Saturday, March 8 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 5 p.m. ET (CW) Sunday, March 9 — NASCAR Cup Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Phoenix Raceway, site of this weekend’s doubleheader featuring the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series, holds good memories for Ford Performance, which celebrated two championships the last time NASCAR visited the one-mile facility in November. Overall, the Blue Oval has won five of the last six titles in the sport’s top three touring series the last two years combined.
LOGANO LOVES PHOENIX
If you’re looking for a favorite this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, look no further than defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. The Connecticut native has four career victories at the Phoenix facility, which is tied for a career-best at one track with Las Vegas. Logano won his third series title in November by leading the final 53 laps and holding off Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney down the stretch to win the championship race. He will be looking to become the first Cup driver to win consecutive races at the track since Kyle Busch did it in 2018-19.
BLANEY LOOKING TO EXTEND STREAK
Ryan Blaney remains Ford’s highest driver in the Cup Series point standings as he sits second overall going into this weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway. After starting the year with back-to-back top-10 finishes, the 2023 champion ran 19th this past weekend at Circuit of the Americas. Blaney, who won the pole in Atlanta two weeks ago, has displayed career consistency at Phoenix with an average finish of 10.4 in 18 series starts. Even though he doesn’t have a win, Blaney has seven straight top-5 efforts at the one-mile track, including four runner-up finishes.
BUESCHER LEADS FORD AT COTA
Chris Buescher led Ford with a seventh-place finish on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas, marking his second top-10 effort in three races this season. Buescher, who ran 10th in the season-opening Daytona 500, is one of two Ford drivers to open the year with a pair of top 10 runs with Ryan Blaney being the other. The Texas native will be making his 19th career Cup Series start at Phoenix and while he is still winless, Buescher has recorded three straight top-10 finishes at the track, including a runner-up effort in this event a year ago.
AUSTIN CINDRIC ON THE OPTION TIRE BEING USED AT PHOENIX RACEWAY: “It’s a variable for sure, and I think it changes strategy. Similar to Richmond, I don’t feel like you’re gonna change your day as far as track position, but it can certainly influence things and be a strategy play to be the first to do the right thing. It’s always interesting to see how those things play out, and I think Phoenix is kind of an evolution to seeing what we can try there.”
KULWICKI WINS FIRST CUP RACE IN PHOENIX OPENER
Alan Kulwicki, driving the No. 7 Zerex Ford, won his first NASCAR Cup Series race in the debut event at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6, 1988. Kulwicki, who celebrated by taking a Polish Victory Lap for which he is still remembered for today, passed leader Ricky Rudd with 16 laps to go and ended up taking the checkered flag in his 85th start by 18 seconds over runner-up Terry Labonte. Fellow Ford drivers Davey Allison and Bill Elliott finished third and fourth, respectively. Kulwicki, who ended up leading four times for 41 laps in taking the next-to-last event of the season, went on to win four more Cup races during his career.
A NEW PHOENIX FORD WINNER?
Ford has won two of the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Phoenix Raceway, but Cole Custer (2023) and Riley Herbst (2024) have both moved onto the NASCAR Cup Series so there’s an opportunity for somebody new to find Victory Lane. Sheldon Creed, who drives the 00 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Haas Factory Team, has one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win to his credit at Phoenix in 2020, while Sam Mayer, Harrison Burton and Ryan Sieg are still looking for their first at the track.
HAAS FACTORY TEAM OFF TO GOOD START
Armed with a new name and two new drivers, the Haas Factory Team hasn’t wasted any time in getting the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season off to a good start. And even though drivers Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer have yet to find Victory Lane, they still find themselves third and fourth, respectively, in the point standings. Mayer is coming off a third-place run at Circuit of The Americas last weekend, which was the best Ford finish, and has two top-5 efforts in the first three races. Creed started the season with a third-place effort at Daytona.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 4, 2025) – Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion and William Byron, a 14-time race winner in NASCAR’s premier division, will split time behind the wheel of Spire Motorsports’ No. 07 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in a trifecta of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races in 2025.
Larson, a native of Elk Grove, Calif., will race the No. 07 Chevy Silverado in the March 21 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and return to the cockpit two races later for the April 11 WEATHER GUARD Truck Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Byron, will thread the needle between Larson’s two stints and handle the driving chores for the Allen Hart-led program March 28 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Byron returns the site of his most recent CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win where, ironically, he collected Spire Motorsports inaugural victory in the division.
Both Hendrick Motorsports drivers have picked up checkered flags in Truck Series competition for the Mooresville, N.C., organization over the last three seasons.
“One of the coolest things of having a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team is to have the crossover from Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “We’ve had all their drivers in our trucks from time to time, and to have two guys in William (Byron) and Kyle (Larson), who have won races with us back in the seat, certainly gives the team a little more pep in our step. It also raises the bar for those races to win or bust. You don’t show up with those guys to do anything else but win.”
Larson and Byron will be part of a HENDRICKCARS.COM trio of Spire Motorsports-prepared entries at all three events. In addition to the No. 07 machine, Rajah Caruth will sport his traditional HENDRICKCARS.COM paint scheme aboard his No. 71 Chevy while Larson’s fellow Hendrick Motorsports stablemate Corey Day will pilot the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado, featuring an identical livery.
The 32-year-old Larson, often referred to as “Yung Money,” owns three Homestead CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts where he tallied one pole and a pair of top fives, including a second-place finish in the 2014 season finale.
Larson made his lone Bristol start in Truck Series competition in 2021 when the famed half-mile was covered in dirt. Regrettably, he was saddled with a 35th-place after being collected in an incident just past the halfway mark of the 150-lap event.
“I love racing at Homestead-Miami (Speedway) and Bristol (Motor Speedway), so I’m excited to add those Truck races to my schedule,” said Larson. “Hopefully, we can put on a great show with HENDRICKCARS.COM on board and battle for the victories in the Spire truck.”
