No. 10 Mark III Camaro ZL1

Start: 14th
Stage 1 Finish: 13th
Stage 2 Finish: 6th
Finish: 8th

Ty Dillon and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing team started Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway from the 14th position and earned a season-best eighth-place finish. Dillon ran the majority of the opening stage in the top 20 before receiving a penalty at the end of the stage for a pit road violation. Starting the second stage deep in the field, Dillon was able to avoid mayhem on the restart when the caution was immediately displayed. Continuing to make moves and advance through the field, Dillon returned to the top 20 on lap 77 and the top 10 on lap 109. Running as high as third in the final stage, Dillon crossed the finish line solidly in the eighth position.

“Our Mark III Camaro was awesome. I have to thank Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime. These are the best cars I’ve ever driven and we’re building confidence and momentum week in and week out. We’ve had a lot of speed this year and just haven’t gotten the results, and it’s nice to get the result on a day like today. We’re building confidence and this is a great start to continue our climb.” – Ty Dillon

No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

Start: 21st
Stage 1 Finish: 22nd
Stage 2 Finish: 15th
Finish: 12th

Early in the race, Allmendinger reported his Chevy was tight in traffic but he could run the bottom well. After the delay for weather, the team pit for four tires and fuel before restarting in 21st on lap 48. By lap 52, Allmendinger had driven up to 13th before being involved in a caution on lap 57. The team was able to make damage repairs on pit road and restart in 38th on lap 68. The caution was displayed on the restart for a wreck that collected a majority of the field. Allmendinger avoided the wreck while driving up to 13th place and came to pit road for tires and fuel to restart in 14th. Throughout the remainder of the night, Allmendinger stayed near the back of the pack to avoid more damage to the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. Allmendinger went on to finish in 12th place, advancing him to the second round of the In-Season Tournament after finishing six positions higher than Michael McDowell.

“Honestly, not sure how to take the day. We had a really fast LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. The car was really good that first stage and I thought we had a real shot at the end of that stage, with the right couple of moves, to get up there and score some points. We got caught up in that wreck but our guys did a good job to fix it and the car still pretty good. I was never really overly comfortable to make some big moves there at the end of the race. I was trying to get myself in position, but just never did a good job of that. Proud of the guys and their effort; definitely improvement from the first race. I would love to have seen what we could have done without the damage, but that’s the way this racing goes. It’s all part of it, and we were able to get a decent finish at the end of that day.” – AJ Allmendinger
 
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.

Keselowski 2nd, Buescher 9th & Preece 15th

Hampton, GA (June 28, 2025) – Brad Keselowski came within a few car lengths of victory, Chris Buescher earned another solid top-10, and Ryan Preece rallied late in another strong outing for RFK Racing. All three RFK drivers delivered, leading a combined 64 laps, and each advancing to the next round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge with determined and competitive performances.

6 Brad Keselowski

Winning – it’s the only thing Brad Keselowski is focused on as the regular season winds down. It’s his most direct path to the playoffs and his efforts were fully concentrated on that Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway. Keselowski fired off 6th and quicky proved the Consumer Cellular Ford was among the cars to beat. With drafting help from RFK teammate Ryan Preece, Keselowski quickly picked up two positions and was running with the leaders when weather briefly halted Stage One. Once the skies cleared and the green flag waived again, the 6 car surged to a second place Stage One finish.

With a strong car confidence was rising heading into Stage Two, but there would be adversity. Although Keselowski took evasive action, he was unable to completely avoid a multi-car crash at lap 70. Undeterred, the 6-team – led by crew chief Jeremy Bullins – went to work. Stopping the car several times on pit-road they assessed the damage which appeared to affect the steering. Repairs were made and Keselowski continued to be competitive. He rejoined the competition mid-pack but by the end of the segment, he again picked up stage points with a tenth place finish in Stage Two.

Between stages the team continued to work on the car, giving Brad something he could contend with. He did just that, rocketing toward the front to eventually take the lead at lap 184 of the 260 lap race. Keselowski continued to swap the lead with others during the closing laps, leading a total of seven times for 46 laps. Coming to the checkers he engaged in a battle with Alex Bowman and eventual race winner Chase Elliott, bringing home a second place finish. In the process he also advanced to the next round of NASCAR’s In Season Challenge, by finishing well ahead of his first-round matchup, Kyle Busch.

17 Chris Buescher

Driving the Kroger/Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ford, Chris Buescher came to Altanta looking to Cinna-dust the competition. He began Saturday night’s race at EchoPark Speedway 13th and quickly settled into a steady pace. Early rain brought out a red flag around Lap 43, briefly pausing the action. After the delay, Buescher and the No. 17 team made a strategic pit stop to fine-tune their setup, setting the stage for a stronger run. A late-stage caution froze the field under yellow, with Buescher closing out the opening segment in 11th and ready to charge forward.

