Despite firing off too free in the No. 10 Champion Container Chevy, Daniel Dye methodically worked his way into the top 20, catching up to teammate, Christian Eckes, by lap 23. Dye finished the opening stage in 18th place. During the first stage break, he pitted for tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, gaining two spots on pit road to start the second stage from 16th. Still battling a loose-handling No. 10 Chevy, Dye managed to gain four more spots during the incident-free second stage to finish 12th. During the second state break, Dye pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. When a caution for rain came out with 21 laps remaining, Dye sat 14th. As the weather stayed away, the race went back to green with 14 laps to go. Dye continued advancing forward, eventually finishing the race in eighth place, his seventh top-10 finish of the year.
“We struggled on the short run, but as the long run went on, our downforce package showed up a little bit more compared to the cars around us. We kept making good lane choice decisions and moving forward all day. I’m super proud to finally get a good finish with Champion Container on our No. 10 Chevy.” – Daniel Dye
Christian Eckes fell multiple positions at the start of the race but remained quiet throughout the opening stage. He and spotter Coleman Pressley worked on carrying speed through the corners. Eckes went on to finish the stage in 16th, radioing to the team that he only wanted tires during his first pit stop so that he could continue learning what he needed to work on inside the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. The crew gained Eckes five spots on pit road to start the second stage from 11th place. On a hectic restart, Eckes received heavy right-front damage. On lap 48, Eckes’ right-front tire went down, forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop for right-side tires. Going down a lap after the pit stop, Eckes fought hard to the stage end in order to not lose a second lap. He took the wave around during the second stage break, starting the final stage back on the lead lap. A wreck on the restart brought the caution flag back out, allowing Eckes to pit for tires and fuel. Restarting from 31st, Eckes navigated multiple incidents and moved back into the top 20 restarting with 14 to go. After his best restart of the day, he raced his way to 14th, eventually picking off one more spot to finish 13th.
“Some unfortunate circumstances set us back early, so we spent a good bit of the race trying to get back our track position. Thankfully, the guys worked hard to get our No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy faster, and our pit crew executed on pit road. Coming home 13th after being 36th and a lap down before the final stage made for a decent finish.” – Christian Eckes
The caution came out on lap three with Josh Williams having moved up to 28th. After the restart, Williams quickly nabbed 25th, where he finished Stage 1. He pitted for tires, fuel, and right-rear wedge and track bar adjustments during the stage caution, which gained the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy six spots prior to the second-stage green flag. Williams restarted in 19th on lap 36 and immediately battled in the pack before grass flew into the Chevy’s grille. With the car running hot, Williams slid back into 23rd place but retook 22nd on lap 53 and then 21st three laps later after the grass dissipated. He finished Stage 2 in 21st and pitted for tires, fuel, and left-rear wedge and air pressure adjustments, firing back off for the last stage in 20th with 34 laps to go. The yellow came out half a lap after the green due to a wreck on the backstretch, leading to more pacing; sprinkles began falling while under caution. On lap 73 of 100 scheduled laps, Williams restarted in 20th but dropped positions after getting shuffled out of line off the jump. After sliding back into 26th, the caution once again appeared for rain, but sunshine prevailed, leading to a green flag with 14 laps remaining. Williams made it up to 20th before a wreck brought out the caution on lap 90. Rain once again fell under the yellow, bringing out the red flag. After the track dried, the race went back to green with four laps to go, and Williams took the checkered in 22nd.
“Not a good day for us. We struggled with grip, especially in traffic. We made some adjustments to make it better, but passing and traffic were hurting us. Wish we had a better showing for Alloy at one of their favorite tracks. Onto Iowa to get back in the top 10.” – Josh Williams
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 27 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Connor Zilisch capitalized on a series of late turn-of-events over the final 14 laps, scoring a thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 26.
The 19-year-old Zilisch from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for 19 of 100 scheduled laps. He started in seventh place and raced upfront through the early stages. Leading for the first time on Lap 52, Zilisch was edged by teammate Justin Allgaier for the second stage victory. However, he remained in contention as the event battled through four caution periods, three for weather, during the final stage period.
Allgaier was wrecked by Kyle Larson during a restart with 14 laps remaining as Zilisch navigated back to the lead. Despite losing the lead to rookie Taylor Gray during a four-lap shootout, Zilisch managed to overtake Gray with drafting help from Sam Mayer with two laps remaining. He then muscled through to post another victory to his resume. It was also the milestone 100th Xfinity career victory for JR Motorsports.
On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday. Sam Mayer notched his first Xfinity Series pole position of the 2025 season. It was also his first at Indianapolis and his third overall. His pole-winning lap was 166.623 mph in 54.014 seconds. Joining Mayer on the front row was rookie Nick Sanchez. Sanchez posted his best qualifying lap at 166.482 mph in 54.060 seconds.
