Home Blog Page 407

Sonoma Event Recap for the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by POWEREDGE

By
Official Release
-

Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals
presented by POWEREDGE
July 25-27 | Sonoma, California

Event Recap

Tony Stewart, driver of the Mobil 1 Dodge//SRT Fuel Dragster:

Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.759 ET at 328.62 mph)
Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.727 ET at 325.06 mph)
Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.700 ET at 331.28 mph)
Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session
Secured No. 5 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 6.668 ET at 97.81 mph.
Got eliminated following Round 1 on Sunday:
Round 1: 10.343 ET at 68.96 mph, lost to Josh Hart (3.746 ET at 329.26 mph)
Currently second in the Top Fuel championship standings, 48 points behind Top Fuel leader Shawn Langdon

Matt Hagan, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

  • Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.916 ET at 329.26 mph)
  • Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
  • Earned No. 1 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.861 ET at 332.59 mph)
  • Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session
  • Maintained No. 1 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.913 ET at 330.72 mph. Q3 also served as Round 1 of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Hagan faced Alexis DeJoria. Hagan’s run defeated DeJoria’s 4.316 ET at 211.00 mph.
  • Secured No. 1 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.926 ET at 330.07 mph. Q4 also served as the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where Hagan faced Ron Capps. Capps’ 3.904 ET at 324.20 mph defeated Hagan.
  • Advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday:
  • Round 1: 3.884 ET at 333.91 mph, defeated Jeff Diehl (8.446 ET at 75.02 mph)
  • Round 2: 3.937 ET at 331.36 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.936 ET at 333.49 mph)
  • Semifinals: 3.937 ET at 327.11 mph, lost to Austin Prock (3.927 ET at 333.91 mph)
  • Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 201 points behind Funny Car leader Austin Prock

Notes of Interest

  • Hagan earned his first No. 1 qualifier of the 2025 season and it marked the 51st No. 1 qualifier of his career. Hagan made his 16th start at Sonoma Raceway and 2025 was his third No. 1 qualifier at the track. His previous No. 1 starts came in 2009 (4.068 ET at 307.51 mph) and 2013 (3.986 ET at 320.51 mph). Hagan qualified No. 1 for the first time in his pro career at the 2009 DENSO Nationals.
  • Hagan participated in his seventh Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season. His previous appearances in the specialty race came at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chandler, Arizona, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire, and the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Washington.
  • By advancing to the Semifinals, Hagan secured his position in the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Hagan will face a rematch against Austin Prock at Brainerd International Raceway.
  • Hagan represented Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) on his Funny Car. JHG was formed in 2021 and brings a passion and flare to the automotive world. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Jason Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving. Johnson’s history in the industry began with Mather Auto Dismantler, Mather Mini Trucks and U-Pull It in Northern California. He later held an instrumental role in the growth and success of Copart, Inc., a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. JHG also serves as a primary sponsor of Elite Motorsports in the NHRA Pro Stock series.
  • Stewart represented Mobil 1, the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand. He has been with the brand for 14 years and debuted a new red, white and blue scheme for Mobil 1 at this year’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the Mobil 1 Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster
“We definitely didn’t want to lose first round, but to go this far into the season and have a streak of first-round wins like we had is something to be proud of for our organization. I’m really proud of our guys and Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) and Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief). It’s always tough when you’re the first pair of the day out on the racetrack. You don’t get a read off of cars in front of you. We just stubbed our toe in the first round. It’s a hiccup, but I feel like our team still had a lot of gains internally. We had a lot of attrition in parts the last two events and this weekend got us back on the right side of that. I feel like we’ve been trying to address issues and get ahead of it and I think we’re in a better spot. Even though the results didn’t show this weekend, there’s still a lot of confidence for the crew chiefs moving forward. I feel like we’ve addressed some big issues that have been plaguing us the last couple events. We’ll go to one of my favorite tracks in Brainerd and then head to the U.S. Nationals. I’m excited about the next couple races.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car
“We had a great weekend overall. We obviously would have liked to have been able to pull the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Funny Car in the winner’s circle. We were on another backside of a good drag race by a hundredth out there. Those races are tough, but they have to fall our way eventually. I don’t know what we have to do to win a round against those guys (Austin Prock), but it’ll come. We can’t race them every weekend, so it’ll fall in our favor one way or another. I’ll probably get to shave the mustache now, so I’m kind of excited about that. We’ll flip a coin and see whether I’ll keep it or not. I loved all the media getting behind it and JHG got behind it. It was a lot of fun being in wine country and making some good memories. We’ll look ahead to Brainerd and plan on doing some testing there on Monday also. We’re getting closer to Indianapolis and the Countdown, so hopefully we can be chasing a championship.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals August 14-17 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Alex Palou whoops field at Laguna Seca