The second stage saw Buescher come to life. As chaos unfolded around him with multiple multi-car incidents, he kept his nose clean and climbed into the top three. A strong pit stop put him in position to challenge for the lead. He soon swapped the top spot in a battle with Ty Gibbs and Alex Bowman. Buescher stayed aggressive, leading laps and keeping his RFK Ford near the front. When the stage ended, he was third.

In the closing stage, Buescher challenged for the win. A quick fuel-only pit stop during a late caution kept him near the front, and he lined up just behind teammate Brad Keselowski for a restart with less than 50 laps remaining. The RFK teammates drafted together, holding the top two spots in the early moments of the stage. As the stage wore on Buescher got shuffled back and ended the night 9th, allowing him to advance to the next round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge by finishing ahead of Todd Gilliland,

60 Ryan Preece

Ryan Preece delivered a determined Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway. Driving the Solomon Plumbing Ford he started fifth and showed early speed. While working closely with teammate Brad Keselowski he held his ground inside the top 10 through the opening laps. He was running ninth when rain brought out a caution on Lap 37, followed by a red flag stoppage. After the delay, Preece pitted for right-side tires to fine-tune the car’s handling and rejoined the field looking to regain momentum. A multi-car crash late in the run brought out a caution to end the stage, with Preece scored 23rd.

Stage Two, brought about required the No. 41 team to rolled up their sleeves and go to work. Preece pitted early for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments, then restarted 23rd. Just a few laps later, he was collected in a multi-car crash, sustaining right front damage but avoiding any major mechanical issues. After multiple pit stops to make repairs, Preece climbed back through the field. By the end of the stage, he was up to 16th.

The team continued to make repairs between stages, stopping multiple times to tape and massage the wrinkled body work. They gave Preece something he could work with. That, combined with strategy put the 60 car back in the mix. During a caution period, Preece stayed out and restarted inside the top five. Even with lingering nose damage and fuel strategy in play, Preece remained aggressive and competitive, mixing it up with the front-runners deep into the final stage. He ended the night with a respectable 15th place finish, and like his teammates he also advanced to the next round of the In-Season Challenge by finishing ahead of William Byron.

Up Next:

Chicago Street Race (Chicago, IL)

Sunday July 6, 2025 on TNT @ 2:00pm

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 38th season in 2025, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion Brad Keselowski and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988, and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass 300 wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content, and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

Lexington, NC (June 28, 2025) – With a strong Kaulig Racing Mark III Chevrolet, Ty Dillon earned a season-best finish of eighth on Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway.

“Our Mark III Camaro was awesome,” said Ty Dillon. “I have to thank Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime. These are the best cars I’ve ever driven and we’re building confidence and momentum week in and week out. We’ve had a lot of speed this year and just haven’t gotten the results, and it’s nice to get the result on a day like today. We’re building confidence and this is a great start to continue our climb.”

Starting the race from the 14th position, one of his best starts of the season, Dillon maintained his position in the top 20 throughout the stage before finishing the opening stage in 13th. The team pitted for right-side tires and fuel, but unfortunately, was tagged with a pit road violation relegating Dillon deep in the field. Avoiding the caution on the opening lap of Stage 2, Dillon was able to avoid the mayhem and start his march back in to the top 20 and eventually the top 10. With a fast Chevrolet, Dillon ran as high as third late in the race before crossing the finish line in eighth place.

“We started the weekend strong with a really good qualifying performance,” said Kaulig Racing Technical Director Mike Cook. “We really didn’t get to race in the Spring race because we had a flat tire and kind of ended our day early, so we didn’t know what to expect. It really shows how far this team has come and brought everything together. Mexico was a great race for us as well, building off that momentum. Ty ran pretty much in the top 10 all day and was competitive. He overcame some fuel issues today and got back in the top 10 and was fighting hard. Just really happy with where we ended the day.”

Continuing to grow this season, the No. 10 Kaulig Racing team has shown speed and contended with strong runs, but needed to connect the pieces to earn a solid finish. With his eighth-place finish, Dillon earned his best finish of the season for his first top 10 and seventh top-20 finish of the year.

“We had a good car from when we unloaded yesterday and actually managed to pit the whole race together, which we haven’t been able to do for the last month or so,” said crew chief Andrew Dickeson. “We’re really excited to build some momentum for this team and kick start the next part of the season.”

For the first ever In-Season Challenge, Dillon advances to the second round after beating the No. 1 seed, Denny Hamlin. Dillon will now take on Brad Keselowski in the second round at the Chicago Street Course.

The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET, live on TNT Sports. The race will be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SIRIUS XM’s NASCAR Channel.
 
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.