During the event’s pace laps, a handful of competitors, including rookie Christian Eckes and Logan Bearden, encountered issues. Eckes had fire on his car’s dashboard due to a burnt wire. This forced him to pit for repairs before he returned to the track. Meanwhile, Bearden stalled his entry due to having no power. This issue resulted in him not taking the green flag with the field and dropping out of the lead lap category.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Sam Mayer received a push from teammate Sheldon Creed from the inside lane. This allowed Mayer to muscle ahead of Nick Sanchez through the first two turns and the backstretch. The field behind fanned out and jostled for spots. As Mayer proceeded to lead the first lap over Sanchez, Creed and Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier nearly hit the frontstretch’s inside wall and ran over a small drainage while trying to make a bold move beneath Aric Almirola in a battle for sixth place.
On the second lap, the event’s first caution flew when Harrison Burton, racing in 19th place, got loose underneath rookie Christian Eckes. He spun in Turn 2, though he managed to make no contact with the wall and the oncoming field. At the moment of caution, Mayer retained the lead over Sanchez. Creed, Brandon Jones and Almirola followed in the top five.
The next restart on the sixth lap featured Mayer receiving another shove from teammate Creed. This enabled Mayer to rocket ahead of the field from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out from the frontstretch through the backstretch, Mayer proceeded to lead from Turns 3 and 4 before he returned to the frontstretch and led the following lap. Creed moved up to the runner-up spot over Sanchez while Almirola and Jones followed suit in the top five.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Mayer stretched his early advantage to more than a second over teammate Creed. Sanchez, Almirola and rookie Connor Zilisch rounded out the top five. Behind, Allgaier was racing in sixth place ahead of Jones, rookie Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love and rookie Taylor Gray, rounding out the top 10. Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, Kyle Larson, Ryan Sieg, rookie Dean Thompson, rookie William Sawalich, Jeremy Clements, rookie Christian Eckes, Jeb Burton and Matt DiBenedetto were mired in the top 20, respectively.
Five laps later, Mayer added another second to his advantage, leading by more than two seconds over teammate Creed. Zilisch, who overtook Sanchez for third place two laps earlier, was reeling in on Creed for the runner-up spot. Almirola and Allgaier were racing in fourth and fifth, respectively, after both overtook Sanchez through the backstretch a lap earlier.
Zilisch then overtook Creed to assume the runner-up spot exiting the backstretch on Lap 16 while Sanchez battled Jones for sixth place. As Larson cracked the top-10 mark while Sanchez dropped to eighth place by Lap 18. Mayer stabilized his lead to two-and-a-half seconds over Zilisch at the Lap 20 mark. Creed, Almirola and Allgaier followed suit in the top five, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Mayer fended off a Lap 29 charge from Allgaier. By a tenth of a second overall, he claimed his third Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Allgaier settled in second ahead of Almirola, the latter of whom trailed the lead by half a second. Jones, Zilisch, Creed, Love, Larson, Taylor Gray and Kvapil were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Mayer peeled off the track to pit road for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Almirola exited pit road first. He was followed by Allgaier, Zilisch, Mayer, Jones, Larson, Gray, Sawalich, Love and Sanchez, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 36 as Almirola and Allgaier occupied the front row. Almirola and Allgaier dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and scattered, Sanchez hit the backstretch’s outside wall after he got hit by Eckes.
Allgaier and Almirola remained dead even against one another through Turns 3 and 4 before they dueled through the frontstretch. Then, exiting the backstretch, Allgaier received a push from teammate Zilisch that allowed both to muscle ahead of Almirola entering Turn 1. Almirola drove to third place as Allgaier cleared the field with the lead.
By Lap 40, Allgaier, who led the previous four laps, continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Zilisch. Third-place Almirola trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Behind, Larson was up to fourth place in front of Gray while Jones, Sawalich, Jesse Love, Kvapil and Mayer were racing in the top 10.
At the halfway mark on Lap 50, Allgaier continued to lead by half a second over teammate Zilisch while Larson was up to third place. Behind, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Almirola and Gray trailed in the top five by as far back as five seconds. Teammate Jones, Kvapil, Mayer, Love and William Sawalich were racing in the top 10. They were ahead of Ryan Sieg, Creed, Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson and Austin Hill, respectively.
Meanwhile, Eckes, who pitted two laps prior with a flat right-front tire under green, had plummeted to 36th place. Sanchez, who pitted earlier amid his on-track incident with the wall, and Eckes, were mired in 37th place and scored five laps behind.
Another lap later, Zilisch used the inside lane to overtake teammate Allgaier exiting the backstretch. As Zilisch led the Lap 52 mark, Allgaier continued to stalk his JR Motorsports’ teammate through the turns and straightaways, but he settled behind Zilisch’s rear bumper as the latter maintained a steady advantage. Despite having a stronger car than Zilisch through the turns, Allgaier kept racing and settling behind Zilisch’s rear bumper over the next three laps while third-place Larson started to reel in the two leaders as he trailed by less than a second.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Allgaier, who spent the previous eight laps stalking behind teammate Zilisch’s rear bumper through every turn and straightaway, capitalized on Zilisch getting trapped behind the lapped competitor of Eckes, starting from Turns 3 and 4, to draw alongside Zilisch entering the frontstretch, drag-race and edge him at the start/finish line by 0.025 seconds for his seventh Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Zilisch settled in second ahead of Larson, Almirola, and Gray, while Jones, Mayer, Kvapil, Love, and Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the latest stage break period, the lead lap field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead by exiting pit road first while Larson, Jones, Mayer, Zilisch, Sawalich, Gray, Kvapil, Leland Honeyman and Creed followed suit, respectively.