By
Tucker White
-
MONTEREY, Calif. - JULY 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NTT IndyCar Series Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on July 27, 2025, in Monterey, California. Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment

The Alex Palou show continued, Sunday, in Monterey, California.

The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda led 84 of the 95 laps to win the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“Amazing,” he said. “It was another magical day for us, the 10 car and CGR. I think this was probably one of our best weekends ever.”

It’s his 18th career victory in 95 career NTT IndyCar Series starts.

“Yeah. I mean, we started very good in practice,” he said, “but we had to make a couple big changes for qualifying, and they worked really well. Got the pole there.

“Then today we had a lot of pace. I was super comfortable with the car. Car balance was amazing. Strategy, pit stops. And we were fast on both soft or hard tires. It was one of those days where it felt like we had a big pace advantage, and we were able to — I’m happy that we were able to capitalize and get that win.

“Yeah, could not be happier.”

Christian Lundgaard brought his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet home to a runner-up finish Colton Herta rounded out the podium in third in his Andretti Global Honda.

“I think with the amount of deg that we had,” Lundgaard said, “the alternates weren’t — they were lasting from a pace perspective, but again, balance was very tough at the end of stints, and I knew that from my own first stint.

“Really it was just a very similar race for me compared to Barber. Used the undercut and attack. Obviously it worked. I knew I had to surprise him. So I did it into 11 instead of waiting for the main straights.

“Always fun racing.”

Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon rounded out the top-five.

Callum Ilott, Will Power, Marcus Armstrong, Christian Rasmussen and Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top-10.

Alex Palou whoops field at Laguna Seca

Race summary

Palou led the field to green at 3:31 p.m. ET. Caution flew on the first lap when Kyffin Simpson got into the back of Felix Rosenqvist and sent both of them into the Turn 6 tire barrier.

Back to green on Lap 6, caution flew on Lap 11 when Jacob Abel suffered a rear brake failure, went off track and hit the tire barrier in Turn 2.

Back to green on Lap 14, green flag stops commenced on Lap 22. Palou pit from the lead on Lap 25. Caution flew on Lap 26 when Kyle Kirkwood turned Rinus VeeKay in Turn 3 and his car got stuck in the gravel. During which time, IndyCar held the yellow flag for a lap and a half. Kirkwood received a stop and go penalty for avoidable contact. Nolan Siegel inherited the lead, as a result.

Back to green on Lap 29, Palou overtook Siegel on the outside in Turn 3 for the race lead on Lap 37. He pit from the lead on Lap 51 and cycled back to the lead on Lap 52.

The final cycle of green flag stops commenced on Lap 68. Palou pit from the lead on Lap 72. Marcus Ericsson ran wide on the Rahal Straight and stalled his car on track near Turn 7 on Lap 77. It sat there for at least a full lap before INDYCAR threw the caution.

Back to green with 14 laps to go, caution flew with 10 to go when Santino Ferrucci spun out and parked his car in the gravel at the top of the corkscrew.

Back to green with eight to go, Palou drove on to victory.

Alex Palou whoops field at Laguna Seca

Nuts and bolts

The race lasted two hours and five minutes, at an average speed of 102.051 mph. There were two lead changes among two different drivers and five cautions for 13 laps.

Palou leaves Laguna Seca with a 121-point lead over O’Ward.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to action on August 10 at Portland International Raceway.

