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NASCAR cup series

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About NASCARCelebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

at Texas

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Tex. — After Michael McDowell’s dream ended less than four laps short of the scheduled finish in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY, Joey Logano took control and rode the NASCAR Cup Series rollercoaster to his first victory of the season.

A week after a missing nut on a spoiler bracket cost him a disqualification from fifth place at Talladega Superspeedway, Logano beat runner-up Ross Chastain to the finish line by 0.346-second in overtime to score his second victory at 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway and the 37th of his career.

In fashioning his first top-five finish of 2025, Logano successfully pursued McDowell, who had charged into the lead after a restart on Lap 245 of 271 and held it through two cautions and restarts.

On Lap 264, less than four laps from a finish, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford went low on the backstretch, avoided a block from McDowell and passed the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for the lead.

Passed for second by Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney a lap later, McDowell lost control in dirty air behind Blaney’s Ford and slammed into the Turn 2 wall, ending his race in 26th place.

“Sorry, boys, I tried,” a rueful McDowell radioed to his team.

On the subsequent overtime restart, Logano made it look easy. The reigning series champion cleared Blaney through the first two corners, as Chastain charged into second from the bottom lane.

Two laps later, Logano was on his way to Victory Lane, having scored the second straight win for Team Penske after Austin Cindric won at Talladega last Sunday.

“The sport changes so quickly,” Logano said after climbing from his car. “It's crazy how you can just ride these rollercoasters and just proud of the team. Finally got (sponsor) AAA Insurance into Victory Lane. They've been a partner of mine since I've been to Penske, so 13, 14 years. I've yet to win with them. It was awesome to get that done here.”

Logano had to work his way forward from his 27th-place starting position. He did so relentlessly and without the sorts of mistakes that doomed the winning chances of others.

“Slowly, methodically, a couple at a time,” Logano said of his drive. “We had a really tough pit stall situation. The pit crew did a good job of managing that and just grabbed a couple (of positions) here and there.

“The car was fast. I knew that yesterday. We just did a poor job qualifying. Just grinded it. Just keep grinding a couple here and a couple there and eventually get a win here. It's nice to get one. Real nice.”

Similarly, Chastain started 31st and didn’t make his presence known until the closing laps.

‘Gosh, that's a working day,” Chastain said. “Just no confidence in the car yesterday. Y'all saw that. Just the speed of the Trackhouse cars on Saturdays is just terrible. We're just not confident, all three drivers.

“So there was one pit stop today that (crew chief) Phil Surgen and the group—it takes a ton of people back at Trackhouse and on the box here in GM at Chevrolet. They made me a confident driver all of a sudden with one adjustment. It was small stuff. It doesn't even make sense, but after that I was a confident driver.”

Blaney came home third, followed by Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 90 laps but surrendered the top spot to McDowell on the Lap 245 restart.

“You don't want to give up the lead on a mile and a half,” Larson said. “It's hard to get it back. Yeah, Michael just did a good job timing it.”

Erik Jones was fifth, scoring his first top five since last year’s fall race at Talladega. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.

Other expected contenders fell by the wayside as the race progressed.

Denny Hamlin’s streak of 21 consecutive lead-lap finishes—eighth-most all-time in the Cup Series—came to an abrupt end on Lap 75. One circuit earlier, Hamlin lost power with an engine the team was running for the third time.

As Hamlin slowed, flames shot from beneath the chassis of the No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin stopped the car, which was enveloped in dark smoke and climbed to safety.

“It was blowing up for about a lap or so before it really detonated,” Hamlin said. “I tried to keep it off to keep it from full detonating.

“That was so they can diagnose exactly what happened to it. It’s tough to say exactly what it is, but they’ll go back and look at it and we’ll find out in a few weeks.”

A promising run for Las Vegas winner Josh Berry likewise ended early on Sunday. Berry had led 41 laps and was running at the front of the field on Lap 125 when the treacherous bump in Turn 4 upset his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

Berry slid into the outside wall, slamming the barrier on the driver’s side of the car.

“Just started to approach the lapped traffic,” said Berry, who returned to the track after repairs, 84 laps down. “You have no choice but to run the opposite lane. Your car is never going to turn if you follow them. I went around the 62 (Jesse Love) on the outside and felt pretty decent about it. Then caught the 51 (Cody Ware) and was working on the 51 and hit that bump and got loose.

“I don't know what I would do too much different. Obviously, in these cars, especially at a place like this, if you’re going to be fast, it’s going to be uncomfortable and you’re going to be on edge. Unfortunately, it bit us today.”

In a race that produced 12 cautions for 73 laps, Austin Cindric led 60 laps but fell victim to a four-car crash on Lap 247. Ten laps earlier, pole winner Carson Hocevar, who led the first 22 laps but was relegated to the back of the field when caution interrupted a green-flag cycle of pit stops on Lap 219, suffered a similar fate in a three-car wreck.

William Byron, who finished 13th, retained the series lead by 13 points over Larson.

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Texas Motor Speedway

Fort Worth, Texas

Sunday, May 4, 2025

1. (27) Joey Logano, Ford, 271.

2. (31) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 271.

3. (24) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 271.

4. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 271.

5. (14) Erik Jones, Toyota, 271.

6. (34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 271.

7. (19) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.

8. (28) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 271.

9. (16) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 271.

10. (25) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 271.

11. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 271.

12. (23) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.

13. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 271.

14. (21) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 271.

15. (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 271.

16. (29) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 271.

17. (13) Zane Smith, Ford, 271.

18. (12) Chris Buescher, Ford, 271.

19. (20) Cole Custer, Ford, 271.

20. (26) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 271.

21. (17) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 271.

22. (37) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 271.

23. (6) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 271.

24. (1) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 270.

25. (3) Austin Cindric, Ford, 268.

26. (5) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 265.

27. (22) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, Suspension, 254.

28. (30) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 246.

29. (33) Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 237.

30. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, Accident, 237.

31. (35) Jesse Love(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 217.

32. (7) Josh Berry, Ford, 187.

33. (9) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 179.

34. (18) Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 172.

35. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.

36. (10) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.