With 34 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Allgaier and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Jones attempted to throw a three-wide move beneath Allgaier and Larson entering the first turn, but he could not execute his move. In the process, Larson executed on a push from Mayer from the outside lane that allowed the latter to muscle the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead with the lead over Allgaier’s No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro entry through the first two turns.
Then as the field led by Larson navigated through the backstretch, the caution returned when Kvapil, who was racing in the top-10 mark, was pinned in a tight three-wide battle with Leland Honeyman and Sawalich entering Turn 2. This resulted with Kvapil getting sideways and spinning backwards into the outside wall, which he hit and sustained rear-end damage to the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet Camaro entry, while Honeyman also sustained damage to his entry. Kvapil’s incident would then commence an extensive caution period due to a weather advisory as light sprinkles were detected around the track.
When the race restarted with 27 laps remaining, Allgaier used the outside lane to draw even with Larson through the first two turns. He then executed a power move through the outside lane to shoot ahead of Larson and reassume the lead entering the backstretch. Allgaier proceeded to fend off Larson to lead the next lap as the field cycled back to the frontstretch, with Larson trying to reel in and follow suit.
With less than 25 laps remaining, Allgaier maintained a steady advantage over Larson while Jones and Zilisch followed suit. Zilisch proceeded to overtake Jones for third place and Mayer trailed by two seconds in fifth place as the laps dwindled. Larson continued to reel in on Allgaier for the lead, though Allgaier led by a tenth of a second with 20 laps remaining. Shortly after, the caution flew due to on-track precipitation.
During the next restart with 14 laps remaining, Allgaier and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns. Then, entering the backstretch, Larson slid up and made contact with Allgaier, which resulted in the latter hitting the outside wall. As both Allgaier and Larson lost their momentum amid their late run-in, Zilisch capitalized by storming to the lead. Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill, Almirola, and Creed all followed suit as the field fanned out through the backstretch. Amid the chaos, Zilisch led the following lap.
With 10 laps remaining, Zilisch continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Gray while Mayer, Hill and Creed pursued in the top five. By then, Larson was mired back in ninth place while Allgaier retired his damaged car on pit road. Shortly after, the caution returned due to a controversial accident in Turn 3.
The incident started when Almirola got Austin Hill loose in Turn 3, just as Hill had outdueled Almirola for fourth place. Hill then veered dead left into Almirola and sent Almirola head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3, leaving Almirola with a severely damaged race car.
Hill proceeded to spin, slid back across the track, and hit the outside wall before he continued. The incident was enough for NASCAR to park Hill for five laps as Almirola deemed Hill’s actions as “intentional.” It also placed the event in a red flag period for 12 minutes.
When the red flag lifted and the race restarted under green with four laps remaining, Zilisch and Gray dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Gray, who received a push from Creed from the outside lane, muscled his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra into the lead entering Turn 1. While Zilisch was trying to fend off Mayer and Larson for the runner-up spot, Gray led the next lap.
Then, with three laps remaining, Zilisch reeled in on Gray and got the latter loose entering Turn 2. This allowed Zilisch to get underneath and draw even with Gray through the backstretch, but Mayer drafted Gray back to the lead exiting the backstretch. After Gray led with two laps remaining, Zilisch mirrored his move entering the backstretch. This time, Mayer drafted Zilisch past Gray as Zilisch led. Behind, Mayer moved into second place and dropped Gray to third place in front of Larson while Zilisch pulled away.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zilisch remained in the lead over Mayer, Gray, and Larson. With the clean air to his advantage, Zilisch was able to smoothly navigate his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed his unprecedented fifth checkered flag of the 2025 season.
With the victory, Zilisch notched his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series career win in his first series start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his third in a row in recent weeks. Having turned 19 years of age this past Tuesday, Zilisch became the youngest NASCAR winner at Indianapolis at age 19 years and four days. Above all, Zilisch recorded the milestone 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory for JR Motorsports.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Those bricks [on the start/finish line] look really kissable and I’m ready to kiss them!” Zilisch said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Man, this is awesome, 100 wins for [JR Motorsports]. Congrats to [owners] Dale [Earnhardt Jr.], Kelley [Earnhardt-Miller], LW [Miller], everybody’s who’s raced for JRM. Everybody who works at JRM. I’m the smallest part of this team and man, I’m so glad to be a part of it. It’s been such an awesome journey with JRM. It’s so cool to get them 100 [wins]. Winning at Indy is awesome and getting 100 wins for JRM is really cool, too. I consider this a pretty awesome day.”
Pole-sitter Sam Mayer followed Zilisch across the finish line in second place by three-tenths of a second while Taylor Gray, who was within striking distance of notching his first Xfinity career victory, settled in third place. Kyle Larson rallied from his late incident with Justin Allgaier by finishing fourth, while Ryan Sieg came home in fifth place.
Rookie William Sawalich, Sammy Smith, rookie Daniel Dye, Jesse Love, and rookie Dean Thompson completed the top 10 in the final running order. Notably, Austin Hill finished in 34th place, five laps down, following a late accident with Aric Almirola.
