NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 26, 2025
Justin Haley, driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
What does racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway mean to you?
“Yeah, this is obviously my home track. Gainbridge has a large presence here, as well. So, yeah, just an important race for our team. Hopefully we unload here fast in practice and can put on a good show. So, yeah, obviously important for me. I grew up racing here — not racing here, but watching a lot of the Indianapolis 500’s. We have a strong relationship with Gainbridge, who’s been one our main sponsors this year. So, yeah, I’m excited to get going here. It’s always good to be home.”
How would you describe the season so far for you and the No. 7 team? What are the boxes you’re trying to check as we get closer to the end of the regular season here?
“I think it’s just been interesting. I mean, that’s really all I can think about when I think about our season. Obviously, I feel like at the start of the season, we were pretty good, and then the car chief and crew chief change happened. We kind of went through a section through May and June where I thought we were pretty decent; had good speed but just caught up in a lot of incidents that kind of tanked us back in the points.
But again, I feel like anytime we got into an incident, it really wasn’t our fault. It was just a bad stretch. So, yeah, we’ve kind of tried to climb back through the metric and have decent days. I feel like we’re coming off two okay finishes right there inside the top-20. I feel like we’ve had good speed, but just trying to find our groove again. Obviously, it’s been a pretty difficult season, in general, with where we are in the points standing and kind of what we’ve gone through. Definitely not what I expected when I started in Daytona, to go through all we’ve been through. But just trying to find a little bit of silver lining and get some good finishes by the end of the year.”
How old were you when you first came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and what is your first memory of this track?
“Yeah, I’m not sure. I know I skipped school a few times. I was definitely in elementary school. My parents had some friends that still live right here, not but a quarter mile away. We used to stay at their house and used to watch a lot of Indy 500’s — come up here for Carb Day, all the practices and spent a lot of time here watching the INDYCAR’s.
I’m not sure if I ever came to a Brickyard, but yeah, I would say I was pretty young… probably six or seven. I knew it was before I started racing. I started racing when I was nine. So yeah, spent a lot of time here; had a lot of fun with it. I enjoy coming here.”
It’s been a tough season so far. What’s your outlook going forward for the rest of the year and trying to get things back on the right track for yourself and the team?
“Yeah, I mean, I kind of hit on that earlier. It’s just been interesting. I’m not really sure why or how I’ve gotten to this point. But yeah, it was tough, obviously losing what we lost and just trying to find our footing after that.
I feel like we have speed. I feel like there’s been weeks where we show a lot of promise, and a lot of those weeks we got caught up in someone else’s mess. So yeah, we’ve kind of climbed back up the metric. I feel like we’re in a good spot here for qualifying. I feel like the past two weeks, we’ve had decent speed. We had the fastest lap at Sonoma. Unfortunately, it took us a day-in-a-half to get there to be the fastest car. But yeah, it’s been fine. I feel like it’s just been difficult. Not what I expected at all, but just trying to find a little bit of speed and get some finishes.
I’m glad to have (Michael) McDowell on my side. He’s been a big part of this year and helping me. He’s been an awesome teammate. Can’t say enough about Michael and what he’s done for our organization and our team.
So yeah, I feel like we’re okay. We just got to get a little bit better.”
Practice was cancelled yesterday and moved to today. Does that change your approach to practice today with the shortened time and the boxes you check to get ready for tomorrow?
“Yeah, it certainly does. I feel like that’s kind of hurt us, too. I’ve been trying to find a feel that I haven’t quite found yet. We had some packages we wanted to run through yesterday to try to hopefully find that feel and get translation from the simulator. So yeah, we kind of had to go with the package and stick with it today. And tomorrow, obviously with the shortened practices that we normally have, you really can’t do much to it.
I was kind of looking forward to yesterday. I know we brought some extra people to try to run through some more changes on my car and figure out something that I liked. I mean, I’m confident that it’ll be fast. Hopefully I have a good feel for it and we’ll be all right.”
You mentioned that this just hasn’t gone the way that you expected it to go from when you started at Daytona. What have you learned about yourself and the guys who are still around you on the No. 7 team throughout the course of this season? Also, what has Michael done specifically to help you out throughout the course of this season?
“I think Michael (McDowell) is just like a good glue guy, right? Like he just, I feel like, ties up all the loose ends that there might be and just kind of brings everyone together.
So yeah, just having teammates like him. I relate to him a lot like I did AJ (Allmendinger), right? Like just a figure that’s been around and seen it all. He just has a good overview perspective on maybe where your team’s at, where your car’s at or where you’re at as a driver. I’m living in it and trying to do it all, but having a neutral figure like Michael who is just there for your best interest has been a big help.
So yeah, I’m glad he’s taken me under my wing, and obviously I’m fully supportive of him and his team, as well. If it’s at 5 a.m. when we’re hitting pickleballs at his house or if we’re hashing it out in a competition meeting about something, he’s just been a great human being.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Erik Jones NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 26, 2025) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Erik Jones was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Erik, can you talk a little bit about what you have going on here?
“Yeah, so yesterday we went to Julie’s place (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) in Westfield, Indiana. We drove over there. It was a great facility. I’m not going to take all of Julie’s thunder here, but they do a lot of training on multiple different dogs. We took my dog, Oscar, out there and ran him through a surprise course that they had out there set up for us. He gave it his best effort and did okay. He got through it. It was a lot of fun, and it was neat to see. We brought a few dogs from Ultimate Canine today that you can see up front hanging out that are in training and getting ready to go home with their families. We also have another announcement. This is a plushie that looks like Oscar. This is going to be something that is going to be available this weekend in the merch trailer, also, on my website – the Erik Jones Foundation website. It is going to be raising funds to go towards our cause of Animal Welfare, helping out groups like Ultimate Canine with their dog training effort and multiple other areas we do with animal welfare. Something we’ve been working on a long time, and we’ve been having fun with it this weekend here in Indy. Happy to have some dogs here in the media center for the media to enjoy.”
Why was it important to connect with Ultimate Canine?
“Well, we started the foundation, I guess it has been almost four years, and I felt like the animal welfare portion has been probably one of the pillars that we’ve – we have done quite a bit with – but not as much as we have with the cancer or reading side. It hasn’t been as much as the forefront, and I’ve been wanting to bring it more forward. That has been a really big objective with the foundation, so as we kind of dove into that and figured out ways to connect, the plushie was a huge way we came up with the raise money for it, for one, but connecting with groups like Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and what they do, for me has been pretty fun. We did some work a few years ago with a group in Michigan with some training for police canines, and then to see Julie’s organization and to see what they do with the police work here locally and internationally with some other work with special ops dogs and with family dogs – as these are not quite special ops dogs here today. To see the work they do with all of the different kinds of trainings and just to see these first-class facilities, for me, is something that is pretty neat. Growing up, we always had dogs, and funny enough, my mom was big into training our dogs, so it was always something that was just interesting to me to see the different groups that train these dogs and what goes into it, and I think just to see the potential of dogs. It gets so overlooked sometimes – you meet these dogs, and you don’t always see their full potential and to see them working hard, and learning and getting smarter is something that is pretty neat.”
Who can get into corners faster – you or Oscar?
“I think Oscar (laughter). Even at eight years old, he can get pretty quick for a couple of minutes if he wants too. He’s just been a great dog. I’ve had Oscar since I was a single guy, and to watch him through meeting Holly (Jones’ wife), her and I getting married, and now having David, our eight-month-old and the way that he has adapted with him and grown with him, he has just been such a great dog in so many different ways, and a great companion. I just hope that everyone gets that experience and honestly, having a resource like Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and Ultimate Canine that you can have that a dog that is trained – it makes your life so much better with that dog and your relationship with your dog so much better, and just to try to share that through different communities is pretty important to me. With Oscar and the training that he had as a puppy, it has made the time with him over the last eight years even more enjoyable.”