Quaker State 400 – EchoPark Speedway
Hampton, Ga. – June 28, 2025

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/QUAKER STATE FORD MUSTANG
START: 4TH STAGE 1: 1ST STAGE 2: 38TH FINISH: 38TH POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang Dark Horse team asserted themselves as early contenders, running inside the top five throughout the opening stint of Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway before a Stage 2 incident ended their night. Cindric rolled off from the fourth position after all three Team Penske cars and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing entry locked out the top four starting spots in qualifying. The quartet held steady up front through the opening 20 laps, controlling the early pace of the race. Running second on Lap 36, Cindric reported the No. 2 Ford was tight finishing the corner and needed more security to maintain entry speed as light rain brought out the caution, prompting a brief red flag period. When the race returned to yellow-flag conditions, Cindric and teammate Joey Logano stayed out, restarting on the front row. Cindric surged to the lead on the restart and traded the top spot with Logano a couple times as the outside and inside lanes swapped momentum. A caution for a multi-car incident with three laps remaining in Stage 1 ended the segment, with Cindric scored atop the leaderboard, accumulating valuable points. Cindric noted the car felt better in clean air before pitting for four tires, fuel and a small adjustment to aid stability. He restarted 17th to begin Stage 2, but just 10 laps later, the 26-year-old driver was involved in a multi-car crash that resulted in terminal damage and ended his night with a 38th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “A lot of cars wrecking in the middle of the straightaway, which here you kind of more expect it in the middle of the corners, but maybe just a push gone wrong. It’s hard to say. I had a small chance to get through a gap there, but obviously it didn’t work out. It’s a shame. Obviously, we had a super fast Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang. We wanted to keep the thing out front. I was looking forward to it because we got back in traffic with staying out to win the stage, but I was looking forward to see what our car was going to do in dirty air and see what final adjustments we needed to make and have that opportunity to learn there. It’s just a shame and a shame for everybody at Team Penske bringing such fast cars and all of them wreck out.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG
START: 3RD STAGE 1: 40TH STAGE 2: 40TH FINISH: 40TH POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse were collected in a multi-car incident on lap 57 to bring an abrupt end to their run in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400. Blaney took the green flag from third to begin the 260-lap event and maintained top-five pace before rainfall brought the field to a stop on lap 42. Following a short delay, Blaney hit pit road for four tires and a round of adjustments prior to restarting with 12 laps remaining in Stage 1. With under five laps to go in the opening segment, a multi-car incident unraveled in turn three ahead of Blaney – who darted to the apron in an attempt to avoid the wreck – but was clipped in the right rear by the No. 3 and turned into the outside wall in turn four, ultimately bringing an end to the 12 team’s night.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I saw a couple guys spinning and slowing. I got to the apron and there was really nowhere else for me to go but the apron. I tried to get there and get clear of it, but they kind of came down and got me in the right rear and I ended up in the fence. There was no missing that one.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 AUTOTRADER FORD MUSTANG
START: 1ST STAGE 1: 3RD STAGE 2: 34TH FINISH: 35TH POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: After earning his 32nd-career NASCAR Cup Series pole Friday afternoon, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse’s run in the Quaker State 400 came to a halt after getting collected in a 19-car incident during the opening laps of Stage 2. Logano led a majority of the opening, 60-lap stage with his teammates in tow before rainfall brought out the red flag on lap 42. Following a brief delay, Logano and teammate Austin Cindric took the restart from the front row with 12 laps to go in Stage 1 and jockeyed for the lead before a caution with four laps remaining saw Logano scored third as the segment ended under caution. A four tire stop during the stage break resulted in Logano taking the restart from 16th before the No. 11 was sent spinning from the top lane and into the rest of the field on the backstretch to set off the biggest incident of the night, collecting the No. 22 in the process. Logano was able to drive the Autotrader Ford back to pit road, but the damage sustained was ultimately deemed terminal as the 22 team’s night came to an end.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Basically, what I saw there, I didn’t realize there were that many cars in it, but it wrecked the whole field. I still don’t know exactly how it started, but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible. I was right in the middle of the whole thing. It’s a real bummer. What do you do? It’s just part of the game sometimes. You get caught up in something you couldn’t do anything about. The Autotrader Mustang wasn’t too bad. It had speed. We were going to have to work on handling, no doubt, but it hurts to see so many of our cars – all of them were lights out – none of them are even running anymore.”