Wallace Hangs On To Win Dramatic Brickyard 400 in Double Overtime

By
Official Release
-

INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – Bubba Wallace overcame two rivals – Kyle Larson and a dwindling gas tank – in double overtime to earn a dramatic and historic victory Sunday in the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wallace edged 2024 Brickyard 400 winner Larson by .222 of a second in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, to snap a 100-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak dating to fall 2022. Wallace, who earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with the victory, became the first African American driver to win the NASCAR crown jewel event at IMS.

“That adrenaline rush is crazy,” Wallace said. “I’m worn out. Unbelievable. To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is, knowing all the noise that’s going on in the background, to set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this 23 team. It’s been getting old, running on the (playoffs) cut line.

“How many days since my last win? Zero.”

Hamlin completed a climb from the 39th and last starting spot to finish third in the No. 11 Progressive Toyota. Ryan Preece placed fourth in the No. 60 Castrol The Engine Ford, and 2018 Brickyard 400 winner Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five in the No. 6 Body Guard Ford.

Ty Gibbs finished 21st in the No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota to earn a $1 million bonus for Joe Gibbs Racing as the winner of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a single-elimination tournament that started four races ago with 32 drivers. Ty Dillon, Gibbs’ rival for the prize, finished 28th in the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet.

Wallace took the lead for good in the race, scheduled for 160 laps, when leader Ryan Blaney pitted in the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford on Lap 143. At that point, Wallace was 4.911 seconds ahead of teammate Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota and appeared to be on cruise control to victory.

Larson jumped to second in the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Hendrick 1100 Chevrolet by Lap 146 but was 5.047 seconds behind Wallace. Then Larson began to chip away at Wallace’s lead, trimming the gap to 3.180 seconds by Lap 154.

It appeared Larson would run out of laps to catch Wallace, but Wallace had another problem – he might run out of gas. Wallace made his final pit stop on Lap 117, and the expected distance for a full tank of fuel was approximately 40 laps. Larson made his final stop on Lap 121 and appeared to have enough fuel to run at full tilt to the finish.

Another wrinkle was added to the drama of the closing laps when light rain started to fall in Turn 1 of the giant, 2.5-mile oval, triggering the fifth caution period of the race on Lap 156. The rain then intensified, and the red flag was shown and all cars came to pit road on Lap 157, with no service allowed under red-flag conditions.

The race was headed to overtime, increasing the anxiety for Wallace and crew chief Charles Denike. The first restart came on Lap 162, with Wallace starting on the inside and Larson on the outside. Wallace pulled ahead in Turn 2, but the caution flag flew for the sixth and final time when Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota hit Zane Smith’s No. 38 Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford from behind, sending it into the outside wall on the back straightaway.

Wallace and Larson took the same track positions on the second restart on Lap 167, and Wallace pulled away in Turn 1. This time, there was no caution during the first lap of the green-white-checkered finish to halt the race for a third restart. Larson looked high and low for a spot to pass Wallace on the 168th and final lap, but Wallace provided no opportunity.

Not only did Wallace have enough fuel to take the checkered flag, he also performed multiple, smoky burnouts in his car on the front straightaway after his cooldown lap.

Austin Cindric led the most laps (40) in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, all in the first 83 laps of the race. But his chances to claim a Brickyard victory for Team Penske ended while leading on Lap 84 when his right rear tire went flat while approximately six seconds ahead of teammate Joey Logano in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford.

Pole sitter Chase Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, led 34 laps but finished 18th in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota.

Palou Continues Domination of Laguna Seca,Series Standings with Eighth Win of 2025

By
Official Release
-

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca remains Alex Palou’s best track, and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ champion designation almost certainly will stay with him as well.

The driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda proved both with a dominating drive in the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey. In leading 84 of the 95 laps, Palou won on the California road course for the second consecutive year – again from the pole – and scored his third win here in the past four years.

Palou’s command of the sport is most evident in the season standings, where collecting the weekend’s maximum number of points, coupled with the fourth-place finish of Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, swelled his lead to a whopping 121 points. Only three races remain.

The winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge still has work to do to clinch his third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years, but the effort required will be minimal. Effectively, O’Ward needs to win out for Palou to be threatened. Everyone else has been eliminated from contention.

“It’s been an awesome weekend, an awesome year (and) today was something else,” Palou said. “It’s super fun to be here – one of my favorite tracks for sure. I couldn’t be happier right now.”

This win gave Palou his eighth win in 14 races this season. Only three drivers in the sport’s history – A.J. Foyt in 1964, Al Unser in 1970 and Mario Andretti in 1969 – have won more races in a single year. Foyt and Unser hold the season record with 10 wins. Andretti had nine. Palou is one of six drivers with eight; he is the first to do so since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.

The win also was the 19th of Palou’s still-young career – the 28-year-old Spaniard has made just 95 starts. Only 23 drivers in open-wheel racing history have been to victory lane more often, and the next race is at Portland International Raceway, a track where Palou won in 2021 and 2023.

Palou relinquished the lead on this 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course only to pit. Interestingly, the first time the driver taking the top spot was Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel, who led the first 11 series laps of his career. On Palou’s second stop, Team Penske’s Will Power was briefly ahead of him, but Power pitted before he could officially lead a lap.

Palou’s margin of victory was 3.7965 seconds, but he frequently led by more than that. He lowered his average finish in five starts at this track to 1.6, the lowest of any driver in any event on the current calendar.

“It was not easy,” he said. “We had to push; we had to try to be ready for those (late caution periods). We knew that we were not on the (freshest) of tires … but luckily we had enough pace to open a small gap and get the win.”

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard finished second with Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian third. The two had a memorable mid-race moment when Lundgaard muscled his way to the inside of Herta in the track’s final corner.

There were two incidents on the opening lap. First, a tussle between Conor Daly and rookie Robert Shwartzman shoved the latter into the Turn 3 gravel pit. Three corners later, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson ran into the back of Felix Rosenqvist, knocking the Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian driver through the gravel and against the tire barrier. Simpson ricocheted off the wall, sending his car into another part of the tires.

On Lap 11, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Jacob Abel appeared to have a mechanical failure as his car completely missed Turn 1 and sailed into the gravel. Later, Kirkwood ran into the back of Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, drawing the penalty that effectively ended Kirkwood’s championship hopes.

The two late caution periods were the result of the Turn 6 off by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson and AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci spinning at the top of the Corkscrew.

After five races over four July weekends, the series will take a short break before resuming Palou’s march to the Astor Challenge Cup. The BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland will be Sunday, Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By
Official Release
-

Accident Derails Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Team’s Run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Finish: 38th
Start: 20th
Points: 30th

“Man, I hate it for Get Bioethanol and everyone on this No. 3 team. Our Chevrolet was good and I was happy with the balance. We earned points in the first stage and I felt like we had a car capable of finishing inside the top-10. It was a chain reaction with the field checking up on the restart and there was nothing we could do. Smashed our entire nose in and our day was done.” -Austin Dillon

Strong Run for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet Team Stalled by Damage in On-Track Incident

Finish: 25th
Start: 12th
Points: 15th

“We did the best we could with a tough situation today. We could fire off strong for the first five laps in our zone Chevrolet, then started to lose grip. Thought we would be okay and ran in the top six for the beginning of the race. The field got bunched together on a restart and we ended up with damage that ruined our chances of a decent day. Had we executed the way we needed to execute, we would have been there, but we will keep working together to get to where we need to be.” -Kyle Busch

Rick Ware Racing: Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis

By
Official Release
-

RICK WARE RACING
Brickyard 400
Date: July 27, 2025
Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note: Race extended eight laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 34th, Finished 37th / Accident, completed 58 of 168 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (36th with 149 points)

RWR Notes:

● Cody Ware soldiered through a malfunctioning coolsuit that intensified the hot and humid conditions endured during the Brickyard 400 Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A tough race became even tougher when Ware was caught up in an accident following the lap-56 restart. Damage to the No. 51 Arby’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse sent Ware to the garage, where the team ultimately retired from the race after attempting repairs.