There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 29 laps. In addition, 31 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 21st event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the regular-season standings by 21 points over teammate Connor Zilisch, 48 over Sam Mayer, 96 over Jesse Love, and 100 over Austin Hill.
Results:
1. Connor Zilisch, 19 laps led 2. Sam Mayer, 32 laps led, Stage 1 winner 3. Taylor Gray, three laps led 4. Kyle Larson, seven laps led 5. Ryan Sieg 6. William Sawalich 7. Sammy Smith 8. Daniel Dye 9. Jesse Love 10. Dean Thompson 11. Matt DiBenedetto 12. Jeremy Clements 13. Christian Eckes 14. Parker Retzlaff 15. Jeb Burton 16. Kyle Sieg 17. Sheldon Creed 18. Harrison Burton 19. Josh Bilicki 20. Brennan Poole 21. Ryan Ellis 22. Josh Williams 23. Anthony Alfredo 24. Mason Massey 25. Garrett Smithley 26. Leland Honeyman 27. Blaine Perkins 28. Joey Gase 29. David Starr 30. Carson Kvapil 31. Dawson Cram 32. Brandon Jones, three laps down 33. Nick Sanchez, four laps down 34. Austin Hill, five laps down 35. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, two laps led 36. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 37 laps led, Stage 2 winner 37. Katherine Legge – OUT, Electrical 38. Logan Bearden – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is Iowa Speedway for the HyVee Perks 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 2, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday, July 26, 2025
Ford Unofficial Finishing Order
2nd – Sam Mayer 5th – Ryan Sieg 16th – Kyle Sieg 17th – Sheldon Creed 18th – Harrison Burton
SAM MAYER, No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “This one hurts a lot but I’m really proud of these guys. They put the work in over the last couple of weeks, and we’ve gotten better every time we show up to the racetrack. We brought a heater for sure, I was really looking forward to it and I think we had good pace. It’s just that you don’t know what to do, I’m learning on the fly and this is my first full race here.”
RYAN SIEG, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We managed to stay out of trouble and found ourselves right where we needed to be. And top five with our Sci Aps Ford was a great day, and my first top five at Indy is always a plus. We’ve struggled the three weeks before and we finally just turned it around. Things are starting to go our way and we’re executing throughout the race. I feel like Iowa and the next few tracks should be some good ones for us and we should find ourselves back in the playoffs.”
GRAY CONTINUES PERFORMANCE SURGE, FINISHES THIRD IN INDY Toyota’s three rookies shine with top-10 finishes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 26, 2025) – Taylor Gray led Team Toyota with a third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is the third consecutive top-10 run for Gray, and sixth top-10 in the last seven races.
Toyota’s rookie drivers – Gray, William Sawalich and Dean Thompson – all delivered top-10 finishes. Sawalich, who finished sixth, scored his third consecutive top-10 finish, while Thompson (10th) continued his consistent performance with his seventh straight top-20 run.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race 21 of 33 – 250 miles, 100 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Connor Zilisch*
2nd, Sam Mayer*
3rd, TAYLOR GRAY
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Ryan Sieg*
6th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
10th, DEAN THOMPSON
32nd, BRANDON JONES
35th, ARIC ALMIROLA
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
Was there any more you could have done there?
“Just got too tight in clean air. That long red flag – before the red flag I was a little free, and then with the long red flag letting the tires heat soak, it just got me too tight, especially when I got clean air, I was tighter all day than when I was in traffic. Just struggled – he was better in me in (turns) one and two. We were comparable to maybe a little better in (turns) three and four. But I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough for bringing a fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra – just got to keep clicking off the good finishes here.”
WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 18 Starkey Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Can you tell us about running in the top-10 at Indy?
“Having three top -10 finishes in a row is really building great momentum for our team. I’m excited for the direction we are trending. Hopefully we can keep this up and consistent top-10s turn into consistent top-fives for our No. 18 Starkey Toyota team.”
DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
Can you tell us about running in the top-10 at Indy?
“It was a frustrating day. In practice, I thought we were pretty strong, and in qualifying we were pretty good, but in race trim, we were just working on the long run. We were badass on the short runs, but not good on the long run. I think we were a 16th-place car, but those restarts really helped me because we were really good on the short run. I think finished off better than we should have, so got to thank Thompson Pip Group, Sam (Hunt, team owner), Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota for giving me a fast Supra and believing in me all day.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 19 Young Life Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
What exactly happened?
“I had a fast race car. Our Young Life Toyota GR Supra was so fast today. We missed the balance to start the race, and we worked on it. We had an unfortunate mishap on pit road and lost some spots and came out 13th, but we were making a lot of progress going forward and thought we still had a chance to win. That’s what I’m most proud of and what I want to focus on – the positives. We had such a great night, last night, with a bunch of Young Life folks – talked a lot about J.D. Gibbs, told a lot of stories about him. I really felt like we were going to have an opportunity to kiss the bricks today, and pay all of the glory to Jesus Christ, and honor J.D. Gibbs and it just didn’t end up that way.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
Monterey, Calif. (Saturday, July 26, 2025) – Brazilian driver Caio Collet is not letting up in his pursuit of the INDY NXT by Firestone championship.