37. (38) Chad Finchum, Ford, Accident, 167.

38. (8) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Engine, 73.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 116.885 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: .346 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 12 for 73 laps.

Lead Changes: 20 among 13 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Hocevar 1-22;D. Hamlin 23;A. Cindric 24-73;T. Reddick 74;A. Cindric 75-83;J. Berry 84-124;K. Larson 125-126;A. Cindric 127;T. Gilliland 128-131;K. Larson 132-166;A. Bowman 167;W. Byron 168-189;K. Larson 190-220;J. Nemechek 221;K. Larson 222-243;M. McDowell 244-252;R. Blaney 253;M. McDowell 254-263;J. Logano 264-268;R. Blaney 269;J. Logano 270-271.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson 4 times for 90 laps; Austin Cindric 3 times for 60 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 41 laps; William Byron 1 time for 22 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 22 laps; Michael McDowell 2 times for 19 laps; Joey Logano 2 times for 7 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 2 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; John Hunter Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 1 lap; Alex Bowman 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,45,21,5,17,77,24,54,71,43

Stage #2 Top Ten: 5,45,48,60,23,77,24,12,22,8

Carson Hocevar wins first career NASCAR Cup pole at Texas

James Gilbert/Getty Images

FORT WORTH, Tex.— Ride ‘em, cowboy.

Decked out in Texas-appropriate attire, Carson Hocevar put his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on the pole for Sunday’s WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

With the second fastest lap in the era of the Gen 7 car, Hocevar toured the 1.5 mile track in 28.175 seconds (191.659 mph) to edge 2023 race winner William Byron (191.564 mph) for the top starting position by 0.014 seconds.

The Busch Light Pole Award is the first of Hocevar’s career, and at age 22, he’s the youngest-ever pole winner at Texas.

Clad in a firesuit designed as a cowboy outfit—courtesy of sponsor Chili’s—and sporting a black 10-gallon hat, Hocevar reveled in the moment after his lap stood up to all comers.

“Having the cowboy outfit—what better place to be on the pole,” Hocevar said. “I’m normally so hard on myself, and I didn’t think I nailed that lap at all, but I’m super proud of this team.

“I’m so proud, because I’ve never had the No. 1 pit stall, and I’ve had a lot of issues with pit road and we’ve had a lot of bad luck. So I finally get the No. 1 pit stall, and I’m pumped about that.”

Austin Cindric, last Sunday’s Talladega winner, qualified third at 191.523 mph in a closely compacted field. Larson, the last driver to make an attempt, was fourth at 191.421 mph.

With 10 drivers to go, Ty Gibbs topped the chart at 191.293 mph, but Michael McDowell, Hocevar’s teammate, eclipsed his time by 0.006 seconds in a lap at 191.333 mph.

“Obviously, with Michael going out and putting up a really good lap time, I felt like we were faster than him in practice, and that gave me a little bit of confidence that our stuff was going to be as quick, if not hopefully a little quicker,” Hocevar said.

McDowell will start fifth on Sunday, with Gibbs sixth. Josh Berry, three-time Texas winner Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and AJ Allmendinger completed the top 10 on the grid.

One driver who left the session with regret was Cindric, who felt he could have gone faster.

“I feel like I left a pole lap out there,” he said. “I sent it into Turn 1 and didn’t quite get to the bottom and didn’t quite maximize my exit. I guess I can be happy with where we are at, but I definitely feel like you want to do it all.

“We’re in a great spot for (Sunday) and should have a good pit stall, so I feel good about where we are. We’ll try to go get another one.”

Defending race winner Chase Elliott will start 29th.

Note: Since the Gen 7 car was introduced in 2022, only Christopher Bell at Michigan International Speedway in 2023 has run a faster lap than Hocevar at Texas. Bell’s speed at the 2.0-mile track was 193.382 mph.

--30--

Austin Cindric wins wild Talladega race with last-lap pass

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

April 27, 2025

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Cindric’s dramatic last lap pass provided exactly the sort of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway thrill that NASCAR fans have come to expect at the sport’s biggest track, earning the 2022 Daytona 500 winner Cindric – and Team Penske – their first trophies of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford pulled ahead of Roush Fenway Keselowski driver Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford by the length of a front hood to claim a .022-second victory in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 – the two Ford Mustangs exchanging the lead five times in the final six laps.

However, the Fords driven by Preece and fifth place finisher, Cindric’s Penske teammate Joey Logano were subsequently disqualified following post-race inspection for technical violations. NASCAR officials found an illegal spoiler on Preece’s Mustang and a spoiler violation on Logano’s No. 22 Mustang that also violated Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.

The disqualifications moved Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron into second and third place in the race’s final standings.

“I’m just so proud of this team from the [pit] cycles to the fast cars to the fuel-only stops,’’ said the 26-year old Cindric, whose team - with 17 laps remaining - turned in the fastest final pit stop putting him back out front and able to contend for the win in a race that featured 67 lead changes among 23 drivers.

“It definitely wasn’t easy,’’ Cindric said of holding off the Hendrick teammates for the checkered flag. “I give a lot of credit, Kyle [Larson] did a lot to take care of me, pushing me at the right times in the tri-oval and as mad as I was at him after Atlanta [race], I feel like we’re good now. That was great and having a photo-finish at Talladega and get in the Playoffs in front of this amazing crowd, beautiful day in Alabama.’’

The Hendrick teammates Larson and Byron acknowledged lapped traffic in front of the lead pack, looming just beyond the finish line, certainly created an extra consideration. Yet the runner-up showing for Larson, who won Stage 1 and led three laps on the day, was a career best effort at Talladega. It was a major move forward for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion drafting tracks such as Talladega, Daytona and Atlanta – all venues where the 31-race winner has yet to earn a trophy.

“I wanted to take it, but just felt like the gap was too big,’’ said Larson, who ran directly behind Cindric in the closing laps, adding. “I was just second row inside and just going to do everything I could to try and advance our lane and maybe open it up so maybe then I could get to the outside, but we were all pushing so equally that it kept the lanes kind of jammed up.

