First European Le Mans Series win for Corvette Racing, Corvette Z06 GT3.R
IMOLA, Italy (July 6, 2025) – TF Sport’s Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi captured victory in the Four Hours of Imola on Sunday for the first European Le Mans Series win for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as well as for Corvette Racing.
The TF Sport driving trio weathered changing conditions during the race and played the correct tire strategy as Eastwood took the checkered flag by 7.443 seconds in the No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Koizumi drove from near the rear of the LMGT3 field to second in his nearly two hours of driving, Andrade kept the Corvette in contention on slick tires through a period of showers and Eastwood drove the final leg to score the first victory in a Corvette for all three.
The race featured a 20-plus-minute red flag period and a couple of periods of showers but no dramas for the TF Corvette. All totaled, the No. 82 Corvette led three times for 63 laps.
While it was the first ELMS win this year for TF Sport with the Corvette, the combination was victorious to start the FIA WEC season in Qatar. The pair of TF Sport Corvettes are in action this week at São Paulo in Brazil.
The next round of the European Le Mans Series is Sunday, August 24 from Spa-Francorchamps.
JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “It’s very rewarding to see TF Sport deliver the first win in the European Le Mans Series for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The team and each of the drivers made the right decisions and strategy calls in changing weather conditions throughout. Congratulations to Charlie, Rui, Hiro and all of TF Sport on this landmark victory for Corvette Racing.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a really strong race. Hiro’s stint to get us into the lead, everyone else was making mistakes throughout the race and what we’ve shown this year is that we’ve executed really well and just at times didn’t really have the pace. Today we did and again executed a close to flawless race on that side. As always, though, in ELMS it gets a bit busy. I saw the VSC come out and thought ‘OK, this is all going to be a little bit harder.’ But yeah, it was good. (Miguel) Molina was chasing me down once nobody had to fuel save anymore. The gap started to get a little bit twitchy, to say the least. But the car just came alive when the fuel started to burn off. By the end, I was able to then just maintain the gap to them.
“I’m so delighted for both of these guys, the team, and it’s my first win with Corvette. It hasn’t been the easiest start to a change of manufacturer. I’m really happy to sort of get this off our back.”
(On late-race FCYs) “I was actually speaking with our engineer, when you’re trying to be a little bit conservative, of how early you slow down and how early you release the button because you think you’ve got a margin, you kind of blink and you end up losing three or four seconds when you know somebody like Molina is going to be pushing that to the limit. So by the last one, you’re just attacking as much as you can, cutting every corner as much as you can under FCY. And yeah, we were able to maintain the gap to the end.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was very tricky conditions, obviously, coming out. The rain had just started. Obviously, Hiro had done a really good job at that point in tricky conditions to bring himself so high in the order. From there on, the pressure was on because I started to feel like I could get a really good result. I went out of the pit lane with cold right-hand side tires. It was very tricky, because as soon as I went out, the FCY was activated, so I didn’t really have much time to get temperature in and then the rain got harder. So when it was time to go back to green I had no temperature in the tires. For two or three laps it was very tricky. A lot of cars were going off and making mistakes so I was happy to keep it on track. Then from there I was just surviving until the conditions improved and was lucky to be in a good place and build up the rhythm in the end and give the car to Charlie in a good position.
“It’s always a pleasure to represent (Angola), but this win is even more special. I’ve been sharing a car with Charlie now for a year-and-a-half, and it felt like we’ve been quite close a few times. To get the win now is really special and also with Hiro; we were also teammates in different cars but teammates at TF last year in WEC. So for us all to come together and get this win not only for ourselves, but for the team and also for Corvette… the first win for Corvette in ELMS is really special. So hopefully this is a turnaround and we can keep the momentum going for the next rounds.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I knew the opening lap would be a little bit dangerous, and on the first lap I had to stop the car to avoid an accident. But in the end I felt like I did a good job and knew that something big was going to happen for us so I was really happy to do a good race. This is the best team and the best car with the best drivers, so I was really happy to give my teammates the car in a good condition. They did a great job.”
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 6, 2025) – Scott Dixon combined masterful fuel saving and a rare mistake by teammate and NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader Alex Palou with five laps to go Sunday to win The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport.
Dixon continued two remarkable series-record streaks with his 59th career victory, first win this season in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and seventh career win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: He has won at least once in 21 consecutive seasons dating back to 2005 and has recorded a victory in 23 seasons during his illustrious career.
“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said. “We had fantastic cars. But just so much fun to try and pull off what we did and do it with what we had was fantastic.
“They were supposed to (remove downforce) from the front wing on the last stop. I just had to look at the corner, and the car was going to turn. I was just hoping the rear tires were going to hold on.”
Six-time series champion Dixon crossed the finish line just .4201 of a second ahead of Palou’s No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, the closest result this season in the series. Christian Lundgaard placed third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Colton Herta finished fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian, while 2024 Mid-Ohio winner Pato O’Ward rounded out the top five in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
NTT P1 Award winner Palou led Dixon by approximately two seconds and appeared to be headed to his seventh victory of the season on Lap 85 when he ran wide into the dirt adjacent to Turn 9 and slowed, with Dixon squeezing past for a lead he would not surrender.