Hours after scoring the top starting position for both Grand Prix of Monterey races this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the HMD Motorsports driver led all 35 laps of the first race. Collet held off series points leader Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global for his second race win this season and his third overall over the past two years.
Collet’s margin of victory was .2092 of a second, making it the closest INDYCAR-sanctioned INDY NXT by Firestone race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Collet also is the series’ 11th consecutive pole winner to reach victory lane at this 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course.
“I think at the beginning of the race we had a really good car with pace,” Collet said. “I was just pushing, praying that everything would stay under control.
“But with a few laps to go I started to see a lot of vibration on my left front (tire), and I’m like, ‘OK.’ So, I worked with my tools, and I could see Dennis was catching me, catching me, catching me. I was counting down the laps, praying that the race was over soon.”
Collet also won the Grand Prix of Road America in June. He will start on the pole for Sunday’s second race, set for 1 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Hauger entered the weekend with a string of five consecutive poles and a 76-point lead over Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes. With Hughes among the eight drivers collected in a series of first-lap incidents and finishing sixth, Hauger’s series lead grew to 81 points with Collet now in the second spot. Hughes is third in the standings, 89 points in arrears. Four races remain.
Hauger has finished first or second in eight of the 10 races this season. He also has finishes of fifth (at World Wide Technology Raceway) and eighth (in Race 1 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course). He will again start from the second position in Sunday’s 35-lap race.
HMD Motorsports’ Josh Pierson finished third, and he will start Race 2 from that position. It is his first career podium in 33 race starts.
The cars of Abel Motorsports’ Jordan Missig and Andretti Global’s Salvador de Alba were out after taking contact in the race’s first few corners. Other drivers involved in the incidents but able to continue were HMD Motorsports’ Juan Manuel Correa and Max Taylor, Andretti Global’s Hughes and James Roe, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Niels Koolen and Andretti Cape Motorsport’s Sebastian Murray.
The race continued under green after that stoppage, which lasted four laps.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Saturday, July 26, 2025) – The NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ title fight will be easy to follow Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The top two championship contenders will start the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey together on the front row.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward will be 1-2 when the green flag drops shortly after 3 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). They happen to be the winners of the season’s past three races and four of the past five.
Palou’s best lap in Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six round was clocked at 1 minute, 8.3413 seconds, and that time was nearly three-tenths of a second quicker than O’Ward’s fastest tour of the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. O’Ward’s lap was 1:08.6280.
O’Ward called Palou’s performance in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda “a monster lap.”
“It felt amazing,” Palou said. “Honestly, the car has been amazing (all weekend). I’ve felt we had a ton of pace, like all year. Everybody at CGR has been doing a tremendous job making me look good on track.”
Last year, Palou won this race for the second time in three years, and his average finish in four races is 1.8. He won the 2022 race by more than 30 seconds. O’Ward’s average finish at this track is 7.5.
A win Sunday would all but cement Palou’s third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years. He holds a 99-point lead heading to the season’s final four races, and winning the pole will add another point to his accumulation.
Palou already has seven wins in the season’s first 13 races, and he is driving toward history. The record for most series wins in a season has stood since A.J. Foyt won 10 of the 13 races in 1964. Six years later, Al Unser matched that total in 18 races. Only eight drivers have won eight or more races in a given season.
The NTT P1 Award was Palou’s fifth of the season, tying his personal mark set in 2023.
O’Ward was pleased to earn his third front-row start of the season – he was on the pole at The Thermal Club in late March and qualified third for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge – but he knows a massive challenge awaits him.
“(Palou) is the guy we have to beat, and he’s starting in front of us,” the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet said. “We’ll see what tomorrow has in store (for us).”
Like Palou, O’Ward has goals to pursue. He set a personal mark last year with three race wins; he has two so far this season. He also is seeking his first title at this level after winning the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2018.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who won this event in 2023, is one of the four drivers to have won races this season. But the driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda did not advance to the second round of qualifying and will start the race from the 19th position. Only once in the 27 previous series races has the winner started outside the top 11. Max Papis won the 2001 race from the 25th position.
Palou, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood (three wins) and O’Ward are the other race winners this season. Kirkwood will start 18th in the No. 27 JM Bullion Honda after bobbling on the exit of the track’s famous Corkscrew corner.
The only incident of note in qualifying occurred when Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian went wide in Turn 5 late in the second round. The driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian was on pace to advance to the Firestone Fast Six until the slide into the gravel pit required a local yellow, which by rule disqualified the Swede’s fastest lap. He will start Sunday’s race from the 12th position.
“I went in (to Turn 5) a little hard and I couldn’t save it,” the event’s 2023 pole winner said. “It’s unfortunate. Yeah, it is what it is. My bad.”
Qualifying was the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ first session of the day as the morning practice was cancelled amid lingering fog on the Monterey Peninsula. With the same weather expected Sunday morning, INDYCAR officials rescheduled the weekend’s third and final practice to the end of this day.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Chase Briscoe NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 26, 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 Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is Briscoe’s series-leading fifth pole of the season. It is his first at his home track – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is the first time in Toyota’s history that the manufacturer has swept the top-five starting positions. The previous best was a top-four sweep at Bristol-2 (2015), Kansas-2 (2016), Dover-1 (2017), Homestead (2017) and Charlotte-1 (2022).