In addition to his success in the Cup Series, Byron was highly accomplished on the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series side of the sport and lays claims to eight victories across 29 starts – seven of which came during the 2016 season.
Meanwhile, the Charlotte, N.C., native owns two Martinsville wins on NASCAR grandest stage, where he secured the historic half-mile’s famed grandfather clock trophy in spring of 2022 and 2024.
“I’m excited to get back to the Truck Series,” said Byron. “It’s been a couple years for me so I’m ready to try it again. Plus, the last time I ran a truck at Martinsville we won. Hopefully, we can do that again because it really paid off for us on the Cup side of things. Spire is a great group, and I’m excited to work with them again.”
The Baptist Health 200 from Homestead-Miami Speedway will be televised live on FOX Friday, March 21 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The fourth of 25 races on the 2025 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
About HENDRICKCARS.COM … HendrickCars.com is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 thousand new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
About Spire Motorsports … Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came Feb. 22, 2025, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.
In Moore, Oklahoma almost every home has at least two cars. There is an average of 24,000 households in the city; this means, Moore has a minimum of 48,000 vehicles. With so many cars in the city, it makes sense that the business of fixing up and cleaning cars will do well. This piece will tell you everything you need to know about detailing your car in Moore, Oklahoma.
What is Car Detailing?
Detailing a car means cleaning the inside and outside of it completely and putting it back to its natural state. If you wash your car, you only clean the outside, which is not what we are talking about. Rather, car detailing in moore ok includes cleaning and fixing up every part of the car. That goes for both the paint or surface on the outside and the seats on the inside.
This method is more effective than merely washing. It covers cleaning, waxing, or shining the surface; washing, and fixing of inside parts. It also entails other caring for the engines and tires.
Why You Should Have Your Car Detailed
One main reason people look for cleaning and restoring services for their cars is to keep them from breaking down. In addition, it keeps plastics from fading way before they should. In the end, detailing your car protects your investment. Taking care of your car in this way makes it last longer and improve its value.
Thorough cleaning is a time-consuming step, especially areas under the car that are prone to rusting and corrosion. Eradicating dirt and other corrosive elements will help prevent the metal appendages of your car from rusting in future. If you wash your car often you are safeguarding the paint from the sun, bird dropping, and other things such as tree sap.
Detailing services keep your car’s color by stopping it from fading, leaving it looking bright and brand-new. One of the additional treatments applied during detailing is wax, which creates a barrier that will prevent abrasions and minor scratches. It protects the surfaces of the car and that helps to reduce the amount of damage over time.
Car Detailing Services
Professional car cleaning includes a wide range of services. The goal of all of these services is to clean, fix up, and protect the car from the inside and out. Professional cleaning and restoring of vehicles often include the following services:
Cleaning the Outside
The professionals will:
Wash and Drying the Outside: For this process, they will need to spray and wipe the car’s body with special materials. It also includes hand washing the windows, door knobs, and rims.
Paint Clay the Car: A clay bar will be applied to remove any surface contaminants, leftovers, residual primer, and overspray that remains. You can go to https://www.theartofcleanliness.com/ to find out how to clay-bar your car. When you clay a surface, it gets cleaner and smoother, which makes it better for sealing and polishing.
Polishing: Rubbing a rough object over paint is done to get rid of thin layers of clear coat. Small swirls and scrapes will go away.
Varnish or Waxing: A sealer can protect the makeup and make it have that shiny appearance. On occasion, wax is also used. Cushion form, cosmetic touch-ups, clean repainting, glass chip form, and machine detailing are some new surface treatments.
Cleaning the Inside
As part of this service:
Vacuuming: In course of this service, the professionals will vacuum your rugs, floor mats and other interior surfaces. This will help remove dust and anything else.
Steam Cleaning: Steam cleaning helps get rid of germs and cleans carpets and other fabric surfaces fully.
Cleaning the Interior Surfaces and Dashboard: This will help the interior and the dashboard to look professional.
Cleaning the Glass: If you want streak-free quality, you should shine and clean the inside of the glass.
Correcting the Paint
Another important service in car restoration and cleaning is compounding and polishing. This means using polish or polishes to rectify defects in the paint, for instance, scratches and spots. This will help get rid of those marks. Paint sealing material or ceramic coating is enhancing layers of protection on the paint to preserve the color and make the paint longer-lasting.
Full Restoration of the Car
The detailer starts by giving the car a complete cleaning and then moving on to fixing up the whole thing. Once that’s done, the car is secured to keep the weather elements out. You can read this article to learn how to weather-proof your car. After that, it is fixed up with things like paint repair and window tinting, among other things.
Conclusion
There’s more to getting your car cleaned than just making it look better. It keeps your car safe from the weather, makes it more valuable when you sell it, and makes upkeep easier. Car detailing not only keeps your car’s value and length of life, but it also makes driving safer and more fun.
Carl Edwards won four times at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Cup Series and also claimed BMS victories in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series at the challenging half-mile bullring during his career. After a victory, Edwards would perform a celebratory backflip along the frontstretch.
BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 3, 2025) – NASCAR Hall of Fame members Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards, recently inducted into the class of 2025 of the prestigious shrine in Charlotte, N.C., were two of the absolute best to ever roam the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway.
Known for his success at short tracks throughout the circuit, Rudd was a high performer on Bristol’s high banks despite any golden statues to show for it. The Chesapeake, Virginia native posted four runner-up finishes, six third-place finishes, 16 top-fives and an amazing 31 top-10s in 58 career starts at the .533-mile high-banked concrete oval. Despite never winning at the ultra-tough track, Rudd was seemingly always in the mix battling for victories at the end.
Ricky Rudd may have never won at race at Bristol Motor Speedway but he was always in the mix gunning for a win around the high-banked short track. He led a strong 605 laps at Bristol in his career. He also posted four second-place finishes and six third-place finishes.