“Just a stupid mistake, honestly,” Palou said. “A mistake on my part. The car was amazing all weekend, all race. I just lost it a little bit on (corner) entry and kind of really couldn’t get power going on.
“Nobody to blame but me. Just got a bit wide on entry and lost it completely.”
Palou pulled to within .356 of a second with two laps to go but could draw no closer as Dixon put on a master class of choosing lines that maintained speed while slyly and legally blunting the momentum of his trailing rival.
Dixon’s ability to adjust his racing lines on the fly was most evident in Turn 2, the famous “Keyhole” corner, on the last two laps.
On Lap 89, Dixon opened the low line for Palou to explore and then eased from mid-corner across Palou’s lower line on corner exit, taking advantage of the wider line in the turn to pull away on the back straightaway. On the final lap, Dixon instead chose the low line through Turn 2, eliminating a prime overtaking spot for Palou.
Dixon’s victory was as masterful as it was improbable.
With a starting spot of ninth, Dixon and strategist Mike Hull decided to capitalize on Dixon’s legendary ability to save fuel and attempt to complete the race on just two pit stops, one fewer than most teams attempted. The fuel mileage alchemy needed some laps under yellow to have a chance to succeed, and Dixon got that during the final caution period from Laps 31-34 when Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet stopped off course in Turn 8.
Dixon made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 61. Meanwhile, Palou was pushing hard up front in the lead, knowing he had to build a sufficient gap on track to keep the top spot from Dixon after his final stop and make a three-stop strategy work.
Palou entered the pits for his final stop at the end of Lap 72 and rejoined the 13-turn, 2.258-mile circuit ahead of Dixon on track. He expanded his lead to 1.8 seconds by Lap 77 and appeared to be headed to his seventh victory of the season.
Then Palou bobbled with five laps to go, and Dixon pounced.
“We still had to save fuel all the way to the end, so it was definitely very tight,” Dixon said. “I didn’t see what happened. I saw he went off in Turn 9. We got a little bit lucky with that.”
There was some solace for Palou despite the barbed disappointment of giving away a win. His championship lead, 93 points entering this event, grew to 113 points. That’s a gap of more than two races with seven races remaining this season.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event weekend is the Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend, a doubleheader July 12-13 at Iowa Speedway. The Synk 275 powered by Sukup is 5 p.m. ET Saturday, July 12, with the Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, July 13. FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will broadcast both races live.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport Race Results
(9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
(1) Alex Palou, Honda, 90, Running
(2) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(5) Colton Herta, Honda, 90, Running
(14) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(15) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 90, Running
(8) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 90, Running
(7) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 90, Running
(26) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 90, Running
(3) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 90, Running
(4) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(10) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 90, Running
(24) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(6) Louis Foster, Honda, 90, Running
(11) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(13) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(19) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(12) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(23) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 90, Running
(27) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 90, Running
(25) Jacob Abel, Honda, 90, Running
(21) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 89, Running
(20) Graham Rahal, Honda, 89, Running
(16) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 36, Contact
(22) Will Power, Chevrolet, 11, Contact
(18) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 1, Contact
Race Statistics Winner’s average speed: 111.166 Time of Race: 01:49:41.0967 Margin of victory: 0.4201 of a second Cautions: 2 for 8 laps Lead changes: 8 among 4 drivers
Lap Leaders: Palou, Alex 1 – 27 Simpson, Kyffin 28 Dixon, Scott 29 Palou, Alex 30 – 56 Dixon, Scott 57 – 60 Palou, Alex 61 – 72 Herta, Colton 73 – 75 Palou, Alex 76 – 84 Dixon, Scott 85 – 90
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 430, Kirkwood 317, O’Ward 305, Dixon 282, Lundgaard 263, Rosenqvist 259, Herta 217, Armstrong 209, Power 202, Ferrucci 198, McLaughlin 197, Malukas 187, VeeKay 179, Rossi 176, Simpson 162, Rasmussen 155, Siegel 147, Daly 144, Newgarden 142, Ericsson 141, Rahal 139, Foster 118, Shwartzman 113, Robb 105, DeFrancesco 99, Ilott 95, Abel 64, TAkuma Sato 36, Helio Castroneves 20, Ed Carpenter 16, Jack Harvey 12, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10, Kyle Larson 6, Marco Andretti 5
Rosenqvist makes two-stop strategy work to finish sixth while Armstrong finishes a close seventh
Lexington, Ohio (6 July 2025) – After a number of seasons of tough outings for Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the squad – which is based less than 60 miles away from the Lexington track – earned its best-ever result at its home circuit on Sunday.
Using diverse pit strategies and a big fuel-saving effort from Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) on his final stint, MSR came away with a pair of top-seven finishes in Sunday’s Honda 200, the 10th race of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign.
Rosenqvist joined race winner Scott Dixon as the only two drivers in the top eight to make just two fuel stops in completing 90 laps around the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio layout to earn a sixth-place finish, but a late threat from teammate Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Spectrum Honda) tested Rosenqvist’s fuel tank over the final orbits.
