Atlanta., March 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Porsche has clinched first and second place at round two of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Brazilian Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy from Great Britain, and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium swept to victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring at the wheel of their No. 7 Porsche 963. This victory comes after the trio’s triumph at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Matt Campbell from Australia and the two Frenchmen Mathieu Jaminet and Kévin Estre rounded off the stellar performance of the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team with second place. In the GTD Pro class, the AO Racing customer team notched up its first victory at an endurance race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series with the Porsche 911 GT3 R dubbed “Rexy”.
Daytona winners Nasr/Tandy/Vanthoor triumph again at second IMSA round
Campbell/Jaminet/Estre finish second in the Porsche 963
Record Sebring winner Porsche extends record to 19 outright wins
AO Racing’s “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R victorious in the GTD Pro class
Atlanta. In summer temperatures reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit, a fierce battle among the top GTP contenders unfolded as soon as the green flag waved at 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time. Felipe Nasr swept to the front at the wheel of the No. 7 Porsche 963 just 15 minutes into the race after starting third. While the Brazilian and his teammates Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor relinquished the lead around an hour later, they ultimately fought their way up the order to regain the lead in the evening after overcoming difficult conditions on the extremely hot track at the Sebring International Raceway.
The decisive moment came after the ninth and final full course caution when the field went head-to-head in a thrilling sprint during the final 31 minutes of the race. Nasr fought off his attacking rivals to bring home Porsche Penske Motorsport’s second victory of the young season. The win marked Porsche’s 19th overall victory at the endurance classic in Florida, and the first since 2008. For Nick Tandy, who earned himself the nickname “Mister 24 Hours” after his victory in Daytona, this latest triumph was another dream come true: The UK ace is just the tenth racing driver in the world to achieve the so-called Triple Crown of endurance racing after scoring overall victories at Sebring and the 24-hour races in Le Mans and Daytona.
The No. 6 sister car also ran among the frontrunners for much of the 12-hour race. Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Kévin Estre ultimately crossed the finish line just 2.239 seconds behind their victorious teammates. Thanks to the one-two finish at Sebring, Porsche has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ championship while the two driver crews now hold the top two positions in the drivers’ championship.
“Congratulations to the whole team for a flawless performance,” Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, said. “As expected, the 12 Hours of Sebring delivered some fierce competition. Drivers, mechanics, and engineers – everyone did an absolutely perfect job today. It couldn’t have gone better. The Porsche 963 has again upheld its reputation as the most successful LMDh car since the regulations were introduced. This is something we can all be very proud of. Thanks to everyone who contributed to these successes. I’d also like to congratulate our customer team AO Racing. They scored a well-deserved class victory with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.”
“Victory at Daytona, and now Sebring: We’ve won the 36 Hours of Florida,” said a delighted Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Racing LMDh. “That was one of our most outstanding races, absolutely flawless. I’m ecstatic. All the drivers and the entire team put in an incredibly strong effort: pit stops, strategy, car – everything went perfectly.”
“A superb performance from all six drivers and the whole team,” declared Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Just two seconds separated our two cars after twelve hours. This underlines just how perfectly and smoothly everything went for us. We were able to set a strong pace, especially in the dark when temperatures got cooler. Several other team members and I witnessed the last overall victory for Porsche at Sebring in 2008, so it’s simply wonderful to be at the front together again now.”
The customer teams in the top GTP class also showcased the prowess of the Porsche 963 at times. Proton Competition finished the race in sixth overall, with JDC-Miller MotorSports’s identical hybrid prototype crossing the finish line in eighth place. In the No. 85 car, Porsche works driver Nico Müller celebrated his debut in the Porsche 963. The Swiss driver, who also contests Formula E for the Andretti customer team, put in some strong stints.
GT classes: AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R triumphs after fierce battle In the GTD Pro class, customer racing team AO Racing celebrated its first-ever victory in one of the major endurance races of the IMSA series with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. At the wheel of the fan favourite “Rexy”, two former Porsche Juniors in Laurin Heinrich from Germany and Klaus Bachler from Austria joined forces with Belgian Alessio Picariello to drive a flawless race. After an intense fight for the lead, the trio ultimately won by a margin of 4.371 seconds. Proton Competition’s No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R finished eighth.
In the GTD class, the Wright Motorsports customer team was plagued by a raft of setbacks despite the pace to contest for the win. The Ohio-based team was at times in contention for the lead with the 911 GT3 R, only to have two penalties during pit stops cost them crucial ground. The No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by full-season American drivers Adam Adelson and Eliott Skeer, along with Austrialian Tom Sargent, took the flag fifth in its class. The Iron Dames team, complete with a full female driver line-up of Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frye and Sarah Bovy, wrapped up their second IMSA outing of 2025 with the in 11th place.
The famed Long Beach street race hosts round three of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season April 11-12. The spectacular Southern California street race is a 100-minute long sprint, a stark contrast to the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring to open the season.
Drivers’ comments after the race Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #7): “It feels amazing to win two races in a row. But winning the 36 Hours of Florida in Daytona and Sebring is hard to believe. And to top it off, both Porsche 963 finished both races on the podium. Given the fierce competition, that’s incredible. No mistakes, no penalties, no damage – today was simply a dream in endurance racing.”
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): “The one-two finish is obviously a banner result for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Congratulations to our victorious sister car. Today was incredibly long and tough for us; the race went back and forth. We experienced some difficulties in the intense heat of the early afternoon, but our Porsche was incredibly strong in the cooler evening. It’s terrific to score the maximum number of points together.”
Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): “What a fantastic weekend! I had great fun with the team, my teammates, and in the paddock – especially in my first race laps in the Porsche 963. I quickly adapted to the prototype; there was great synergy. At times the performance was super strong. But at the end of the day, the race could have gone a bit better for us. We had to change a brake disc, and we lost a lap in the process. It’s a great honour to get the chance to drive the car over the finish line during the Sebring night.”
Tristan Vautier (Porsche 963 #5): “We’re a little disappointed. After some initial setbacks, we managed to fight our way up the field only to have a puncture throw us out of the fight for the top five. Still, in the end, we made it back into a promising position, and we performed particularly well in the dark. However, with just two laps left, we had to refuel again – what a shame, because it prevented us from bringing home the result was wanted.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “I’m so proud of the team! Laurin did an exceptional job in the last two hours of the race, and Alessio was also incredibly strong. It’s simply cool to share the car with two great guys. We’ve finally won one of the biggest races with ‘Rexy’. Now it’s time to celebrate. I’m already looking forward to all the remaining races this season – I hope it continues like this.”
Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “We’re championship oriented, so we wanted to do anything we could to maximize that. As a team, we persevered and put our best foot forward. Unforunately it wasn’t enough. But as a team, with all of the adversity we faced today, we can be really proud of our result and we’re going to be shooting for higher than that in every race from here on out.”
