconds he had over both Hill and Sanchez as Hill had assumed the runner-up spot from Sanchez earlier. During the caution period, some led by Larson pitted while the rest that included Hill, Sanchez, Gray, Mayer, Love and Alfredo remained on the track as Hill assumed the lead.
The start of the next restart with seven laps remaining featured Mayer retaining the lead. Larson, who restarted in the top 10, utilized aggressive driving to carve his way back to the front. During the following lap, Larson gained huge ground on both Hill and Sanchez for the runner-up spot. But he was boxed behind Sanchez’s No. 48 Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet Camaro entry entering the backstretch. Larson then transitioned to the inside lane and got beneath Sanchez, battling for the runner-up spot as Mayer continued to lead.
Then with five laps remaining, the caution was displayed. Hill, who was battling Sammy Smith for fourth place, slid up the track and hit Smith resulting in Smith veering back into the frontstretch’s outside wall. Smith’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.
Overtime
The start of the first overtime attempt did not last long. Clements spun and rear-ended his No. 51 First Pacific Funding Chevrolet Camaro entry into the outside wall in Turn 2. At the moment of caution, Mayer was still leading over Larson, Sanchez, Gray and Hill. The event was sent into a second overtime attempt.
The start of the second overtime attempt featured Mayer and Larson dueling for the lead through the first two turns and in front of two stacked lanes before Larson used both the outside lane and the four fresh tires to his advantage by boosting ahead of Mayer entering the backstretch. As Larson led, Mayer, who briefly lost momentum, dueled with Gray for the runner-up spot while Sanchez drifted up the track and hit the outside wall. Amid Sanchez’s incident that caused Sanchez to slowly drift out from racing upfront, the field fanned out and the event remained under green.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained in the lead by four-tenths of a second over a battle between Gray and Mayer for the runner-up spot. Through the first two turns, Mayer would slightly slide up the track, which allowed Gray to take sole possession of the runner-up spot as both Herbst and Hill overtook Mayer. With the latter four losing ground of the lead in the process, Larson was able to muscle away from the field for half a lap and cruise back to the frontstretch and take the victory by more than a second over Gray.
Victory
With the victory, Larson, who had Connor Zilisch watching from the No. 88 pit box, notched his 17th career win in the Xfinity Series division, his first at Texas since November 2016 and his second driving the No. 88 Chevrolet entry for JR Motorsports. The victory was also Larson’s second of the 2025 Xfinity season after he won at Bristol Motor Speedway in early April.
Larson’s Texas victory also marked the 10th of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate, the fifth for JR Motorsports and the second for the organization’s No. 88 Chevrolet team led by crew chief Mardy Lindley.
“There was a lot of survival I felt like throughout that race,” Larson said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Just dodging some wrecks. Balance, we had to work on quite a bit, so it was fun. I felt like my car though, if I could ever get to the lead, I could stretch out. I just couldn’t get by Justin [Allgaier]. He was doing a good job of just running where I needed to be. Thanks to [JR Motorsports] for letting me come run this [No. 88 Chevrolet] here today. [I] Wish Connor [Zilisch] was in the car, but [it] means a lot that [JR Motorsports] thought of me to call up to run this thing. [I] Had a lot of fun today and cool to get another win here.”
Taylor Gray, who started in 12th place, made a late charge to notch a career-best runner-up result while Riley Herbst finished in third place in his second Xfinity start of the 2025 season. Austin Hill, who led 57 laps, finished in fourth place while Sam Mayer, who led 18 laps, fell back to fifth place.
Harrison Burton, Jesse Love, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones and Jeb Burton completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez, who led a single lap and was poised for a strong result, drifted back to 20th place following his second overtime contact into the backstretch’s outside wall. Despite settling with his sixth finish of 20th or worse of his first full-time Xfinity campaign, Sanchez focused on the positives of being competitive and racing up front.
“[I take] A lot of positives, right?” Sanchez said. “We were legitimately a top-three car all day, from Stage 1 to the end of the race. Pretty disappointed. [I was] Just going for it, right? It’s what you got to do at the end of these races. Obviously, I pushed over the edge and paid the price, but really proud of my team for giving me a fast car and we’ll just keep bringing fast cars to the racetrack and one day, it’ll all come towards us.”