The two-stop strategy allowed the Swedish driver to steadily climb the standings after starting 15th. He used a long first stint and a quick pit stop to move into eighth after the first round of stops and then settled into the back end of the top 10 in stretching his second fuel load as well.
Meanwhile, the driver of the blue-and-white No. 66 Honda ran in the top five most of the day but the quicker laps forced him to pit slightly earlier than his teammate, setting the stage for the inter-squad battle over the last laps.
Armstrong’s stop with six laps to go saw him return to the track directly behind Rosenqvist, who was intent on keeping his new teammate in his rearview mirrors. Armstrong threatened throughout the final trips around the Lexington circuit, but Rosenqvist answered the bell, running his best lap of the race on his final lap to secure sixth and leaving Armstrong to place seventh.
The result marked the fourth time this season that MSR has earned two top-10 results in the same race and extended the team’s season total of top tens to a team-record 14. Armstrong’s fourth consecutive top-10 finish vaulted him into eighth in the series provisional point standings, while Rosenqvist is just outside the top five after 10 of the year’s 17 races.
MSR won’t have much time to celebrate Sunday’s result as the series heads to Newton, Iowa for a doubleheader race weekend on the lightning-fast 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway oval.
Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:
Felix Rosenqvist: “The car was really good on the blacks. We weren’t really great on the reds, but we got through that stint, lost a little bit. Otherwise we executed a two stopper on a day where I say it was pretty hard to do. It’s a big save. Luckily, the guys on the pit wall put us in a great gap and we managed to have a lot of clean air, and I think that was kinda key. I’ll take that definitely. We had a really poor qualifying yesterday and I think top 10 was the goal today, so we definitely made that work.”
Marcus Armstrong: “Another top 10 and we finished P7 in the end. It was a long race and there were a few different strategies going on. Our strategy was looking pretty good and we were running within the top five for most of the race. I have to say that Meyer Shank Racing did a great job in pit lane and we had some fast pit stops. We took some decent points today which will be good for us in the championship, so nothing to complain about with the result today.”
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 6, 2025) – Dennis Hauger stayed calm after an unexpected break Sunday and expanded his INDY NXT by Firestone championship lead with a victory in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio.
Hauger, from Norway, earned his fifth win in eight starts this season in the INDYCAR development series. His lead over fellow Andretti Global rookie Lochie Hughes grew to 47 points in the standings with six races remaining this season.
Pole sitter Hauger led every lap to beat Caio Collet’s No. 76 HMD Motorsports car to the finish by 3.3220 seconds to earn the 300th overall win across all series in Andretti Global’s rich history. Hughes placed third in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car.
“The team did an amazing job getting the balance for the race,” Hauger said. “Huge congrats on the 300th win, really cool to be a part of that history.”
Salvador de Alba placed fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine, the third Andretti Global car in the top four. Josh Pierson rounded out the top five in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports entry.
The race, originally scheduled for 35 laps, ended up being a timed race due to a massive crash between Andretti – Cape Motorsports teammates Ricardo Escotto and Sebastian Murray that triggered a red flag on Lap 5 for repairs of barrier damage caused by the impact.
Hauger pulled away from Collet on the start, building a gap of around one-half second. Then, Murray and Escotto were racing side-by-side on Lap 4 through the fast “kink” section of the track between Turns 3 and 4 on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile circuit when their wheels touched, hurling the No. 2 DREAM RACING DUBAI entry of Murray and the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Escotto into the barrier, with Murray going airborne.
Both cars suffered heavy damage, but neither driver was hurt. The remaining field returned to pit lane and climbed from their cars as facility crews and the INDYCAR AMR Safety Team needed approximately 37 minutes to make the major repairs.
Once the race resumed, Hauger again held off Collet. With 20 minutes remaining, Hauger led by seven-tenths of a second.
That margin grew to more than a second over the next few laps. Then with about six minutes remaining, Hauger dropped the hammer and padded his lead to two seconds. He kept the pace high until nearly the very end of the race, turning his quickest lap of the event on the third-to-last trip around the track.
“It was not easy; the first couple of laps were not the easiest,” Hauger said of the resumption of the race. “Once we got into a rhythm, it was just spot on. We just had a perfect race, so we’re happy about that.”
The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Saturday, July 12 at Iowa Speedway, the second of four oval races on the 2025 schedule.
Josh Williams started in 27th but moved up to 22nd by the lap-five caution. Upon restarting on lap nine, he continued his upwards trek, giving crew chief Eddie Pardue the option to flip the stage. Pardue took the option, bringing Williams down pit road with three laps to go in the stage for four tires and fuel. One lap later, the caution came out, putting the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy in a good position strategically for the remainder of the race. Williams finished Stage 1 in 27th, but he restarted for the next stint in fifth. After passing teammate Christian Eckes on lap 20, Williams rolled into fourth place midway through Stage 2. With seven laps remaining in the stage, Williams was passed by the Nos. 00 and 21, shuffling him back to sixth. Debris brought the caution out with six laps to go, and Williams immediately resumed fuel saving. After firing off in the third row, Williams crossed the line to take the second green-white-checkered flag in seventh. Restarting with 16 laps remaining in the race, Williams was cued into the No. 70 in turn three, leading to a caution; the No. 11 suffered no damage and was positioned in eighth place. With 13 to go, the green came back out, and Williams settled into 11th after the field went single file. He leaped into the top 10 with six laps to go after the No. 7 developed an issue on track. A wreck that brought out the yellow flag happened with six laps to go, setting up a dramatic end to The Loop 110; Williams restarted in 10th with two to go and took the checkered in 11th.