Are you familiar with any organizations that help foster dogs for the military members when they are overseas?
“That’s honestly not something that I’ve done with the foundation at this point but would love to learn more about it. Trying to just expand the animal welfare portion of the foundation. The other two pillars – with cancer and reading – they are so far off and running with different causes, that is kind of doing itself, but the animal welfare portion, I’ve been trying to grow this last year, so definitely something to look into, and I think we have a resource with Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and those groups, so would definitely love to look into it.”
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.
SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2025) – Brittany Force made the fastest run in NHRA history on Friday in front of a huge crowd at Sonoma Raceway, setting the speed world record and taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the 37th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 12th of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Force went a track-record 3.645-seconds at a stunning 343.16-mph in her 12,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster, shattering the speed record of 341.85 she just set on Sunday in Seattle. It was the seventh 340-mph pass for Force since April as the two-time world champion looks for her third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 55th in her career. Force went 304.94 to the eighth-mile in a truly monumental and special moment, making history at one of her favorite tracks on the NHRA tour.
“I have to credit David Grubnic and John Collins and the whole team. I’m so proud of them. This is incredible,” Force said. “On that run it actually moved around a little and I thought about taking my foot out of it for a second and then I said, ‘No, I can get it there.’
“I couldn’t hear anything on my radio and then they repeated the 343 speed and I thought they were joking. I’m so pumped and so excited to do this in front of all the fans here. The stands were packed.
“This is still settling in. We’ve run great mph lately but our goal is always elapsed time, not mph but to jump over 342 and go right to 343, I still can’t believe we did it. We’ve worked hard to get here but we’ve got a cleaner more consistent package than we’ve had.”
Doug Kalitta is second with a 3.661 at 332.84 and Clay Millican is currently third with a 3.699 at 335.15.
Hagan continued to roll after winning Sunday in Seattle, taking the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car with an outstanding run of 3.861 at 332.59 in his 12,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. The four-time world is looking for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, but more importantly, the 53-time event winner is also after his first career victory at Sonoma Raceway.
It’s one of the few places the standout has never won and he would love to change that this weekend and keep rolling for Tony Stewart Racing. The team has shown continuous improvement under first-year crew chief Mike Knudsen and the team took another step in front of a huge crowd Friday night in Sonoma.
“I’m still in awe over Brittany [Force’s] 343 mph run. They lowered the boom on everyone,” Hagan said. “Conditions were incredible. It was a mineshaft out there. These nitro motors like to be loaded and we got that tonight. I’m happy for my crew chief, Mike Knudsen. I hope this is his first low qualifier. Last week we got him his first race win and I want that to continue.
“Everything that’s good takes time and we’re getting there with this team. It would be special to get a win here in Sonoma because this is the one track where I haven’t won except for Richmond but we didn’t run there for quite a while. I really want to get this under my belt.”
Rookie Spencer Hyde is currently second with a career-best 3.865 at 333.58 and Paul Lee went 3.890 at 299.00 to sit third.
In Pro Stock, stellar conditions made for more record-breaking runs for a second straight week and reigning world champion Greg Anderson took advantage on Friday in Sonoma, setting the track record with a run of 6.472 at 210.14 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Should that hold, Anderson would get his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 137th in his career.
Anderson set the track record last year in Sonoma and it didn’t hold up for long on Friday, as Anderson broke it the first session and then it lowered two more times before Anderson delivered his spectacular run to close out qualifying and start what he hopes is a winning weekend at his favorite track.
“If you’re a Pro Stock racer, you wish all year long for days like this and conditions like this. I say it all the time but I absolutely love this place. This is my favorite racetrack and all year long If anyone asks, I always tell them Sonoma. I feel good every time I come through the gates,” Anderson said.
“They [Elite Motorsports] are getting closer. I’m actually surprised it’s gone on this long. No one likes getting their teeth kicked in and I know they’ve closed the gap. They’ll be right there for the rest of the year. I have tunnel vision. We work on our own program and we don’t worry about what other people do. You can get lost if you pay attention to what the other guy is doing.”
Points leader Dallas Glenn, who won on Sunday in Seattle, is right behind with a 6.473 and Greg Stanfield made a pair of solid runs, including a 6.480 that has him third.
A month after winning his first career Pro Stock Motorcycle race, Richard Gadson would love to add another first this weekend and the second-year standout is on track to do so, claiming the top position through two sessions with a run of 6.702 at 200.77 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
The run put a significant distance between Gadson and the next-closest rider, a solid sign heading into the rest of the weekend. After winning in Bristol in early June, Gadson can pick up a No. 1 qualifier on Saturday, when more ideal conditions are expected. He’ll also try to pick up a victory in the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout.
First-round selections were made for Saturday’s GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle Callout. Top seed Gaige Herrera called out Chris Bostick, while defending event winner Smith took Chase Van Sant. Gadson selected Jianna Evaristo to open the bonus race, setting the last matchup as Angie Smith against John Hall. The opening round of the Callout starts at 11:15 a.m. PT, with the semifinals at 1:45 p.m. and the final of the bonus race at 4:15.
“I am a big advocate of taking small victories and this was one of them because I’ve never been a low qualifier before,” Gadson said. “Not only are we No. 1, but that was also the best run of my career. To be honest, I was a little disappointed because I wanted to make my first run in the 6.60s. I was mad for a second but it takes perspective, and I realized we did something really good.
“For tomorrow, I feel good about the [GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout] and my [first round] race against Jianna Evaristo. I don’t take anyone lightly and if you remember, she was the Queen of this track last year. I wasn’t completely happy with my staging routine today but I’ll clean that up for tomorrow.”
Matt Smith is currently second with a 6.740 at 200.26 and John Hall is third with a run of 6.759 at 197.28.
Qualifying continues at 11:45 a.m. PT on Saturday at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
SONOMA, Calif. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 37th annual Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway, 12th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Brent Crews (No. 18 JBL Toyota) scored his second ARCA Menards Series win of the season in Friday’s LiUNA! 150 Presented by Dutch Boy at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Crews took the lead with 58 laps remaining and led the rest of the way. Crews won in March at Phoenix Raceway, a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series West.
Crews’ victory was also his second ARCA Menards Series East win of the season; he won at Rockingham Speedway in April.
Lawless Alan (No. 20 AUTOParkIt Toyota) finished second, his eighth top-five finish of 2025. Alan won in April at Talladega Superspeedway; his runner-up finish at Lucas Oil Raceway Park is his best career ARCA Menards Series short track finish.
ARCA Menards Series championship point standings leader Brenden “Butterbean” Queen (No. 28 BestRepair.net Chevrolet) started from the General Tire Pole after qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. He led the first half of the race before a loose condition forced him to give up the lead to Crews. Queen still added a point to his advantage over Alan in the standings with bonus points for leading a lap and leading the most laps.
Isabella Robusto (No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota) finished fourth, the highest finishing of a record-tying six female drivers in the field. Lanie Buice (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) was eleventh, Regina Sirvent (No. 68 Por Amor A Puebla Ford) was 17th, Quinn Davis (No. 31 Key Heating & Cooling Toyota) was 19th, Kadence Davenport (No. 7 Davenport Concrete / Logan Contractor Supply Toyota) was 23rd, and Becca Monopoli (No. 85 Orlando Health Ford) was 34th.
Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) rounded out the top five, his first top five result since a fifth-place finish at Berlin Raceway in June. Scott leads all ARCA Menards Series drivers with ten top-ten finishes in eleven starts.
Connor Mosack (No. 82 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet) finished sixth in his first ARCA Menards Series start of the season. Mosack finished fourth in the ARCA Menards Series East season opener at Five Flags Speedway in March.