Daniel Dye, Anthony Alfredo, William Sawalich, Parker Retzlaff and Matt DiBenedeto settled in the top 15 while Corey Day, Brennan Poole, Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil and Sanchez rounded out the top 20.
There were 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 62 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 12th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 51 points over Austin Hill, 80 over Sam Mayer, 97 over Jesse Love and 145 over Brandon Jones.
Results:
1. Kyle Larson, 32 laps led 2. Taylor Gray 3. Riley Herbst 4. Austin Hill, 57 laps led, Stage 1 winner 5. Sam Mayer, 18 laps led 6. Harrison Burton 7. Jesse Love 8. Ryan Sieg 9. Brandon Jones 10. Jeb Burton 11. Daniel Dye, one lap led 12. Anthony Alfredo 13. William Sawalich 14. Parker Retzlaff 15. Matt DiBenedetto 16. Corey Day 17. Brennan Poole 18. Sammy Smith 19. Carson Kvapil 20. Nick Sanchez, one lap led 21. Mason Massey, one lap down 22. Kyle Sieg, one lap down 23. Ryan Ellis, one lap down 24. Blaine Perkins, one lap down 25. Joey Gase, one lap down 26. Mason Maggio, one lap down 27. Dean Thompson, three laps down 28. Josh Bilicki, three laps down 29. Nick Leitz, four laps down 30. Garrett Smithley, seven laps down 31. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident 32. Katherine Legge, eight laps down 33. Kris Wright, nine laps down 34. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Vibration 35. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 99 laps led, Stage 1 winner 36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident 37. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident 38. Christian Eckes – OUT, Engine
The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ teams and competitors will be taking a two-week break period before returning to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, for the BetMGM 300. The event is scheduled for May 24 and will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
Kyle Larson celebrates in SpeedyCash.com Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo credit: Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports subs for injured Connor Zilisch and delivers a victory for JR Motorsports.
FORT WORTH, Texas (MAY 3, 2025) – NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson, subbing for injured Connor Zilisch, provided JR Motorsports with a thrilling double-overtime victory in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Larson overtook Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer, the race leader and defending winner, in Turn 2 on the opening lap of the second overtime and then rolled to a 1.265-second victory over Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Taylor Gray.
Larson was called upon to make his first Xfinity Series appearance at Texas Motor Speedway since 2017 after Zilisch sustained a lower back injury from an accident in last week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. He responded by delivering his second NXS win at Texas nine years later – the last coming in 2016 with Chip Ganassi Racing – and 17th in the series.
“There was a lot of survival I felt like throughout that race, just dodging some wrecks, balance we had to work on quite a bit, so it was fun,” said Larson, who also won at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this season. “I felt like my car, though, if I could ever get to the lead I could stretch out (but) I just couldn’t get by Justin (Allgaier), he was doing a good job of just running where I needed to be. Thanks to JRM for letting me come run this thing here today. Obviously wish Connor was in the car, but it means a lot that they thought of me to call up to run this thing. … Had a lot of fun today and cool to get another win here.”
The race had a track-record 23 of the 38 cars involved in accidents that resulted in 11 caution flags for 62 laps in the 208-lap affair. One involved one of the biggest contenders for the win – JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier – late in the third and final stage. Allgaier, who won the first stage and led a race-high 99 laps, was unable to avoid the lapped car of Kris Wright in the tri-oval on Lap 156, slamming into the rear and ending his day.
A caution with five laps remaining in regulation, for an incident between Sammy Smith and Austin Hill, would force overtime and set up the dramatic finish. Mayer, followed by Big Machine Racing rookie Nick Sanchez, Larson, Hill and Gray, respectively, would lead the field on the restart of the two-lap overtime, but the opening lap was tainted by a caution for the single-car accident of Jeremy Clements in Turn 2.
Mayer held the point once again for the second OT with Larson lined up on his outside followed by Sanchez, Gray, Hill and Cup Series regular Riley Herbst, who was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Larson got a great restart and was able to overtake Mayer coming out of Turn 2 and led the field by .47 of a second after the opening lap. While the contenders behind him jockeyed for position, Larson stretched his lead and had no challenges for the final OT lap.