“I needed something else to kinda happen, maybe them to get blocking each other or something, but still a great day. A stage win, P3 in the second stage and P3 in the final, so great points day and best career finish on a superspeedway so happy with the performance in the Hendricks.com Chevy.”

Cindric is the 10th different winner in the last 10 Talladega races – a record streak at the iconic 2.66-mile high-banked track. Yet Sunday’s race was relatively calm compared to some previous editions at the high-action drafting track. It marked the fourth time a Tallladega race had only four caution flags – two of which were scheduled stage caution breaks.

With the two disqualifications, Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson and Hendrick’s Chase Elliott round out the top-five.

Chevrolet drivers, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman finished sixth and seventh with former Talladega winner, and Sunday’s Stage 2 winner Bubba Wallace eighth in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota. Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon completed the updated top-10.

Although their teammates ran well and earned stage points, it was a frustrating afternoon for Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski.

The two former champions and past multi-time Talladega winners were collected in an accident on lap 43 during a pit stop cycle before the first Stage break. Keselowski and Chevy’s Kyle Busch collided on track as Keselowski was moving to pit road for a stop – their contact collected Blaney spinning him out as well.

The owner-driver of the No. 6 Ford, Keselowski, who was already mired in a disappointing early season, finished 36th and is now ranked 32nd in the championship standings.

“It was just a stack of guys trying to come to pit road as fast as they could and we were kind of the ham in the sandwich that got squeezed.’’ said Keselowski, who leads all active drivers with six Talladega wins. “I waved down the backstretch to let everybody know I was gonna pit and I came off of four and everybody was so tight behind me that I didn’t even have a chance to turn left. I hate that it ruined not just our day, but several other people’s day. I don’t think I could do anything different.”

Blaney, who drives the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was scored as 37th – ahead of the two disqualified drivers. It marked his fourth DNF in the 10-race season, but the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 198 laps on the season and is still ranked eighth in the standings.

“Another DNF - it just sucks,’’ Blaney said. Just when we were kind of getting our momentum and didn’t even get to race today. We’ll just move on to Texas.”

With his third-place finish, Byron continues to lead the championship standings, now 31 points ahead of his teammate Larson. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who had been second in points going into Talladega is now ranked third, 52 points behind Byron.

The NASCAR Cup Series now heads West to Texas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Elliott is the defending race winner.

---30—

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Jack Link's 500

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, April 27, 2025

1. (7) Austin Cindric, Ford, 188.

2. (25) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 188.

3. (16) William Byron, Chevrolet, 188.

4. (27) Noah Gragson, Ford, 188.

5. (30) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 188.

6. (28) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 188.

7. (18) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 188.

8. (20) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 188.

9. (24) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 188.

10. (5) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.

11. (14) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 188.

12. (35) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 188.

13. (12) Cole Custer, Ford, 188.

14. (26) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 188.

15. (17) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 188.

16. (15) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 188.

17. (10) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 188.

18. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, 188.

19. (1) Zane Smith, Ford, 188.

20. (32) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 188.

21. (13) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 188.

22. (23) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 188.

23. (21) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.

24. (19) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 188.

25. (37) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 188.

26. (8) Josh Berry, Ford, 188.

27. (2) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 188.

28. (31) Anthony Alfredo(i), Chevrolet, 188.

29. (36) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 187.

30. (29) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 187.

31. (33) Cody Ware, Ford, 186.

32. (39) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 186.

33. (38) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Overheating, 71.

34. (6) Chris Buescher, Ford, Accident, 51.

35. (11) Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 51.

36. (22) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 42.

37. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 42.

38. (4) Ryan Preece, Ford, 188.

39. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 157.203 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 10 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory: .022 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 22 laps.

Lead Changes: 67 among 23 drivers.

Lap Leaders: Z. Smith 1-3;J. Berry 4;J. Logano 5;M. McDowell 6-7;J. Berry 8;M. McDowell 9-10;Z. Smith 11;J. Berry 12-14;R. Preece 15;M. McDowell 16;R. Preece 17;M. McDowell 18-20;Z. Smith 21;J. Berry 22;K. Busch 23-25;C. Briscoe 26-40;C. Custer 41-42;J. Logano 43-48;D. Suarez 49;C. Buescher 50-51;D. Hamlin 52-58;B. Wallace 59;K. Larson 60-62;C. Hocevar 63;*. Yeley 64;*. Alfredo(i) 65;W. Byron 66-69;*. Alfredo(i) 70-73;R. Chastain 74;J. Nemechek 75;*. Alfredo(i) 76;R. Chastain 77-80;*. Alfredo(i) 81;R. Chastain 82-83;*. Alfredo(i) 84-85;R. Chastain 86;D. Suarez 87;*. Alfredo(i) 88-93;R. Chastain 94-95;*. Alfredo(i) 96-99;R. Chastain 100;J. Logano 101-108;C. Hocevar 109;J. Logano 110;B. Wallace 111;M. McDowell 112-113;C. Hocevar 114;J. Logano 115-119;B. Wallace 120-122;*. Yeley 123;C. Elliott 124;C. Briscoe 125-127;T. Gibbs 128;C. Briscoe 129-130;T. Gibbs 131-161;J. Logano 162-164;J. Berry 165-166;T. Dillon 167;J. Berry 168-171;A. Cindric 172-174;W. Byron 175;A. Cindric 176;W. Byron 177-181;A. Cindric 182;R. Preece 183-185;A. Cindric 186;R. Preece 187;A. Cindric 188.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ty Gibbs 2 times for 32 laps; Joey Logano 6 times for 24 laps; Chase Briscoe 3 times for 20 laps; * Anthony Alfredo(i) 7 times for 19 laps; Josh Berry 6 times for 12 laps; Ross Chastain 6 times for 11 laps; William Byron 3 times for 10 laps; Michael McDowell 5 times for 10 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 7 laps; Austin Cindric 5 times for 7 laps; Ryan Preece 4 times for 6 laps; Zane Smith 3 times for 5 laps; Bubba Wallace 3 times for 5 laps; Carson Hocevar 3 times for 3 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 3 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 3 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 2 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 2 laps; Cole Custer 1 time for 2 laps; * JJ Yeley 2 times for 2 laps; John Hunter Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; Ty Dillon 1 time for 1 lap; Chase Elliott 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,24,47,9,23,11,16,51,35,10

Stage #2 Top Ten: 23,5,2,77,45,34,38,21,7,16

Zane Smith captures first-career pole for Talladega Cup race / Talladega Notebook

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

April 26, 2025

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Front Row Motorsports maintained its strong position out front at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with 24-year driver Zane Smith convincingly claiming the first pole position of his NASCAR Cup Series career – the third consecutive at the track for his team.