“Our No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet is in one piece. That’s a good day. You don’t get to do that all that often here. Our tires were worn there at the end, so that’s a shame, but I would’ve loved to battle more there. Pretty happy with how today went and I’m looking forward to Sonoma.” – Josh Williams
After acquiring major damage in practice and switching to a backup car, Christian Eckes started at the rear of the field in the No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet. An early caution allowed him to pit for adjustments, and while some short-pitted the stage, Eckes stayed out, finishing it in 22nd. He radioed that the car felt fine, but he struggled with gaining the confidence to pass. Luckily, the majority of cars ahead of him pitted during the stage break, putting him third to start the second stage with much-needed track position. Fighting a loose-handling Chevy, Eckes fell to 12th when the next caution came out with six to go in the stage. He pitted for a major adjustment before a two-lap dash to the stage end. Eckes was scored 27th in Stage 2. Staying out during the second stage break, Eckes was told by spotter Coleman Pressley to work on his exits in the right-hand turns to hopefully gain time and chip away at the field. He started the final stage from 24th place. Avoiding a wreck on the restart, Eckes sat 21st coming back to the green with 13 laps remaining. He had made his way to 17th when a late-race caution came out with six laps to go. After a two-lap dash to the checkered, Eckes went on to finish 15th in the No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet.
“I’m disappointed in myself for making a mistake during practice and having to go to a back-up car for the race, but I’m thankful to have this team of men and women at Kaulig Racing behind me and their hard work to get our Benesch Chevy race ready. We were focused on keeping the car clean the whole race, and that’s what we did. We’ll take a top 15 and get back to work for Sonoma.” – Christian Eckes
Throughout the first stage, Daniel Dye reported he was free overall and wasn’t able to get onto the throttle as quickly as his competitors. The No. 10 BettenhausenAuto.com Chevy came to pit road for an air pressure adjustment with three laps remaining, before a caution ended the stage under yellow. Dye was scored in 29th. In Stage 2, Dye worked to find confidence in order to give the team feedback to continue making positive changes. Crew chief Kevin Walter called him to pit road for a track bar adjustment to tighten the car for the final stage. During Stage 3, Dye told the team he was working to settle in and felt the adjustments helped his handling and overall confidence. Dye went on to finish in 19th place.
“Rough day in our No. 10 BettenhausenAuto.com Chevy. We were on track to end up around 16th until I was sent nearly down Michigan Avenue in turn 11 on the final lap. Back to the drawing board to find some more speed in our No. 10 car and behind the wheel as well. I’m looking forward to hopefully finding some of that next weekend in Sonoma and continue getting more confident on these road courses.” – Daniel Dye
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 27 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) Chevrolet Team Capture Top-10 Result at the Chicago Street Race
Finish: 6th Start: 9th Points: 4th
“Solid race today for our No. 2 Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) Chevrolet on the streets of Chicago. It was a good foundational day for our road course program. We didn’t have any mistakes that took us out of it. Our car might have been lacking a little speed, but we were able to control not being out of control. I was happy with the handling, but just couldn’t get off the corner as well as we needed to. I learned a lot though, which helps to build off of especially going to another road course next week. It was a good points day too for our team. We will keep working and see how Sonoma shakes out.” -Jesse Love
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Earn Fourth-Place Finish at the Chicago Street Race
Finish: 4th Start: 2nd Points: 2nd
“Our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet was fast, but the driver could have been better. Right when we crossed the start finish line, I came on the radio to my guys and said I was tired of running third to fifth on these road courses. That is where it seems we stack up each and every time we come to a road course. It’s not bad by any means, but at the same time, I really want to win one of these things. We’ve been close so many times and just haven’t gotten the job done yet. I can’t thank everyone back at the shop and at RCR, ECR enough. I really thought we could have had a shot at the win. There were things that we learned today though that we can apply to races coming up, even maybe Sonoma next week. Things that fit my driving style and the way that I attack road courses in general. All in all, it was a solid points day for our No. 21 team, and we will keep on.” -Austin Hill
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 05: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #9 WeatherTech/Red Bull Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course on July 05, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images).
Shane van Gisbergen extended his dominance at Windy City, winning the third annual running of The Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Course on Saturday, July 5, amid a late battle with teammate Connor Zilisch.
The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led twice for a race-high 27 of 50 scheduled laps, dominating the first stage period from the pole position. Then, his control of the event nearly slipped out of his reach when he opted not to pit during the first stage’s break period while a host of competitors did. After remaining on the track and continuing to lead despite having both his pit strategy mixed and motor issues linger, van Gisbergen would pit prior to the first stage’s conclusion.