“The Haas Factory Team worked really hard to put us in that spot there at the end even though we were at a disadvantage on literally every single level,” said Mayer, who was driving the No. 41 Andy’s Frozen Custard Ford. “It felt good to get the lead on the restart and learn from what I’ve messed up on in the past and capitalize to get that lead. Man, that’s a bummer. It just seems like I didn’t have any help there, so us versus the world, I guess.”
The runner-up finish by Gray was a career-best effort in his 25 career NXS starts. Herbst finished third, Hill was fourth and Mayer settled for fifth.
“I tried to ruin our day a few times for us, just with dumb mistakes toward the beginning and middle of the race but it just kind of shows how strong this (No.) 54 group is being able to fight back and get a good finish,” Gray said.
UP NEXT: The race weekend culminates Sunday with the running of the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR Cup Series race beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT (TV: FS1, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM, Lone Star 92.5 FM locally). Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports earned his first career Cup Series pole and will lead the 38-car field to the green flag.
Event tickets and camping passes for the 2025 Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR tripleheader weekend are on sale now. Click HERE for more information and to buy tickets.
Texas Motor Speedway’s current 2025 events calendar includes Kubota High Limit Racing (May 3 at the TMS Dirt Track), Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR tripleheader weekend (May 2-4), C10 Nationals (May 9-10), Holley LS Fest Texas (May 16-17), Bandas y Trocas (May 24), Solar Car Challenge (July 17-23), Goodguys Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals (Sept. 26-28), Texas World Dirt Track Championship (Oct. 3-4 at the TMS Dirt Track), October Truck Madness (Oct. 11), Kubota High Limit Racing All-In Championship (Oct. 17-18 at the TMS Dirt Track), FuelFest (Oct. 25), POWRi Sprint Cars (Nov. 7-8 at the TMS Dirt Track) and Xtreme Xperience (Dec. 11-14).
ABOUT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
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Dye fired off a tick free in the No. 10 bproauto Chevrolet, before making a scheduled pit stop for tires and fuel at the competition caution. He went on to finish the opening stage in 20th. Dye pitted for tires and fuel during the caution and started the second stage in 18th place. He continued battling a free-handling No. 10 Chevy but fought to finish Stage 2 in 19th place. During his scheduled pit stop, the team discovered a left-rear tire going down on the No. 10 Chevy, the culprit of some of its handling woes. Starting the final stage from 17th place, Dye avoided multiple wrecks, and sat second when the final green-flag stops began. A timely caution allowed Dye to pit under caution for tires and fuel. As multiple cars stayed out, Dye restarted from eighth place with 37 to go, quickly taking two more positions on the restart. The next caution flag fell with 13 to go, and Dye pitted for tires only. The race saw two more cautions and overtime attempts, before Dye took the checkered in 11th place.
“We were a little free throughout the race and had a left rear down at the end of the second stage, but we kept making small gains and had a timely caution sitting second with about 45 to go. Unfortunately, the caution there at the end of the race wasn’t as favorable for us; we probably would have finished about seventh or eighth. Overall not a bad finish in this No. 10 bproauto Chevy.” – Daniel Dye
Josh Williams avoided two early wrecks and moved into 18th by lap 15. After staying on track during a mid-stage yellow, he took 13th for the lap-26 green flag. As the stage neared its end, Williams reported that the car was handling “strange” and that it felt different from lap-to-lap. He finished Stage 1 in 22nd and pitted for tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment. Starting Stage 2 in 15th and on the inside line, he took 12th on lap 56. The No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy faded as the stage went on, however, and Williams finished where he started it: 15th. After pitting for tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, the team discovered that the left-rear tire was going flat. He started the final stage, still in 15th. Upon firing, Williams followed the inside line’s path through the grass, but this led to the No. 11’s splitter digging into the ground. The Chevy suffered terminal front-end damage, forcing Williams to retire and finish the race in 37th.