Race result GTP class:
Nasr/Tandy/L. Vanthoor (BRA/GBR/BEL), Porsche 963 #7, 353 laps
Jaminet/Campbell/Estre (FRA/AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, + 2.239 laps
Van der Zande/Yelloly/Palou (NLD/GBR/ESP), Acura #93, + 5.017 laps
Motorsport Hall of Fame of America induction events, Daytona, March 2025, (Photo by Brian Cleary/bcpix.com)
SEBRING, Florida – Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) titlists Winward Racing and Mercedes-AMG took an early-season points lead with a convincing victory Saturday in the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and team co-drivers Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje. The reigning IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD driver, team and manufacturer champions bolstered their bid for repeat titles this year with their second-consecutive victory in America’s oldest major sports car race on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring airport circuit.
Unhappy with a fourth-place qualifying effort on Friday, Ellis wasted no time charging to the front when the green flag for the 12-hour race dropped at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday. He took the lead for the first time just under 14 minutes into the race and then joined Ward and Dontje in maintaining first place or running in the lead pack for the rest of the race. Combined, Ellis, Ward and Dontje led 67 of the GTD race’s 327 laps.
The only time the No. 57 dropped out of the lead pack was after a drive-through penalty in the second half of the race for a pit-procedure violation. The team and drivers served the penalty and maintained their focus on getting Ellis back into the fight for the finish.
Ellis tracked down the GTD leader in the closing stages of the race and pulled off the winning pass in traffic with just over 12 minutes remaining. He then put a comfortable gap on the field while leading the race’s final nine laps and drove the No. 57 across the finish line with a 3.265 seconds margin of victory.
Combined with a fourth-place finish in January’s season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, the No. 57 squad now leads the GTD driver and team championship standings with 690 points, 41 clear of the nearest competitors. Mercedes-AMG leads the GTD manufacturer championship with 694 points, 40 tallies ahead of the second-place challenger.
Similar to the Rolex 24, Winward was joined in the lead-pack battle in the second half of the race by the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which competes in this year’s five-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. Team drivers Dan Knox, Eric Filgueiras and Scott Andrews joined the team in a near-flawless performance that saw the No. 80 steadily move into contention throughout the race and firmly in the top-five battle in the closing hours.
Andrews and the Lone Star Racing team had just made their last pit stop and were beginning a run back into the lead pack as the rest of the GTD field cycled through its final pit stops only to have the No. 80 suffer a cut rear tire with only 45 minutes remaining in the race.
With the entire outer ring of the tire thrown from the car, Andrews slowly made it back to the pits where the Lone Star team quicky threw a new tire and wheel on and got the No. 80 back in the race. Andrews kept the pressure on in the closing minutes and crossed the finish line in ninth place.
For more than the first half of the race, Winward was joined in the GTD lead battle by the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenton Koch, Seth Lucas and the team’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup specialist Maximilian Götz. Starting on the front row from the outside pole position, Koch moved into the GTD lead in the race’s opening hour shortly after Ellis did and joined his No. 32 teammates in racing with the class leaders straight through the race’s halfway point.
Koch was back in the car and leading the field early in the race’s seventh hour when the car suddenly lost drive on course and slowed to a stop. After what seemed like an eternity as the No. 32 was rope towed over two spectator bridges and the crowded Sebring infield, the car made it back to the Korthoff team in the paddock. The team quickly went to work but soon determined the driveline technical issue was a race-ending one and Korthoff Competition’s race was over.
Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams on the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech calendar is the 50th Running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 11 – 12 on the Long Beach street circuit.
Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think I speak for the whole crew when I say we expect nothing less. I really want to give a shout out to the entire team and particularly the full-time people back in the shop. Everyone who works so hard to get this done. There’s no break, this is just what we love to do. To come here and close it off on another win, that’s just a culmination of all the efforts over the last couple of months and even last year. Hats off to the group. Personally, I had an awesome drive. I did some heavy lifting in the heat of the day, double stinted a set of tires. It was really a tough run for me, but I managed to hold station. I gained a little bit in the pit stops. I’m really proud of myself and all of the guys that made the car really easy to drive. It’s just incredible.”
Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “This was huge. We had to come back from a penalty early on, shook it off and kept going. There was a car at the end. We knew we were quicker, but we had to be careful getting by. That’s the level of operation for this team, and we don’t take on an unnecessary risk. If they give you an opening, you take it, and we did. It’s another great start to the season again. I think Sebring this year was tougher compared to last year, but they were both tough in their own way. Last year we had a lot of restarts in the lead that we had to control, so we were usually the leaders up front. Saturday was a different kind of pressure, and now I wasn’t being hunted, I was the hunter and chasing down the front guys. It was a lot of fun, but to some extent, you need the help from the traffic, which is why I think IMSA is great.”
Indy Dontje, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s really important that everyone is coming back together. I think there were a lot of cars today that were really competitive but had bad luck or made some mistakes around us. We even made a mistake where we had a penalty, but we scrambled back. Philip took over in the end and got back the win for the team. It’s unbelievable, I think this one feels even better than last year. We’re focused on the championship. I think it would be nice if we do it back-to-back this year on the championships. It’s great for Winward, and I want to continue this good rhythm and good flow with the team.”
Scott Andrews, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think we can all be really proud of ourselves collectively as a group for a really well executed race. There were pretty much no flaws by the team at all. That gave us a good shot at the top five and even potentially a podium. It’s unfortunate to get a puncture with such little time to go. It stings a little bit, but I didn’t go to bed displeased or unhappy because the only thing that took us out of the race was something out of our control. The team should be proud, and I’m happy with the job I did. I drove a good race with no mistakes and the pace was good. It’s good for the team to know that we can really have some good performance, solid pit stops, change the car for the better as the race progresses and still be competitive.”
Eric Filgueiras, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s not the result that we wanted, but the team showed a really strong effort, and we had a great performance. Everybody worked really hard, and this was a huge improvement from Daytona. Not only did we finish, we were in the running for a really great outcome as we were at Daytona, but the execution from the team side was just much, much better. Dan Knox, our team owner and driver, did a fantastic job. Everybody was firing on all cylinders, and we were very close at the end. We’ve got three more of these races, and we’ve shown our ability to grow, our ability to progress and to learn from the mistakes that we’ve made and how we can make this program more efficient on all ends. Drivers, people that put their hands on cars, the strategy, the engineering, everything. We’re making people nervous and that’s what we want! This was my first 12 hours. I had a fantastic experience. I got to have some battles, fuel energy saving, gain more experience and helped put the team into a position for a good outcome. Our day is coming.”