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about your team’s speed in qualifying and how much this one means to you?
“Yeah. For sure. Our team just does an incredible job of making adjustments – even after practice, we were a little bit off. Today was a great example of that. We just put in so effort and work. All of this week – we were practicing, whether it be race runs or qualifying runs in the simulator and just spending extra hours doing it – it make a difference. Super, super special today – just to qualify on the pole here. The Daytona 500 one was cool, going three in a row was cool, but being able to set on the pole here is just so special. I got out of the car, and hearing the crowd screaming – I don’t have that happen anywhere else, so it is just so cool to experience that. I was on the other side of the fence when Tony (Stewart) and (Ryan) Newman, and those other guys were doing it – being one of those Indiana kids, cheering for their Indiana driver, so now to be on the other side of the fence is special for sure.”
What has this been like for you to experience this with your team?
“It’s been really, really just fun. Any time you are driving fast race cars, it is just fun. I feel like my entire career; qualifying has been a strong suit of mine. At SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing), I felt like a lot of the time, we overachieved, truthfully, and now to be able to be at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and be in these extremely fast race cars, it allows me to contend for poles, instead of just contending for a top-10 starting spot. To be able to lead the field to green on all of these Crown Jewels and just to be able to take it in – every time coming to the initial green, every time looking into the grandstands, each one is different. It is just really, really special. Anytime you can lead the field to green – it is significant, but to do it at a Crown Jewel event, it is even more special.”
What is it like to go home and see people before this race?
“Totally is just a fun week for me, because outside of Christmas, is the only week that I get to go home. My entire family still lives in Mitchell, so for me to go back and be able to see my grandparents and everything – I think it honestly helps me recharge my batteries. I was able to come up on Tuesday night and have some time, and my sister got married last night, so that was fun too. It has just been a really fun week to be able to come up here and do all of the things we have done, and even Brooks (Briscoe’s son) is old enough to know what is going on. He’s an Indianapolis Colts fan, and a Pacers fan – he understands what Indiana is and the significance is to it, for myself and our families, so that makes it fun for sure.”
Do you have more pressure this weekend?
“It honestly is not pressure. For me, you just find this extra 5, 10 percent. I’ve talked Tony (Stewart) about it. When you are from Indiana, and you come here – you’ve seen it with Tony and (Ryan) Newman. Jeff Gordon was kind of a transplant to Indiana, but certainly with Tony – you just find that, like I said, extra five, 10 percent that you didn’t know you had and you really put that pressure on yourself when you come here. I think a lot of it is because of the Hoosier fan base gets behind you unlike anywhere else. There is no other race track that we go to, when I hear a driver from that state does the crowd go nuts. It is different in the state of Indiana, and for me to be that guy for the fans here, it is just really, really cool.”
Would you like to sweep the Crown Jewel poles this weekend?
“I mean, yeah, for sure. I try every week to go qualify on the pole. I don’t know if anyone has ever done all four. It would be cool if not to do it, but it doesn’t matter if we are going to St. Louis or the Southern 500, I want to be on the pole. It would be really, really special to do it. The Southern 500 is on a track I feel really, really good about. I will say this year, that has by far been the worst race for the 19 team, but I know when we go back later in the year, we will be really, really good. It would be really special to start on the pole there too, but I would trade them all in for race wins.”
How do you keep so focused with all the other distractions you’ve had this week?
“Honestly, I enjoy it. I don’t really go to any other race track throughout the year where people are screaming my name, so it is kind of cool just to get to experience that for a weekend, every single year, but honestly, I think having all of those people around me is kind of what helps you find that five, 10 percent. I can’t speak for Tony (Stewart) obviously, but Tony would come here, he would have a ton of family and friends as well. You don’t get to race in front of them very often, so when you do, you want to put on a good show for them, and give them a good result and give them something to cheer for. I think it just definitely helps put things into perspective. Without that support, you probably don’t get where you are at, a lot of times, so for me, it is always enjoyable when I can have them around. My life is full of distractions, you are seeing one here right now as I’m doing interviews, and the twins and stuff. I feel like I’m pretty good at managing all of that, but it is nice to have all of those people here and have that support when you go to get in the car.”
How much more confident are you after practice and qualifying?
“Yeah, I didn’t even realize that until we were coming up here that Toyota is one through five. That is an incredible testament to the attention to detail that Toyota brings. They do such a good job of preparing myself as a driver, but even the race teams – to give them all of the tools that they need, so for us to be one through five is really special. I think our cars as a whole, as a manufacturer, are going to be really good tomorrow. Hopefully, I can win it, but if not, hopefully another TRD car can.”
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.
Chase Briscoe notched the Busch Light Pole Award for the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 26.
The event’s starting lineup was determined by a single round qualifying (impound) session, where all entered competitors cycled around Indianapolis Motor Speedway to post the fastest lap through one qualifying lap.