Isaac Kitzmiller (No. 79 A.L.L. Construction / Carter CAT Chevrolet) finished seventh, one position ahead of his father Jason Kitzmiller (No. 97 A.L.L. Construction / Carter CAT Chevrolet. The younger Kitzmiller unofficially doubled his lead in the ARCA Menards Series East standings from 7 to 14 points over Tyler Reif (No. 23 Vegas Fastener / Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet), who finished 14th.
Hunter Wright (No. 95 VisitWilcoTN.com / Cedar City RV Toyota) in his first ARCA Menards Series appearance. It was Wright’s fifth start in the ARCA Menards Series East and his fifth finish among the top ten.
Thad Moffitt (No. 46 Induction Innovations Chevrolet) started shotgun on the 34-car starting field and finished tenth in his first ARCA Menards Series start since he finished sixth at Michigan International Speedway in June.
The next race for the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East is the Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway on Friday, August 1. The race will be televised live on FS1 starting at 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT. Live timing and scoring data and live race audio will be available at ARCARacing.com.
About ARCA The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit , or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).
About Menards A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!
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Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.
COREY HEIM CLINCHES SECOND TRUCK SERIES REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP Stewart Friesen leads Toyota with an impressive run in his 200th career Truck Series start
INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2025) – Corey Heim clinched his second Truck Series Regular Season Championship with a fourth-place finish in tonight’s Truck Series race from Indianapolis Raceway Park. Heim, a Toyota Development Driver, has had a stellar season, and earned the 15 Playoff points for winning the title with two races still remaining in the regular season.
In his 200th start and on his 42nd birthday, Stewart Friesen led Toyota with an impressive third-place finish. Friesen, who had to start from the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments, drove through the field and used pit strategy to lead in the final stage before coming home in the top-five.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Indianapolis Raceway Park Race 15 of 23 – 137.2 Miles, 200 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Layne Riggs*
2nd, Corey Day*
3rd, STEWART FRIESEN
4th, COREY HEIM
5th, Grant Enfinger*
14th, TANNER GRAY
24th, BRENT CREWS
26th, GIO RUGGIERO
27th, TONI BREIDINGER
29th, GREG VAN ALST
34th, BOSTON OLIVER
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How do you describe your day?
“Just a great team day. I’m proud of our Halmar, Mohawk, Toyota team. We needed a good top-five to show what we are made of here, coming into this stretch. It was good. We were off strategy. It looked like everyone was going to pit there, and then they all bailed out, and I was like, dang, I don’t know if I should have too. Been wanting to get that stage win, but Layne (Riggs) was just really, really good. With five to go in the stage, I was not going to catch him, so I was like I better lay off and save my stuff. It was still a good day, but the extra time on the tires didn’t help us.”
“I don’t know. This place has always just not been my greatest. I felt really good about practice, and I feel like I always do. I come here and I’m really optimistic after practice. I feel like our speed is really, really good on the long runs, which we struggled on during the race. I don’t know. I tried to change around my driving style a little bit, and play with some stuff, but just struggled with front turn and it seemed like the 34 (Layne Riggs) was able to have more grip it seemed like. It seemed like our organization as a whole struggled tonight. I feel like this has not been my best race track, so happy to come here and finish top-five, but I wanted a little more. However, nevertheless, I’m thankful for TRICON Garage, Toyota and Safelite for all of their efforts.”
What do you take away from being the Regular Season Champion?
“It is a good feeling. It is a testament to how good we’ve been throughout the year. I feel like this is the first race that we’ve really not had a shot at winning, and that certainly says something. I’m super proud of everyone at TRICON Garage, Safelite and Toyota. Still really good points day – it locked us into the regular season deal, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a little disappointed. I wanted to come here and run better than we did in the past, but we have some good tracks coming up, so I’m looking forward to it.”
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.
Layne Riggs stomped the competition and capped off a dominant run that involved sweeping all stages to win the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 25.
The 23-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 160 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 11th place, but assumed the lead for the first time from Corey Heim on Lap 21. After sweeping the event’s first two stage periods and leading up to the Lap 125 mark, Riggs was shuffled back to seventh place amid pit strategies that had select competitors, led by Stewart Friesen, cycling ahead of Riggs and most of the field.
Nevertheless, it took Riggs 16 laps into the third and final stage period to use his four fresh tires against Friesen’s older tires and reassume the lead. From there, Riggs never looked back as he spent the remainder of the event methodically navigating his way through lapped traffic before he claimed the checkered flag on Lap 200 for his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2025 season.
With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Friday canceled due to inclement weather, the event’s starting lineup was based on metric formula per the NASCAR rule book. As a result, Corey Heim was awarded the pole position, and he shared the front row with Ty Majeski.
Before the event, Stewart Friesen and Frankie Muniz dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Corey Heim and Chandler Smith quickly jumped ahead of the field from the inside lane as Heim retained the lead from the first two turns to the backstretch. As the field fanned out through Turns 3 and 4, Heim led the first lap over Smith and Ty Majeski while Ben Rhodes, rookie Giovanni Ruggiero, and Tyler Ankrum led the rest of the field from the top-six spots.
Over the next four laps, Heim stretched his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while third-place Majeski tried to reel in on Smith for the runner-up spot. Behind, Layne Riggs battled Ben Rhodes for fourth place while Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt, Ruggiero and Daniel Hemric battled amongst one another in the top-10 mark. Amid the early battles within the field, Heim led by a second at the Lap 10 mark.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Heim retained the lead by a tenth over a hard-charging Riggs as the latter had reeled in and shaved off Heim’s early advantage. Following numerous attempts to gain runs on Heim from the inside lane, Riggs then used the outside lane entering Turns 3 and 4 to draw even and lead Lap 21 by a hair over Heim. Riggs proceeded to use the outside lane through the first two turns to muscle his No. 34 Clew Ford F-150 entry ahead of Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry. With the lead in his possession, Riggs led the following lap and he continued to lead by Lap 25.
Just past the Lap 30 mark, Riggs extended his lead to more than a second over Heim while third-place Majeski started to reel in Heim for the runner-up spot. Behind, Chandler Smith occupied fourth place and Ankrum was in fifth place, with both trailing the lead by within four seconds. Majeski proceeded to overtake Heim for the runner-up spot by Lap 35 while Riggs proceeded to lead by more than three seconds at the Lap 40 mark.
By Lap 50, Riggs stabilized his advantage to nearly three seconds over Majeski while third-place Chandler Smith trailed by more than six seconds. Meanwhile, Heim was mired back in fifth place behind Grant Enfinger while Ankrum, Rajah Caruth, Corey Day, Ben Rhodes, and Ross Chastain were racing in the top 10 ahead of Tanner Gray, Kaden Honeycutt, rookie Connor Mosack, Daniel Hemric, and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Riggs, who was leading by more than three seconds, cruised to his fifth Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Majeski followed suit in second ahead of Chandler Smith, Enfinger, and Heim, while Ankrum, Caruth, Corey Day, Ben Rhodes, and Tanner Gray were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 18 of 35 starters were scored on the lead lap while numerous competitors led by Matt Crafton were lapped by the field.
Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Riggs pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Riggs retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Majeski, Caruth, Ankrum, Chandler Smith, Corey Day, Tanner Gray, and Enfinger, respectively, while Heim, who endured a slow pit service, dropped to ninth place. Additionally, Ross Chastain had a left-front wheel that rolled out from his entry after the wheel was not properly tightened during his service.
The second stage period started on Lap 70 as Riggs and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Riggs used the outside lane to muscle ahead of Majeski through the first two turns and before entering the backstretch. As Riggs led the following lap, Majeski followed suit while Caruth and Chandler Smith battled dead even against one another for third place.