Kenton Koch, Driver – No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We have a lot of positives to take away. The one negative is the fact that we didn’t finish well, but the positive was that we had all the pieces possible to be there. The car was great, the co-drivers were great, the pit stops were great and everyone on the team was good. That helps for the rest of the season, but to have this one end so quickly is just a bummer. Everyone worked really hard. This one stings.”
Maximilian Götz, Driver – No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Sometimes racing is unfair, but you can’t really control it. I think the team did a great job. Since the beginning, since the testing last month, we’ve been competitive. We found a good pace. Then we came here, and Kenton put the car on the front row in P2 in qualifying, but it was very close. So, in the end, it was a great job and a great start to the weekend. The start of the race was pretty good, and it looked like it was paying off for us with good pace in the car. It was really disappointing for sure how it ended. I think this could have been our day. We had the pace in the car, we were all set for this one. I need to come back next year with the same approach, the same people, and the same team to finish the race at the top of the podium. I think that’s the only goal we have now.”
Valkyrie makes impressive first start in IMSA with top-ten finish
Sebring, Fla. (March 16, 2025) – The Heart of Racing Team finished third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD category in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway this weekend. The Aston Martin THOR Team secured its first top ten finish with the Aston Martin Valkyrie in its United States debut as the GTP entry came home ninth after 12 hours of racing through the Florida heat on the legendary circuit.
Casper Stevenson, Tom Gamble, and Zacharie Robichon piloted the Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage, combining to take third in Saturday’s twelve hour enduro. Robichon qualified for the trio on Friday setting the sixth fastest lap time in the GTD category.
Robichon was in the drivers seat for the first two stints, after the first pit stop the Canadian raced his way up to run in second position for the next 17 laps. Stevenson took over next, remaining in podium contention. While Gamble was behind the wheel, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team took an unplanned trip down pit lane to address a sensor issue placing the team on a different pit stop plan.
Through great strategy, near perfect pit stops, and well executed driving, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team was able to drive their way back from fifth to score third in the final moments of the race.
The Aston Martin THOR Team made their United States debut with the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie in IMSA’s GTP category. After Ross Gunn qualified the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie on the sixth row, the Briton combined with Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas to take a ninth place finish.
Gunn was first to complete his stint in the new Aston Martin Valkyrie when the team’s race strategy changed due to the hot temperatures of the Florida weather. The Heart of Racing crew adapted quickly to the change making steady progress throughout the race to finish ninth after starting twelfth.
The Heart of Racing Team will compete next with IMSA in the Long Beach Grand Prix April 11-12. Ahead of Long Beach the team will compete in the 24H Series in Italy March 22-23 and the SRO America season opener at Sonoma Raceway.
The Heart of Racing Quotes:
Casper Stevenson : “We had an up and down race, but Tom did amazing in that last stint and the strategy the team did was next level and we managed to get another great result. I’m just so thankful to the team, Tom and Zach because I feel that it wasn’t 100% our day, but we still delivered an amazing result. And to add to that, the Valkyrie had a great debut, there are just smiles all around at the Heart of Racing Team.”
Tom Gamble : “A bit of a wild race at one point, we just seemed to be quite far down. Everything seemed to work out in our favor there towards the end. The car was flying today, massive credit to the Heart of Racing, they always give us a fast car. It was a solid day for all of us. It’s a pretty good way to start the season so hopefully we can keep this up.”
Zacharie Robichon : “Today was just a testament to the team. Ultimately I think this was the ideal result we could have hoped for. A faultless job by everyone, and the pit stops were fantastic today. We had a small issue in the middle of the day, which is really not our fault and we were able to just kind of not let it phase us and come back from it. A podium is a pretty good way to finish the second race of the year, two third place finishes to start the year!”
Ross Gunn : “It was an absolutely awesome job by everybody on the team to get to the end of what was a good race and was probably the toughest race in the world. We overcame a few obstacles during the race and dealt with those really well. Alex and Roman drove solid stints and it was just a case of keeping a clean nose which we did, no contact. No issues and the Valkyrie performed really well throughout the entire race.”
Roman De Angelis : “It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions to stay the least. It was one of the hardest races I’ve had personally, it was super physical out there. I’m super proud of the Heart of Racing and Aston Martin for getting the Valkyrie across the line. I think everything that we took from Qatar as a learning point we made good progress in the development. Definitely a really good day in the office and super happy for the team and the No. 27 team on their podium finish.”
Alex Riberas : “Tremendous job today by everybody. We entered into this race knowing it would be a tremendous challenge for ourselves with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie exceeded all of our expectations. To be able to finish this race and to finish in the top ten is the best way we could start the season and this new adventure in the GTP category. I’m so very proud of everybody and already looking forward to the next one.”
About The Heart of Racing
The Heart of Racing Team races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research. The team competes internationally with concurrent campaigns in IMSA, SRO, WEC and the 24H SERIES. The Heart of Racing won the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car GTD Championship title in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. In 2023, the team followed that up with a strong run to second in the IMSA championship on the strength of four wins and three additional podiums. The team also made its debut outing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, scoring sixth in the GTE-AM class. The Heart of Racing Team hosted their first all-female driver shootout in November of 2022, bringing to the team Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt for the 2023 SRO GT4 America season. The duo combined for a breakthrough double-victory weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to close out their rookie season. To contribute to The Heart of Racing’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://give.seattlechildrens.org/fundraiser/3642390
Late-race dramas bite Corvette contingent in 12 Hours
SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s quartet of Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams suffered cruel ends to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday with misfortune ruining chances for GTD PRO and GTD victories in America’s oldest sports car race.
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette was the highest-finishing Z06 GT3.R with a seventh-place GTD PRO finish for Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. The result marked an unfortunate turn of fortunes for the group of four Corvettes – all of which led their respective classes on multiple occasions.
The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone – also in GTD PRO – ran a clean race for the first three-quarters and ran second when it had to stop for a repair to the IMSA-mandated scrutineering logger. It cost the Corvette three laps and dropped Varrone to 10th in class. Catsburg made up a spot near the end to move himself, Varrone and Milner to ninth at the end.
DXDT Racing appeared set to challenge for its first podium in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. However a late-race mechanical issue knocked the No. 36 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell and Salih Yoluc – who drove a triple-stint to start – from the top-four in GTD down to eighth at the finish.
AWA’s hopes of a second straight GTD victory took a huge hit with damage to the right-front of the No. 13 Corvette on a restart with a little less than three hours remaining. Orey Fidani drove three of the first four stints, and Lars Kern and Matt Bell steadily worked their way forward and into the class lead on multiple occasions.
Subsequent stops for repairs dropped Bell from seventh to 12th but the Corvette remained on the lead lap up until being hit late by the leading LMP2 entry. It relegated AWA to 10th in GTD.