Restarting in ninth place at the start of the final stage period with 16 laps remaining, van Gisbergen caused an ensuing caution two turns later by bumping and sending Thomas Annunziata into the tire barriers. During the next restart with 13 laps remaining, he restarted seventh and methodically carved his way up the leaderboard. After moving up to the runner-up spot with eight laps remaining, van Gisbergen started to reel in on teammate Zilisch for the lead when Andre Castro wrecked and drew a late caution.
During the final restart with two laps remaining, van Gisbergen dueled with Zilisch through the frontstretch before he forced his teammate wide and got the latter barely scrubbing the wall in the first turn. Despite having Zilisch reeling in during the final lap, van Gisbergen managed to retain the top spot without missing his line for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to notch his second consecutive Xfinity Series victory at Chicago.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Shane van Gisbergen started on pole position with a pole-winning lap at 87.917 mph in 90.085 seconds. Joining van Gisbergen on the front row was Austin Hill, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 87.662 mph in 90.347 seconds.
Prior to the event, rookies Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray started at the rear of the field in backup cars. The following names include rookie Connor Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Thomas Annunziata, and Matt DiBenedetto, also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen rocketed his No. 9 WeatherTech/Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of the field through the front straightaway and past the start/finish line before he made the first left-hand turn (Turn 1) that led through E. Ballbo Dr. As van Gisbergen proceeded to lead from Turns 2 to 7, which included driving through S. Lake Shore Dr. and S. Columbus Dr., a bevy of competitors behind him trailed in single-line formation. With an early advantage working to his favor, van Gisbergen proceeded to lead through the remaining turns (Turns 7 to 12 and including stops at S. Michigan Ave. and E. Jackson Dr.) before he returned to the frontstretch and led the first lap over Sheldon Creed.
During the second lap, Creed nearly snatched the lead from van Gisbergen after he got beneath him and power-drove into Turn 7, but he had to regain his momentum through the turn. This allowed van Gisbergen to cross Creed over and they made light contact entering Turn 8, which involved Creed making contact with the wall, before van Gisbergen reassumed the top spot. As van Gisbergen led the second lap, Creed was being intimidated by Austin Hill for third place while Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer were trying to reel in from within the top-five mark.
Then on the sixth lap, the event’s first caution flew when Jack Perkins, an Australian Supercars competitor who was making his Xfinity debut and driving the No. 19 Shaw and Partners Toyota Supra entry for Joe Gibbs Racing, spun and wrecked against the wall in Turn 6. Prior to Perkins’ incident, Ryan Sieg had smacked the wall just past Turn 10 and had pitted under green to have his entry repaired while Connor Zilisch, who was carving his way from starting at the rear of the field, bumped and sent Thomas Annunziata nearly sliding into the Turn 11 wall.
During the caution period, rookie William Sawalich, who was scored in ninth place, briefly got out of his No. 18 Starkey Toyota Supra entry as the entry had stalled and had an electrical fire occurring in the cockpit. Eventually, the smoke cleared and Sawalich hopped back into his entry, but he would be pushed behind the wall and retire from further competition. In addition, the leader van Gisbergen reported a potential motor issue to his entry while Brandon Jones was black-flagged due to having no radio communication with his team.
The beginning of the next restart featured van Gisbergen retaining the lead. He motored away from Creed and the field amid his motor issues. Van Gisbergen proceeded to lead from Turns 1 to 7 while a bevy of competitors behind him jostled for spots. Creed, Hill, Allgaier and Sam Mayer trailed in the top five. Van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to a second as he led the next lap.
During the ninth lap, Connor Mosack hit the tire barriers in Turn 7 after sustaining a flat left-front tire on his No. 14 Invision Capital Chevrolet Camaro entry. Not long after, Perkins, who continued to race in his damaged No. 19 entry, was slowly limping around the track with a flat left-rear tire. Amid both incidents, the race resumed under green flag conditions. Van Gisbergen continued to lead by less than a second over Creed by Lap 10.
Then on Lap 11, rookie Taylor Gray made a strategic pit stop under green, though he was penalized for speeding. More names that included Jesse Love, Preston Pardus, Brandon Jones, Josh Williams, rookie Daniel Dye, Ryan Ellis, and Anthony Alfredo pitted their respective entries during the following lap.
Then on Lap 13, the caution flew when Brad Perez spun and slid into the tire barriers in Turn 4. The incident was enough for the first stage period to conclude on Lap 15 under caution. As a result, van Gisbergen was awarded the stage victory. Creed followed suit in second ahead of Hill, Mayer, and rookie Nick Sanchez. Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Connor Zilisch, rookie Carson Kvapil, and Alex Labbe were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Creed pitted their respective entries. The rest, including the leader van Gisbergen and those who pitted before the first stage’s conclusion, remained on the track.
The second stage period began on Lap 18 as van Gisbergen and Jeb Burton occupied the front row. Van Gisbergen wasted no time driving away from Burton and the field through the front straightaway, leading through the first two turns. As van Gisbergen led from Turns 3 to 6, Burton was overtaken by Jesse Love in Turn 7. Eckes, Josh Williams, and Preston Pardus followed suit in the top six. Amid the battles, van Gisbergen, who has yet to pit, led the following lap.