Smith, the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the sport’s biggest track with two-time series champion Kyle Busch starting alongside Smith on the front row – his best start since earning pole position at Dover, Del. last Spring.

Smith earned his first pole position with a lap of 182.174 mph in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford – bettering Busch’s time by a slight .132-second on the 2.66-mile circuit.

“Obviously a lot of speed,’’ said Smith, who was fastest in opening-round time trials and improved that time in the final round. “Just really proud of how our whole team has been working together before our one-week break [last week] and I feel like that one-week break was perfect not to reset but to digest and think about what we need to re-build on.

“And now we’re off to a good start for this next long stretch. Proud of the speed and everything we’ve been doing, just need to execute a little bit better but a ton of speed this weekend. Long race tomorrow and a lot of things are going to happen and go on, but obviously we have the speed to do it. We’ll see how it goes.’’

Seven Fords, a pair of Chevrolets and a single Toyota advanced to that 10-car final round.

Reigning series champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Ryan Preece will start from row two.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, RFK’s Chris Buescher, Penske’s Austin Cindric, Wood Brothers’s Josh Berry, Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (the only Toyota) rounded out the second round qualifiers.

Defending race winner Tyler Reddick will roll off 26th in the 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota. Championship points leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, will start 16th on the 39-car grid.

NOTEBOOK

*KESELOWSKI’s OPPORTUNITY

Brad Keselowski is a former NASCAR Cup Series champion – claiming the title in 2012 in only his 16th full-time year competing in the series – and leads all drivers with six Talladega Superspeedway trophies. That’s all encouraging, but the 41-year old owner-driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford would really like to resume that big track magic this weekend and jumpstart an uncharacteristically “off” start to the 2025 season.

Keselowski is still racing for his first top-10 of the year – an 11th place showing at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway is his best result and he sits an uncharacteristic 31st in the championship standings.

The 2.66-mile Talladega high banks, however, presents a level of confidence for the former champ. He won his very first NASCAR Cup Series start at the track in 2009. He’s got 12 top-five showings – including three runner-up finishes – and has finished in the top-10 in half of his 32 starts, a remarkable statistic at a drafting track.

“It’s definitely not my best [season] start,’’ Keselowski allowed. “It doesn’t feel like my best start, but I’ve got my eternal optimist glasses on and I see the potential. The potential for this team is higher than any team I’ve had the last four or five years and we just have to recognize it. There’s a lot of talent and a lot of fresh faces and the mistakes that come with that. We have to clean that up and recognize our potential.”

*CHAMPIONSHIP CREW CHIEF CHILDERS OUT AT SPIRE

Spire Motorsports announced this week that it and veteran crew chief Rodney Childers had parted ways effective immediately.

Childers, who guided Kevin Harvick to the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship, was in his first year with Spire after spending 11 years with the Stewart-Haas Racing team which left the series at the end of 2024. He has served as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2005 and has 30 victories and nearly a 50 percent top-10 percentage, his cars scoring 299 top 10s in 685 combined starts.

“I know this is a shock, but also know that not everything works out perfect all the time,’’ Childers wrote on social media this week, thanking Spire Motorsports for his time there and wishing them “the best in the future.”

“This was just one of those things that just wasn’t working for either of us.’’

The pairing with Haley at Spire Motorsports, however, was slow to start with only a single top-10 (10th at Homestead-Miami) through the opening nine races. Haley sits 23rd in the championship points standings. He finished 26th and 31st in the championship the previous two seasons. He qualified 37th for Sunday’s race.

“For me, just showing up and trying to do my job to the best of my ability each week and obviously it’s an unexpected change and not something you ever want to do in the middle of the season, but super proud and thankful to be with a race team and owner like Jeff Dickerson who isn’t scared to make some changes for maybe the better,’’ said Haley, who said he only found out about the situation after a day of regularly scheduled meetings last Tuesday.

“It was just a ‘fit’ thing, I think, nothing super wrong that stood out or super left or right. I think at the end of the day we’re in the Cup Series and to compete on a Sunday in the Cup Series everything has to be perfect and if one little thing isn’t perfect, you’re not going to win races. And that’s what we’re trying to do.’’

*LARSON LUCK ON SUPERSPEEDWAYS

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is widely regarded as one of the best race car drivers in the world – the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion wins in every sort of car he drives and is poised to make his second Indianapolis 500 start next month.

The one missing style of trophy in the 32-year old’s large trophy case, however, is a superspeedway-type victory. A 31-race winner, he is 0-for-20 on Talladega’s high banks with a best showing of fourth last October. He is 0-for-22 at Daytona with no top-fives. His best showing is sixth there.

Even bolstered with a pair of wins already this season, he says it doesn’t necessarily change his approach for Sunday – doesn’t mean he will race any more aggressively.

“Sure, it’s nice to have a win before coming here, but it’s kind of been that way for me since joining Hendrick (2021) we’ve always had a win before going to Talladega,’’ Larson said. “I don’t know what it would be like mentally if we didn’t have a win. So yeah, I just believe in treating every weekend the same. It would be nice to get a win here but you don’t put any more or any less emphasis on it than every weekend.’’

*GIBBS RESURGENCE

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs is coming off his best showing of the 2025 season – a third-place finish at the Bristol Motor Speedway short track as he arrives at the series’ biggest track, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

It’s a significant uptick for Gibbs who has jumped from 34th place in the championship standings three races ago to 20th coming into Sunday’s race at Talladega thanks to the Bristol result and a ninth place the preceding race at Darlington. It marks the first back-to-back string of top-10 finishes of the season for the 22-year old former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and first since last summer when he scored a third place finish at Michigan and a fifth at Daytona.