Behind, Ankrum dueled and fended off Tanner Gray for fifth place while Heim, Corey Day, and Enfinger followed suit. Amid numerous battles within the field, Riggs retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Majeski by Lap 75.
Through the Lap 85 mark, Riggs stretched his advantage to more than a second over runner-up Majeski while third-place Chandler Smith trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, fourth-place Caruth trailed by four seconds while both fifth-place Ankrum and sixth-place Heim followed suit by five seconds.
Then on Lap 98, the caution flew when Alan Waller wrecked his No. 22 EPIC Ford F-150 entry in Turn 3. By then, Riggs was leading by two seconds over Majeski while Chandler Smith, Caruth and Ankrum were scored in the top five. During the caution period, some, including Caruth, Enfinger, Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt, Rhodes, Friesen, Crafton, Queen, Jake Garcia, and Luke Fenhaus, pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by Riggs, remained on the track.
The start of the next restart on Lap 105 nearly featured a three-wide collision between teammates Riggs and Chandler Smith, along with Majeski, in a battle for the lead through the first two turns. Nonetheless, Riggs managed to come out on top through the backstretch and proceeded to lead the following lap. The field behind fanned out to nearly four lanes, from Turn 3 to the frontstretch.
As numerous competitors within the field continued to jostle and fan out for late spots, Riggs pulled away with the lead over teammate Chandler Smith, Majeski, and Heim while Friesen started to mount a late charge. By Lap 112, Friesen, who pitted during the previous caution period for fresh tires, made his way up to the runner-up spot as he trailed Riggs by more than a second.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Riggs captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2025 season and second of the event. Friesen, who trailed Riggs by one and a half seconds, followed suit in second ahead of Rhodes, Enfinger, and Chandler Smith, while Kaden Honeycutt, Majeski, Heim, Luke Fenhaus, and Connor Mosack were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the latest stage break period, some led by Riggs, including those who did not during the previous caution period, pitted their respective entries, while the rest led by Friesen, including a host of others who pitted earlier, remained on the track.
The Final Stage
With 71 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Friesen and Enfinger occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out to nearly four lanes entering the first turn as Friesen maintained the lead over Enfinger. As the field continued to fan out through Turns 3 and 4, Friesen led the following lap and continued to lead through the next lap.
Enfinger battled Rhodes, Heim, Riggs, and Luke Fenhaus to maintain the runner-up spot. Over the following five laps, the trio of Rhodes, Heim and Riggs outdueled Enfinger to move from second to fourth on the track and they started to reel in on Friesen for the lead with 65 laps remaining.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Friesen maintained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Rhodes, the latter of whom opted to pit during the second stage period despite pitting during the caution period before the second stage’s conclusion. Rhodes, however, was also engaged in another tight battle in fending off Heim and Riggs for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Corey Day navigated his way up to fifth place over Enfinger while Hemric, Fenhaus, Caruth, and Honeycutt occupied top-10 spots ahead of Majeski, Chandler Smith, Tanner Gray, and Ankrum, respectively.
Then, with 55 laps remaining, Riggs, who had fresher tires than Friesen, used a crossover move on Friesen through the first two turns to reassume the lead. Friesen then tried to execute a crossover move of his own beneath Riggs through the backstretch, but the latter used the outside lane to muscle ahead through the frontstretch, which enabled him to lead with 54 laps remaining. As Riggs proceeded to methodically stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Friesen with 50 laps remaining, Rhodes, Heim and Day continued to trail in the top five, respectively.
With 40 laps remaining, Riggs stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Friesen while third-place Heim trailed by more than two seconds. Five laps later, Day overtook Heim for third place while Riggs stretched his advantage to nearly a second over Friesen. Riggs proceeded to lead by nine-tenths of a second with 30 laps remaining.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Riggs continued to lead by more than a second over runner-up Friesen and by two seconds over third-place Corey Day while top-five competitors Heim and Enfinger both trailed by five seconds. During the next five laps, Day started to reel in on Friesen for the runner-up spot while Riggs added another second to his advantage. Day then steered his No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry from the outside lane to overtake Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry for the runner-up spot another three laps later.
With 10 laps remaining, Riggs retained the lead by more than two seconds over Day, while third-place Friesen, who was slowly losing ground to Day, trailed by three seconds in third place. As both Heim and Enfinger continued to race in the top five on the track, Riggs stabilized his lead to more than two seconds over Day with five laps remaining.
Victory
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Riggs remained in the lead by a big margin over Day. With a large advantage working to his favor, Riggs was able to smoothly navigated his way around Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed his second checkered flag of the 2025 season.
With the victory, Riggs, who made his Truck Series debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park three years ago, notched his fourth career win in the Craftsman Truck Series division, his first at Indy and his first since he won at Pocono Raceway in June.
Riggs’ victory also made him the third multi-race winner of the 2025 season and the 15th competitor overall to win a Truck race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The victory also marked the fourth Truck win of the 2025 campaign for both the Ford nameplate and Front Row Motorsports.
“This truck was badass,” Riggs said on FS1. “It was so great. I was just out front and saving my tires at the end. I was just waiting for a late-race caution, trying to run the bottom [lane] and trying to run the least amount of distance off my tires. Thank you to everybody at home. All the guys at the fab shop, body shop. I did it for you guys. This [No. 34 truck] was really, really fast. [It] Made my job easy today.”
Corey Day, who made his seventh Truck Series start of the 2025 season, followed suit in second place for a career-best result as he ended up less than two seconds behind Riggs. Stewart Friesen, who was making his 200th Truck Series career start, settled in third place while Corey Heim came home in fourth place ahead of Grant Enfinger.
2025 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Champion
Heim’s fourth-place result, combined with the top-10 results he notched throughout the event’s first two stage periods, was enough for him to be officially named the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Champion. With his second regular-season title in three years, Heim has two regular-season events remaining on the 2025 schedule (Watkins Glen International on August 8 and Richmond Raceway on August 15) before he bids for his first series’ driver’s championship at the start of the Playoffs at Darlington Raceway on August 30.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[The championship] feels really good,” Heim said. “[It’s] Just a testament to how good we’ve been this year. I feel like this is probably the first race where I haven’t had a legitimate shot to compete for the win. That really says something. [I’m] Just really proud of all the guys at TRICON Garage. They’ve been lights out this year. I feel like we’ve got some good races coming up as well, so huge thank you to them, Toyota, Safelite and everyone else who makes this happen.”
Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum and Ross Chastain completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 24 laps. In addition, 14 of 35 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 16th event of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim, the 2025 Truck Series regular-season champion, leads the regular-season standings by 143 points over Chandler Smith and 148 over Layne Riggs.
Results:
1. Layne Riggs, 160 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner 2. Corey Day *3. Stewart Friesen – Please note: Friesen was disqualified after post-race inspection. His No. 52 truck did not meet the height requirement (too low in the front). He drops from third place to last (35th). 4. Corey Heim, 20 laps led 5. Grant Enfinger 6. Ty Majeski 7. Chandler Smith 8. Daniel Hemric 9. Tyler Ankrum 10. Ross Chastain 11. Rajah Caruth 12. Ben Rhodes 13. Luke Fenhaus 14. Tanner Gray 15. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down 16. Jake Garcia, one lap down 17. Brenden Queen, one lap down 18. Connor Mosack, one lap down 19. Matt Crafton, one lap down 20. Dawson Sutton, one lap down 21. Jack Wood, one lap down 22. Matt Mills, two laps down 23. Andres Perez de Lara, two laps down 24. Brent Crews, two laps down 25. Spencer Boyd, two laps down 26. Giovanni Ruggiero, two laps down 27. Toni Breidinger, two laps down 28. Frankie Muniz, three laps down 29. Greg Van Alst, six laps down 30. Jordan Anderson, six laps down 31. Jayson Alexander, seven laps down 32. Norm Benning – OUT, Handling 33. Alan Waller – OUT, Accident 34. Boston Oliver – OUT, Handling 35. Cody Dennison – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the series’ return to Watkins Glen International following a four-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on August 8 and air at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
Brent Crews steered his way to an ARCA Menards Series victory in the LiUNA! 150 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 25. The win came following a late surge in he event’s second half as he outdueled dominant pole-sitter Brendan “Butterbean” Queen.