Through the Lap 20 mark, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over Love while Jeb Burton, Eckes and Williams occupied the top-five spots ahead of Pardus, Anthony Alfredo, Annunziata, Creed and Austin Hill. Behind, Daniel Dye was racing in 11th place ahead of Jones, Gray, Sammy Smith, and Allgaier, while Mayer, Zilisch, Ryan Ellis, Kvapil, and Harrison Burton were mired in the top 20, respectively.
On Lap 24, the caution returned due to a tire carcass that was spotted on the course. Prior to the caution, Matt DiBenedetto had wrecked against the Turn 1 tire barriers, though he managed to continue with damage to his entry. During the caution period, some led by the leader van Gisbergen, and Christian Eckes and Preston Pardus pitted their respective entries, while the rest led by Love remained on the track.
Following an extensive caution period due to Josh Bilicki’s entry being on fire and stalling on the course, the event restarted under green with two laps remaining in the second stage period. At the start, Love fended off Creed to lead just past the start/finish line and the first turn. Love proceeded to lead the next two turns until Creed got underneath Love and overtook him for the lead. Love then nearly reassumed the lead from Creed through S. Columbus Dr., but Creed managed to retain the lead in Turn 6 and he led the remaining six turns before he cycled back to the frontstretch.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 30, Creed scored his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Love settled in second ahead of Hill, Zilisch, and Sammy Smith, while Jeb Burton, Williams, Allgaier, Jones, and Annunziata scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, van Gisbergen, who restarted in the top 20, was up to 13th place.
During the stage break, select names that including Jeb Burton, Jones, and Kvapil pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Creed remained on the track.
With 16 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Creed and Love occupied the front row. At the start, Creed gained a strong launch through the front straightaway to lead entering the first turn. Then, as the field navigated through Turn 2, the caution returned when van Gisbergen, who was racing in ninth place, threw a bold but tight three-wide move underneath Williams and Annunziata. This resulted with contact that sent Annunziata sliding and making contact with the tire barriers. With most of the field dodging Annunziata’s wrecked entry, Taylor Gray, who was racing towards the rear of the field, came to a full stop to avoid hitting Annunziata, but he ended up colliding into the latter after he made contact with both Jeb Burton and Andre Castro.
The next restart with 13 laps remaining featured Creed fending off Hill to lead through the frontstretch and the first turn. Behind, Zilisch, who restarted in the second row, battled and overtook Hill in Turn 2. While Parker Retzlaff spun in between Turns 4 and 5, Zilisch reeled in and overtook Creed for the lead in Turn 6. Despite getting bumped by Creed in Turn 7, Zilisch maintained his ground and continued to lead from Turns 8 to 10. Zilisch would proceed to lead back to the front straightaway and the next lap over Creed while Hill, Sammy Smith, and van Gisbergen were up in the top five.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Zilisch was leading by more than two seconds over Creed. Hill, van Gisbergen, and Sammy Smith, the latter of whom trailed by four seconds, were racing in the top five. Another lap later, van Gisbergen overtook Hill for third place. He then overtook Creed for the runner-up spot with eight laps remaining. With van Gisbergen in second place and reeling in his teammate, Zilisch’s advantage stood to more than three seconds.
Then, with six laps remaining, the caution flew due to Andre Castro crashing into the tire barriers in Turn 6. By then, Zilisch was leading by two seconds over teammate van Gisbergen. Creed, Hill, and Sammy Smith were scored in the top five.
Down to a two-lap shootout, teammates Zilisch and van Gisbergen dueled for the lead through the front straightaway. Then as Zilisch appeared to have the edge, van Gisbergen used the inside lane to force Zilisch wide in the first turn. From the move, Zilisch made light contact with the wall. This allowed van Gisbergen to storm ahead with the lead past the first turn. Meanwhile, Zilisch was left to fend off both Creed and Hill for the runner-up spot. Having fended off both Creed and Hill by the second turn, Zilisch proceeded to reel in van Gisbergen through every turn and straightaway despite the latter’s steady pace in maintaining the lead.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, van Gisbergen remained in the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Zilisch. As van Gisbergen led, Zilisch nearly got to van Gisbergen’s rear bumper in Turn 6. Zilisch then tried to reel in his No. 88 Red Bull/WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro entry to van Gisbergen’s through Turns 11 and 12, but the charge was not enough as van Gisbergen managed to steer back to the front straightaway and claim the checkered flag by eight-tenths of a second.
With the victory, van Gisbergen, who became the first two-time Xfinity winner at the Chicago Street Course, notched his fourth career win in the Xfinity Series division, his second in a row at the Chicago and his first driving the No. 9 Chevrolet entry for JR Motorsports. Having won Saturday’s Xfinity event from pole position and claiming the Cup Series’ pole for Sunday’s event at Chicago, van Gisbergen will attempt to become the first competitor to sweep a NASCAR weekend at Chicago.
The victory was the 16th of the 2025 season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the ninth for JR Motorsports, with the organization three victories away from achieving 100 victories in the Xfinity circuit.
“I thought it was going to be [a] lost cause when the [pit] strategy went wrong,” van Gisbergen said on the CW Network. “It worked out well. I knew [our pit strategy] was what we were going to do. But when so many cars didn’t follow us, it was a bit of a worry. But then, we had tire grip at the end. Really cool battles with everyone. I enjoyed it.”