Most importantly, it shows a notable sign of improvement for his No. 54 JGR Toyota team which has a new crew chief this year in Tyler Allen and several new crew members. He was the only Toyota driver to advance to the second round qualifying Saturday at Talladega and will roll off 10th in Sunday’s race.

“For us, I feel the results have shown for sure,’’ Gibbs said of the recent change in tide. “But there is not a time where I’ve felt I was down on my team or was bummed out. I just think it’s part of the process, we have a new team and I think our guys are really good and I have a lot of faith in our guys. There’s a lot of things behind the scenes and everyone makes a judgement call, but I know I can run good and that our team is capable of that.

“Sometimes it takes time, and we’ll get there. I have confidence in our team.’’

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Kansas Speedway

May 8, 2025

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Close competition and high drama typify NASCAR Cup races at Kansas

Even though Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson won last year’s spring race at Kansas Speedway by the closest margin in NASCAR Cup Series history over Ford driver Chris Buescher, Larson still thinks Toyota drivers have an edge at the 1.5-mile track.

Depending on your point of view, you could make an argument for all three manufacturers entering Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at the intermediate speedway in Wyandotte County, Kansas (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Whether I won or I didn’t, it was really neat to be a part of a finish like that,” said Larson, who edged Buescher by 0.001 second last May. “So obviously, I was happy to come out a thousandth ahead, but still, to be a part of a finish like that was pretty neat.

“The Toyotas—they’re still the best there, I think, anyways. We’ve chipped away at it and gotten better, I think. I’ve led lots of laps there since we’ve gone there with the Next Gen. I just hadn’t gotten the win until last year. But you always work to get better every time you go to a track.”

Even though Chevrolet drivers swept last year’s Kansas events, with Ross Chastain winning in the fall, there’s ample reason for Larson to look to the Toyotas as fierce competition. Before 2024, four different Camry drivers—Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick—won four straight races at the track.

Wallace, however, acknowledges that his No. 23 23XI Racing team has lost a bit of the magic that propelled him to the second and most recent of his two career wins in 2022.

“I don’t know where we got off pace there, but we did,” said Wallace, who finished 17th in both Kansas races last year. “But I think we know what we need to do there, so it’s just a matter of getting back on the horse and doing it…

“It’s not like we’re way out in left field from what we had a couple years ago. It’s maybe one thing that’s giving us the wrong feel. It’s crazy. We just have to show up and, like I said, get back on the horse and get out there and ride.”

Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Christopher Bell has won the last three poles at Kansas Speedway, which is hosting the second of three straight Cup Series points races on 1.5-mile intermediate speedways.

The last driver to win four straight poles at a track was Larson at Sonoma Raceway from 2017 through 2022.

On the flip side of Larson’s win, Buescher prefers not to dwell on his runner-up finish last year.

“When it does come up, I try to make a joke about being the closest loser ever,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re trying to look further ahead… Ultimately, don’t look back, just because, one: it’s not going to change anything; two: to relive that moment in that race and study it, I would do things differently going back, but no time wasted in that.”

Joey Logano, last week’s winner at Texas Motor Speedway, is the only Ford driver to visit Victory Lane at Kansas in the last 12 races there.

However, with Josh Berry winning for the Wood Brothers at Las Vegas, Ford drivers have claimed victory in two of the three 1.5-milers so far this year. Larson’s victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway accounts for the other.

No matter whom you might favor, Kansas Speedway is a venue likely to produce high drama. Not only does the track have the closest Cup finish in Cup history to its credit, but it also featured 37 lead changes in the spring race of 2023—most on a 1.5-mile speedway in series history using a conventional downforce competition package.

Note: When Chastain triumphed from the 20th starting position last year, it broke a string of nine straight winners from the top 10 positions on the grid.

Corey Heim goes for third straight NASCAR Truck Series win at Kansas

Even with NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field, it’s hard to argue against NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regular Corey Heim as the favorite for Saturday night’s Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In three previous races on 1.5-mile speedways this season, Heim has two victories—at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 14 and most recently at Texas Motor Speedway on May 2.

Heim is the only multiple winner in the series so far this season with three victories.

Moreover, driving the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, Heim is seeking his third straight victory at Kansas, having swept last year’s races.

At age 22, Heim is the youngest driver to reach 14 wins in the series. He’s one victory away from tying 48-year-old three-time series champion Matt Crafton for 10th on the all-time victory list.

But it’s not that Heim will have an easy time on Friday. Challenging his quest for a Kansas trifecta are Cup drivers William Byron and Carson Hocevar, both doing double duty in Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverados.

“I’m excited to get back in a truck this weekend, especially at Kansas,” said Byron, who finished 14th in his only other start this season, at Martinsville. “This is a track where I’ve run well at during my career, but extra laps are always helpful no matter where it is.

“I appreciate Spire giving me the chance to run a truck again this year and hopefully we can have a good showing for them and (sponsor) HendrickCars.com.”

Coincidentally, Byron picked up his first career Truck Series victory at Kansas in 2016.

Hocevar is one of four drivers in the field who have finished second at Kansas but have never won. The others are two-time champion Ben Rhodes, defending champion Ty Majeski and Layne Riggs.

Joey Logano’s methodical win is a warning flare to NASCAR Cup competitors

May 5, 2025

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Tex. — Joey Logano’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday was all the more impressive because of the uncomplicated, straightforward nature of his NASCAR Cup Series win.

There were no frills, no gimmicks, no two-tire calls and no convoluted strategies to get Logano to the front of the field when it counted.

It was a blue-collar effort from start to finish on the part of Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford contingent.

Logano qualified poorly on Saturday—27th among 38 drivers—precluding crew chief Paul Wolfe from selecting a desirable pit box. Instead, Wolfe had to settle for Stall 37, with Daniel Suarez pitting behind him and Riley Herbst in front.

As Logano explained, that negated the option for a two-tire pit stop, a move that helped Michael McDowell get to the front in the late stages of the race.