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 6. Coverage from the Chicago Street Course begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet Team Rebound From Two Laps Down to Finish 20th at Echo Park Speedway

Finish: 20th
Start: 12th
Points: 26th

“We had a fast No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet tonight in Atlanta. We qualified decent and raced in the top-10 for most of Stage 1. Unfortunately, at the end of the stage the No. 20 car got loose and collected us. We had major body damage and that ruined our night. We made up two laps with a damaged car and finish 20th. Proud of the effort and we have something to work with for our next speedway race.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 SENIX Tools Chevrolet Team Salvage Decent Finish Following Wreck at Echo Park Speedway

Finish: 21st
Start: 29th
Points: 20th

“Challenging night for the SENIX Tools Chevrolet team in Atlanta. We got caught up in two wrecks before the halfway point of the race. Our Chevy took a hard hit to the nose. Heavy damage to the splitter and the right-front caused us to lose a significant amount of speed. From that point on we were just doing what we could. We did everything we could to try and get some speed back in it. Good effort. Just not enough.” -Kyle Busch

RICK WARE RACING
Quaker State 400
Date: June 28, 2025
Event: Quaker State 400 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 260 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/100 laps/100 laps)

Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 39th, Finished 13th / Running, completed 260 of 260 laps)
● Corey LaJoie (Started 25th, Finished 39th / Accident, completed 68 of 260 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (36th with 133 points)
● Corey LaJoie (N/A… running a limited schedule in 2025 with EchoPark Speedway marking just his fourth start of season)

RWR Notes:

● Ware earned his first top-15 and fourth top-25 of the season. It was his first top-15 and third top-25 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at EchoPark Speedway.

● This was Ware’s best finish so far this season. His previous best was 24th, earned March 9 at Phoenix Raceway.

● Ware’s 13th-place result bettered his previous best finish at EchoPark Speedway – 23rd in July 2022.

Race Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the Quaker State 400 to score his 20th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at EchoPark Speedway. His margin over second-place Brad Keselowski was .168 of a second.

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 68 laps.

● Only 21 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● William Byron remains the championship leader after EchoPark Speedway with a 42-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Sound Bites:

“For the season we’ve been having, 13th place is a really solid way to bounce back and have that just to build off of for Chicago and Sonoma. Just thankful to Jacob Companies for helping us put together a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse tonight. We just want to build off this and I’m just thankful to the team that’s just never given up and continues to help us build these racecars, and we’ll keep getting after it. Our car was definitely good on the on the long side of a run, so I was a little worried to see how it would play out with a fresh set of tires, but I think we were able to maintain and scratch out a few more spots there at the end. I wish we could’ve gotten a little more racy, but when it got single file, it was a little bit harder to get those runs we were having early on. But, all in all, I mean, we can’t be upset with that race.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Jacob Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It’s hard to even say what we had. I feel like our Schluter Systems Ford Mustang was pretty good. We just were trying to get it tuned in for the conditions here tonight and we were just chipping away at a little bit of track position and got caught up in the ‘Big One.’ Really unfortunate, no more than we’ve been able to race this year. We’ve had strong runs and get caught up late, whether it was the Daytona 500 leading some laps. Atlanta, we had a strong car, then you know, turned around here. So, it’s just frustrating because these guys work so hard. I hate that we didn’t deliver Rick (Ware) 8and that 01 team a good run because those guys worked really hard on this car and it showed in qualifying. I don’t know, we’ll lick the wounds and get ‘em next time.” – Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 01 Schluter-Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 6 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
ECHOPARK SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 28, 2025

Elliott Grabs First Win of the Season at EchoPark Speedway

 In front of a hometown crowd, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team earned their first trip to victory lane of the season in NASCAR’s top division – taking the checkered flag in the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway. The victory is Elliott’s 20th victory in 340 career starts, with the triumph marking his second at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue.

With 18 points-paying races complete, Chevrolet has earned highest number of early playoff berths thus far with Elliott becoming the manufacturer’s fifth different winner this season. Chevrolet’s fifth win on the reconfigured EchoPark Speedway surface continues the Bowtie brand’s stellar record on drafting-style tracks in the Next Gen era, with Elliott’s trip to victory lane marking the manufacturer’s 13th win in 22 races on the configuration.

Taking the green flag for the 18th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, a brigade of Team Chevy drivers began the march up towards the front. Led by the reigning DAYTONA 500 Champion, William Byron, six drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations found themselves in the top-13 of the running order before looming precipitation forced the race under red flag conditions.

Following a brief delay, the race resumed with 12 laps remaining in the opening stage. With a majority of the lead pack electing track position for the race to the end of the stage, Byron was leading a strong contingency of Team Chevy drivers in the top-10 when Christopher Bell loss control of his car, ultimately bringing out the caution to end the stage. The two-time winner at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue earned fourth-place stage points and led the manufacturer to half of the top-10 of the running order to end Stage One. Showing early speed in their Chevrolet-powered machines, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon were among the handful of cars that were en route to a strong points run in the opening stage, but were collected in Bell’s incident to force an uphill battle for the remainder of the race.

Chaos ensured on the opening lap of Stage Two when a wreck at the front of the field ended in a stack-up of nearly half the field. Among those involved included Team Chevy’s William Byron, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, who sustained too much damage to return to the race. Following a front-row position to start Stage Two, Georgia native, Chase Elliott, kept his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet near the front of the pack before closing out the stage in a side-by-side battle with Tyler Reddick – ultimately taking the green-white checkered flag for second-place stage points by a mere .001 second margin.