Rudd’s most amazing stat was his longevity. Before Jeff Gordon broke his record in 2015, Rudd held the streak for most consecutive starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. One time, after a horrific crash in Daytona, Rudd famously taped his eyes open so he could race the following weekend. In another race at Martinsville, he suffered second-degree burns in a crash, but it didn’t keep him out of the car the following week. He was literally tough as nails.
All totaled, Rudd’s record run included an incredible 788 consecutive starts from 1981 to 2005. During that span he also set another record that has since been broken, for consecutive seasons with at least one victory, 16, from 1983-1998. Rudd competed in a whopping 906 races in his lengthy career over a 33-year period.
While 23-time Cup Series winner Rudd won multiple times at Martinsville, Richmond, Dover and Phoenix, for some odd reason he never claimed a trophy at Bristol, a track that he admitted he loved.
With a wide grin, Rudd explained that there were two gigantic barriers standing in his way of reaching Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Darrell Waltrip
Dale Earnhardt
If Rudd would’ve raced in any other time period other than the ‘80s and ‘90s, he might’ve bagged five or more trophies at Bristol. But given his timing, he faced two of the sport’s greatest drivers at their zenith and both of them loved Bristol and were two of the most talented drivers to ever tame the Tennessee bullring.
Darrell Waltrip is still the track’s all-time wins leader, with 12 career victories. He and team owner Junior Johnson dominated at Bristol in their heyday. The team won seven straight times from 1981-1984. Several of those wins featured Rudd in the top five. Both 1981 Bristol races Rudd finished second to Waltrip. In 1989, Waltrip won and held off Rudd, who finished third overall during the famed Night Race.
“It was one of those tracks for us,” Rudd says. “I can’t tell you how many times we were racing Darrell Waltrip for the win, and he flat out owned that track. He and Junior (Johnson, team owner, crew chief) were unbeatable there. It was a strange deal to go there and run so strong that you thought you were gonna win, but they still would beat you. But, if you are gonna run second to someone, there’s not a better group of guys to do it to.”
The other roadblock for Rudd was that popular No. 3 from Richard Childress Racing driven by nine-time BMS winner Dale Earnhardt. Rudd posted a second-place finish to Earnhardt in the spring of 1985 and a pair of third places finishes in both Bristol races in 1986. In the 85-spring race, Earnhardt lost his power steering early on, but somehow managed to hold off Rudd and win. In the 86 races, Rudd claimed third place finishes as he watched the No. 3 car take the checkered flags.
Rudd and Earnhardt at that time were bitter rivals. Some of that feud flowed over the driver’s seat of the famed No. 3 car. Earnhardt left the car to go drive for Bud Moore in 1982 and meanwhile Rudd took over the 3-car at RCR. With Rudd driving, the team kept getting better and better and won races at Riverside, California and Martinsville in 1983. With momentum building, suddenly, Childress elected to put Earnhardt back in the seat at the start of the 1984 season and Rudd had to go looking for another ride. The move left Rudd with hard feelings.
“Dale at that time was one of my best friends and we did a lot of things together back then, we were really close,” Rudd said. “But it was a punch in the stomach for sure at the end of the 1983 season. It was like your best friend stole your girlfriend. It’s kind of sad we butted heads over that for a really long time. We were finally getting back and patching things up (before Earnhardt’s death in 2001).”
Lost in the aftermath of the 1999 Night Race when Earnhardt bumped Terry Labonte out of the way on the final lap to get the victory was Rudd’s involvement in that iconic moment. Rudd was running in third place as Earnhardt made contact with Labonte. In the heat of the moment, with smoke from Labonte’s car billowing, Rudd decided to go left and low and hit Labonte’s spinning car on the back side. If he would’ve went to the right, high side, he would’ve been able to cruise to victory, or at least battle Earnhardt nose to nose for the win as they approached the checkered flag. It wasn’t meant to be.
“As I was coming up there on those two, I knew there was gonna be fireworks there, just like all the fans did too,” Rudd said. “There wasn’t a question that Earnhardt was going to bump him. You knew that was coming, you just had to be ready for it when he did it. When you are trailing something like that it’s just a crap shoot. I’ve won races from that situation, but sadly that day I got it wrong.”
Despite his heartbreak there, Rudd says his love for Bristol was immense.
“Bristol was always a fun place to go to, the racing was so exciting,” Rudd said. “A bunch of us drivers used to all say when we finally retired, we were going to go get a beer and sit in the middle of the grandstands on the frontstretch and enjoy watching a race at Bristol.”
Rudd says Bristol is still NASCAR’s most unique racetrack. In a few weeks the track will again host the long running Food City 500, April 11-13. The tradition-rich race will again be held on the concrete high-banks in the afternoon just like it was during Rudd’s era.
“I remember how tough it was,” Rudd says. “I had never felt G-load like that on anything I raced before. I always thought, ‘how in the world can you run around this track without running into each other?’ But’s that’s just part of it. It’s all about survival, and it’s a fun experience for the drivers.”
While Rudd couldn’t buy a victory at Bristol, his NASCAR Hall of Fame fellow inductee Edwards had seemingly no problem finding his way to Bristol’s roof-top victory lane during his era. And Edwards had several drivers that were also Bristol specialists standing in his way, like the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth to name a few.
Of Edward’s 28 career Cup victories, four came a Bristol. He is also a member of an exclusive Bristol club where he claimed victories in NASCAR’s top three divisions at the short track. He won the 2007 Xfinity Series spring race and the 2004 Night Race Craftsman Truck Series victory. Only six drivers in history have Bristol wins in each division.
Edwards also has the distinction of being the first driver at Bristol’s Last Great Colosseum to receive the Bristol Gladiator Sword for winning the 2014 Food City 500.