“Everybody was so tight on restarts, and a couple guys got in the grass, and I guess I got the worst end of it. Reed [Sorenson, spotter] even said something to me about it. He said, ‘Grass, grass!’ It was just too late. It’s unfortunate. We had a really fast Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet.” – Josh Williams
An eventful first lap saw the No. 71 car clearing itself across the nose of the No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, resulting in minor right-front fender damage. Eckes pitted multiple times while under caution for repairs, before restarting 35th on lap 11. He gained nine spots, before the competition caution came out on lap 20. Eckes made a scheduled pit stop for tires and fuel under caution. Restarting 28th, Eckes made his way into the top 20, before radioing that the motor of the No. 16 Chevy was blowing up. He nursed it to the stage end, finishing 36th. During the stage break, the team pushed the car to the garage, where they confirmed the engine had blown. Eckes was scored 38th.
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.
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Samsara Chevrolet Team Battle for Seventh-Place Result at Texas Motor Speedway
Finish: 7th Start: 3rd Points: 4th
“Man, that was a fight. We had a tight balanced No. 2 Samsara Chevrolet, but I’m proud of the speed we showed all day long while racing inside the top 10. Getting caught up in that late-race mess wasn’t ideal. I’m not sure if the No. 00 car came up or the No. 17 went down, but this Richard Childress Racing team never quit. Danny (Stockman) had his work cut out for him today. We made multiple pit stops and the team did a great job with the repairs for us to get back on track. We rallied, kept our heads down, and grabbed another top 10. A seventh-place finish says a lot about the heart of this group. We’re building something strong, and we’ll keep digging.” -Jesse Love
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Contend for Win and Continue Top-10 Streak at Texas Motor Speedway
Finish: 4th Start: 1st Points: 2nd
“Our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet was good today. I just could not fire on the restarts for the first five laps. I’m not sure what I need to do differently there, but I do know there are areas that I can improve on as a driver to do a better job on the restarts. Over these next two weeks off, I’ll go back and start watching some film to figure out what I can do better. Some of it could be the package that we bring to the track, but some of it is just on me. I can’t thank everyone on the No. 21 team and at RCR and ECR enough though. We were in contention all day. Ran inside the top four and finished fourth. I’m disappointed with fourth, because I thought we had a shot at possibly winning the race. Especially with how the race unfolded at the end, with us staying out on old tires and the No. 88 pitting. I thought it might take a minute for him (No. 88) to get through the field, but we had caution after caution. All in all, it was a solid effort that we will keep building on.” -Austin Hill
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Saturday, May 3, 2025) – Dennis Hauger remained perfect this season in INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, earning the pole for the Grand Prix of Alabama in mixed conditions Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.
Hauger, from Norway, grabbed the top starting spot for the race Sunday with a best lap of 1 minute, 12.7705 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car fielded by Andretti Global. He won the pole and the race in his debut in the INDYCAR development series March 2 at St. Petersburg, Florida.
Qualifying was a tale of two sessions in changing weather conditions. The 20-driver field was split into two groups for qualifying, and the first group of drivers all used Firestone Firehawk rain tires because of damp track conditions. The 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural terrain circuit dried enough for the second group to switch to the faster Firestone slick tires after their warmup lap, creating a big discrepancy in times between the two groups.
But series rules state the grid is set by alternating the quickest times in each group, so Caio Collet will join Hauger on the front row even though his top time of 1:24.8394 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car from the wetter first group was more than 12 seconds slower than Hauger’s best.
That trend continued throughout the lineup for the 20-car field, as the starters in the odd-numbered grid spots all came from the drier, faster second group while all even-numbered starters qualified in the wetter, slower first group.
Hauger already was on top when he improved upon his best time on his last lap. Every driver in the second group was given one final flying lap after rookie Max Taylor spun off track late in the session in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car, losing his two quickest laps for triggering a red flag during qualifying.
“It was looking like it was drying up, but you don’t really know before you go out there,” Hauger said. “After the first lap, I was like, ‘We’ve to pit for a sticker (slicks) run.’ After we did that, I think most people did in the end.
“It was a good run, a good last lap. I managed to maximize it. The Andretti team and 28 crew have had a good weekend so far and are looking forward to starting on pole tomorrow.”
The 35-lap race starts at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Evagoras Papasavvas will start third in his series debut in the No. 24 HMD Motorsports machine. Papasavvas, 17, turned a top lap of 1:13.3669 in the second group. Lochie Hughes of Andretti Global will join him in the second row after qualifying fourth at 1:25.4437 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car of Andretti Global.