The 17-year-old Crews from Davidson, North Carolina, led 58 of 150 scheduled laps. Due to inclement weather, the event’s on-track qualifying session was canceled and the lineup was set based on owner points. Crews started alongside Queen on the front row. Through the event’s first half, Crews trailed Queen while intimidating him through every turn and restart. At one point, Crews got loose and nearly got into Queen during a Lap 22 restart.
After adjustments from his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, Crews began closing in on Queen early in the second half. With 58 laps to go, the two ran side by side. On the next lap, Crews made the race-winning pass through Turns 1 and 2. Despite two late restarts, including the final one with 18 laps to go, Crews pulled away each time. He held a steady lead to earn his second ARCA win of the 2025 season.
The qualifying session on Friday was canceled due to inclement weather. As a result, the starting lineup was set based on the current 2025 ARCA Menards Series’ owner standings. Brendan “Butterbean” Queen, the ARCA Menards Series’ driver’s points leader and winner of last weekend’s event at Dover Motor Speedway, was awarded the pole position. Queen shared the front row with Brent Crews.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Brendan “Butterbean” Queen began on the outside lane. He fended off Brent Crews and Lawless Alan and proceeded to lead the first lap. Crews then led the event’s first six laps under green flag conditions. The event’s first caution flew when the No. 85 Orlando Health Ford entry piloted by Becca Monopoli had smoke billowing from behind. She then pulled her entry off the track, coming to a stop between Turns 1 and 2.
The next restart on the 11th lap featured Queen and Crews battling one another from the frontstretch to the backstretch. Queen used the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4, muscling his No. 28 BRC Chevrolet entry ahead of Crews to lead the following lap. Despite leading to the Lap 15 mark, Crews trailed him by less than half a second. Alan, Scott and Kitzmiller continued to follow suit in the top five, respectively.
On Lap 17, the event’s second caution flew when the No. 96 JSJ Construction/ARYLCO LLC/StuffhebusKY.com Toyota entry driven by Jackson McLerran spun and came to a stop sideways and off the course in Turn 1. The incident occurred after Michael Maples, who had fallen off the pace and was out of the lead lap category, had his hood fly off when he was entering pit road.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 22, Queen used the outside lane to gain a slight advantage over Crew, who tried to draw even from the frontstretch to the backstretch. In Turn 3, Crews got loose underneath Queen, nearly getting sideways while lightly bumping against Crews for the lead.
This allowed Lawless Alan to make his move. He went beneath Queen and they raced against one another dead even across the start/finish line during the following lap. Both Queen and Crews would return to running first and second, respectively, on the track by Lap 24. Meanwhile, Alan dropped to third place in front of Soctt and Isabella Robusto.
By Lap 40, Queen, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, was leading by seven-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Crews while third-place Alan and fourth-place Scott both trailed by more than four seconds. Meanwhile, Isabella Robusto trailed by seven seconds in fifth place while Isaac Kitzmiller, Lanie Buice, Connor Mosack, Andrew Patterson and Jason Kitzmiller trailed in the top 10, respectively.
Then on Lap 50, a multi-car wreck in Turn 1 that involved Austin Vaughn, Takuma Koga and Tony Cosentino occurred, during which Koga T-boned into Vaughn while jamming on his brakes while Cosentino got sideways to avoid the collision. By then, Queen was leading by nearly a second over Crews while Alan, Scott and Kitzmiller were scored in the top five, respectively.
Following an extensive cleanup session, the race restarted under green on Lap 60. At the start, Queen muscled ahead and cleared Crews prior to entering Turn 1 as he rocketed away from the field. Queen proceeded to lead the following lap before Crews started to reel in and make moves beneath Queen throughout the next lap. Queen, however, would slightly increase his advantage from one-tenth of a second to half a second by Lap 64 as he retained the top spot while third-place Alan trailed by more than a second.
At the halfway mark on Lap 75, a designed caution for a mid-race break flew, which allowed the field to pit uncompetitively for fresh tires and adjustments. By then, Queen, who stretched his advantage to more than a second, was leading over Crews while Alan, Scott and Robusto trailed in the top five. Meanwhile, Isaac Kitzmiller, Mosack, Jason Kitzmiller, Mason Mithcell and Hunter Wright were racing in the top 10 while Thad Moffitt, Tyler Reif, Zachary Tinkle, Sam Corry, Lanie Buice, Andrew Patterson, Regina Sirvent, Cody Dennison, Brian Finney and Quinn Davis were mired in the top 20, respectively.
With 70 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Queen used his preferred outside lane to muscle ahead of the field as he retained the lead. Behind, Crews maintained second place in front of Lavar Scott, the latter of whom battled Lawless Alan for third place, while Isaac Kitzmiller led Isabella Robusto and the rest of the field from fifth place.
Ten laps later, Queen maintained the lead by a tenth of a second over Crews. Prior to the next lap, Crews attempted to make a move beneath Queen through Turns 3 and 4, but the latter used the outside lane to muscle ahead entering the frontstretch. Crews then remained dead even with Queen through the frontstretch with 58 laps remaining before he used the first two turns and the inside lane to muscle his No. 18 JBL Toyota entry ahead of Queens. With the lead in his possession for the first time, Crews proceeded to lead by half a second over Queen with 55 laps remaining while Scott, Alan and Isaac Kitzmiller trailed in the top five.
With less than 50 laps remaining, Crews continued to lead by half a second over Queen while third-place Scott trailed by two seconds. Behind, Alan and Isaac Kitzmiller continued to race in the top five while Robusto, Mosack, Jason Mitzmiller, Hunter Wright and Thad Moffitt were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Following another late-race caution that flew with approximately 45 laps remaining due to Brian Finney wrecking in Turn 1, the race restarted under green with 37 laps remaining. At the start, Crews used the outside lane to rocket ahead of Queen and Alan to lead from the frontstretch through the first two turns. As Crews led the following lap, Alan and Queen engaged in a side-by-side battle for the runner-up spot in front of Robusto while Jason Kitzmiller led Scott, Mosack and the rest of the field in fifth place.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Crews stretched his advantage to more than a second over Alan while Queen, who dropped to third place, trailed by two seconds. Seven laps later, the caution returned due to the lapped competitor of Michael Maples, who had lost his hood earlier, blowing a flat right-front tire and falling off the pace through the frontstretch.
As the event restarted under green with 18 laps remaining, Crews used the outside lane to motor ahead while teammates Robusto and Alan battled for second place. As Crews led the following lap, Alan fended off Robusto for the runner-up spot while Mosack was up to fourth place. Meanwhile, Queen was mired in a side-by-side battle with Scott for fifth place while Isaac Kitzmiller, Jason Kitzmiller, Hunter Wright and Thad Moffitt followed suit in the top 10, respectively.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Crews stretched his lead to one-and-a-half seconds over Alan while third-place Robusto followed suit by more than two seconds. Behind, Mosack retained fourth place in front of teammate Queen while Scott trailed the lead by four seconds in sixth place. Over the next four laps, Queen and Scott would navigate past Mosack for fourth and fifth, respectively, on the track. Meanwhile, Crews added another second to his advantage as he led by more than two seconds with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Crews maintained a steady advantage over Alan. With no challengers lingering from behind, Crews easily cruised his way around Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag.