“I never realized I was the first to get the sword there,” Edwards said with a smile, “but that thing was a real sword. It was razor-sharp. I remember opening it and going, whoa, that’s a real sword.”
Edwards entertained the Bristol fans with his popular post-race victory move, a signature backflip off the door of his racecar.
“I remember thinking about the banking on the frontstretch of the track and the angle I am going to come down after the flip,” Edwards said. “It was something I thought about, for sure, but I did it. The fans loved it. I was always happy to do it.”
Edwards said the energy at Bristol was unlike anything he experienced anywhere else on the NASCAR circuit.
“I remember a couple of races where the action happens so fast there and your heart is pounding,” Edwards said. “You are just trying not to make a mistake and keep clear of the lapped traffic. It was just fun to drive no matter what situation you were in. If you were holding somebody up, you knew it cause they were on your bumper. Even the races I won there I never felt like the car was that great and I was always managing a problem. There was just always something going on. That’s Bristol.”
Like many before him who have unlocked the secret to running well and winning races at Bristol, Edwards says he wishes he knew exactly what the formula was. He says it basically comes down to two things.
“I had really fast cars and great crew chiefs,” Edwards said. “I loved the place. I played Bristol all the time on a video game when I was a kid, so maybe that helped too. At Bristol, everything in you says you shouldn’t be on the throttle in certain situations, but actually you needed to be. You had to be on the throttle. And other times, your instinct is to hit the throttle, but really you should be letting off and braking. It’s such a fun place to race.”
Edwards unlike Rudd was not an ironman in the sport. The Missouri driver abruptly ended his career in his prime at the age of 37 following the 2016 season. He competed in 445 races over 13 seasons. Who knows how many more Bristol wins Edwards would’ve racked up this past decade if he would’ve kept racing?
“I don’t regret leaving,” Edwards said. “I could have probably done it better…If I had to do it over again, I probably could have done it in a more gracious way. Because I left so abruptly, I felt a little bit of guilt around that.”
In a few weeks fans will be able to watch the next generation of NASCAR Hall of Famers battle at Bristol Motor Speedway. The highly-anticipated weekend opens with the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race, a 250-lap race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series under the lights on Friday, April 11 (7:30 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio). The action continues Saturday afternoon on April 12 with the SciAps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (5 p.m., The CW, PRN Radio) and then culminates Sunday afternoon with the historic Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race (April 13, 3 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio).
In addition to cheering on their favorite drivers on the track, Bristol Motor Speedway fans will definitely want to take advantage of so many activities to make a complete weekend of family fun. There will be great video entertainment provided by Colossus TV, the world’s largest center-hung video screen, premium VIP experiences, tailgating, on-site camping, concerts and other entertainment at the Food City Fan Zone Stage headlined by Trackside Live with Kenny Wallace and John Roberts, great food and beverages in the concession stands throughout the property, and so much more.
To purchase tickets for the Food City 500, please visit https://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/events/food-city-500/ or call the BMS ticket sales center at (866) 415-4158. Tickets can also be purchased at your neighborhood Food City store until Wednesday, April 4.
About Bristol Motor Speedway Forged amid the scenic mountains of Northeast Tennessee near the Virginia state line, Bristol Motor Speedway is The Last Great Colosseum, a versatile multi-use venue that hosts major auto races, football games, concerts and many other captivating events, including an upcoming Major League Baseball game. The facility features a 0.533-mile concrete oval race track with 28-degree corner banking and 650-feet straightaways that offers racing in several NASCAR touring series, highlighted by two major Cup Series weekends each year. In 2025, the venue will transform into a baseball stadium to host the MLB Speedway Classic featuring the Atlanta Braves vs. the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2nd. In 2020, the track also served as host of the prestigious NASCAR All-Star Race, and from 2021-2023 the track converted to a temporary dirt track each spring to take the Cup Series back to its racing roots. While at the track, fans are offered a unique viewing experience courtesy of Colossus TV, the world’s largest outdoor center-hung four-sided video screen with a 540,000-watt audio system. The adjacent quarter-mile dragstrip, Bristol Dragway, offers more than 50 events annually, including the marquee NHRA Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals. The Thunder Valley Amphitheatre presented by Ballad Health transforms Bristol Dragway into a premier outdoor concert venue for the world’s greatest music performers. Three football games have kicked-off inside the oval, most notably the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, where border rivals the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech met before an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990. In existence since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway was purchased in 1996 by Speedway Motorsports, a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. For more information, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.
Scope of RWR’s Racing Endeavors on Display This Weekend With Simultaneous Season Openers for NHRA and American Flat Track in Florida, While NASCAR Races in Phoenix
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 3, 2025) – The calendar notifications on Rick Ware’s mobile phone are incessant. The frequent buzzes and constant dings are ever-present reminders that the sun never sets at Rick Ware Racing (RWR).
This weekend highlights the scope of RWR’s motorsports footprint. The No. 51 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford Mustang Dark Horse RWR fields for Cody Ware in the NASCAR Cup Series is at Phoenix Raceway for Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500. Two thousand miles and two time zones east in Gainesville, Florida, the 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster that Clay Millican pilots for RWR in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series kicks off its season with the 56th annual Gatornationals. One hundred miles southeast of Gainesville at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Progressive American Flat Track (AFT) begins its 2025 campaign with rider Chase Saathoff representing RWR in the 450 Singles class and RWR rider Briar Bauman in the SuperTwins division.
Sure, Ware is not the only team owner to field entries in multiple series. Penske, Trackhouse and McLaren immediately come to mind. But RWR is the most diverse. NASCAR tracks. NHRA dragstrips. Dirt ovals lined with hay bales. Four wheels. Two wheels. RWR is there, domestically and internationally, as its FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) team doesn’t begin its season until October at iconic London Stadium, home of West Ham United Football Club.