Despite damage from the Stage Two wreck, Blake Harris and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team continued to go to work on their Chevrolet to give Alex Bowman a steady climb up through the field, with the team earning a hard fought fourth-place points in Stage Two. Remaining steady in the top-10 through much of the final stage, the 32-year- old Tucson, Arizona, native went on to collect his fourth top-five finish of the season.

Making just his third career start in NASCAR’s top division, Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch navigated his No. 87 Chevrolet through a calamity-filled race to take the checkered flag with an 11th-place finish.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

1st – Chase Elliott
3rd – Alex Bowman
6th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8th – Ty Dillon
10th – Carson Hocevar

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 18 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 7
Poles: 8
Top-Fives: 37
Top 10s: 76
Stage Wins: 16

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at the Chicago Street Course with the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 6, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on the opening lap of Stage Two.

Finished: 33rd

“It’s just unfortunate being that early in the race. I couldn’t really see what happened. All of a sudden, they were crashing and our No. 1 Wendy’s Chevrolet got caught up in it. Our Chevy was a four out of 10 to start the race, and then we got it to a seven out of 10 on the first pit stop. We were halfway to where we needed to be. We still had some work to do, but we set ourselves up well there restarting 12th and full of fuel for the start of Stage Two.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 20th

“We had a fast No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet tonight in Atlanta. We qualified decent and raced in the top-10 for most of Stage 1. Unfortunately, at the end of the stage the No. 20 car got loose and collected us. We had major body damage and that ruined our night. We made up two laps with a damaged car and finish in 20th. Proud of the effort and we have something to work with for our next speedway race.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 21st

“Challenging night for the SENIX Tools Chevrolet team in Atlanta. We got caught up in two wrecks before the halfway point of the race. Our Chevy took a hard hit to the nose. Heavy damage to the splitter and the right-front caused us to lose a significant amount of speed. From that point on we were just doing what we could. We did everything we could to try and get some speed back in it. Good effort. Just not enough.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 1st

“Unbelievable… unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I’ve never in my life… This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car and just a huge thanks to NAPA Auto Parts and everything they do for me and to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Rhealynn Mills designed to fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight, so this was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget. Thank you guys so much.”

(What made this win so improbable?) “Well I just think that, honestly, all the cards fell on the right places there those last couple laps. What a crazy race, man. I don’t know if y’all had fun, but it was wild from my seat. I’m so glad we got to run that thing out there to the end. And yeah just again, thank you so much for everybody that has made this possible. This is the ninth year of Desi9n to Drive. What an incredible way to celebrate that. Some great partners… Chevrolet, say hey to Mr. Hendrick at home. Thanks for sticking with me, pal, and yeah, just again, thanks to all you guys because this right here is… you can’t dream of this.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 12th

“Honestly, not sure how to take the day. We had a really fast LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. The car was really good that first stage and I thought we had a real shot at the end of that stage, with the right couple of moves, to get up there and score some points. We got caught up in that wreck but our guys did a good job to fix it and the car still pretty good. I was never really overly comfortable to make some big moves there at the end of the race. I was trying to get myself in position, but just never did a good job of that. Proud of the guys and their effort; definitely improvement from the first race. I would love to have seen what we could have done without the damage, but that’s the way this racing goes. It’s all part of it, and we were able to get a decent finish at the end of that day.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in the opening lap of Stage Two.

Finished: 37th

Chaos ensued on the opening lap of Stage Two. What did you see from your perspective?

“There wasn’t really a whole lot I could see. I was kind of catching the No. 22 (Joey Logano) with a little bit of a run. All the guys at the front had pitted during the stage break and cycled to the mid-20s. We were just running a great race in the top-five. They all stacked up and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening and I just kind of got shoved into it.

It’s just a bummer that early in the race. I don’t really know what was going on. We were getting up to speed and everyone was throwing a lot of blocks or something, I don’t know. It was fun out there, honestly. The first stage was fun. Handling really mattered. I thought my No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet was good. I thought our team was calling a great race and we were doing everything we could do.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 6th

“We had a shot at it. Obviously taking the lead that late in the race, you have a shot at it. Our No. 47 Hungry Jack Chevrolet was handling really well in the draft. It just didn’t lead very well. That goes back to our qualifying effort. We just have to find some more speed in our race car to be able to get to the lead and not have to throw massive blocks. When we slipped back to third there, I thought maybe if I could just stay there, we would have a shot at it coming to the end, but we just didn’t have enough speed to make another run at it.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

What more did you need there at the end?