“We never even swung the bat at two tires because of the stall that we had with the 35 (Herbst) in front of us,” Logano said. “We just felt like putting two tires on was asking for a crash on pit road, because we would be leaving when he is coming in. We just kept putting four on it and trying to methodically pick off a couple here and there.

“So we didn't really go for the haymaker pit strategy. We just kept it basic, and we felt like our car was fast enough to get up there, and honestly, I thought, race in the top five. I didn't know we were going to get to the lead. Our lap times were good enough to be in the lead, but we took so long to get there. Yeah, everything ended up working well.”

Logano’s progress through the field was deliberate. He didn’t show up on the box score until the end of Stage 2, when he had climbed to ninth in the running order.

The reigning series champion got some unexpected help when a caution for Jesse Love’s crash on the backstretch on Lap 219 took several contenders, including William Byron, Chase Elliott and Logano’s teammate Austin Cindric out of the mix for the victory.

Those drivers already had come to pit road for service and were trapped a lap down, pending wave-arounds. By waiting to pit, Logano and teammate Ryan Blaney gained positions and lined up fifth and third, respectively, for the subsequent restart.

From that point on, Logano was relentless in his pursuit of the win, doubtless additionally motivated by the disqualification from fifth place a week earlier at Talladega for a rear spoiler infraction.

“Joey did what he typically does at the end of these races when you put him in position,” Wolfe said. “I think (spotter) Coleman (Pressley) said it. There's nobody better at it than him. He just continues to show us that as we go along here. It's exciting to be part of, and I'm glad we could get our first win of the season.

“It's been a bit of a struggle this year to get the results that I feel like we've shown the speed, but we haven't put it all together, and it was nice to just have a nice solid day and be able to find Victory Lane finally.”

Team Penske’s strength on downforce tracks ought to be a red flag to other competitors. Josh Berry, who drives for Penske affiliate Wood Brothers Racing, won the fifth race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry led 41 laps at Texas before the pronounced bump in Turn 4 got the better of him on Lap 125.

Cindric led 60 laps, second only to Kyle Larson’s 90, before losing track position during the pit stop cycle and getting collected in a four-car crash on Lap 247.

Blaney finished third after starting 24th in a top-five effort that mirrored Logano’s run to the front.

For the third time in four years, Cindric had broken the ice with the first win of the season for Team Penske, claiming the trophy April 27 at Talladega Superspeedway, a Playoff track.

Team Penske has won the last three NASCAR Cup championships, with Logano prevailing in 2022 and 2024 and Blaney claiming the title in 2023.

The pattern for those championships has been consistent—a sluggish early season followed by a late-season charge.

With Team Penske showing consistent strength this early, it’s hard to imagine the organization won’t be fielding contenders for a fourth straight title.

--30--

Saturday Texas Notebook

Notebook Items:

Chris Buescher looks for a breakthrough performance at his home track
Tyler Reddick found a comfort level with Netflix series “Full Speed Season 2”
NASCAR displays spoiler infractions that DQ’d two drivers at Talladega

May 2, 2025

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Chris Buescher looks for a breakthrough performance at his home track

FORT WORTH, Tex.—There’s a glaring hole in Chris Buescher’s resume—one he’s determined to fill.

Buescher grew up in Prosper, Texas, 37 miles north of Dallas. By default, Texas Motor Speedway is his home track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.

It’s also a track that has baffled him throughout his career. In 15 starts at the challenging 1.5-mile speedway, Buescher has yet to post a top 10.

In fact, he has finished on the lead lap in only two of the 15 starts—his two most recent—and he has led just two of the 4,735 laps completed.

It’s not that Buescher hasn’t had the speed to belie his record at Texas.

“Since Texas has been reconfigured, we’ve been a lot better there from a speed standpoint but haven’t really closed the deal to (finish) better,” Buescher said. “We’ve had really good runs that just haven’t ended well.

“All that being said, you want it to be better, being a home track and having so many friends and family come out to that one. It takes a little extra out of you not to be able to seal the deal there.”

To conquer Texas, NASCAR Cup teams must find a workable setup balance between the two ends of the track, which are markedly different. Turns 1 and 2 are flatter (maximum 20 degrees of banking) and consequently slower than Turns 3 and 4, which are banked at 24 degrees.

Conventional wisdom suggests a trade-off is required, but negotiating Turns 1 and 2 with speed is critical to a fast lap. With the Gen 7 car, introduced in 2022, the trade-off isn’t as extreme as it used to be.

“It was a lot at first, but with this car and the ability to shift (from fifth to fourth gear in the first two corners), that took away a lot of the compromise,” Buescher said. “You’re able to drop a gear and keep that momentum up in Turns 1 and 2 a lot better.

“It’s taken away that old Kentucky feel, where you had to set up for one side or the other. The (Turn) 1 and 2 (end) is not the crawling corner that it was with the last generation car.”

Tyler Reddick found a comfort level with Netflix series “Full Speed Season 2”

When Netflix began filming “Full Speed Season 2,” which chronicles the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick found himself in familiar territory.

As a Championship 4 driver in 2023, Reddick was a featured player in Season 1, so when Netflix came calling last year, he knew what to expect.

“I’ve done it both years now, and it’s fun,” said Reddick, who finished sixth in the 2024 final standings. “You get to know the people you’re working with. As long as you are open to and embrace the idea of letting everyone see what happens behind the scenes, if you’re comfortable with that, it’s a lot of fun.”

The five-episode series debuts on Wednesday, May 7, with particular emphasis on the top stars of the sport who qualified for the Playoffs, among them Reddick, three-time champion Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell.

Contributors to the series include Dale Earnhardt Jr., broadcaster Marty Smith, former crew chief/current television analyst Steve Letarte, Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass and broadcaster/pit reporter Kim Coon.

Full Speed Season 2 not only takes a close look at the technical and emotional aspects of competition, but it also highlights the drivers’ home lives and activities away from the race track.

Very little is off limits to the Netflix cameras.

“I think you always (have to draw lines),” Reddick said. “It’s been a while ago now, so I couldn’t even tell you what those things were. You want to share as much as you can, but there are certain things that take place that you could classify as industry secrets, right?

“You’ve got to be careful sometimes, but for the most part, given the environment, it doesn’t happen very often.”