Race Notes:

● Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400 to score his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Indianapolis. His margin over second-place Kyle Larson was .222 of a second.

● Wallace was the 13th different winner in the 22 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.

● There were six caution periods for a total of 28 laps.

● Only 22 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a four-point advantage over second-place William Byron.

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, Aug. 3 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota GAZOO Racing NCS Post-Race Recap – Indianapolis – 07.27.25

By
Official Release
-

WALLACE LOCKS HIMSELF INTO PLAYOFFS WITH BRICKYARD 400 VICTORY
23XI Racing driver captures third career victory at Crown Jewel event

INDIANAPOLIS (July 27, 2025) – After a rain delay and multiple overtime restarts, Bubba Wallace was victorious in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, his third career win and first since 2022. The 23XI Racing driver led 30 laps across the 400-mile race after starting the day from the second position and locks himself into the Cup Series Playoffs.

Wallace’s team co-owner and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver, Denny Hamlin, had a spirited drive on Sunday, coming from the rear of the field to finish in the third position. Christopher Bell, finishing eighth, was the third Toyota in the top-10.

Also, by finishing 21st, JGR driver Ty Gibbs came out on top of the inaugural Cup Series In-Season Challenge, taking home the $1 million prize.

Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 22 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, BUBBA WALLACE
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN
4th, Ryan Preece*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
8th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
12th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
18th, CHASE BRISCOE
21st, TY GIBBS
26th, RILEY HERBST
29th, TYLER REDDICK
36th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: Winner

How does it feel to win the Brickyard 400?

“I’m worn out! I thought things every which way besides driving a race car during that red flag. So proud of this Chumba Casino Toyota team. The adrenaline rush is crazy! I want to thank all these people behind me, all the men and women of Airspeed for making this possible. Welcome to victory lane, Becks (son)! It’s pretty cool. To overcome so much and to put these people in victory lane, that’s what it’s all about. These people keep pushing me, believing in me. Man, just so proud. Thank you!”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

You finish third and a 23XI Racing car wins the Brickyard 400. What are the emotions?

“A little bit of both! Great day for our Progressive Toyota team. I have to say thank you to everyone at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) for chipping in yesterday, and 23XI (Racing) for wrapping the car. Yesterday, (was) a huge team effort. I’ve never seen so many people come together to get this done. It needed a lot of work, and they gave me something I could contend with. Not a lot I could complain with. Think we set the fastest lap there on the last lap. The car is capable, we just needed a little track position. We had to take a little extra fuel on that last stop as we had to ‘pay that fuel tax’ at some point. All we needed is for me to not mess up yesterday and have a little better track position, have more options with the fuel and we would’ve had a winner. But I’m going to be kissing the bricks in street clothes rather than a driver suit.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 21st

How does it feel to win the In-Season Challenge?

“It’s great! Want to first say, all glory to God. And, $1 million is a lot of money so I’m going to donate $10,000 to whichever charity Ty Dillon wants to give to. It’s his choice. But we had a fast SAIA Toyota Camry. Didn’t end up where we wanted to in the end. We just lost track position and was out of the way to win the race. Had to play it a little but safe but I want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Ray (Raymond Ramu, executive vice president and chief customer officer, SAIA LTL Freight), Fritz (Fredrick Holzgrefer, president and chief executive officer, SAIA LTL Freight), Dave Gellen (Monster Energy), Tom Norwood (Monster Energy), Mitch Covington (Monster Energy), Rodney (Monster Energy), everyone a part of it. Thank you to TNT and NASCAR for this opportunity. It’s awesome to win it!”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 35th

Any warning there before the incident?

“Yeah, no warning other than just slow on the right front (on the pit stop). I saw them struggling there for a second, but figured we got it on. (As) soon as I turned into (turn) three, I knew we were going to crash, and I felt it come off. Yeah, it looked bad but honestly didn’t feel as bad in the car as others I’ve had. I feel good and fortunate, happy for that. But, sad for the Dollar Tree Toyota team. Fast car and things weren’t working out the best today, but I just wanted to have a shot at the end.”