“[Zilisch]’s a great young driver,” van Gisbergen added. “[It was the] First time I’ve really raced him. I knew that was my opportunity [during the final restart] and took it. It was an awesome one, two [finish] for the team. I would love to [sweep Chicago]. I’m lucky I got some great cars this weekend, driving for some great teams. I really look forward to tomorrow.”
As van Gisbergen celebrated, Zilisch was left disappointed on pit road over teammate van Gisbergen’s move on the final restart, which caused Zilisch to hit the wall and lose both his momentum and the race overall.
“I guess I should’ve just not let [van Gisbergen] get to my bottom,” Zilisch said. “I was clear there, just barely on the front straight. It just let him get to my inside and he took advantage of it. I hate it for my No. 88 group; I should’ve just been a little more aggressive there.” He continued, saying, “I just thought he was going to race me a little cleaner. I’ll learn from it, move on.”
Sheldon Creed led nine laps and won the second stage period. He settled in third place ahead of Austin Hill and Nick Sanchez. the latter of whom is coming off his first career victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Austin Green, and Brennan Poole completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 18 laps. In addition, 31 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 18th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 49 points over both Austin Hill and Sam Mayer, 65 over Jesse Love, and 75 over Connor Zilisch.
Results:
1. Shane van Gisbergen, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner 2. Connor Zilisch, 11 laps led 3. Sheldon Creed, nine laps led, Stage 2 winner 4. Austin Hill 5. Nick Sanchez 6. Jesse Love, three laps led 7. Sammy Smith 8. Sam Mayer 9. Austin Green 10. Brennan Poole 11. Josh Williams 12. Alex Labbe 13. Harrison Burton 14. Dean Thompson 15. Christian Eckes 16. Carson Kvapil 17. Thomas Annunziata 18. Blaine Perkins 19. Daniel Dye 20. Kyle Sieg 21. Brandon Jones 22. Kaz Grala 23. Justin Allgaier 24. Parker Retzlaff 25. Ryan Ellis 26. Connor Mosack 27. Jeb Burton 28. Matt DiBenedetto 29. Preston Pardus 30. Brad Perez 31. Jeremy Clements 32. Jack Perkins, four laps down 33. Andre Castro – OUT, Accident 34. Taylor Gray – OUT, DVP 35. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Electrical 36. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Engine 37. William Sawalich – OUT, Electrical 38. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 12, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
CHICAGO (July 5, 2025) – Dean Thompson was the top-finishing Toyota in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course with a 14th-place result. Thompson rebounded from a 33rd-place starting position in the Sam Hunt Racing No. 26 Toyota GR Supra to earn his seventh top-15 result of the season.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Chicago Street Course Race 18 of 33 – 110 miles, 50 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Shane Van Gisbergen *
2nd, Connor Zilisch*
3rd, Sheldon Creed*
4th, Austin Hill*
5th, Nick Sanchez*
14th, DEAN THOMPSON
21st, BRANDON JONES
22nd, KAZ GRALA
32nd, JACK PERKINS
34th, TAYLOR GRAY
11th, DEAN THOMPSON
37th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
How was your race?
“It was really hot. We started off pretty terrible in practice and qualifying. Learned all day and got better and better and the car was great so I’m really thankful to have this team behind me and proud to have them stick with me. It was a good day.”
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.
LEXINGTON, Ohio - JULY 5: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, poses with the P1 Award flag after winning the pole for the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 5, 2025, in Lexington, Ohio. Photo: Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
LEXINGTON, Ohio — Alex Palou hopped out of his car to hug members of his crew. Amidst a dream season, he’ll lead the field to green, Sunday, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and current NTT IndyCar Series points leader won the pole for the Honda Indy 200 with a time of 1:05.0215 and a speed of 125.017 mph.
“Yeah, it was great,” he said. “Really fast car since practice one.
“Yeah, then qualifying was interesting. We had a ton of speed in Q1. Then Q2 we struggled a little bit with the balance and also speed-wise. We’re still in and we’re still like P3 or P4 but we were still two tenths off, so we wanted to go aggressive. We went on a brand new set of softs for Fast Six instead of keeping it for the race, like I think three guys did it, to try and get that pole, and it worked out.”
It’s his ninth career pole in 90 career starts.
Christian Lundgaard lines up outside on the front row after clocking in at 1:05.2126 and 124.651 mph.
“Yeah, pretty straightforward I would say,” he said. “Really wasn’t the most entertaining. I think we were one of the few cars that decided to run a new set of primes in Q1 and Q2 as a bank lap. We knew we were going to be on the alts anyway, so we were in debate if we were going to use the third set or not. We ended up doing that in the Fast Six.
“Yeah, the worst that could happen was we started sixth, so at least we’re in a good spot to fight for it tomorrow.”
Kyffin Simpson starts third with a time of 1:05.7555 and a speed of 123.622. Nolan Siegel starts fourth with a lap of 1:05.9262 and 123.302 mph. Colton Herta starts fifth after clocking in at 1:06.1218 and 122.937 mph. Louis Foster, fresh off his first career pole at Road America, rounds out the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1:06.2398 and 122.718 mph.