During the qualifying session, Briscoe, who was the 34th-fastest competitor during the event’s lone practice session on Saturday, posted his best qualifying lap at 183.165 mph in 49.136 seconds. Briscoe’s lap was enough for the Mitchell, Indiana, native to claim the top-starting spot for Sunday’s main event at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing for the first time in his career.
With the pole, Briscoe became the first Indiana-born native to claim the Brickyard 400 pole since Ryan Newman made the previous achievement in 2013. It was also his fifth Cup Series pole of the 2025 campaign, his first since Michigan International Speedway in June and the seventh of his career.
Briscoe’s first Brickyard 400 pole also marks his third time claiming a pole position in NASCAR’s crown-jewel events after he qualified on the top-starting spot for this year’s Daytona 500 in February and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
Briscoe’s 2025 Brickyard 400 pole was also a personal one for the driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry, who grew up with aspirations of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a fan and labeled the venue as the one to win at above all other racing venues.
Chase Briscoe quote
“[Winning the pole]’s just super cool,” Briscoe, who was greeted with a chorus of cheers from his home crowd, said. “I’m holding back tears, truthfully. This is such a special moment for me. Even hearing the crowd as I got the pole, it was just super cool. Hopefully, can keep it [the No. 19 car] up there tomorrow. That’s the one that we want to win is tomorrow. I got a really fast Bass Pro Shops Toyota and hopefully now that we start upfront, we can keep it up there.”
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.
While celebrating the pole award with his son, Brooks Wayne, Briscoe took a moment to deeply reflect on his childhood memories that inspired him to become a racer as a fan from Indiana.
“[This place is special] Just being from, literally, 70 miles down the road and coming here as a kid,” Briscoe added. “As you drive out the tunnel in [Turns] 1 and 2, there’s a brick building and that’s where I got my first-ever uniform and just dreaming of being able to come to this place and sitting in the same grandstands, all the fans are. I was dreaming of being on the other side of the fence and now to be able to do that, it’s just unbelievable.”
Briscoe’s closest challenger for the pole position was teammate Denny Hamlin, the latter of whom was the fastest competitor during Saturday’s lone practice session. During Hamlin’s qualifying run, however, Hamlin got loose entering Turn 2 and made contact with the outside wall before he proceeded to spin and hit the inside wall head-on. As a result, Hamlin, who is searching for his first Brickyard 400 victory, will start Sunday’s event at the tail end of the field in 39th place.
Bubba Wallace, who was the 14th-fastest competitor in practice, will start alongside Briscoe on the front row after he posted his best qualifying lap at 183.117 mph in 49.149 seconds. As a result, Wallace will start on the front row for a Cup Series event for the first time since doing so at Circuit of the Americas in March.
Erik Jones will start in third place with his best qualifying lap occurring at 182.749 mph in 49.248 seconds. He will share the second row with Tyler Reddick, Wallace’s teammate at 23XI Racing, as the latter qualified at 182.678 mph in 49.267 seconds.
Ty Gibbs, who is competing for the 2025 In-Season Tournament Challenge title, will start in fifth place with his best lap occurring at 182.445 mph in 49.330 seconds. Ty Dillon, Gibbs’ rival for the In-Season Tournament Challenge title, will line up in 26th place on the starting grid with a qualifying lap of 179.817 mph in 50.051 seconds.
Rounding out the top 10 of the starting lineup are William Byron, Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric, respectively.
With 39 competitors vying for 39 starting spots, all of the entered competitors made the event.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Chase Briscoe, 183.165 mph, 49.136 seconds
2. Bubba Wallace, 183.117 mph, 49.149 seconds
3. Erik Jones, 182.749 mph, 49.248 seconds
4. Tyler Reddick, 182.678 mph, 49.267 seconds
5. Ty Gibbs, 182.445 mph, 49.330 seconds
6. William Byron, 182.031 mph, 49.442 seconds
7. Chris Buescher, 182.013 mph, 49.447 seconds
8. Carson Hocevar, 181.837 mph, 49.495 seconds
9. AJ Allmendinger, 181.822 mph, 49.499 seconds
10. Austin Cindric, 181.503 mph, 49.586 seconds
11. Shane van Gisbergen, 181.485 mph, 49.591 seconds
Sam Mayer claimed his first NASCAR Xfinity Series pole position of the 2025 season for the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 26.
The event’s starting lineup was determined by a single round qualifying (impound) session, where all entered competitors cycled around Indianapolis Motor Speedway to post the fastest lap through one qualifying lap.
During the qualifying session, Mayer, who was the third-fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session and was the 30th of 38 competitors to qualify, posted his fastest lap at 166.623 mph in 54.014 seconds. Mayer’s lap was enough for the Franklin, Wisconsin, native to claim the top-starting spot for Saturday’s main event at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing for the first time in his career.
With the pole, Mayer also notched his third Xfinity Series career pole, his first since he qualified first at Portland International Raceway in June 2023 and his first driving for the Haas Factory Team. Currently, Mayer is ranked in third place in the 2025 Xfinity driver’s standings on the strength of eight top-five results and 11 top-10 results through 20 scheduled starts. He remains in pursuit of his first series victory since he won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2024.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I knew that we were gonna be really good,” Mayer said on the CW Network. “I was really confident. This team did a really good job last year. Just super proud of these guys. The Audibel Ford Mustang was really good. Just super cool to get Ford another pole this year. We’re doing our job right, so let’s go finish the job.”