NASCAR displays spoiler infractions that DQ’d two drivers at Talladega

The term “spoiler” was more apt than either Ryan Preece or Joey Logano knew after they both finished in the top five in last Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Subsequently, during post-race inspection, infractions involving that key part of the car spoiled excellent runs and resulted in the disqualification of both their cars.

On Logano’s fifth-place No. 22 Team Penske Ford, a nut was missing from a bolt connecting a brace (specific to superspeedway cars) that holds the rear spoiler firmly in place. The missing nut itself is cause for disqualification, as it violates a rule that mandates all components being in place for the entire race.

After Preece’s No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford failed pre-race inspection once, along with more than 29 other cars, his team inserted a third shim (a thin metal part that runs the length of the spoiler and sits between the base and the spoiler blade) to correct the amount of deflection to legal limits (1.5 degrees).

Only two shims are allowed under NASCAR rules, and Preece was disqualified from second place because of the infraction.

“Pretty cut-and-dried, black-and-white,” said NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran. “Unfortunate. The 60 had a great race. Same with the 22. But we have to do our job to keep the parity in the field.

“Everybody knows the rules. This is our job to find things like this and clean it up.”

Preece was driving his motor home when he heard the news of the disqualification.

“I was about an hour-and-a-half, two hours in when I got the call that we got disqualified, and the next four hours were pretty miserable,” Preece said before Saturday’s Cup practice at Texas Motor Speedway.

“It was just an oversight, to meet their rule and get through tech. But it is a rule.”

Texas Motor Speedway presents a unique challenge to NASCAR Cup drivers

May 1, 2025

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Tex.— NASCAR Cup Series drivers will face what is arguably the sport’s most challenging 1.5-mile track when they head to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Last year’s race at Texas, contested over 400 miles, produced a track-record-tying 16 cautions, equaling a mark established over 500 miles in 2022. In fact, 16 yellows constitute a NASCAR record for cautions in a 400-mile race on a 1.5-mile speedway.

The treachery at Texas lies in the distinctly different ends of the track. Turns 1 and 2 are flatter and slower, while Turns 3 and 4 are higher-banker and faster. Negotiating both sets of corners while maintaining pace can be a daunting task.

“It’s a huge compromise,” said Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner at Texas. “It’s essentially kind of what we felt caused me to wreck in that green-white-checker situation last year when we had the lead.

“We were really good on one end, aggressive on the other, and when I needed to push it, just spun out. Certainly, it’s a really, really tough balance to have.”

Hamlin and Kyle Busch (four victories) are the only multiple winners at the track in the field for Sunday’s race, the first of three straight points events on 1.5-mile intermediate speedways (followed by Kansas Speedway on May 11 and Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25).

For Austin Cindric, last Sunday’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, the string of intermediates represents an opportunity to continue the momentum he established at NASCAR’s largest oval track.

“Yeah, I think they’re all opportunities to win races, all opportunities to gain points,” Cindric said. “I think our intermediate races at the beginning of this year were strong, ‘cause I feel like we picked up where we left off in the Playoffs last year, which was a key detail for me.

“So I think the team is pretty energized to go to those races and try and contend and continue to learn.”

Interestingly, in three of the last four years, Cindric has been the first race winner for Team Penske, while his teammates, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, have combined to win the last three series championships.

Nine different drivers have won the last nine races at Texas, but Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won three of the last four. Kyle Larson won from the pole in 2021, William Byron claimed victory in the Playoff race of 2023, and Chase Elliott broke a 42-race drought with his win at Texas last year.

“I had lost the lead to Denny (Hamlin) on that (late) run that went green there for a little bit,” Elliott said of last year’s race. “He was certainly outpacing me and was able to get by. Then had a caution, lined up on the front row and had a good restart, good push into Turn 1…

“He was going to end up winning, I think, the drag race down the back, but the caution came out, and we were ahead and ended up getting the spot. So I had control for the next (restart) and ended up getting the lead into (Turn) 3. Had some good fortune there, the way the caution fell.”

Elliott could use some more good luck on Sunday. He hasn’t won since that race, and his winless streak has now reached 37 races.

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race just got a new favorite

Last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway produced the second closest finish in series history, but that likely won’t be repeated with Kyle Larson in the field this year.

Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg to the finish line by 0.002 seconds last spring in a drag race to the stripe. Larson, on the other hand, prefers to win by as large a margin as possible, as he did in April at Bristol, where he led 276 laps and won by 2.054 seconds in his second Xfinity start of the season.

Larson, however, won’t be in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In fact, he wasn’t scheduled to race at all until JR Motorsports rookie Connor Zilisch withdrew because of a back injury he sustained in a hard crash at Talladega.

As a consequence, Larson will be driving the No. 88 JRM Camaro, competing against teammate and series leader Justin Allgaier.

“Texas has been a strong track for us the last few years,” said Allgaier, who finished third behind Mayer and Sieg last spring. “We were close last year, and I know that we are going to have that same speed when we unload on Friday.

“Everyone on this Jarrett team is ready to go, and we know what we need to do to be just those couple spots better at the end on Saturday.”

Spire Motorsports brings extra muscle to Texas Truck Series race

In addition to NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regulars Rajah Caruth and Andrés Pérez de Lara, Spire Motorsports is bring some serious additional firepower to Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar will make his first start in the series since 2023, when he picked up the first of his four Truck Series victories at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track.

“I'm really excited to get behind the wheel of a truck again,” said Hocevar, who also drives for Spire in the Cup Series. “It has been a while since I've run in the series, but I’m really looking forward to it. I won my first truck race there and will be with one of the best teams in the garage and with one of the most experienced crew chiefs (Brian Pattie).”

Hocevar is driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on Friday. In the No. 07 is full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Nick Sanchez, who won the pole for the two most recent Truck Series races at Texas and finished third last year before moving up to his current ride with Big Machine Racing in the Xfinity ranks.

To take the checkered flag, however, the Spire contingent will have to contend with TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim, who leads all active drivers with a 5.3 average finishing position at Texas.

A two-time winner this season, Heim also leads the series standings by 22 points over Chandler Smith in second.