Myles Rowe qualified fifth at 1:13.4377 in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine of Abel Motorsports. Bryce Aron will start sixth after his run of 1:25.5923 in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing car.
CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP MAY 3, 2025
Scott McLaughlin Puts Chevrolet on Front Row at Barber
Scott McLaughlin puts Chevrolet on front row at Barber
Third time driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet has scored front row start at Barber
Is two-time defending winner at the Alabama road course
A total of three Chevrolet powered drivers qualified into the Firestone Fast Six to run for the pole
Six of Fast-12 were Team Chevy drivers
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, quailed in his first Fast-12 of the season, moving into the Fast-Six and scoring the fourth starting position
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, made the Fast Six for the first time in his career and will start sixth
His previous best start was 11th at St. Pete and Long Beach this year
Arrow McLaren drivers have transferred to ten Fast-12 sessions thus far this season
Christian Lundgaard has been in all four Fast-12 sessions
David Malukas, in the No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, led the second NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday morning, leading seven Team Chevy drivers in the top ten. The action-packed practice featured a drying track early, Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, along with several other drivers finding the barriers, and the rain returning for the last ten minutes of practice.
With just under 20 minutes remaining in the second practice at a damp Barber Motorsports Park, the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward made contact with the soft barrier at the exit of Turn 17. O’Ward caught oversteer at the entry of the final corner, overcorrecting, bounding through the gravel, grass soaked by overnight storms, going nose first into the barrier. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team pulled the car onto the asphalt and after refiring the Chevrolet IndyCar V6, O’Ward drove back to pit lane for repairs. The team decided to inspect the No. 5 instead of sending the driver back out.
Tune-In Alert
Sunday
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 10am (ET)/9am (CT)/8am (MT)/7am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
Children’s Of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (90 laps) – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am (MT)/10:30am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
What They’re Saying:
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 2nd: “I just had my eye on the on the timing pylon, and then I saw the No. 10 (Alex Palou) come and I was like, oh, it’s that guy again. But congrats to him. It was a great, great run and I’m just really proud of my Good Ranchers Chevy team. We managed to bring a car that was okay, but we weren’t great. Now it is back to sort of where I like it, and I’m excited for tomorrow’s race. It’s going to be nice and sunny, with a great starting spot and we’ll see where we end up.”
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 4th: “Definitely, excited to have my first appearance in the Fast 12, let alone my first (Firestone) Fast Six. We’ve had really strong race days, but that Palou guy makes it hard. I’m really happy to be fourth, we can do something from there. This has actually had more yellows than other tracks. It might seem like a track that you can’t pass, but it might be a bit of a hectic race tomorrow.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified 6th: “I think it was just execution to be honest. Going into this we really expected to be in the Fast Six. We felt that our true pace was top ten and we’ve been in the top ten in every session. Everything went smoothly. We were calm, cool, collected, made small changes, didn’t get ahead of ourselves and executed well. That’s what it takes. Everybody else here is perfect and that’s what it takes. We just executed everything well and it paid off.”
Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified 7th: “I’m a little disappointed, I will say. We didn’t quite get the tires in the window for the push lap and went slower in Q2 than we did in Q1. I think there are a lot of positives to take from the weekend going into tomorrow’s race. As a team, we’re sixth, seventh and eighth. As long as we all make it through lap one, I believe we’ll all be okay and definitely have some opportunities to bring Arrow McLaren forward in the race.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified 8th: “In P2, I had the mishap in Turn 17, and we didn’t really get a lot of running in, so we were playing a bit of a guessing game going into qualifying. We just missed there by a little bit. Considering we didn’t have a lot of running in, I’m not displeased with it. Obviously, we want to be further up front. I think it’s all to play for tomorrow. Strategy is going to be a big thing like it’s been the last few races. It’s good to see all three cars get into the Fast 12. It’s cool to see Nolan do his first (Firestone) Fast Six, so let’s see what he can do here. We can work from here.”
Post practice incident quote: “I lost the rear and once I got into the grass, I was just a passenger. I don’t know if I touched some paint while opening the radius of the corner. Maybe that’s why I lost the rear, or maybe I just lost it. The damage isn’t as bad as I thought, but the steering column is kind of ahhh. So, we didn’t want to risk it with the high speed corners here. We’ll see what qualifying brings. (after watching the replay). I just lost the rear and obviously it took me to the grass and you’re along for the ride.”