Perhaps the Corvette in the best position late in the race was the No. 3 of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. After a strong run through the day and some clever strategy, Sims worked his way up from sixth to fourth inside the final 90 minutes and was on a fuel strategy that likely would have had him challenging for the victory.
However, the Sebring circuit bit the Corvette as Sims had to pit for a rear with a little more than an hour with a broken right-rear suspension component. It knocked him from third in class and in the podium fight to seventh and two laps down.
Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Long Beach Grand Prix from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on April 11-12.
SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“A bit of a bummer, this one. Our Corvette had pretty good pace to be honest. Going into the night, it seemed to come alive a bit. We had good pace and I was able to get up to third before we had the rear suspension problem. It did seem the leaders at the end had pace that we didn’t, to be honest. I don’t think we would have gotten any better than that. Even holding on to third would have been a struggle. Full credit to the Pratt Miller guys for getting it turned around quick and salvaging what we could. We didn’t give up and still managed seventh place, which could have been worse if they weren’t as quick in the pits as they were. On to the next one.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “An unlucky race. I think we had an OK Corvette but not fast enough to challenge for the win. I feel like we are on a bit of an unlucky streak at the moment. It’s not anyone’s fault. We have to take things as they come and ride those waves. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a great race. We got a little unlucky with the second-to-last yellow because we had a good fuel advantage and it got wiped out. We hung in there and crept from eighth to third. It was very enjoyable being in the middle of the fight. We just got very unlucky at the end when what we thought was a comfortable P4 – which turned out would have been a podium with the Ferrari boxing on the last lap. I’m gutted for the team. They’ve worked so hard since Daytona. We just didn’t have the pace there and came here with a lot more. They deserved more, unfortunately. They worked tirelessly between now and then to make sure we had the Corvette that we had in the race. Such a shame but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side and we’ll be right there.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We were having a good race once again up until we had the little incident in the final stages. We had a very strong car, and I’m proud of the team and their efforts. We know what we’re capable of. We’ll take this finish and move forward to the next one.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finishes fourth after starting 13th in GTP class
SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – After 12 hours of hard-fought, entertaining and occasionally chaotic racing, Cadillac Racing finished 7.6 seconds short of a podium finish in the 73rd edition of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started 13th on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) grid because of a software issue in qualifications Friday, nonetheless battled its way to the front early in the race and contended for the victory until the final 40 minutes and finished fourth.
Drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, making his competitive debut on the 3.74-mile course, combined to lead 155 of the 353 laps.
Starting 13th, Aitken quickly made up six spots in the first hour and moved to the front for the first time with 10 hours, 21 minutes left. From there, Vesti and Bamber inherited the lead on their first stints and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R remained in or near the lead through no unforced errors, penalties or contact necessitating repair.
The No. 6 Porsche 963, which overtook Vesti for the point for the final time with 2 hours, 7 minutes left, went on to claim the victory.
The Nos. 10 and 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs effectively fell out of contention in the first five hours because of various on-track issues.
The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, which qualified eighth in the 13-car GTP roster, was handed a stop and hold penalty by IMSA Race Control for incident responsibility in the second hour that dropped it two laps down and mired in 12th place in the running order. Drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens clawed back to finish a solid seventh.
The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R that qualified seventh slid into the Turn 17 tire barrier with 7 hours, 43 minutes left, necessitating a swap of the nose assembly and front tire change. But the GTP entry incurred a stop and hold penalty for more than emergency service in a closed pit, which dropped the hybrid racecar to 13th in class. Drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley recovered to finish 11th.
After two endurance races totaling 36 hours to start the season, Cadillac Racing teams will be in action next April 12 for the 100-minute race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach (California) street circuit.
Cadillac Racing swept the top two spots in 2024, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R leading the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R across the finish line by 0.564 of a second. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earned the pole – its third in a row to start the season. Cadillac has won six of the IMSA races in Long Beach since joining prototype competition in 2017.
What they’re saying
No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
Jack Aitken: “The race started really well for us today and we managed to stay in those top positions for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, we were just a little bit off sequence to the leading Porsches and it just caught us out a bit at the end when we had to take a splash. I think when they night came around, we didn’t have that extra gear that the others did. We missed out on the podium; it’s tough to take. But there are positives from this – coming from the back to the field is still not a bad result.”
Earl Bamber: “We had to come in for a splash with about 40 minutes left and we tried to take the alternate tire strategy, but we thought it might work but the dirty air was just too much. We just didn’t make our way forward. The car was good, so it is bittersweet that we didn’t get a podium. We’ll just have to roll into Long Beach.”
Frederik Vesti: “IMSA just keeps impressing me with how chaotic and crazy it is to race this year. I really enjoyed my time in the car today. I left everything out on the track and it’s painful not to get the podium. I really felt like we had the car to win or be on the podium today. Really proud of Cadillac Whelen. Having the issue in quali starting out, I think Jack did a great job in stint one to get us in the lead. I enjoyed lots of laps in the lead today and I had a lot of restarts from the lead, which is fun and I learned a lot. We’ll be back. I’m already looking forward to Laguna.”
No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Ricky Taylor: “Another tough day. It started off really bad and we were hopeful that it was a long day and that we would get back in it. The yellows just didn’t come our way. I think know if we had the winning car, we had a car maybe for the podium, the Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing team did a great job and never gave up. We will go to Long Beach and hopefully get some success there.”
No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R
Louis Delétraz: “A difficult race, obviously not the race we wanted. We had to retire the car early at the end due to an issue that will have to be investigated. A little bit disappointed bit I think we had a rough first day then improved the car a lot for the race, but still not enough to fight for the win. But we were there for good points and running at the front then had a couple of issues in a row which put us at the back and ultimately retiring. So, not much positive but we definitely learned a lot and will be back stronger in Long Beach.”