Note: Tyler Ankrum comes to Texas riding a streak of six top-10 finishes, including the April 18 win at Rockingham that ended a 130-race drought—the most starts between wins in Truck Series history.

Cindric lifts Team Penske with Talladega triumph

April 28, 2025

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Cindric’s dramatic victory in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway was certainly a huge confidence boost for the 26-year-old NASCAR Cup Series star. Not only did it punch Cindric’s 2025 Playoff ticket but perhaps as importantly the success put his iconic Team Penske organization back in the winner’s column for the first time this season.

Despite Penske’s three drivers, Cindric, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, being legitimate contenders in nearly all 10 races this season, the team has been slow to Victory Lane by the perpetually high Penske standard, at least, and by the strong output week-after-week.

Cindric’s impressive showing Sunday may have changed the tide, however.

All three drivers have stage wins and all three had led triple-digit laps on the season, before Cindric hoisted the Talladega trophy. And the Wood Brothers Racing team, which operates under the Penske technical umbrella won with driver Josh Berry at Las Vegas.

“I think a combination of encouragement to heads beating against the table," Cindric said of the challenging start to the year for the team in general. “You have four-five days to get over yourself and try not to let that bleed into each week. Just being able to watch guys like Ryan [Blaney] and Joey [Logano], these guys are champions, but they go through adversity just like the next guy, no different than in how these races play out.

“I guess misery loves company in some ways. I feel like Ryan’s had his fair share of tough breaks this season and I know there’s a lot of strength in our company and a win like this only helps the whole team be able to push forward in the same direction, no different than the 21 car winning in Vegas this year and now with us. A concentrated effort to get all our cars in the Playoffs is first priority and I think this only helps concentrate that.”

Perhaps most perplexing is that three-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, is not only winless, but still racing for his first top-five of the year.

After leading laps and looking strong Sunday, what looked like a fifth-place finish at Talladega was negated after failing NASCAR’s routine post-race inspection for a loose bolt. Logano was dropped to 37th in the official finishing order and the team was quick to issue a mea culpa, saying it would not protest the action.

“It was not intentional and happened throughout the course of the race event. Team Penske accepts the disqualification," the statement read.

Logano’s best finish now is eighth at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on March 30 despite the fact his No. 22 has led laps in six races, including a race best 83 at Atlanta, where he finished 12th and 81 laps at Phoenix, where he finished 13th. The good news is his 284 laps led is fourth most in the series this year and despite the frustrating start, Logano is still ranked 11th in the championship driver standings.

He was pleased and encouraged Sunday to see a teammate claiming victory.

“It’s about time one of us wins these things," Logano said. “You think about the amount of laps led by Team Penske and Ford in general and we just haven’t been able to close, so to see a couple Fords there on the front row duking it out, I wish one of them was me in a selfish way, but it’s also good to see those guys running up there and being able to click one off for Penske.”

Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, won pole position at Atlanta and has three top-five finishes, but has absolutely suffered through a tough opening of the season – much of it, like Sunday, not of his doing. At Talladega, he was unavoidably collected in an accident started by Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski as the field (including Blaney) was headed to pit road.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup champion led a race best 124 laps at Homestead, only to be sidelined with a rare engine failure – the third consecutive race (also Phoenix and Las Vegas) where he did not finish despite promising showings. The good news for Blaney is that despite the disappointing he’s still ranked eighth in the championship driver standings and still an absolute favorite each week.

The promising news for the team is that Texas Motor Speedway, where the series races Sunday in the Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been a solid venue, particularly for Logano and Blaney.

Logano won there in 2014 and has 12 top-five showings there including runner-up in 2016 and 2022. Blaney has top-10 finishes in half of his 16 starts at the 1.5-mile track, including five straight from 2019-22. In 2018 he won the pole and finished runner-up at the 1.5-mile track.

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Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

nascar cup series

2025 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Race / Track
Sunday, February 2	Clash (Bowman Gray)
Sunday, February 16	DAYTONA 500
Sunday, February 23	Atlanta
Sunday, March 2	COTA
Sunday, March 9	Phoenix
Sunday, March 16	Las Vegas
Sunday, March 23	Homestead-Miami
Sunday, March 30	Martinsville
Sunday, April 6	Darlington
Sunday, April 13	Bristol
Sunday, April 27	Talladega
Sunday, May 4	Texas
Sunday, May 11	Kansas
Sunday, May 18	North Wilkesboro (All-Star Race)
Sunday, May 25	Charlotte
Sunday, June 1	Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, June 8	Michigan
Sunday, June 15	Mexico City
Sunday, June 22	Pocono
Saturday, June 28	Atlanta
Sunday, July 6	Chicago Street Race
Sunday, July 13	Sonoma
Sunday, July 20	Dover
Sunday, July 27	Indianapolis
Sunday, August 3	Iowa
Sunday, August 10	Watkins Glen
Saturday, August 16	Richmond
Saturday, August 23	Daytona
Sunday, August 31	Darlington
Sunday, September 7	World Wide Technology Raceway
Saturday, September 13	Bristol
Sunday, September 21	New Hampshire
Sunday, September 28	Kansas
Sunday, October 5	Charlotte Roval
Sunday, October 12	Las Vegas
Sunday, October 19	Talladega
Sunday, October 26	Martinsville
Sunday, November 2	Phoenix (Championship)

ALL LOGOS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THE RACING SERIES AND ARE USED FOR EDITORIAL PURPOSES ONLY

ALL PICTURES ARE PROPERTY OF THE RACING SERIES AND ARE USED FOR EDITORIAL PURPOSES ONLY

NO PART OF THE SITE CAN BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF MOTORSPORTSGARAGE PRODUCTIONS

This site is dedicated to my dad " Hoot" who introduced me to the great sport of auto racing............. rest in peace DAD

larry criss....................A true race fan LIKE AN UNCLE TO ME

gary lee.................auto racing broadcast legend and personnel friend

charlie patterson ............my old friend that supported me when mo one else did

Carroll Horton .......................................life long friend and indy car owner

Judy Morris.................... a true race fan

todd shafer..............."a rock n roller" with a love for racing!

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