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 9th: “Qualifying had been an issue for us to start the year so to start solidly inside the top 10 is a step in the right direction for the PPG Chevy team. The MGU issue this morning obviously set our day back a bit; got us behind on our plan for qualifying. The car felt good but there were some things that a little more practice today would have helped us solve. This has been a great track for me in the past so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet, qualified 13th: “It was an okay session. I think our car was pretty good, definitely fast enough to advance. It was really tough to get a gap. Also, the way that everything worked out, we were too heavy on fuel, which is honestly all the lap time that we really needed to advance as well. Or just having a clean out lap before we started our push lap to understand the balance correctly. You’re missing it by five hundreds of a second so it’s the blink of an eye. But these days it’s so tight. We sit good for tomorrow in 13thwith three sets of sticker reds and we’ll come through the field.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet, qualified 15th: “I am disappointed with qualifying. I didn’t quite get the lap together, which cost us the transfer. We’ve been fighting to stay on top of conditions all weekend and just came up short. We’ve got a good car and will be pushing very hard tomorrow.”
Callum Ilott, No, 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, qualified 16th: “The PREMA team is doing a really good job, and we had a good chance of advancing, and I was really happy with the car. It’s close. It’s close, but this is where we need to be, and it’s just nice to keep working from here. To move forward tomorrow, we need a good strategy, good pit stops, nice tire wear, you know, all all the good stuff. We’ll try our best for it. But, yeah, we’re still we’re still learning, still progressing, but this is a good step.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda ECR Chevrolet, qualified 17th: “Today’s conditions were tricky for the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet. This morning in practice was dark, cool and wet while qualifying was dry and warm. It makes things hard in a racing series where every little thing makes a difference! We aren’t starting where we know we could, but we do have a good race car for tomorrow.”
Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, qualified 19th: Today we honestly made a really good step forward with our balance. Practice two was good for us. Then we just didn’t get the exact timing for the tires to get in, The second half of lap two was good and so was the first half of lap three. Both laps were similar in time. Just a little bit of a miss on what we needed in qualifying. Happy with the balance. I think we have a lot that we can show tomorrow which is really good. A great step forward for us as a team since we didn’t test here. It’s a positive step forward. I think we will be in good shape tomorrow.
David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, qualified 20th: “We finished up qualifying obviously a lot shorter than what we were expecting. Looking at these times, the car was fast enough for it, we had the pace, just unfortunate, unfortunate. Just keep getting very unlucky in all these situations. And in this qualifying session, we just got jam-packed with the timing. Everybody jumped us in pit lane and we didn’t get a clear lap. So this one I think frustrates everybody the most, and it hurts because we knew we had an incredible car and we didn’t even make it out of group one just because of track position. It’s the way the game is. It sucks but we’ll calm down, put our heads down and come up with a good strategy for the race. We know we have a fast car so we’ll be trying to bring it forward tomorrow.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, qualified 22nd:Qualifying today was not where we wanted to be. We’ve been kind of on the back foot a little bit this weekend, compared to some cars around us. That’s part of the game when it rains in the middle of your practice session. It’s been a very interesting weekend so far. I think the race will be very exciting because of all of the chaos. I think we have a good direction for where we want to go. Conor and I have been working hard to find a package we’re happy with and I think we’re close. The race should be fun and we should be moving forward in the race.
Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, qualified 24th: “Unfortunately, qualifying didn’t go well for us today. I was hoping for some rain because in those conditions during Free Practice the car felt quite good. Instead, it become quite windy during qualifying which unbalanced the car and I didn’t feel as confident with it. I didn’t manage to put it altogether for a proper lap, and while I don’t think it would have been top six this time, I think it could have been better. Now we will see what we can do tomorrow in the race.”
Scott McLaughlin
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: Scott, a lot of attention as you sat and waited for obviously the Firestone Fast Six session to play out before you went out. What was the reasoning behind that?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Keeping laps off our red tires. Didn’t want a false read off blacks. I said to the guys, I’d rather go out and do it one time.
We were prepping a lap anyway. I could feel the track on that lap. Then it was just a matter of putting it down.