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Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Encouraged by Strong Third-Place Effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Finish: 3rd Start: 7th Points: 2nd
“When we unloaded this week, we were pretty far off. Danny (Stockman) and I were both nervous going into this race, because we were here past closing time yesterday and worked late to figure out what we needed to do to be better. We didn’t think that we could contend for a top-10 yesterday, so this is a big confidence boost. To know that we can come to these places and be a little off but still find a way to have a winning car at the end is encouraging. At the end, our Whelen Chevrolet was really good. Obviously, we were hoping for a caution, but it didn’t come. It’s still a great rebound for our No. 2 team. The call on pit road doesn’t make much sense to me, so we will have to look at it this week. Overall, I’m proud of my pit crew for rebounding today. They did a good job of getting me back in contention after the trouble we had earlier. Thanks to everyone back at Richard Childress Racing. Proud of our company and look forward to Homestead next week to race for the Dash 4 Cash bonus.” -Jesse Love
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Claim Sixth Consecutive Top-Five Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Finish: 4th Start: 14th Points: 4th
“Everyone on our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet fought really hard today. With restarting outside the top-20 at the start of Stage 3, we had to grind to finish where we did. It shows the character of everyone on this No. 21 team. Throughout the middle part of the race, our car was extremely fast, but at the end of the race, we were sideways loose. I’m not sure how we drove back up to fourth, but all in all, it was a solid effort for our guys. We’ve had some mistakes these last few races, but we will clean those up. It’s still early in the year, so I’m fine with having some mistakes early. We just don’t want to have those when Playoffs start later this season. We are going to be strong at Homestead next week. I feel really good about our chances there.” -Austin Hill
Justin Allgaier rallied from losing a dominant run at Phoenix Raceway a week ago to earn a redemptive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 15.
The reigning Xfinity Series champion from Riverton, Illinois, led three times for a race-high 102 of 200 scheduled laps. He qualified in sixth place and wasted no time quickly marching his way to the front. After assuming the lead for the first time on the 14th lap, Allgaier cruised to win the first stage period. Despite losing a handful of spots on pit road after the first stage break, he rallied to finish a close second place behind Almirola after the second stage period.
Restarting inside the top five to start the final stage period with 102 laps remaining, Allgaier reassumed the top spot from teammate Connor Zilisch with 73 laps remaining. Then, following a cycle of green flag pit stops with less than 60 laps remaining, Allgaier, who was being intimidated by Almirola prior to the pit stops, benefitted from lapped traffic. He overtook Almirola after the latter had cycled ahead of the former during the pit stops. Once Allgaier returned atop the leaderboard with 48 laps remaining, he never looked back. Fending off a late charge from Almirola, he claimed his first Xfinity victory of the 2025 campaign in Sin City and reaffirmed his quest to defend his series title.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, March 14, Sammy Smith notched his third Xfinity pole position of his career and first of the 2025 season with a pole-winning lap at 183.455 mph in 29.435 seconds. Joining Smith on the front row was teammate Carson Kvapil, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 183.038 mph in 29.502 seconds.
Before the event, several drivers, including Leland Honeyman, Brandon Jones and rookie Dean Thompson, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved, Sammy Smith jumped ahead with an early advantage from the inside lane as his teammate, Carson Kvapil, struggled to launch at the start from the outside lane. As Kvapil dropped to third place, teammate Connor Zilisch followed Smith through the first two turns.
Then, entering the backstretch, the event’s first caution flew when rookie William Sawalich, who was racing in the top 10, made contact with Jeb Burton as Sawalich veered to the right and pounded the outside wall, which left him with a mangled right side to his No. 18 Soundgear Toyota Supra entry. As the field scattered to avoid Sawalich’s incident, Parker Retzlaff made contact with both Austin Hill and rookie Daniel Dye, which got Retzlaff loose and spinning sideways through the backstretch. While both Burton and Retzlaff continued, the damage to Sawalich’s entry was enough to terminate his event without completing the first lap.
The start of the ensuing restart on the fifth lap featured Sammy Smith receiving another strong start from the inside lane as he had Kvapil pushing him entering the first turn. Through the first two turns and the backstretch, all four JR Motorsports competitors occupied the top four spots as the field fanned out. While Zilisch was trying to fend off teammate Justin Allgaier for third place, Smith led the following lap over Kvapil.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Sammy Smith was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Allgaier, while teammates Kvapil and Zilisch followed suit. Behind, rookie Taylor Gray trailed in fifth place as Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, rookie Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love and rookie Christian Eckes were racing in the top 10 ahead of Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Sieg, Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed and Jeb Burton, respectively. By then, Anthony Alfredo, Jeremy Clements, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg and Blaine Perkins occupied the top-20 spots.
Four laps later, Allgaier used strong gains from Turns 3 and 4 to get underneath teammate Sammy Smith through the frontstretch and overtake him for the lead. Allgaier would proceed to stretch his advantage to more than two seconds over Smith by Lap 20 while Kvapil, Gray and Zilisch trailed in the top five, respectively.
At the Lap 25 mark, Allgaier added an extra two seconds to his advantage as he was leading by more than four seconds over teammate Sammy Smith while third-place Kvapil trailed by nearly six seconds. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola was in fourth place after he overtook Zilisch and Gray, while Mayer, Love, Eckes and Austin Hill trailed in the top 10, respectively.
Ten laps later, Allgaier’s advantage grew to seven seconds over the new runner-up competitor, Almirola, as Sammy Smith fell back to third place. By then, Kvapil was trying to gain ground on Smith for third place while Gray retained fifth place over Zilisch, Mayer, Love, Hill and Eckes, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Almirola trailed in the runner-up spot by more than eight seconds while Kvapil, Zilisch, Gray, Sammy Smith, Hill, Love, Mayer and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, Josh Williams, who was battling an illness despite competing throughout the first stage’s entirety, was relieved by Ty Dillon as the latter piloted the No. 11 Alloy Chevrolet Camaro entry for the remainder of the event. In addition, Jeremy Clements stalled his No. 51 First Pacific Funding Chevrolet Camaro entry below the track’s backstretch due to a fuel pump issue and for running out of fuel.
When pit road became accessible for the field, the leaders, led by Allgaier, peeled off the track to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola exited pit road first. He was followed by Kvapil, Hill, Gray, Zilisch, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg and Love, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Love was penalized for an uncontrolled tire that rolled out of his pit box.
The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Almirola and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola received a strong push from Hill from the inside lane, which enabled Almirola to muscle ahead of Kvapil and the field to lead through the first two turns. As the field fanned out, Kvapil and Hill dueled for the runner-up spot in front of Sammy Smith, Zilisch and Allgaier as Almirola led the following lap. Hill would then move into the runner-up spot and be challenged by Smith for the spot while Kvapil was battling Zilisch for fourth place. Amid the battles, Almirola led the Lap 55 mark.
Just past the Lap 60 mark, Almirola continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Sammy Smith as Zilisch, Allgaier, Hill, Kvapil and Gray followed suit as they were all trailing the lead by two seconds. Behind, Eckes, Mayer and Jones rounded out the top 10 ahead of Harrison Burton, rookie Daniel Dye, Kyle Sieg, Creed and Sanchez. As Love was trying to rally from his pit road penalty by climbing up to 19th place on the leaderboard, Zilisch and Allgaier overtook teammate Sammy Smith for second and third, respectively, on the track as Almirola extended his lead to more than a second by Lap 65.