“I needed to not be in the lead as early as I was. I felt like whoever was leading was kind of a sitting duck there at the end with how good everyone’s cars were driving. I just got shuffled back. We were coming back through the field and got back to third. We had a really good No. 48 Ally Chevrolet tonight. Happy for the No. 9 team. It’s a big win for them. Proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and we’ll keep on digging.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 11th

“It was great. It was a kind of battle of attrition a little more than anything. To be running up there that close to the front was awesome. I learned a lot. There’s a lot of things to learn when you’re up there against the guys who are out there winning races. I wish I could have gotten that top-10. We were so close. But I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen. That’s going to be a really good one for us.”

Zilisch on racing on a Superspeedway in a Cup car:

“These cars are so much different (than an Xfinity car). The runs were a lot bigger. Air made a difference here. We were almost never wide-open. It definitely was challenging but at the same time I enjoyed it a lot and got better throughout the race.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 24th

“It was definitely a great run there at the start, getting points in both stages. It was fun being competitive. We made some good moves. Stephen and the guys did a great job making changes and got our No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet better and better. We just got unlucky getting taken out, and then we had damage. But it was really promising to run up front.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on the opening lap of Stage Two.

Finished: 34th

“The sad part for me was that our No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet was very good. I was being patient, and I felt like we were coming through the field pretty well during Stage One. I felt like our Chevy had potential. It was the start of Stage Two and we didn’t get to race. It’s a shame. Our team did a very good job with the car and we just got caught up in the mess.”

About General Motors

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Quaker State 400
Saturday, June 28, 2025

Ford Unofficial Finishing Results

2nd – Brad Keselowski
7th – Zane Smith
9th – Chris Buescher
13th – Cody Ware
15th – Ryan Preece
19th – Cole Custer
25th – Noah Gragson
27th – Todd Gilliland
29th – David Starr
32nd – Josh Berry
36th – Joey Logano
38th – Austin Cindric
39th – Corey LaJoie
40th – Ryan Blaney

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse – ANYTHING MORE YOU COULD HAVE DONE THE LAST LAP? “The 9 just had the 48 behind him giving him a huge push and there was nothing I could do to cover that. When had our cars linked up at RFK we could do the same thing, but we lost that and it was just kind of a two-on-one and I fought as hard as I could.” DID YOU THINK AT ONE POINT THIS WAS YOUR RACE TO LOSE? “No, not the way these races are done. The cars get too big of a run and it ain’t over til it’s over. Every time I got the lead, I couldn’t seem to get everything to go our way. If we could have gotten a yellow or anything there it certainly would have been helpful, but that didn’t happen.” WHAT DOES THIS FEEL LIKE CONSIDERING YOUR PLAYOFF SITUATION? “I don’t think about that. I just want to win.” ULTIMATELY, IT WAS THE 48 AND 9 WORKING TOGETHER THAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE AT THE END? “Yeah. They were able to work together really well and kind of double up on me at the end and there was nothing I could do.” DOES IT STING? “Every loss stings.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a really solid night for us. This is the best race car we’ve had here since the reconfiguration, so I appreciate everybody working hard to make that our reality tonight. We were up there running strong and I was there at the end. I just needed to keep that track position and a couple cars were able to maneuver a little bit better there at the end.” SO MANY CHANGES FOR THE LEAD WITH ALL THOSE RUNS. HOW DID YOU SEE THOSE CLOSING LAPS PLAY OUT? “We were fast. We were able to work together pretty well. We got far enough in a run where handling was definitely a balance offset for us and I wasn’t able to stay connected as well as I needed to the 6 to keep us out front.” WERE DID YOU WANT TO BE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF LAPS BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PASSES FROM SECOND TO FIRST? “You want to be up front. You want to be leading this thing, but you were a little bit of a sitting duck tonight with some of the runs that came on and with handling the way it was – there were a handful of cars that were able to take tires at the end with no penalty. They just really didn’t have anything to lose and it ended up showing up pretty big for them at the end.”