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.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Preece and Keselowski Secure Top Five Finishes at Brickyard 400

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Brickyard 400 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 27, 2025

Ford Unofficial Finishing Order

4th – Ryan Preece
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Todd Gilliland
7th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Chris Buescher
15th – Austin Cindric
20th – Cole Custer
22nd – Josh Berry
31st – Zane Smith
32nd – Joey Logano
33rd – Noah Gragson
34th – Josh Bilicki
37th – Cody Ware

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Castrol The Engine Ford Mustang Dark Horse – ”For a car that doesn’t have track position and is starting 23rd, being able to finish fourth and execute it through strategy and restarts, that shows we have a really strong core. I feel like, ultimately, the finish was a good ending for us.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Body Guard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Solid day for us. We were in position. At certain points we showed a lot of speed. We needed to catch a few breaks to win, which is normal for this race. We didn’t catch enough breaks but we caught some good breaks to finish in the top five with both RFK cars.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Yeah, we pieced together a good day. Starting towards the back, it’s just hard to make up ground and pass, so we were trying to do the best job of strategy that we could. We made good moves to win the stage. I knew we were going to pay the price for it, but it was hard to give it up and nice when you’re able to hang on like that. We just scratched and clawed and were able to finish seventh. It was a day where we weren’t the best, but we made something happen, and those are the days that we should be proud of.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 34 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s crazy to finish sixth here last year and this year, it’s chaotic for sure. There’s a lot of stuff that went into that one. Obviously, we missed a lot of the wrecks at the end. I felt like we had a plan to put ourselves in a good spot and advance through the field in the end and that’s all you can do. Our car had a lot of speed when we needed it, so I’m happy for that and for our Front Row guys.”

CHEVROLET NCS AT INDIANAPOLIS: Post-Race Report

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 27, 2025

Larson Brings Home Runner-Up Finish in 2025 Brickyard 400

  • After a valiant effort to defend his Brickyard 400 title, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team leaves the “Racing Capital of the World” with a runner-up finish after a double overtime attempt in the crown jewel event. The result marks Larson’s 11th top-five finish in 22 races to continue to lead the series.
  • Looking for his second crown jewel triumph of the season, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron led the Bowtie brigade to the green flag of the 2025 Brickyard 400 from the sixth starting position. Byron made a quick climb into the top-five before varying pit strategies began when the first caution of the day flew near the halfway point of the opening stage. Crew Chief, Rudy Fugle, called his driver to pit road for a two-tire stop – keeping the No. 24 Chevrolet team in the top-10 for the restart on Lap 22. Progressively clicking off spots towards the top of the leaderboard, Byron went on to take the first green-white checkered flag in the third position – leading a strong contingency of six Team Chevy drivers to a collection of points in Stage One.
  • The second 50-lap run at the famed Indiana oval saw another Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet battling for a stage win – reigning Brickyard 400 winner, Kyle Larson. The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native was one of five drivers who tallied points in both stages of the race – joined by fellow Team Chevy drivers, William Byron and Carson Hocevar. With Stage Two winner, Ryan Blaney, electing to pit under the stage break, Larson inherited the lead and a front-row starting position to take the green-flag for the final stage en route to the podium finish.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:

POS. DRIVER
2nd – Kyle Larson
9th – Alex Bowman
10th – Carson Hocevar

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 22 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 9
Poles: 10
Top-Fives: 45
Top 10s: 95
Stage Wins: 20

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Iowa Speedway with the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, August 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 39th

I went into turn three and I think I got run into. It was a tough weekend for our No. 1 Busch Light Lime Chevrolet team. It felt the same, balance-wise and grip-wise, as the next couple of cars in front of us and we were just plugging along. We’ll regroup and get ready for Iowa Speedway next weekend.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 38th

“Man, I hate it for Get Bioethanol and everyone on this No. 3 team. Our Chevrolet was good and I was happy with the balance. We earned points in the first stage and I felt like we had a car capable of finishing inside the top-10. It was a chain reaction with the field checking up on the restart and there was nothing we could do. Smashed our entire nose in and our day was done.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 2nd

What would you have done differently on that restart, or did you have anything more?