At the Lap 70 mark, Almirola stabilized his lead to seven-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Allgaier while third-place Zilisch trailed by more than a second. Two laps later, Hill pitted his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro entry from fifth place due to loose lug nuts on the left-rear tire area and lost a lap as a result of his unscheduled pit stop, Allgaier decreased Almirola’s advantage to two-tenths of a second by Lap 75 as the leaders were approaching lapped traffic.
By Lap 80, Almirola had retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Almirola. Then, a lap later, the battle for the lead brewed as Allgaier drove to Almirola’s rear bumper and followed in his tracks through every turn and straightaway. Despite Allgaier’s efforts, Almirola, who was approaching more lapped traffic, fended off the latter’s challenge. He maintained the top spot through the Lap 85 mark. By then, third-place Zilisch trailed the two leaders by more than two seconds as Sammy Smith and Mayer pursued in the top five.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Almirola, the winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Phoenix Raceway, fended off Allgaier to capture his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Allgaier trailed in the runner-up spot by three-tenths of a second. Zilisch, Sammy Smith, Mayer, Kvapil, Gray, Jones, Creed and Love were scored in the top 10, respectively. Hill was awarded the free pass due to being scored the first competitor a lap down from the field.
During the stage break, the lead lap field, led by Almirola, returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola retained the lead after he exited pit road first and he was followed by Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Jones, Gray, Love, Zilisch, Mayer, Kvapil and Creed, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Gray was penalized for a safety violation.
With 102 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Almirola and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola received a push from both Allgaier and Zilisch to launch his No. 19 Younglife Toyota Supra entry ahead of Smith entering the first turn. Then, through the first two turns, Zilisch got underneath Allgaier and battled with him through the backstretch for the runner-up spot. As Almirola led the following lap, Zilisch would muscle past Allgaier for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Zilisch then used the outside lane to get alongside Almirola and edge him to lead with 100 laps remaining. With a strong run from the outside lane through the first two turns, Zilisch muscled his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead and cleared Almirola for the lead.
With 99 laps remaining, Zilisch was leading ahead of Almirola as Allgaier, Mayer and Sammy Smith pursued in the top five. Behind, Love and Kvapil were racing in the top-seven mark while Creed and Jones fiercely battled for eighth place in front of Harrison Burton. Over the next four laps, Zilisch slightly extended his lead to six-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while Almirola fell back to third place.
Down to the final 85 laps of the event, Zilisch retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Allgaier while third-place Almirola trailed by two seconds. Behind, Mayer and Love were up into the top five while Sammy Smith, Kvapil, Creed, Jones and Ryan Sieg trailed in the top 10, respectively.
Ten laps later, the battle for the lead started to brew as Allgaier trailed teammate Zilisch by a tenth of a second while both were mired in lapped traffic. A lap later, Allgaier got beneath Zilisch through Turns 3 and 4 and would lead with 73 laps remaining. Amid dueling with Zilisch, the latter would muscle back ahead before Allgaier used the frontstretch to get beneath Zilisch and lead with 72 laps remaining. Compared to his previous attempt, Allgaier then managed to muscle his No. 7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead and retain the top spot for the following two laps while Zilisch gave chase.
With 60 laps remaining, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over a new runner-up competitor, Almirola. Zilisch fell back to third place and trailed by nearly two seconds. Meanwhile, Mayer and Love pursued in the top five while Sammy Smith, Kvapil, Hill, Jones and Ryan Sieg were in the top 10.
A few laps later, select drivers, including Sanchez, Gray, Ryan Sieg, Mayer and Creed pitted their respective entries under green. Then, with 56 laps remaining, the leader, Allgaier, pitted along with Almirola, Love, Sammy Smith, Jones, Harrison Burton, Eckes and Jeb Burton as Zilisch pitted with 55 laps remaining. As more names pitted over the ensuing laps, Almirola managed to blend back onto the track ahead of Allgaier. Amid the pit stops, Sammy Smith, Sanchez and Zilisch were all penalized for speeding on pit road. Jeb Burton would also be penalized for dragging his gas can out of his pit box.
With 48 laps remaining, Allgaier, who overtook Almirola on the track a few laps earlier after Almirola was held up by lapped traffic, cycled back into the lead after the initial leader, Kyle Sieg, pitted under green. As more names pitted, Almirola cycled back into second place while Love, Mayer and Hill moved up into the top five ahead of Jones, Kvapil, Ryan Sieg, Creed and Gray.
Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Allgaier was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Almirola while third-place Love trailed by nearly 11 seconds. By then, Gray, who was racing within the top-10 mark, made an unscheduled pit stop, which cost him multiple laps, as Mayer and Hill filled out the top-five spots.
Ten laps later, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over Almirola. By then, only 11 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap. The competitor who was racing at the tail end of the lead lap category was Zilisch, who trailed the lead by 29 seconds as he had Harrison Burton, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Kvapil, Jones, Hill, Mayer and Love all trailing the lead by double digits.
Another six laps later, Almirola started to shave off Allgaier’s advantage as he trailed by exactly a second. Almirola continued to make big gains on Allgaier’s lead and with 20 laps remaining, he trailed by only four-tenths of a second. Amid Almirola’s big gains over the next five laps, Allgaier retained the lead by four-tenths of a second with 15 laps remaining.
As the event reached its final 10-lap mark, Allgaier navigated through lapped traffic and maintained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Almirola. By then, Love trailed in third place by 10 seconds as Mayer and Hill remained in the top five, respectively.
Another lap later, Kvapil, who was racing in seventh place, pitted under green for fuel. Amid Kvapil’s late pit stop, the leaders approached more lapped traffic. Allgaier led a hard-charging Almirola through every corner and straightaway. With Allgaier racing on the inside lane through the turns, he continued to lead Almirola’s challenge with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier, who stretched his advantage over Almirola after Almirola went up the track and lost crucial ground for the lead three laps earlier, remained in the lead by a second over Almirola. With Almirola unable to regain the ground lost earlier, Allgaier was able to smoothly cycle his entry around the Vegas circuit for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by a second over Almirola.
With the victory, Allgaier, who led a race-high 102 laps, captured his 26th career win in the Xfinity Series level, his first at Las Vegas and the 90th Xfinity victory for JR Motorsports.
Overall, the 2025 season marks Allgaier’s ninth consecutive year where the Illinois veteran has captured at least one victory, which placed him in a tie with Kyle Busch and Mark Martin for the longest winning streak all-time. In addition, Las Vegas Motor Speedway became the 19th track that has been won by Allgaier.
“It feels amazing,” Allgaier said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “This whole team, I cannot say enough. The fans that are here, thank you. I hope we put on a great show for you. Aric [Almirola] and I were going at it and hats off to him. He raced a heck of a race. Just so proud of everybody on this Jarrett Camaro. To see the speed we had since we unloaded off the truck, I was really sad with the sixth-place qualifying effort.