Rookie Nick Sanchez will start alongside Mayer on the front row after he posted his best qualifying lap at 166.482 mph in 54.060 seconds. Sheldon Creed, Mayer’s teammate at Haas Factory Team, will start in third place with his best lap at 166.365 mph in 54.098 seconds. Jesse Love, who scraped the Turn 3 outside wall while posting his qualifying lap, managed to post the fourth-fastest qualifying lap at 166.346 mph in 54.104 seconds. Brandon Jones will start in fifth place with his best lap occurring at 166.306 mph in 54.117 seconds.
Rounding out the top-10 starting spots are Aric Almirola, rookie Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, rookie William Sawalich and rookie Carson Kvapil. Zilisch, who was the fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session, is striving to notch his third consecutive Xfinity victory in recent weeks as he is coming off back-to-back victories at Sonoma Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway, respectively.
In addition to pursuing his first victory in his first start at Indianapolis, Zilisch is one of four JR Motorsports’ competitors who are striving to deliver the organization’s 100th victory in the series, a feat that is also in the minds of Allgaier, Kvapil and Sammy Smith.
*Notably, the following names that include Sammy Smith, Jeremy Clements, Austin Hill, rookie Taylor Gray, rookie Christian Eckes, Kyle Larson, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton and Katherine Legge qualified 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd and 24th, respectively.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all of the entered competitors made the event.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Sam Mayer, 166.623 mph, 54.014 seconds
2. Nick Sanchez, 166.482 mph, 54.060 seconds
3. Sheldon Creed, 166.365 mph, 54.098 seconds
4. Jesse Love, 166.346 mph, 54.104 seconds
5. Brandon Jones, 166.306 mph, 54.117 seconds
6. Aric Almirola, 166.303 mph, 54.118 seconds
7. Connor Zilisch, 166.064 mph, 54.196 seconds
8. Justin Allgaier, 166.039 mph, 54.204 seconds
9. William Sawalich, 165.789 mph, 54.286 seconds
10. Carson Kvapil, 165.529 mph, 54.371 seconds
11. Sammy Smith, 165.250 mph, 54.463 seconds
12. Jeremy Clements, 165.229 mph, 54.470 seconds
13. Austin Hill, 165.207 mph, 54.477 seconds
14. Taylor Gray, 165.174 mph, 54.488 seconds
15. Christian Eckes, 165.035 mph, 54.534 seconds
16. Dean Thompson, 164.962 mph, 54.558 seconds
17. Leland Honeyman, 164.929 mph, 54.569 seconds
18. Daniel Dye, 164.711 mph, 54.641 seconds
19. Kyle Larson, 164.711 mph, 54.641 seconds
20. Harrison Burton, 164.600 mph, 54.678 seconds
21. Ryan Sieg, 164.534 mph, 54.700 seconds
22. Anthony Alfredo, 164.504 mph, 54.710 seconds
23. Jeb Burton, 164.387 mph, 54.749 seconds
24. Katherine Legge, 163.559 mph, 55.026 seconds
25. Matt DiBenedetto, 163.485 mph, 55.051 seconds
26. Parker Retzlaff, 163.440 mph, 55.066 seconds
27. Brennan Poole, 163.135 mph, 55.169 seconds
28. Kyle Sieg, 163.111 mph, 55.177 seconds
29. Blaine Perkins, 162.561 mph, 55.364 seconds
30. Josh Bilicki, 162.558 mph, 55.365 seconds
31. Josh Williams, 162.540 mph, 55.371 seconds
32. Garrett Smithley, 162.408 mph, 55.416 seconds
33. Mason Massey, 161.342 mph, 55.782 seconds
34. Ryan Ellis, 161.005 mph, 55.899 seconds
35. Logan Bearden, 159.179 mph, 56.540 seconds
36. Joey Gase, 158.543 mph, 56.767 seconds
37. Dawson Cram, 157.558 mph, 57.122 seconds
38. David Starr, 155.422 mph, 57.907 seconds
The 2025 Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is set to occur on Saturday, July 26, and air at 4:30 p.m. on the CW Network.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Xfinity Series Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday, July 26, 2025
SAM MAYER SECURES POLE POSITION IN INDIANAPOLIS
Sam Mayer will start first in this afternoon’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is Mayer’s first pole of the season and the third of his Xfinity Series career.
Currently, Mayer is searching for his first victory of the season and sits third in the points standings.
Ford Qualifying Results:
1st – Sam Mayer 3rd – Sheldon Creed 20th – Harrison Burton 21st – Ryan Sieg 29th – Kyle Sieg
POST-QUALIFYING INTERVIEW:
SAM MAYER, No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I knew that we were going to be really good and I was really confident, this team did a really good job last year and I’m super proud of all of them. Our Audibel Ford Mustang was really good today. It’s cool to get Ford another pole this year and we’re doing our job right, so let’s go finish the job. I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a driver and kind of got my craft figured out when it comes to the race in the past year so hopefully I can put it into practice and lead every lap.”