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU WERE RIGHT THERE GOING BACK AND FORTH AT THE FRONT. “It was fun to lead some of those final closing laps. I don’t know where it went wrong. I just feel like we went back and forth. Sometimes just one car was clearing me and I’d build my run back up and then go make another charge at it, and then it just kind of seemed like two guys got by me and you’re just not able to have as much throttle time. My runs weren’t quite the same, but, all in all, it was just a really good and a really fast Aaron’s FRM Ford Mustang. It was really cool to have the Lucky Dog scheme back and run up front with it. I’m just proud of the effort, but I wish it panned out a little bit different there.” SURELY YOU LEARNED A LOT FOR THE NEXT TIME WITH BEING AT THE FRONT NEAR THE END. “Yeah, for sure I learned a lot. There are some things we need to work on ultimately – controlling distances. That was my first time really defending the lead with a digital camera. It’s just a lot different with how you see runs coming and so to be bummed out with a top 10 is a good thing. I just feel like that was an opportunity to win and advance, but it’s still a good night for us.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU JUST SAW THE REPLAY. WHAT DID YOU THINK? “Basically, what I saw there, I didn’t realize there were that many cars in it, but it wrecked the whole field. I still don’t know exactly how it started. It wasn’t the best of replays, but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible. I was right in the middle of the whole thing. It’s a real bummer. What do you do? It’s just part of the game sometimes. It’s just the crappy part of our racing sometimes. You get caught up in something you couldn’t do anything about.” WHAT DID YOU SEE? “A lot of smoke and sideways cars, including myself somewhere in that mix. I don’t know exactly what happened. They tried to show me a replay, but I still couldn’t see good enough to see exactly what happened, just when a car gets turned sideways in front of everyone. It’s tight right now like it was getting up to speed. There wasn’t much separation in the field, so once they start checking up everybody just piled in. Just the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a real bummer. The Autotrader Mustang wasn’t too bad. It had speed. We were gonna have to work on handling, no doubt, but it hurts to see so many of our cars – all four of our cars that were lights out – none of them are even running anymore. It’s a crime.” YOU SAID YESTERDAY YOU DIDN’T FEEL SAFE STARTING UP FRONT WITH HOW THIS RACING CAN GO. THAT PLAYED OUT. “Yeah, you just don’t know exactly what’s gonna happen. If it went green to the end of the stage, you’re looking pretty good. You’ve got track position, but when that caution came out for the rain, it gave everyone the opportunity to flip it. You know at that point you’re gonna pay the piper. You’re gonna have to go to the back, but we felt like it was worth it to try to win the stage because you never know what’s gonna happen. We felt like let’s try to win the stage and, unfortunately, we didn’t pull that off either. We got probably eight points, I think, there, and then that just put us right in the middle of the soup and didn’t even get an opportunity to try to work our way up.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU SEE? “A lot of cars wrecking in the middle of the straightaway, which here you kind of more expect it in the middle of the corners, but maybe just a push gone wrong. It’s hard to say. I had a small chance to get through a gap there, but obviously it didn’t work out. It’s a shame. Obviously, we had a super fast Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang. We wanted to keep the thing out front. I was looking forward to it because we got back in traffic with staying out to win the stage, but I was looking forward to see what our car was gonna do in dirty air and see what final adjustments we needed to make and have that opportunity to learn there. It’s just a shame and a shame for everybody at Team Penske bringing such fast cars and all of them wreck out.” DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED ON REPLAY? “I got to see a front-on shot and it maybe looked like a push going down the back straightaway, kind of midfield, top 10ish, but it’s hard to say. At the end of the day, it doesn’t change a whole lot for me. I’m a big believer in the law of averages and we’ve reset after Talladega and here we are.” ANY CONSOLATION WINNING THE FIRST STAGE? “I guess I can be the happiest of those that aren’t in contention anymore, but, no, not really. I want to go out and win the race. I thought we had a great opportunity to honestly lose track position and feel what our car was gonna be like in heavy traffic. I thought we were decent compared to most of them we were around and it’s taking that chance.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU SEE? “A lot of cars. I have no idea really what happened. It looked like they were just pushing each other hard for 8th, 10th, 12th like that and got squirrely. It’s just disappointing getting taken out and having that happen with this many laps left.” HOW MANY BRACKETS DO YOU THINK WERE BUSTED IN THE IN-SEASON CHALLENGE? “I’m sure a lot. I mean, coming here you knew that was probably gonna happen. Everybody thought they had it figured out, but they weren’t planning on that.” ALL THREE PENSKE CARS ARE OUT AND SO ARE YOU. HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT? “It’s tough, but we had the four fastest cars yesterday. We were doing our best to fend off all the battles and work with each other at the beginning. Everyone on our 21 team and everybody at Team Penske have a lot to be proud of for how yesterday and the start of the race went. Unfortunately, we just got swept up in somebody else’s mess.”