“It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s a seven-day-a-week, 52-week endeavor, so you have to love it,” said Ware, a native of Los Angeles who relocated to North Carolina in the mid-1990s. “I’m going to be in Florida this weekend, splitting my time between AFT in Daytona and NHRA in Gainesville. I don’t get to as many AFT and Top Fuel races as I would like, so with each being in the same state and relatively close, I need to make the most of the schedule.”
At any one time, stock cars, dragsters, motorcycles and the sportscars from RWR’s 2019-2020 LMP2 championship in the Asian Le Mans Series and podium finish last January in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 class at Daytona are all under one roof.
“This is a very addictive sport. To be on podiums and to hoist trophies, and to high-five for top-10s and even top-20s in NASCAR, is really something else,” Ware said. “That being said, we’re in the business of trying to win races, so you need to make a business case to justify why you do it. This platform allows us to have a diverse volume of events, from coast to coast, where we can deliver for our partners.”
In addition to that Asian Le Mans Series championship, RWR has delivered championships on the two-wheeled front. It won the 2022 WSX 250cc class title with rider Shane McElrath, and a second motorcycle crown was earned last year when rider Kody Kopp delivered the AFT 450 Singles class title to RWR.
Among those championships are wins. Millican has four Top Fuel event victories since joining RWR in late 2022, including last year’s U.S. Nationals, drag racing’s equivalent of the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. And AFT rider Bauman, now in his third season with RWR, has earned four of his 26 career SuperTwins wins with RWR.
“We want to win in every series where we compete, but that’s tough to do in these disciplines. By fielding entries in different series, we’re able to provide a broader reach to our partners,” Ware said. “When we earn success in one discipline, it’s every partners’ success too. This also allows our partners to reach a variety of demographics.
“For instance, motorcycle racing skews younger, while NASCAR has a little bit older audience. With the cross-promotion we’re able to do with all of these different racing series, what we offer is financially beneficial for brands. They can engage more of their customers and VIP guests with more opportunities and different experiences. It’s allowed us to really bring added value to all of our partners.”
Arby’s is RWR’s most recent example. When Millican won the U.S. Nationals, he did it with Arby’s adorned on his nitro-powered Top Fuel dragster. The victory fueled a partnership that in 2025 extends to the NASCAR Cup Series. Arby’s is the primary partner on the No. 51 Ford Mustang for 12 races, all while remaining with Millican’s Top Fuel ride, including a return to the U.S. Nationals.
“I love motorsports, and I don’t care if it’s two-wheel, four-wheel, it doesn’t matter to me, I love it and I keep up with it,” Millican said. “That’s the way we’re all wired at RWR. We’re committed to performing and, even before that, we’re committed to putting in the prep work to perform. And that’s not just on the track. We know we need to deliver off the track, and whatever we have to do to make that happen, we do it. That’s a racer’s mentality. You just find a way.”
The brands visible on one RWR entry are typically seen on the multiple entries in the various disciplines where RWR competes.
“We’ve had partners who had traditionally been active in the NHRA, but we exposed them to NASCAR and American Flat Track, and now they’re activating across all three of these series,” Ware said. “When you deliver that kind of return, where what you’re able to provide is unique from everyone else, that’s how you continue to grow.”
Cody Ware has had a front-row seat to the time, energy and effort his father has put into RWR.
“When I see where we are now compared to where we were five years ago, you can’t even compare. It’s a whole different race team now,” Cody said. “With what we’ve accomplished on the AFT and NHRA side, I think it’s helped us gain respect in NASCAR and motorsports as a whole. To win NHRA’s crown jewel in the U.S. Nationals with Clay Millican, and to win last year’s AFT 450 Singles championship with Kody Klopp, and the 2022 WSX 250 class title with Shane McElrath, I mean, that doesn’t just magically happen. The organization put in a lot of work to earn those wins and championships, and I think that’s given dad the confidence to continue to build the NASCAR program.
“NASCAR takes a lot more manpower and engineering resources and, quite frankly, dollars, compared to some of the other series, but it’s still an upward trajectory.”
It’s that grind to constantly improve, to be better than the last finish, to go quicker than the last pass, which drives Ware.
“I haven’t been able to always stop and smell the roses, like I should,” Ware said. “That’s one of the goals I’m going to try to achieve this year, because it is pretty cool and I’m proud of the people I have around me. They’ve worked so hard to make all of this happen. It’s cool to see people happy and excited about the success we’ve earned, and that’s really important to me.”
So, what does success look like this weekend?
Millican: “It’s leaving Gainesville with a Wally. That’s what our trophy is called, after NHRA founder Wally Parks, and that’s what we want. We know we’re capable of doing it – we’ve done it with RWR multiple times now – so winning is the bar for success.”
Saathoff, who takes over the reigning championship-winning ride in AFT’s 450 Singles class: “I’m shooting for the podium. I want to win every weekend, but the competition is tough. I was a privateer last year, so to be with a team of this caliber, I want to be smart and make the most of it.”
Bauman: “We’ve gotten a couple days of testing, and my goal is to get on the podium and win. I’m back with my crew chief and my mechanic from about eight years prior. We’ve all won together before, and we aim to do that again this year.”
Cody Ware: “It’s been a rough start to our year on the NASCAR side. I just want a good, clean weekend where we come out with a solid finish and get our season pointed in the right direction.”
Perhaps the opinion that matters most is that of the team owner.
“Most of all, I want to make sure all of our partners are happy and that we’ve helped them reach their goals. That’s job one,” Ware said. “I would really like to get a top-25 at Phoenix in the Cup race. I’m expecting to be on both podiums in Singles and SuperTwins in Flat Track and, man, I sure hope we get to the final round at the Gatornationals. We have the riders and drivers and the programs in place to do all of that. Obviously, there are a lot of variables – riders can get knocked down, we can blow stuff up in the Top Fuel car, and we can have issues at the mile at Phoenix, but that success is achievable, and it all just helps us grow our fan base, deliver for our partners, and add value to the series we’re competing in.”