First lap wasn’t great. Sounds like Alex had the same thing. Second lap was where it was.
We definitely left a little bit up on the table. A lap around there is a lot of fun. Alex did a great job. From our team, done a really good job just coming back because I feel like we had a bad test here, we sort of went the wrong way a little bit. Fixed it yesterday, massaged it today and got it going.
THE MODERATOR: Do you feel good about the race car for tomorrow?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I do now.
THE MODERATOR: Weather looks good tomorrow, but we’ll see.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, no, very similar answer to Alex. I think you got to be prepared for anything. As a driver, if it’s going to rain or be dry, you just got to try to do the best you can in those conditions.
I try to keep a pretty neutral thought process before an unpredictable session. Like practice two or even qualifying. Turned out qualifying was pretty dry.
Yeah, you just got to be as prepared as you can be, but fluid at the same time.
Q. Why are you so good here?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: He’s good everywhere (smiling). Yeah, very similar. Reminds me of a track back home, Phillip Island. Just a high-speed motorcycle track as well. I just enjoy these fast, flowing, smooth tracks.
Q. Scott, your girl is hanging from the bridge again this year.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m a girl dad now. My girl hanging from the bridge? I was like, poop.
No, we’re good. Yes, she is. She’s tied up, ready to go. You know what I mean? I got a daughter now.
Q. Scott, they showed the phone booth. Are you going to have to lock him in the phone booth to win tomorrow?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. I tried a lot of things before Nashville last year.
Look, I’m looking forward to the race. We always have some really good battles every race that we’ve had. Very hard, fair, aggressive racing. So that’s fun. I’m excited for it.
Q. How much of a strategy race is this if we continue the trend? If it were to go caution free, how much of a strategy race is this?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I guess we’ll see. I mean, I think personally it’s going to be very similar to what we’ve seen in the past. But yeah, we’ll see how it plays tomorrow. You can never really sort of predict INDYCAR. You just got to be ready for all sorts of situations at the same time.
Q. This is the first time INDYCAR has come to Barber with the hybrid unit. Has it shown difficulty this weekend? If so, what areas?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I agree with Alex. I think the fun thing now, we’ve been used to the last year or so, has been deploying and doing different strategies, how you use the battery, then regen that battery, how that affects your car balance, trying to figure out what works for you. Not every driver is the same. But you know there’s a quick way of doing it. I’ve really enjoyed studying that and understanding that.
Barber, yeah, it’s been technical. It’s technical already. Adding that, it’s been tough.
Q. Scott, I know you’re drawing the comparisons to Phillip Island. These are really high-commitment corners, aren’t they, sequences of corners? Can you explain to people that don’t know Phillip Island?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it’s high commitment, but also high load, long duration corners, big Gs. At the same time these corners are leading to slow corners. You’re trying to keep a constant flow around the track. It’s all about momentum. A track like this, as soon as you miss one corner, it affects the next. That’s what makes it really fun.
Phillip Island for me is very much the same that it was in a Super Car. Yeah, like it’s obviously a different animal, different beast to drive the INDYCAR compared to the Super Car, nuances how the track attacks itself between the two cars is very similar.
Q. With this weather, potentially maybe more coming, are we going to see drastic change in the track surface, the grass more slippery now? Is that going to affect track grip or tire strategy?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know what Alex thinks, but I sort of thought the track got better. It’s a pretty nice surface. Once we got out there and it was fully dry, we could attack it, lay our rubber down. It didn’t take long for the track to hit its stride.
We’ll have a lot of rain tonight. There’s a weather advisory coming. Ultimately, I think tomorrow with the sun, we’ll have warm-up in the morning, then the Indy Lights race as well. There will be a lot of rubber on the track before we head out.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - MAY 3: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, hops into his car during qualifying for the NTT IndyCar Series Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park on May 3, 2025, in Birmingham, Alabama. Photo: Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader turned the fastest lap in the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1:07.291.
“Yeah, it was great,” he said. “It was really close. We didn’t know if it was going to be wet or dry, so we were all I think panicking a little bit. You didn’t want to get caught at the worst moment. Yeah, car has been really good all weekend honestly. Especially at the Fast Six, I got the balance I wanted, the balance we’re looking for. Yeah, really happy with the lap, as well. Got a pole that we don’t really get many, many poles. Feels good to start up front.”