“To be able to get here, to have the Jarrett folks here,…every man and woman that works at JR Motorsports, [I] just cannot say thank you enough and how proud I am of what we have here. It’s been special and God is good, man. I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot of races in my career and this one means a lot because I feel like we’ve been so close. Last week, [I] was right there and we battled with Aric.”
“Today’s word of the day was discipline,” Allgaier added. “[It involved] not missing the bottom. Aric had a fast car. We kind of flip-flopped back and forth there a few times. After the pit cycle there, I got lucky and I was able to get by him with some lap traffic and that was really the difference maker for the race…Really proud of the effort.”
Almirola, who led 51 laps, settled in second place for his third consecutive top-three result in his third of nine scheduled Xfinity starts in Sin City. Amid the disappointment of being one position shy of notching back-to-back victories, Almirola was also left pleased with his strong performance.
Almirola’s next Xfinity event on his schedule will be at Martinsville Speedway on March 29 as Justin Bonsignore returns to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota entry next Saturday, March 22, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“[I needed] Clean air,” Almirola said. “[Me and Allgaier] were evenly matched. I felt like he was just so much better than me on the short run and I would run him back down on the long run. He added, “I thought that might play into our favor if it went green. I thought my best shot was to cycle in front of him on the green flat stop, which we did. Our guys did a great job on pit road.
“Then I just misjudged some slower lapped traffic and [Allgaier] was able to get back by me. That, honestly, was the difference maker. I felt like if I could’ve stayed in front of him and held him up for a while, I would’ve been able to set in and drive back off from him in the long run. He was just able to build such a gap on the short run. Their car was so fast. Just came up short. I burned the front tires up trying to run him back down.”
Meanwhile, Jesse Love rallied from his early pit road penalty to finish in third place, while teammate Austin Hill rallied from losing a lap after making an unscheduled pit stop prior to the conclusion of the second stage period to finish in fourth place. Sam Mayer, who nearly overtook Hill on the final lap, came home in fifth place for his third top-five finish of the year.
Overall, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Austin Hill and Sam Mayer are the first four competitors to qualify for the first Xfinity Dash 4 Cash round of the 2025 season, which will occur next Saturday, March 22, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton and rookie Connor Zilisch finished sixth through ninth, respectively, as they were the final four competitors to be scored on the lead lap. Sheldon Creed, who was the first competitor scored a lap down, completed the top 10.
Notably, pole-sitter Sammy Smith ended up in 14th place following his late pit road speeding penalty, Carson Kvapil fell back to 17th place after he pitted for fuel with eight laps remaining and Taylor Gray settled in 19th place in front of Nick Sanchez following his late pit road service. In addition, Ty Dillon, who relieved Josh Williams following the first stage period, came home in 29th place while six laps behind the leaders.
There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 18 laps.
Following the fifth event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 19 points over Jesse Love, 30 over Sam Mayer, 40 over Austin Hill and 44 over Sammy Smith.
Race Results:
1. Justin Allgaier, 102 laps led, Stage 1 winner 2. Aric Almirola, 51 laps led, Stage 1 winner 3. Jesse Love 4. Austin Hill 5. Sam Mayer 6. Brandon Jones 7. Ryan Sieg 8. Harrison Burton 9. Connor Zilisch, 28 laps led 10. Sheldon Creed, one lap down 11. Kyle Sieg, one lap down, six laps led 12. Daniel Dye, one lap down 13. Christian Eckes, one lap down 14. Sammy Smith, one lap down, 13 laps led 15. Dean Thompson, one lap down 16. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down 17. Carson Kvapil, one lap down 18. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down 19. Taylor Gray, two laps down 20. Nick Sanchez, two laps down 21. Parker Retzlaff, two laps down 22. Brennan Poole, two laps down 23. Jeb Burton, two laps down 24. Jeremy Clements, three laps down 25. Kris Wright, four laps down 26. Blaine Perkins, five laps down 27. Garrett Smithley, six laps down 28. Patrick Emerling, six laps down 29. Josh Williams, six laps down (*relieved by Ty Dillon) 30. Leland Honeyman, six laps down 31. Josh Bilicki, seven laps down 32. Dawson Cram, eight laps down 33. Joey Gase, nine laps down 34. Ryan Ellis, 19 laps down 35. Greg Van Alst, 21 laps down 36. Austin Green – OUT, Alternator 37. Mason Massey – OUT, Suspension 38. William Sawalich – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, for the Hard Rock Bet 300. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, March 22, and air at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
When an early caution came out on lap one, Dye sustained minor damage to the front of the No. 10 Trackside Chevrolet. He pitted under caution for damage repairs and restarted at the tail of the field. By lap 31, Dye had raced his way into the top 20, gaining 17 spots, before finishing the opening stage in 18th. Dye radioed that the No. 10 Trackside Chevrolet was free handling, and the team made a track bar adjustment when he pitted for tires and fuel. Dye started the second stage in 12th but faded a few spots, noting that the No. 10 Chevrolet felt even more free into turn three. Crew chief Kevin Walter planned adjustments to tighten up the car at the stage end, and Dye held on to finish the second stage in 19th. It wasn’t until he pitted during the stage break that the team discovered a right-rear tire was going down; this was likely the reason he fell seven spots. The team put on four fresh tires and made air pressure and wedge adjustments before Dye started the final stage in 21st. As green-flag pit stops began, Dye stretched the run, making it as high as second before pitting under green on lap 150. Dye was able to gain multiple positions, matching his best track finish of 12th when he crossed the line.
“Hard fought day today having to go to the back to fix early damage and then having the right-rear tire go down. I’m proud of the fight of the 10 group to claw our way back to finish 12th. I’m looking forward to getting to Florida next week.” – Daniel Dye
Eckes avoided an early wreck that brought out the yellow on lap one. He restarted 10th, where he stayed for most of the opening stage, before just losing out on a stage point, crossing the line in 11th. He made a scheduled pit stop with an air pressure and grille tape adjustment, radioing that he needed turnability in the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. Firing off fast from 10th place, Eckes made it as high as eighth, before he began struggling with the car’s handling. He slid back to 14th, where he finished Stage 2. Noting that the first run was better than the second, and with the track also freeing up, crew chief Alex Yontz made the call to go back on previous changes. Eckes started the final stage in 12th with two sets of sticker tires remaining. As the race stayed green, Eckes made a green-flag pit stop for tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment. The race continued incident free, and despite an ill-handling No. 16 Chevrolet, Eckes went on to finish 13th.