RWR’s race weekend begins Thursday with the first race of the AFT doubleheader at Daytona. Singles goes green at 8:45 p.m. ET with SuperTwins following at 9:15 p.m. The same schedule is repeated on Friday night. In Gainesville, the Gatornationals event begins Friday with two qualifying sessions at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. before a packed lineup on Saturday starts at 12:15 p.m. with the Top Fuel Callout, all of which sets up Sunday’s round of eliminations, which begins at 11 a.m. In Phoenix, NASCAR Cup Series practice starts Saturday at 3 p.m. followed immediately by qualifying at 4 p.m. Sunday’s race starts at 3:30 p.m. With the exception of NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying, all of the action can be seen on either FS1 or FS2.
About Rick Ware Racing:
Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age 6 when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver’s seat and into full-time team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with his wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that competes full-time in the elite NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).
Katherine Legge will make her inaugural appearance as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Legge, a 44-year-old motorsports competitor and trailblazer from Guildford, United Kingdom, will drive the No. 78 Chevrolet entry for Live Fast Motorsports. DROPLiGHT will sponsor her.
The news comes as Legge recently made her ARCA Menards Series debut at Daytona International Speedway in February with Sigma Performance Services. With her participation this weekend at Phoenix, she is set to become the first female competitor to compete in NASCAR’s premier series since Danica Patrick competed in the 2018 Daytona 500.
“Entering the NASCAR Cup Series is a dream come true,” Legge said in a released statement. “I’m excited to team up with Live Fast Motorsports for Phoenix, and to represent our sponsors DROPLiGHT and Sherfick Companies. Racing stockcars has been an incredibly fun and new challenge that’s given me a renewed sense of vigor for this sport. As always, I’m grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and am inspired by all of the effort, preparation and behind the scenes work it takes to get here.”
Legge enters the Cup Series division with a rich trailblazing legacy in motorsports competition. In 2005, she became the first female competitor to win a major open-wheel event in North America after she won the Toyota Atlantic Championship event in Long Beach, California. Eighteen years later, she became the fastest female competitor to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, where she posted a speed of 231.627 mph. To date, she has made four career starts in the Indy 500 with her best on-track result being a 22nd-place run in 2012 with Dragon Racing.
Legge is the first female competitor to lead in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which occurred in 2016, and an American Le Mans Series event, the latter of which occurred at Road America in 2013. She is also the first female competitor to receive the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club “Rising Star” award in 2002 and to be inducted into the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in 2024.
Having previously competed in the Champ Car World Series, IndyCar and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship divisions, Legge also competed in a total of five NASCAR Xfinity Series events. She made four starts with JD Motorsports in 2018, where she posted a career-best 14th-place result at Road America in August 2018, and made her recent start at Road America with SS-Green Light Racing in July 2023.
For the 2025 season, Legge is set to become the second competitor to drive the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports entry in the Cup division. Earlier this year, BJ McLeod, who did not qualify for the 67th running of the Daytona 500, drove the No. 78 entry to a 22nd-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Live Fast Motorsports is still scheduled to compete in the Talladega Superspeedway events, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, the series’ second visit to Atlanta in June and the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August.
“We’re happy to partner with Katherine for this race,” Jessica McLeod, CEO/co-owner of Live Fast Motorsports, said. “The opportunity to have such a versatile and dynamic championship winning driver join our program is exciting for everyone on our team. This partnership reflects our commitment to providing opportunities for drivers making their way into the NASCAR Cup series in the Next Gen era.”
Katherine Legge’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway for the Shriners Children’s 500 will take place this Sunday, March 9th. The event will be broadcast on FS1 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Kyle Washington Three for Four in VP Racing Challenge Podiums in First Two Race Weekends of 2025 at Daytona and Circuit of The Americas in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R
AUSTIN, Texas (March 3, 2025) – Sports car racing champions GMG Racing and longtime team driver Kyle Washington have built a three-for-four record of Bronze class podium finishes in the team’s and Washington’s debut races in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge series after second and third place finishes on Saturday in Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2025 championship at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Washington won the second of two races in the season-opening VP Racing Challenge doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway in January and now has a record of three-straight podium showings in the series in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R after the COTA rounds.
“This weekend proved valuable for Kyle because he had to really dig deep into his race craft,” said GMG Racing Founder and Team Principal James Sofronas. “There was a lot of lapped traffic. He was faster than some of the LMP3s, and obviously faster than the GT4 competitors, so we had to manage his traffic and race skills every lap to stay with the lead pack. In that regard, he did really well. He kept some people behind us in Saturday’s second race, and with a few more laps maybe he could have taken the win. This was a great experience for him. Kyle had to set up his passes early, and he is going to take all of this experience with him to the next races in the additional series he is scheduled to run in 2025.”
The VP Racing Challenge sprints were a support race for NASCAR, and all series ran on COTA’s 2.3-mile, 20-turn National course that was used for the first time for a major race weekend in over a decade. The layout was last used when the Australian-based V8 Supercars visited Austin in 2013, the first and still only appearance of the popular series in the U.S.
“The short track National course at COTA was much more challenging with no places to rest like the full Formula 1 layout,” Washington said. “Reeling in Samantha Tan in that fast BMW was a real challenge, but second place was one step higher on the podium than our result in the morning race. I’m exhausted, but it was an amazing experience. Cheers to her, and to IMSA and NASCAR for putting on an amazing weekend!”
Washington trails championship leader Tan by just 90 points after the first two of the VP Racing Challenge’s six scheduled doubleheader weekends, but current plans call for a partial season of select races in IMSA competition.