The victory was his fourth career win in the ARCA Menards Series division and his second in the ARCA East division. It was his first win this season since his victory in the ARCA East event at Rockingham Speedway in April. Crews’ victory was also the third of the 2025 season in the ARCA Menards Series division for Joe Gibbs Racing and the sixth for the Toyota nameplate.
“[I worked] Really hard,” Crews said on FS1. “This [Joe Gibbs Racing] group did an absolutely, fabulous job at the [halfway] break there. [Queen] was really good the first half [of the event]. Honestly, I was doing everything I had to try and hang with him. I knew we had something. I knew [crew chief] Matt [Ross] and the [No. 18] crew had something up their sleeve to give me that extra little bit at the halfway break, and that’s exactly what [they] did. This JBL Toyota Camry was lights out tonight. I’m grateful to be here and excited to go run the No. 1 truck [for TRICON Garage] tonight.”
Lawless Alan followed suit in second place, trailing Crews by three seconds. Brendan Queen, who led a race-high 91 laps, made a late rally to finish in third place. Isabella Robusto came home in fourth place while Lavar Scott completed the top five in fifth place.
Connor Mosack, Isaac Kitzmiller, Jason Kitzmiller, Hunter Wright and Thad Moffitt rounded out the top 10 in the final running order.
There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 40 laps. In addition, 18 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 11th event of the 2025 ARCA Menards Series season, Brenden Queen leads the ARCA Menards Series standings by 26 points over Lawless Alan. In addition, rookie Isaac Kitzmiller leads the ARCA Menards Series East standings by seven points with two races remaining on the schedule.
Results:
1. Brent Crews, 58 laps led
2. Lawless Alan, one lap led
3. Brenden Queen, 91 laps led
4. Isabella Robusto
5. Lavar Scott
6. Connor Mosack
7. Isaac Kitzmiller
8. Jason Kitzmiller
9. Hunter Wright
10. Thad Moffitt
11. Lanie Buice
12. Andrew Patterson
13. Sam Corry
14. Tyler Reif
15. Mason Mitchell
16. Zachary Tinkle
17. Regina Sirvent
18. Cody Dennison
19. Quinn Davis, three laps down
20. Jackson McLerran, four laps down
21. Tony Cosentino, five laps down
22. Alex Clubb, seven laps down
23. Kadence Davenport, seven laps down
24. Mike Basham, nine laps down
25. Brayton Laster, 10 laps down
26. Brad Smith, 39 laps down
27. Brian Finney, 47 laps down
28. Presley Sorah, 51 laps down
29. Michael Maples, 61 laps down
30. Austin Vaughn, 101 laps down
31. Takuma Koga, 101 laps down
32. Matt Kemp, 130 laps down
33. Doug Miller, 140 laps down
34. Becca Monopoli, 145 laps down
Next on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series schedule is Iowa Speedway for the Atlas 150 and the penultimate combination event between the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East divisions of the year. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, August 1, and air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, July 25, 2025) – Connor Zilisch led the rain-interrupted practice Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race before heavy rain washed out the NASCAR Cup Series practice for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG.
Lightning around the 2.5-mile oval forced the suspension of practice within minutes of the end of the rain-interrupted Xfinity Series session, and heavy rain 40 minutes later prevented any track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series.
The updated Saturday schedule (all times Eastern):
Zilisch powered to the top spot on his final lap in the Xfinity Series practice, reaching 166.627 mph in the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet fielded by JR Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“I’ve been here on the road course a couple of times, but running the oval is a unique experience,” said Zilisch, who turned 19 on Tuesday. “It’s really cool. I grew up watching the Indy 500, and it’s such an iconic racetrack.
“It’s really cool to make my first laps on the oval, and running across the bricks is always a special feeling. Even cooler to have a fast car, so I’m excited for the race tomorrow.”
That lap was nearly 1.5 mph faster than the No. 2 driver on the speed chart, Carson Kvapil, whose best lap was 165.132 in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet also owned by JR Motorsports. Kvapil’s car features a throwback livery matching that of 2010 Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray.
Sam Mayer was third at 164.938 in the No. 41 Audibel Ford, followed by 2018 Pennzoil 250 winner Justin Allgaier at 164.513 in the No. 7 Hellmann’s Spicy Mayo Chevrolet.
Reigning Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson, doing double duty this weekend in both NASCAR series competing at IMS, rounded out the top five at 164.120 in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet.
There were two incidents that triggered stoppages during the 55-minute practice.
Ten minutes into practice, Daniel Dye did a half-spin exiting Turn 2 in the No. 10 Champion Container Chevrolet and nosed into the SAFER Barrier inside Turn 2. He was able to drive back to pit lane.
Twelve minutes later, Taylor Gray brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 and did half-spins left and right on the back straightaway before regaining control of his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota. He was able to drive his car back to Gasoline Alley.
Visit IMS.com to buy Brickyard Weekend tickets or for more information.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Chase Briscoe NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Friday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
20 years ago, Tony Stewart won his first Brickyard 400. With you coming off two runner-up finishes, can you bring in that anniversary with your first Brickyard 400 win?
“It would definitely be really, really special. I actually texted Tony (Stewart) this week about that. We went to the new museum, and they had that 2005 car over there and I took a picture of it, and I sent it to him and said hopefully another Hoosier can win 20 years later. So yeah, it would be super, super special. I mean, it would be nothing like it for me just from a personal standpoint than to win this race so yeah, we’ve had a lot of really good momentum these last couple weeks and hopefully you know we just the one spot better this weekend. I definitely will be giving it everything I’ve got for sure.”
Can you talk about what you were talking about with what you said in Dover about what it meant to win in Indy?
“Honestly, I had just got done with Indy sim, so I was just driving home and running the laps through my head. I’ve never really thought about winning a race before but it was just you know kind of like imagining what it would be like to win here and to do it in the Brickyard 400 and I’d watched Tony’s (Stewart) race the night before like you just randomly on YouTube and you’re just watching his celebration and everything. I just kind of put myself in that moment. As an Indiana guy is just different like I don’t know how to explain it but yeah, just thought about it, I mean, it was a quick 20 second thought but yeah, I just got goosebumps as I was driving down the road thinking about it. I’ve never thought about winning a race before, so hopefully we can do it. Like I keep saying, it would just be so special to me to win here and do it in the Brickyard 400. I think some of the reason – I’ve probably thought about it a little bit more. Last year, was the only Brickyard 400 I’ve actually ran, but I knew going into it that my shots of winning it just probably wasn’t very high because of the equipment and everything, where now, I feel like I have a real, legitimate shot. It just kind of put things into perspective a little bit more.”
When you won on the road course in Xfinity, did you have a moment in the car where it clicked that you were about to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
“I think, when you go back to that 2020 race, it was a super intense battle. I think it was with four or five to go, when I made the mistake it might have been the pressure of the moment – just trying too hard. Then once I lost the lead, you can kind of go back and watch the race – you just see a different style of driving, I felt like those last three or four laps, and I felt like I had determined that there was no way I could live with myself if I threw it away like that, and was obviously able to get back and win the race, but I don’t know. Definitely, outside of that, that was the only time I’ve ever felt like I could win the race here. Other times, I haven’t been in position to do it. It is just different this time around, coming here in a JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) car – like I know I’m going to be in the mix on Sunday. It’s just a matter of doing everything on my end, hopefully, I can do that to the best of my ability.”
Joe Gibbs Racing announced this morning that they resigned Denny Hamlin. Can you talk about the asset he is to the team?