It’s his seventh career pole in 84 career INDYCAR starts.
Scott McLaughlin starts second with a time of 1:07.438.
Colton Herta, Will Power, Rinus VeeKay, and Nolan Siegel rounded out the Firestone Fast Six.
Qualifying report
Firestone Fast Six
Herta opened the final round with a banker lap of 1:08.265. VeeKay immediately usurped him with a lap of 1:08.195. McLaughlin overtook them both with a lap of 1:07.471. Then Herta retook the top spot with a lap of 1:07.457. McLaughlin took the top spot with a lap of 1:07.438. Palou turned the fastest lap at 1:07.291.
Round 2
Siegel started the round with a 1:09 lap on his banker lap. Herta overtook him with a 1:07.629 lap. Power usurped him with the fastest lap of 1:07.234.
Power, Alex Palou, Herta, McLaughlin, VeeKay and Siegel advanced to the Firestone Fast Six.
Round 1
Group 1
McLaughlin started the session by clocking in a lap of 1:12.708. Palou usurped him, but then McLaughlin took it back with a lap of 1:08.250. Then Palou reclaimed it with a lap of 1:08.119. Both drivers set those times on Firestone blacks. Pato O’Ward, on Firestone reds, eclipsed them both with a 1:07 lap. Then Marcus Armstrong took the top spot with a faster 1:07 lap. McLaughlin clocked in his fastest lap of 1:07.243. Then Palou overtook him with the fastest lap of 1:07.167.
Palou, McLaughlin, Armstrong, O’Ward, Siegel and Power advanced to Round 2. Power, with time expired, clocked into the next round with a lap of 1:07.771.
Early in the session, Christian Rasmussen spun out in Turn 15. With five minutes to go, Power went off track and spun out exiting Turn 6.
Group 2
Kyle Kirkwood opened Group 2’s session with a lap of 1:10.904. Herta usurped him with a lap of 1:08.187. Kyffin Simpson took over the top spot with a lap of 1:08.169. With everyone on Firestone reds in the final two minutes, Josef Newgarden topped the chart with a lap of 1:07.398. Herta overtook him with the fastest lap of 1:07.272.
Herta, Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard, Simpson, Rinus VeeKay, and Louis Foster advanced to Round 2.
Scott Dixon went off track in Turn 8 with less than a minute in the round.
TAYLOR GRAY FINISHES CAREER-BEST SECOND AT TEXAS Joe Gibbs Racing places three GR Supras in the top-10
FORT WORTH (May 3, 2025) – Taylor Gray battled back from early race damage and drove back through the field to earn a career-best second-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Gray’s third top-five finish of the season, and second in the last three races.
Cup Series rookie Riley Herbst finished third in his second Xfinity Series start of the year, while Brandon Jones added another Supra in the top-10 with a ninth-place run.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Texas Motor Speedway Race 12 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson* 2nd, TAYLOR GRAY 3rd, RILEY HERBST 4th, Austin Hill* 5th, Sam Mayer* 9th, BRANDON JONES 13th, WILLIAM SAWALICH 27th, DEAN THOMPSON *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Looks like that hard work is paying off. How was that finish? “I can’t thank all of my Joe Gibbs Racing guys enough for bringing me a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra – as fast as Xfinity Mobile. I tried to ruin our day a few times for us – just with dumb mistakes, towards the beginning and middle of the race – but just kind of shows how tough this number 54 group is, being able to fight back and get a good finish.”
As you look at that second overtime restart, could you have done anything differently?
“No, I don’t think so. First of all, I’m really proud of my guys – they brought me a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra. I really tried to ruin our day the first half of the race, just making dumb mistakes – but really proud of all of my guys, being able to come back from those mistakes and be able to have a good finish out of it. It sucks to finish second – I want to go win.”
RILEY HERBST, No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
You seemed to have an eventful race this afternoon. Can you tell us about it?
“It was a long day. We started 27th, but drove up into the top-five. We got taken out with some damage there on the restart and had to go all the way to the back and drove from last up to third. I think that was ok, but it was just unfortunate, we wanted to be more dominant. If we could have gotten one more green-white-checkered (Kyle) Larson and I could have raced for the win.”
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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.