“Regardless of what the rest of 2025 looks like, the IMSA VP Racing series has been a great experience, and particularly good for Kyle to further develop his race craft at an earlier point in the season than in recent years,” Sofronas said. “Just getting the chance to race at Daytona and COTA at any time is a great experience, but we really enjoyed the VP Racing Challenge and would love to do more races.”
Next up for GMG Racing is the season-opening IMSA Carrera Cup weekend at Sebring International Raceway in less than two weeks, March 12 – 14. A press release announcing GMG’s multi-car Carrera Cup effort for this season will be made in the coming days.
About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility recently relocated to The Thermal Club and with a 28,000 sq. ft. trackside motorsports facility. The staff, attention to detail and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped the company support its customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona, Montreal, COTA and The Thermal Club, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.
STUART, Va. (March 3, 2025) –Wood Brothers Racing today announced a new sponsorship by eero that will see the leader in whole-home Wi-Fi solutions featured as a primary partner for three races during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The No. 21 eero Ford Mustang will make its debut at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 9, for the Shriners Children’s 500.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, eero set out to make Wi-Fi and networking the way they should be—fast, reliable, secure, and easy to use. As the pioneer of the first home mesh Wi-Fi system, eero is known for its high-quality design, intuitive technology, and award-winning hardware and software that deliver seamless connectivity for homes, businesses, communities, and service providers.
“NASCAR represents the perfect blend of technology and performance, making it an ideal platform for eero to showcase our commitment to delivering race car-fast connectivity,” said Laura Levine, Global Head of Brand and Marketing at eero. “Our sponsorship with Wood Brothers Racing, NASCAR’s most storied team, and Josh Berry aligns perfectly with our values of innovation and reliability. Just as Wood Brothers pioneered modern pit stop techniques, eero pioneered home mesh Wi-Fi technology, and we’re excited to bring these two innovation stories together on the track. We look forward to supporting Josh and the No. 21 team as they push for victory lane, while demonstrating how eero’s technology keeps teams connected when every millisecond counts.”
Following its first appearance at Phoenix, the No. 21 eero Ford Mustang will return for the marquee Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25 and the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on July 13.
“There’s a lot of excitement around our team this year with Josh behind the wheel and several new partners joining us, including eero,” said Jon Wood, President at Wood Brothers Racing. “eero is an innovative company that fits well with us, and we’re proud to welcome them to the No. 21 team this year. Reliable connectivity is important in everything we do, and eero delivers that at the highest level.”
The sponsorship comes as Berry, a native of Hendersonville, Tennessee, takes on his first season behind the wheel of the famed No. 21 car and second full-time season in the Cup Series where he aims to score his first premier series win with the Wood Brothers.
“I’m really excited to have eero on board with us at Wood Brothers Racing this year,” said Berry. “I had the opportunity to work with eero last season, so it’s great to see the company continuing its involvement in NASCAR, now with our No. 21 team. I’m looking forward to representing them and hopefully taking the eero Ford Mustang to victory lane.”
The Shriners Children’s 500 is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday with coverage available on FOX Sports 1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
About eero eero was founded to make wifi and networking the way they should be—fast, reliable, secure, and, most importantly, easy to use. After introducing the first home mesh wifi system with a high-quality design that blends into its environment and technology that intuitively works behind the scenes, eero became known for sweating every single detail and delivering award-winning hardware and software for homes, businesses, communities, and service providers. Founded and headquartered in San Francisco in 2014, eero is an Amazon company. For more information, visit eero.com.
About Wood Brothers Racing Founded in 1950 by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood in Stuart, Virginia, Wood Brothers Racing holds a special place in NASCAR history as the sport’s longest-running team. Over eight decades, the team has earned 100 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, along with 120 poles, and remains proud of its longstanding relationship with Ford Motor Company, fielding only Ford products since its inception. Glenn’s brother, Leonard Wood, played a key role in shaping modern racing by developing the techniques behind today’s pit stops. With a rich legacy rooted in innovation and tradition, Wood Brothers Racing continues to honor its heritage while adapting for the future as it competes in NASCAR’s premier series with Josh Berry.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 3, 2025) – After ending his season with a fourth career world championship a year ago, Top Fuel star Antron Brown has a chance to make a resounding statement right off the bat to open the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
The year kicks off with this weekend’s 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, starting the season with one of the most legendary races on the NHRA circuit.
A win in Gainesville – something Brown has only done once before – is a major accomplishment for any driver, but the champ has a chance for a double-up weekend by competing in the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout on Saturday.
Brown won the big-money bonus race a year ago en route to the title, but becoming the first Top Fuel driver to win the Callout twice and adding a Gatornationals win in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster would be an impressive start following a championship campaign.
“You just don’t what’s going to happen (in the Callout),” Brown said. “You’re going to race the baddest Top Fuel teams on the planet. It’s eight of the best cars and it’s a feat just to get in there. To win it, you’ve got to be on point. I think we’re ready for that challenge and we’ve just got to get ready in qualifying. It’s big money and the stakes are high.
“It’s the first race of the year and it’s an All-Star race. That’s what makes it more intense and you’re going to see who did their homework in the off-season. It’s going to be hard. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got and I like our chances heading into it.”
In 2024, Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won the Gatornationals to open the year. It marked the first double-up victory for Kalitta Motorsports, while six-time world champ Enders won the historic race for the first time. This year’s race will again be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
The first round of the Top Fuel All-Star Callout takes place on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET and the semifinals at 2:20 p.m. The finals are slated for 3:30 p.m. A special Callout broadcast will air at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday on FS1.
Brown is the fifth seed in the specialty race, meaning there’s likely a good chance he’ll get called out in the first round. Those selections take place at 12 p.m. on Friday and the 80-time event winner is ready to roll after his stellar 2024 season.