Kyle Kirkwood, Palou’s current championship rival and fastest in first practice, failed to advance out of the second round and starts seventh. Pato O’Ward, third in points, starts 15th.
Rookie Shane van Gisbergen doubled down for the day in the Windy City by notching the Busch Light Pole Award for the third annual Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course on Saturday, July 5.
The event’s qualifying format on Saturday featured a single round. The 41 participants were split into two groups and each group had 20 minutes to qualify.
Van Gisbergen was the seventh-fastest competitor during the event’s practice session. He carried that momentum into the qualifying session, posting a pole-winning lap at 88.338 mph in 89.656 seconds. He claimed the top-starting spot over Michael McDowell and his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team.
With the pole, van Gisbergen, who also claimed the pole position for Saturday’s Xfinity event at Chicago, claimed his third career pole in NASCAR’s premier series. It was also his second of the 2025 season and his first since Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in June. As a bonus, van Gisbergen joined Dan Gurney as the only competitors to win their first three Cup Series career poles on road courses.
“That was epic,” van Gisbergen said. “The [No. 88] guys did a great job. I’m a lucky boy. I’ve got some great cars today. Xfinity pole, Cup pole. It’s pretty special. Looking forward to the race tomorrow. What a tune-up. Practice wasn’t that great. [I] Went out in qualifying. The car felt really good and laid down two pretty good laps.”
Michael McDowell, who was the fifth-fastest competitor in practice, clocked in his best qualifying lap at 87.879 mph in 90.124 seconds. McDowell’s lap was enough for him to start on the front row for a second time in 2025 and his first since he started on the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
Carson Hocevar, McDowell’s teammate at Spire Motorsports, will start in third place. Tyler Redick and Chase Briscoe will round out the top-five starting spots in fourth and fifth, respectively. Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon completed the top 10 starting spots.
Alex Bowman, the reigning Chicago winner, will line up in 11th place and share the sixth row with the reigning three-time Cup Series champion, Joey Logano.
Notably, Bubba Wallace, the fastest competitor in practice, will start in 37th place after he spun while qualifying. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and William Byron will start 38th and 39th, respectively.
This was due to both drivers damaging their primary cars while practicing. Unfortunately, neither driver was able to repair their entries before the qualifying session. Denny Hamlin also experienced issues in practice after his engine blew up and will start in 40th place.
With 41 competitors vying for 40 starting spots, Corey Heim, who was piloting 23XI Racing’s No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE entry, was the lone competitor who did not qualify for the main event after he scrubbed the wall and broke the toe link on his entry.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
Shane van Gisbergen, 88.338 mph, 89.656 seconds
Michael McDowell, 87.879 mph, 90.124 seconds
Carson Hocevar, 87.824 mph, 90.180 seconds
Tyler Reddick, 87.779 mph, 90.227 seconds
Chase Briscoe, 87.734 mph, 90.273 seconds
Kyle Busch, 87.639 mph, 90.371 seconds
Ryan Preece, 87.481 mph, 90.534 seconds
Chris Buescher, 87.471 mph, 90.544 seconds
Ty Gibbs, 87.391 mph, 90.627 seconds
Austin Dillon, 87.303 mph, 90.719 seconds
Alex Bowman, 87.241 mph, 90.783 seconds
Joey Logano, 87.239 mph, 90.785 seconds
Christopher Bell, 87.190 mph, 90.836 seconds
Kyle Larson, 87.181 mph, 90.845 seconds
Brad Keselowski, 87.181 mph, 90.846 seconds
AJ Allmendinger, 87.166 mph, 90.861 seconds
Ryan Blaney, 87.142 mph, 90.886 seconds
Daniel Suarez, 87.119 mph, 90.910 seconds
Will Brown, 86.990 mph, 91.045 seconds
Todd Gilliland, 86.961 mph, 91.075 seconds
Riley Herbst, 86.870 mph, 91.171 seconds
Ross Chastain, 86.837 mph, 91.205 seconds
Cole Custer, 86.751 mph, 91.296 seconds
Noah Gragson, 86.714 mph, 91.335 seconds
John Hunter Nemechek, 86.691 mph, 91.359 seconds
Zane Smith, 86.671 mph, 91.380 seconds
Austin Cindric, 86.459 mph, 91.604 seconds
Justin Haley, 86.459 mph, 91.604 seconds
Josh Berry, 86.416 mph, 91.650 seconds
Austin Hill, 86.403 mph, 91.663 seconds
Josh Bilicki, 86.097 mph, 91.989 seconds
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 85.951 mph, 92.146 seconds
Katherine Legge, 85.744 mph, 92.368 seconds
Erik Jones, 85.584 mph, 92.541 seconds
Cody Ware, 85.454 mph, 92.681 mph
Ty Dillon, 84.876 mph, 93.313 seconds
Bubba Wallace, 75.585 mph, 104.783 seconds
William Byron, 0 mph, 0 seconds
Chase Elliott, 0 mph, 0 seconds
Denny Hamlin, 0 mph, 0 seconds.
The 2025 Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 6, at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