“We fired off pretty well, but we just kept getting freer and freer. At the same time, the track also kept freeing up, and I was just sideways. We just had no rear grip. We’ve got some work to do, but I know this is the group to do it with.” – Christian Eckes
Josh Williams avoided a first-lap wreck, holding position at 23rd. On lap seven, Williams radioed that he needed to pit for a relief driver due to feeling under the weather, but he managed to stay on track for the remainder of Stage 1. He fell to 29th, went one lap down, and brought the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy down pit road for a driver swap. Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, took Williams’ seat during the first stage break. After pitting for tires and fuel, Dillon joined the track three laps down. He finished Stage 2 in 31st and fired off in 33rd to start the final 102 laps. Dillon pitted during the green-flag pit cycle for tires and fuel, and he eventually took the checkered flag in 29th, six laps down.
“I hate having to get out of the car, and I tried as much as I could to stay in, but it was too much. We brought a really fast car this weekend. I appreciate Ty [Dillon] for jumping in.” – Josh Williams
“We knew there was a potential to have to get in the car today, but I know Josh wanted to battle and be a warrior there. I think he was just too sick, so hopefully he gets better. So, we knew there was potential and I got a text for me to get to the pit box pretty quick. I hate I couldn’t make more out of it, but it was a tough seat to fit in. It was pretty tight, but I’m glad I was able to step in and finish it enough for these guys and I know anybody else would do the same thing for me too.” – Ty Dillon
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 23 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, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
ALMIROLA NEARLY EARNS BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES Veteran Almirola starts his part-time run this season with three consecutive top-three finishes
LAS VEGAS (March 15, 2025) – Aric Almirola nearly followed up his Phoenix win with another victory as he closed late on race winner Justin Allgaier late in the race before coming up just short. It was Almirola’s best Las Vegas finish, as the Florida-native won stage two and led 51 laps.
Brandon Jones also had another strong run after a third-place run in Phoenix. After being forced to start from the rear due to unapproved adjustments, he drove through the field to finish sixth.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Las Vegas Motor Speedway Race 5 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Justin Allgaier* 2nd, ARIC ALMIROLA 3rd, Jesse Love* 4th, Austin Hill* 5th, Sam Mayer* 6th, BRANDON JONES 15th, DEAN THOMPSON 19th, TAYLOR GRAY 38th, WILLIAM SAWALICH *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 19 Young Life Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Can you take some appreciation for that battle even though you finished second?
“Yeah, certainly. You always hate to finish second, but Justin (Allgaier) and that team was the class of the field I felt like today. We were close. They could just take off so much faster than I could. I think that was really the difference. I thought my only hope was to cycle in front of him during the green flag stop. We did, and then I just got caught up behind some lap traffic there that I misjudged. I wasn’t sure which way they were going, and he got by me. Then he just built such a big gap that I used my stuff up trying to get back to him.”
BRANDON JONES, No. 20 Menards/OSI Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Came from the back, and now you have consecutive strong finishes. How was your day?
“I was really close. I thought one more lap we definitely would have finished in the top-five. The 41 (Sam Mayer) and the 21 (Austin Hill) were bleeding pretty hard. I was like – they were getting racing pretty hard, maybe again, I can get them to use each other up and pass them. It was solid effort. It is hard to start that far in a deficit in the rear – but maybe it was a blessing, because where we would have started the chaos and mayhem happened on lap one. Who knows, but no one was out of the fight. We stayed in it really all day long. I was pretty happy there. The effort has been awesome these last couple of races – just on a whole. I think everyone is firing on all eight cylinders. Pit crew is killing it, I’ve been killing it, the crew chief (Sam McAulay) has been killing it, so we will just keep it up. We’ve got a stretch right now with some really good tracks, so we will use this momentum to continue to build on these races and try to get a win here soon with our Menards GR Supra.”
WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 18 Soundgear Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 38th
What happened from your view?
“I think just got some air packed on my rear bumper and it took away a lot of downforce on the rear spoiler. It was just a learning opportunity – I guess. Not a lot of points coming out of today, hopefully we can catch up next week. We had a good Soundgear GR Supra in practice yesterday, so hopefully we will get it done next week.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
Layne Riggs | Chandler Smith Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race Report
Ecosave 200 Overview Date: March 14th, 2025 Event: Race 3 of 25 Series: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-miles) Length of Race: One Hour, 52 Minutes, 42 Seconds
FRM Finish:
● Layne Riggs (Started 23rd, Finished 5th / Running, completed 134 of 134 laps) ● Chandler Smith (Started 17th, Finished 8th / Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series took to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last night for the third race of the season. After starting the season with two superspeedways, the Nevada track served as the venue for the first 1.5-mile intermediate race.
Layne Riggs qualified 23rd for the Friday night showdown, but after the team made unapproved adjustments due to a rear axle leak, Riggs was put at the tail of the field to start the race. Through an uneventful Stage One, Riggs ran within the top-25, finishing the stage in 23rd. After a lengthy red flag for rain, Riggs got back behind the wheel to finish out Stage Two. Riggs picked up few spots to put himself within the top-20, finishing Stage Two in 17th. The final stage was highlighted by another rain delay, an impressive drive and solid pit stops by Riggs and the team, fighting his way into the top-10 and eventually taking the lead. Saving his Ford F-150 from spinning out, Riggs fell back to the fifth position where he crossed the start / finish line. Riggs now sits 11th in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Driver Championship points standings.
“This was a really good day for us,” said Riggs. “We could have gone out there and just rode around, especially after having to start in the back, but this No. 34 team didn’t quit. I’m happy with the result. I made some little mistakes that took us out of the lead, Obviously, we want to win but today gave us a good baseline for the rest of the season. We have the body and chassis builds down, we just need to fine tune out set up if we want to start knocking down some wins. I’m excited for Homestead.”
Chandler Smith earned his third top-10 finish last night in Sin City at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 8th in the 134 lap, rain delayed race. Qualifying 17th for the event, Smith had no trouble finding his way into the top-10. Smith finished Stage One in the 8th position. After a rain delay, Smith picked up where he left off, competing for the lead throughout Stage Two. Smith finished Stage Two in the second position, earning more valuable stage points. Back in the truck after second rain delay, Smith continued to fight for the lead but was shuffled to the eighth position where he finished the race. Smith is now fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Driver Championship points standings and has increased his averaging finishing position to 6.3.
“Solid day at Las Vegas,” said Smith. “Our No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford F-150 showed a lot of potential and was really fast. Unfortunately, with how those heat cycles played out, I just lost my balance that we had all day that made us a really good truck. Can’t say enough about everyone at Front Row Motorsports, it’s a true testament to how hard the road crew and men and women in the shop work and how dangerous we can be later on down the road.”
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 34 and No. 38 Craftsman Truck Series teams from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.