“I think if you look at the success at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), Denny (Hamlin) is a massive part of it. He’s got 59 career wins (58), and all 59 (58) have been at JGR. When you think about a guy of Denny’s caliber, he’s going to be a first ballot hall of famer, and for him to be able to still be at the top of his game, if not probably in the peak of his career right now, why would you not try to keep that going? I know for me; it has been really interesting and eye opening to be able to be teammates with Denny and kind of be inside the walls and see how he approaches every single week of the season. It does remind me a lot of (Kevin) Harvick, when I first got to SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing) – their way of going about their prepping for the weekend and intensity level, and I would say that Denny has way more stuff going on outside of the race track than Kevin has, and he’s still manages to put the time in and the effort in, week-in and week-out and that is why he’s as successful as he is. It has been a lot of fun for me to get to know Denny over the last five, six months and be teammates with him. I would say it makes us all strive to be better, whether its myself, Ty (Gibbs) or (Christopher) Bell. I’m glad that he will be there for the future too.”
If qualifying got rained out, you would be starting on the front row. What kind of an advantage is that?
“It definitely helps. Anytime you can start up front anywhere, it makes a difference, but this track is certainly very track position dependent, and I think, even outside of starting up front, the pit stall selection – knowing you are getting the second pit stall selection is a huge deal. I do feel confident that if we do qualify, we can still definitely qualify on the front row, but there is also that chance that you mess it up or do something where you are not starting on the front row, so yeah, it wouldn’t necessarily hurt my feelings if we rained out – just knowing that I would be in a great position to start Sunday’s race, but so many other things that can happen on Sunday, whether you start second or 38th – you can still get the win, it just makes your life a lot easier certainly, starting up front.”
Is there anything you learned about Denny Hamlin during your first year at Joe Gibbs Racing that surprised you?
“Just truthfully, how hard he works. I mean, from the outside looking in, the fact that he has a ton of distractions with the 23XI stuff. He’s obviously got a lot going on at home with three kids – I can definitely relate to that – and he’s literally there more than probably anybody, as far as sim work goes. From a post stand point, week-in and week-out, he’s in the simulator when I feel like he’s got every reason to jump out of it. Especially, he’s been doing it for 20 years, nearly, I don’t know. I think I had the same misconception with (Kevin) Harvick – where I just figured he does it all of the time. He doesn’t need sim work, but Denny’s put in more sim hours than any of us at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). I think that is kind of the biggest thing I’ve been surprised by and even how analytical he is. Like every meeting we have, he’s always got data to back up whatever he’s talking about. Whenever we do our post-practice sessions, debriefs, he’s looking through every lap, graph and data. It is just very eye opening to how into the analytics and the data he is, and that is something that I’ve never really used in the past, and I’ve tried to start doing more this year because I’ve seen it makes a difference for him, so I would say that’s probably the biggest thing.”
How much did the win at Pocono validate the belief that you could win here at Indianapolis?
“Not a whole lot, truthfully. I mean, if you say, ‘pick a track most similar to Indianapolis,’ Pocono is the only one you could draw slight comparisons to. But it’s still so drastically different. Just because you’re good at Pocono, doesn’t mean here (Indianapolis) and vice versa. I don’t think that made a lot of difference for me. More so, it’s just I’m in a JGR car and they’re stuff is honestly good everywhere we go. I was proud to run one Brickyard 400 in the No. 14 car. For me, that was a dream come true for myself, but I’d much rather win the race. It was going to be an uphill battle at SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing) and it’s no secret our stuff was off and not where it needed to be. Now coming here and to one of the powerhouse organizations, I know I’m going to be in the mix just like everywhere else we go. So, feel like where a lot of the belief comes from.”
Do you consider the Brickyard 400 as one of the majors on the NASCAR schedule?
“Yeah, I think it’s a Crown Jewel. I think every race car driver dreams of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, especially winning. I would say it’s different from myself (compared) to them. For me, I’d put the Brickyard 400 over the Daytona 500 from a personal standpoint, but I’m probably the only one who feels that way because I’m from Indiana whereas those guys just want to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But yeah, I definitely think when you look at the majors, this is one of the four. There’s a reason everyone wants to win here so bad.”
Is there any track you can use to prepare for Indianapolis or is it just that unique?
“I think it’s truly its own animal. You could sit there and say Pocono, turn two is similar, but even that, to me, it drives nothing like the four corners here. It might be the same shape, but the banking feels different and it’s way rougher at Pocono. And just the style of racing at Pocono is just feels different, so I feel like this place is certainly its own animal for sure.”
What all went into the San Diego race announcement video and what are your thoughts on the event as a whole?
“Yeah, it (the video) was super cool to be a part of. We went out there (San Diego) the week of Sonoma and we knew why we were going out there but didn’t know what the video was going to be about. But when they filled us in on it when we got there, I think all of us kind of bought in and thought this was going to be the coolest video ever. And I think it turned out better than expected. It made us look really cool, right? Yeah, really fun to be a part of and to go out there and see the base. I was just talking about it a little bit ago, it’s going to be the coolest race on the schedule. Just the base itself is super neat. The scenery is going to be unlike any other. The pre-race, I can’t even imagine how cool it’s going to be. And I think the race track in general is going to be a lot of fun. I was glad to be one of the six guys to go out there and film that video and they did an amazing job. I think NASCAR in general has done an amazing job with the new company they’ve done a lot of the video stuff with and they knocked it out of the park.”
Have you seen what the course will look like and your thoughts?
“Yeah, it was the same track as they showed in the video, at least as far as I know what the plan is – to be similar to that. But we drove around a lot of it and for a large majority of it, you’re right beside the water which is really cool. There’ll be aircraft carriers right beside the race track, which is really cool. There’s one part we drove by and there’s like 60 helicopters sitting there, so it’s going to be so cool, the scenery in itself. Yeah, I think it’ll race really well. Not sure I’d even call it a street course. I think a lot of it will be in the runway, hangar part of the base where it’ll be really wide. You’ll be able to move around, so it’ll be more like a road course compared to a street course, but I think there will be parts where the real streets of the base, (pause) and I know they have a little bit of work to do on that, just to smooth it out and what not. But, I think it’s going to race really well. It’s three miles, which will be interesting, but should be a lot of fun.”
Talk about your first experiences at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“When I was seven years old, I got a uniform – a Simpson uniform. Usually, everybody would show up in a plain uniform, it’d all be one color and when you drive out of that tunnel at (turns) one and two, there’s that brick building right there and there’s this guy, Jim Bob Luger and he did embroidery. I was seven and that was my first time seeing this race track and I remember getting my uniform embroidered and getting name on it and coming inside the track, and that was the first time I’ve been inside the walls of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and just being in absolute awe. First off, of a track this big. I’ve been to dirt tracks that were a quarter of a mile and then to see this place and the grandstands, it was just unbelieve for this seven-year-old kid to see a race track of this size. And then, just remember coming here, I was probably around 10 or so to see my first Indy 500 and then Brickyard 400s and just coming here. I used to sneak in the garage area and just try to get autographs and such. And once I got older, I was about 16 or 17, and once again, sneaking onto pit road and passing out business cards. For me now to be on the other side of the fence and being a competitor, it’s just super cool for me. I remember the last Brickyard 400 I came here to watch, it was probably 2013 or so, I remember sitting right here. It’s really special I’m on the other side of the fence. I look back on it, I think the biggest win of my career was sneaking in the garage, past the yellow shirts. That’s a really hard thing to do, but I was able to do it a few times. Just crazy that seven-year-old me from going to get my uniform, to now racing here in the Cup Series.”
Where would a win here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway lie in your career achievements list?
“Yeah, if I was able to win the Brickyard 400, it would be the biggest win of my career. I don’t think I could ever win another race that would mean more to me that I know I’ll realistically run. You know, the Indy 500 would mean more, but I’m not going to run that. Like I said earlier, I would put this race over the Daytona 500 because of the significance. I was talking about how many times I came to this place as a kid and what it means to me. So yeah, for me, to win on Sunday, there’s no race I’d rather win in the world, and it’d be so special to do it.”