COREY LAJOIE, No. 01 Schluter Systems Ford – WHAT DID YOU SEE? “Smoke and then a lot of cracked carbon fiber from my hood being blasted up on my windshield. Watching the replay, I don’t know what in the hell they were doing pushing like that in the straightaway. It’s not really anybody’s fault, but it’s everybody’s fault because you’ve got three pedals in there and I just don’t know where everybody is trying to go. These bumpers are rounded, so you push somebody off-square and you’re gonna wreck them. It’s just unfortunate. I don’t know whose fault it was. It was everybody’s fault because we just caused a big wreck.” HOW WAS YOUR CAR BEFORE THAT? “It was fine. I think that if you somehow flipped and got track position, we could have ran in the top eight. I think it would have been a fight to try to get into that top 12 range, which I think we were capable of doing, but we weren’t able to get that far.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED? “I got caught up in a wreck. I don’t know. That’s per usual this year. We get caught up in someone else’s mess.” WHAT DID YOU SEE? “I saw a couple guys spinning and slowing. I got to the apron and there was really nowhere else for me to go but the apron. I tried to get there and get clear of it, but they kind of came down and got me in the right-rear and I ended up in the fence. There was no missing that one.” DID YOU THINK YOU HAD IT CLEARED? “I thought I had it cleared. I really did. I thought I got low enough on the apron to get it clear and try to get through it in time and, honestly, I didn’t even see the 3 when he clipped me. I thought I got past it and then I got clipped. I couldn’t really get any lower by the speed I was doing, trying to, A, get by it with enough speed and, B, try to get as low as I could. I really thought I got by it and just got barely clipped.” HOW DID YOU DROP BACK? HAD YOU JUST PITTED? “Yeah, we pitted and tried to flip the stage. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

REDDICK WINS STAGE, LEADS TOYOTA WITH TOP-FIVE FINISH IN ATLANTA
Erik Jones continues performance surge, delivers fifth-place run

HAMPTON, Ga. (June 28, 2025) – Tyler Reddick won the second stage and battled for the win late before settling for a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday evening.

Erik Jones had another strong performance as he battled back from multiple incidents during the race to earn his second top-five finish of the season. With his fifth top-15 finish in the last six races, Jones has moved from 30th to 18th in the point standings.

Atlanta was also the first race of the In-Season Tournament. Toyota had five drivers advance to the second round: Reddick, Jones, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek and Bubba Wallace.

Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
EchoPark Speedway
Race 18 of 36 – 400.4 miles, 260 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Chase Elliott*

2nd, Brad Keselowski*

3rd, Alex Bowman*

4th, TYLER REDDICK

5th, ERIK JONES

14th, TY GIBBS

23rd, BUBBA WALLACE

26th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

28th, RILEY HERBST

30th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

31st, DENNY HAMLIN

35th, CHASE BRISCOE

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Upper Deck Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How do you describe that racing there at the end?

“We were really solid. Our Upper Deck, Superman Camry was pretty good. Made the wrong move at the wrong time, most of the night. If I sat and waited, I would get shuffled back, just needed to be a little bit smarter with my move on the 6 (Brad Keselowski). I got shuffled too far back to fight truly for the win there, so just disappointing for sure, but it was nice to get a Playoff point and score some points at a superspeedway. Just more and more new winners, so we have to find a way to victory lane.”

Would more Toyotas or more teammates at the end helped?

“No, I just need to make better choices for myself.”

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

Finishing Position: 5th

Another strong run. Is it glass half-full with another top-five finish for your team?

“Yeah, I think so. Just good runs since Charlotte. After tonight, to come back and run fifth – we wrecked twice, once on my own and the big wreck at the start – I’m happy with that, and happy with the speed with our Dollar Tree Camry team. It has been a lot of fun to race. It was kind of a weird start – we had to make a lot of changes to the car to fire off, but just really proud of the effort, really proud of what we are doing right now. We’ve made a big climb in points, and we are still going. If we can keep making it better, we are right at the cusp. We are one good step away from really being contenders, and I hope we can take that step.”

In the last seven races you’ve jumped from 30th to 18th in the standings, are you still thinking you can point your way into the Playoffs?

“If we can do this, for sure. It is going to take some perfect races, but we’ve been doing that. We haven’t gotten the finishes here and there, but we have got a lot of stage points through the day and ran well. If we can get some stage points, and get the finishes like this, there is no reason we can’t. Would love to get a win. I thought we had a shot at the end. I just ran out of time, but nice to be in contention for it. I’m getting amped up, running up front and having fun. Road courses have been up-and-down for us, so hopefully they are good the next two, but looking forward to it, either way.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 King’s Hawaiian Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 31st

Do you know what happened?

“All of us where in the top line pushing off of turn two and some zigged and some zagged and most crashed, so I don’t know. I was on the bumper on the 42 (John Hunter Nemechek). He was on the bumper of somebody else in front of him and we all kind of, you know, speedway pushing, zigging and zagging, and we all crashed, so it’s just part of it, and now we go and watch the rest of the race.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 35th

What were they doing with the 19 to try to get you back out?
“Yeah, I don’t know how bad our damage was. They were fixing it, and we were about ready to go, and I guess NASCAR came over there and saw that our chassis was broke or bent or something and were like, you can’t go back out. So, kind of a waste of 30 minutes working on it. Just unfortunate night for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota. Kind of missed the balance at the beginning and was behind, and then that big wreck – had nowhere to go. Looking forward to two road courses coming up. I think our road course program has been pretty good. Hopefully a JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) car or a Toyota can win. Just unfortunate day for us.”

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.