He won six times a year ago, but the “drive for five” titles won’t be easy with a class that includes Doug Kalitta, Langdon, Brittany Force, Clay Millican, Steve Torrence, Josh Hart and Tony Stewart. Brown, though, is plenty motivated, especially with a chance to add a regular-season championship this year, a feat that would certainly be helped by a second Gatornationals win.
“You’re getting rewarded for something during a long regular season and I’m a big proponent of it,” Brown said. “It’s going to make it more meaningful and it’s going to make each regular season big. So, you’ve got the regular season and then it goes right into the Countdown (to the Championship), and it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to raise the bar and there’s not going to be any more throwaway races.
“I want to be the regular season champ and I want that ceremony, and it all starts at the Gatornationals. It’s one of our biggest races each year and you’ve got to show out and build that momentum. There’s a lot at stake at all these races and it’s going to bring a whole different mindset, and that all starts in Gainesville.”
Todd earned his second Gatornationals win when he took out Funny Car newcomer Austin Prock in the final round. Prock quickly recovered and picked up eight race wins and ultimately the Funny Car championship. Other stars to watch will be Jack Beckman, who will be racing for John Force in 2025, Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Bob Tasca III.
Enders, the winningest female in motorsports, earned her first Gatornationals win last season, finishing fourth in points. Taking the top spot and overall championship was Greg Anderson. With six Gainesville wins and six titles to his name, Anderson will look to take on the other stars like Dallas Glenn and Aaron Stanfield in the Pro Stock ranks.
Herrera, the reigning back-to-back champion, has been undeniably dominant in Pro Stock Motorcycle. He raced to his second straight Gatornationals win last season when he defeated six-time champion and rival Matt Smith. Others to watch include Chase Van Sant, Angie Smith, Jianna Evaristo and Richard Gadson.
The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will also see the season debut in the highly competitive Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series and the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class, as well as a full slate of sportsman classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which features some of the sport’s top drivers.
Before the race, fans will again be invited to a special “Gatornationals Kickoff Party and Fanfest” at Josh Hart’s Burnyzz Speedshop in Ocala. In what’s become an exciting pre-event tradition, the event will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5. The fun-filled kickoff event will include driver appearances and autographs from 7-8 p.m. at the massive facility and much more.
Race fans at Gainesville Raceway can enjoy the special pre-race ceremonies that introduce and celebrate each of the drivers racing for the prestigious Wally on Sunday and includes the fan favorite SealMaster Track Walk, which benefits the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in Gainesville. The final can’t-miss experience of any NHRA event is the winner’s circle celebration on Sunday after racing concludes, where fans are invited to congratulate the event winners of the season-opener.
The Nitro Alley Stage is a huge attraction all weekend and is the main entertainment hub in the pits when the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitors are not on the track, hosting Nitro School, NHRA Insider Live, meet and greets and much more. Before the first round of eliminations on Sunday, fans can enjoy a C-17 flyover from the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 172nd Airlift Wing.
As always, fans get a pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. Fans can see their favorite teams in action and servicing their cars, get autographs from their favorite drivers and more. They can also visit NHRA’s Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and vendors create an exciting atmosphere of interactive displays, merchandise, food and fun.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying features two rounds at 2 and 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 7, and the final two qualifying rounds on Saturday, March 8 at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 9. Gainesville Raceway will also continue to give fans a memorable experience including free general parking at the state-of-the-art facility.
To purchase tickets to the 2025 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission areas with the purchase of an adult ticket. General parking is free and limited preferred parking is available for purchase. Get your tickets now for the Top Eliminator Club because these will sell out. For more info on NHRA, including the full weekend schedule in Gainesville, please visit www.NHRA.com.
About Mission Foods
MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/
About NHRA
NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With more than 100 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Finishes move team to 3rd in IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge GSX Class standings
Culpeper, Virginia--Swish Motorsports raced to a pair of fourth-place GSX class finishes in back-to-back starts at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, March 1, propelling the team to third place in the 2025 IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge GSX points standings.
Driver Patrick Wilmot started fifth in the GSX class in the first race. He brought the No. 12 BMW M4 GT4 home fourth in class, surviving several on-track skirmishes along the way. The No. 12 was the opening race’s top-finishing BMW in GSX.
Wilmot rolled off third in the second race and immediately found himself in a multi-car GSX battle that led to multiple position changes. Once as low as fifth, Wilmot rallied the No. 12 BMW to its second fourth-place GSX class finish of the day.
The results lifted Swish Motorsports to third in the season-long GSX championship points battle. Wilmot is third in the individual drivers’ standings.
Swish Motorsports’ strong performance at COTA builds on its promising season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The team now has three top-four finishes in four starts.
“The entire Swish Motorsports team delivered two more strong efforts at COTA,” said owner and CEO Michael Dayton. “While our goal is to win every race we enter, we recognize that this is a very competitive series. The team’s confidence is growing, and our performance this season shows we can compete with anyone in this series.”
Swish Motorsports’ early-season success wouldn’t be possible without its dedicated partners, led by primary sponsor Runway Travel. The team is also proud to count M3 Home Repair, Rapid Track Service, 129 Touge, Kingpin Racing, Cannonball Storage. and Mills, Dayton & Co. as partners.
The IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge events at COTA were part of a weekend of racing that included NASCAR’s Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The next pair of VP Challenge races takes place June 7-8 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
About Swish Motorsports
Swish Motorsports was founded in 2023 by Michael Dayton and is based in Culpeper, Virginia. Dayton, a former NCAA college basketball player (hence the name Swish), spent nearly two decades as a driver and crew member for several BMW race teams before starting Swish Motorsports. The 2025 season is the team’s second in the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge series competing in the Grand Sport X (GSX) class. Connect with Swish Motorsports at www.swishmotorsports.com, @swishmotorsports on Instagram and on Facebook. Interested in partnering with Swish Motorsports? Let’s talk! Contact Michael at swishmotorsports@gmail.com.