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.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Friday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is this your contract extension?
“I would say probably, most likely. Who knows, but most likely.”
How have you managed to keep wanting to race year-after-year?
“Kind of a two-fold thing. Some of it is motivating myself. I have goals I want to reach in the Cup Series. I have a really strong relationship with Joe (Gibbs, owner) and his family. An obviously, the ability to win. That’s a high factor to be wanting to do this. I think about that on a weekly basis, would I want to do this if I didn’t have the ability to win as much? Probably not, the motivation wouldn’t be there. Certainly, as competitive as I am, I’m motivated if I’m able to win.”
What does it mean that you’ve spent your entire career at Joe Gibbs Racing?
“A lot. They’re the ones that went out on a limb and hired me when I had nothing. They took a chance on me and JD (Gibbs) obviously believed in me quite a bit. So yeah, you want to pay back that loyalty to the family that gave you that start and you know, it’ll be well over 20 years that I’ll be with them and couldn’t imagine racing for any other organization, much less family.”
How are you able to continue to improve this late in your career?
“I think, also, one of the deciding factors is that I have my body in a good place. My back is not bothering me as much as it was a few years ago. And so, a lot of it is can you physically hold up. So, I’ll treat the next two years just like I’d be treating my rookie season or the year after. I’ve never waned from making sure I’m doing my job to the best of my ability and work ethic will never change.”
Do you think drivers hit their peaks at younger ages in this day and age?
“I would say drivers peak between 25-30 for what I believe is to be true in this day and age. A lot of that has changed because of the technology, because of the information. You see that with young golfers, right? Kids that are 14-years-old are shooting 65. It’s just more information, more training, smarter training. It’s the same in racing and I think that was probably true back then where you know you had to get more seat time and now these drivers have many laps in simulation. Back when I was doing this, you couldn’t get in any kind of actual car until 16. Now it’s like 12 or 13, so everything is moved up and with the new technology of training. Nowadays, I just feel like that number (pause), you should be able to be at your craft (pause). Now, as you continue to get more and more experience, your craft will continue to get better. But then, I think that there is just some sort of switchover point where then your abilities not as good. It’s different for everyone. Certainly, I think that in NASCAR, for what I’ve seen, lately 25-30 it seems like a really good spot.”
Why specifically a two-year extension?
“For for me, it’s all I feel comfortable with. Three years? Who knows what can happen three years from now, so I just want to make sure that I get them (Joe Gibbs Racing) proper time and make sure I commit to them for not one year, multiple years. Let them try to build continue to build the program. No particular reason other than, if I was 26, I would take 10 years, but I just I want to make sure that I’m still at my peak form in my final year. That could be tailing off for three years, so I don’t want that.”
As a team owner, are you guys happy with the where the 2026 schedule is going?
“It’s certainly important from the team-owner side (racing in big U.S. markets). At Chicago, it was a big activation place for 23XI Racing in particular. We had a lot of a lot of our major sponsors that were needed big activation at that track. So certainly, the locations matter when it comes to where we go, but I also understand the challenges of bringing race tracks to those particular cities that you talked about. It’s a tough balance.”
Do you have any ideas for how the In-Season Challenge could evolve?
“Certainly, paying for advancing (in each round), I think you probably get more buy in from drivers if they’re financially motivated to beat this one person. I know a lot of people kind of played it off this year, everyone knew about, everyone did care about it. So yeah, I mean that’s always a factor, but then you have to create a bigger pool of money there. Then, you still need to make it big for the winner but certainly feel like it was all implemented fairly well this year. Just adjust the tracks, maybe adjust the payout like you talked about as you advance you continue to get a higher payout, and then you move from there.”
How special would getting a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway be for you?
“Yeah, it’s tough to say what it would mean until it actually happens. Adding another Crown Jewel would be big, and then to have had them all swept to where we’ve done it all. I mean certainly the names are very prestigious on that list and so, it would certainly mean a lot to me. It would just be another you know feather in the cap. I don’t know what else it would bring to me other than that just little prestige, but certainly, we’ve come close. I mean we were actually just as close on that road course as we were on the oval, although I don’t know you could argue whether that was an actual Crown Jewel or not. Yeah, highly motivated just need things to go our way once.”
Have you been studying how Kyle Larson was able to win this race last season?
“Well, it’s so hard because everyone in front of them (No. 5) had to save fuel, so we were all running half throttle down the straightaway, allowing these big runs to look bigger than they actually were. So, if everyone’s on full throttle there, most of those passes probably don’t happen. I think he’s good enough to where some of them do happen just naturally, but again, everyone was on a fuel save mode, so it’s just it’s so hard to really learn much from it given the circumstances, but certainly (was) very impressive.”
Is there an age where you think you’ll want to retire?
I don’t know, I like to just see kind of where I’m at two years from right now. Just kind of where’s the team at, what’s their Plan B? Where are they at with that? And then just see how competitive I am, how good do I feel, how bad do I want. All those things are just big factors in it, but I just I want the ability to know I can win my last race. That’s going to be the deciding factor. I’m not going to wait until I start to head downward and then retire. I don’t want to go through a whole year. I understand if it just happens naturally in the second half of the final year, then it just happens, but I don’t want to have to go through another season (pause) if I’m starting to tail off the end of next year, I’ll just retire. I could retire whenever I want to retire, so I think that I’m just going to see how things go.”
If you reach 60 wins, is there a goal after that?
“I’d love to get 60 this year. That would put me in a really good spot over the next couple of years and then get into the 60s where I think that could hold up for quite some time until someone young comes in and moves up the list. It’s going to continue to get harder and harder. The field gets closer and closer, and the wins are going to get more spread out. So, we’re not in the era of three competitive cars and four competitive drivers. Wins are always going to get more spread out now than what they were back in the 1960s and 1970s, in those days. I’d like to firmly get in there, and then make people chase it from that from that point on.”
When you do retire, what are some things you’d like to focus on or do in retirement?
“I think I just need to see what retirement is like, whether I’m bored or not. I just don’t see myself as someone that is able to go from this crazy world and life that I live with all these things to then just shutting it down to zero. So, I think I need to just feel those first few months out. Obviously, feel like with 23XI (Racing), there’s an opportunity there to be winners of the sport long after I’m done driving. That will take up more time, I’ll give more time to that. But then beyond that, I don’t know. I’ll figure out how much golf I could play and how many fish I can catch.”
What are you looking forward to in returning to Iowa next weekend?
“That was interesting because that track is like a short track, and we were not good. Now, I had some health issues. I was not feeling well to start that race and we went straight to the back. I think we got lapped. I felt a little better after halfway, and we got back on the lead lap. Actually, got to top five and then crashed. Not really sure about that track. It’s one of the ones that I’m a little uneasy about kind of where we are but I’m sure year-over-year, taking the notes that we learned from last year. I was supposed to do the Iowa test this year, (but) didn’t obviously because of (the birth of son) Jameson, so missed out on all my tests this year. Hope I go there and run well. Should, anyway.”
What other achievements would you like to have before you retire?
“Just more Crown Jewels. I don’t know exactly how many I have now. Seven? So, if I can get (to) eight or nine, I don’t know if that changes much, but it certainly makes me feel a little better. You have to have goals, and those Crown Jewels will be one that you know we go to races like this (Brickyard 400), they’re going to talk about ones that people that have won here at this race track and won Crown Jewel events. I want to be high on the Crown Jewel list of winners. If I can get a couple more of those and again put myself well into the 60s (career wins), if not a bigger number, then (pause). if I get nothing else, truly, I’m going to be happy. I’ll be disappointed because you know, setting my goals now accordingly based off how things are going. But truthfully, I would be happy with just calling it and saying this is how many races I won, this is my winning percentage, this is how many Crown Jewels I have.”
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.