“There’s nothing you can do here (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) to pass, so no, I don’t really think there was anything I could do differently. I was second gear on the first restart, and honestly, that one worked out a little bit better, but he almost got clear of me down the front stretch. And then on the second restart, he brought the pace down a little bit slower, so I needed to be first gear. It was kind of the same thing with me last year – he had the preferred lane on the inside and it’s really hard to beat that.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 25th

“We did the best we could with a tough situation today. We could fire off strong for the first five laps in our zone Chevrolet, then started to lose grip. Thought we would be okay and ran in the top six for the beginning of the race. The field got bunched together on a restart and we ended up with damage that ruined our chances of a decent day. Had we executed the way we needed to execute, we would have been there, but we will keep working together to get to where we need to be.”

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 28th

OBVIOUSLY, THE RESTART THERE REALLY SEEMED TO HINDER WHAT HAPPENED TODAY. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM TODAY?

“Disappointing obviously, but things like that happen and you can’t predict everything. That has been what has been so cool about this In-Season Challenge for everybody. I just hate that we didn’t get to give them a run for it there. I don’t think they would say as a team that they had the best day either. I think if all things are equal and we don’t knock the nose off on that restart, we are probably sitting in a pretty good position to put some pressure on him and race him out pretty solid. The first-half of the race, we were okay, and then we had a bad run there at the end of Stage One. So, I think we were going to be able to get the car back right and challenge him, but it just didn’t work out that way and it’s disappointing. Something happened where it knocked off all the air duct, and pinched off the air so the motor wouldn’t run down the straightaways. Then you are just kind of riding for the rest of the day.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Meyer Shank Racing Notches Top 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

By
Official Release
-
#66: Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Monterey, Calif. (27 July 2025) – Sound strategy and strong pit work saved what could have been a dismal day for Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) at Sunday’s Java House Grand Prix of Monterey, earning the NTT INDYCAR SERIES team its 18th top-10 finish of the year.

Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 ROOT Insurance Honda) led the way for the Ohio-based team, after 95 laps around the famed Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca using strong fuel and tire management to climb from 10th on the starting grid to finish eighth.

Armstrong was on the same three-stop strategy as the lead pack around the 2.238-mile circuit throughout the first 75 laps of the race, a move that vaulted the New Zealand-born driver up to fifth at two points before making stops. Two late-race cautions bunched the field for a pair of restarts but Armstrong was equal to the task, not only fighting off a handful of challengers from the ninth spot, but gaining one of his own with five laps to run, earning the eighth position.

The finish was the seventh top-10 in the last eight races for Armstrong and the ninth top ten for the 66 car of the 2025 season, which is a career-high for the third-year driver.

For Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) it took just half a lap in his tie-dye Grateful Dead Radio (XM channel 23) -themed machine for his weekend to go from bad to worse. Starting 12th after a qualifying penalty scuttled his front-row chances, the Swedish driver got clouted by a car from behind heading into Turn Six, sending him into the tire barrier and leaving him three laps behind the field.

The team worked hard to replace the damaged front wing and right front toe link and were able to get Rosenqvist back on track, a move that eventually earned him a pair of spots in the final order due to attrition as he came home in 24th.

After five races in four weeks, MSR will finally get a week off before heading back to the West Coast for the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland on August 10. There will be a Friday practice leading to practice 2 and qualifying on Saturday. Sunday’s race will air on FOX starting at 3pm ET. SiriusXM will also host live INDYCAR Radio coverage of all sessions on XM Ch. 218.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Marcus Armstrong: “It was on ok day in the office. We were a bit locked in on strategy, and it was really the only way we could move forward without being faster than everyone. Luckily at the end we had two new sets of reds to use so we got through a couple of people.”

Felix Rosenqvist: “I don’t know exactly happened, but I got rear-ended in Turn Six, but luckily we were able to keep going and ended up picking up two spots. I have to thank the team for staying with it. It’s just a shame, it was a lot of points we lost.”

1...406407408...6,668Page 407 of 6,668